Syllabus

Course Information

Class Meets: Monday and Wednesday 3:30pm-5:15pm

Class Location: HR 509

Web Page: http://sites.google.com/site/usfcs685

Mailing List: https://cs.usfca.edu/mailman/listinfo/cs685

Instructor Information

Instructor: Sami Rollins

Office: HR 544

Email: srollins@cs.usfca.edu

Office Hours: Monday 2:15pm-3:15pm, Wednesday 2:15pm-3:15pm, and by appointment.

Lab Help Time: Friday 1pm-3pm

Teaching Assistant Information

TA: Evren Bingol

Office: HR 530

Email:

Office Hours: By appointment. Email evrenbingol@gmail.com to arrange a time.

Pre-requisites

• CS 621 or CS 682.
• Students should be familiar with Java, socket programming, and multithreaded programming.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the fundamental challenges associated with building wireless sensor networks including coordination, energy efficiency, and self organization.
• Learn to write programs using the SunSPOT platform.
• Learn to develop and evaluate algorithms for supporting communication and coordination in sensor networks.

Recommended Texts

• Karl and Willig, Protocols and Architectures for Wireless Sensor Networks, Wiley, 2007.

Grading Information

Grades will be based on exams (2), labs (3), projects (3), final project (1), paper summaries, and participation. Grades will be distributed as follows:

Exams: 25%

Labs: 15%

Projects (1-3): 30%

Final Project 4: 15%

Paper Reviews: 10%

Participation: 5%

Note: The distribution is subject to change in the event that assignments need to be removed or added.

Final grades will be assigned as follows:

100 - 93.0 - A

92.9 - 90.0 - A-

89.9 - 87.0 - B+

86.9 - 83.0 - B

82.9 - 80.0 - B-

79.9 - 77.0 - C+

76.9 - 73.0 - C

72.9 - 70.0 - C-

69.9 - 67.0 - D+

66.9 - 63.0 - D

62.9 - 60.0 - D-

59.9 - 0 - F

Reading will be assigned for many classes. Summaries of the reading will be required, and quizzes may be given to assess your preparedness. The participation score will be based on quiz performance, class attendance, and participation in class discussion and activities.

The exam portion of your grade will be based on two exams. You are responsible for being in class on the day of the exam (including the final exam). Make-up exams will be given only in the case of a medical emergency verified by a doctor's note.

The project and lab portion of your grade will be based on substantial programming assignments given throughout the semester. In most cases, your grade will be based on the code you submit as well an oral explanation and demonstration of the program on the day the project is due. Late submissions will not be accepted. Extensions will be granted only in the case of a medical emergency verified by a doctor's note.

Laptop Usage

In general, I do not mind if you use laptops to take notes during the class period. If you use your laptop to check email, surf the web, IM, or perform any activity that is not completely relevant to the course and the topic being covered, your laptop privileges will be revoked. You will likely have lab periods during which you will be expected to work on your assignments. You may use your laptop for this purpose during the lab times. You may not use the lab time to read the news, update your facebook page, or anything beyond working on the current assignment.

SunSPOT Hardware

Your project assignments will consist of writing programs to run on Sun's SunSPOT wireless sensor platform. The department has purchased several "kits" that you can use free of charge. Each student will be given 1 kit that he/she may take home and use for the semester. A kit consists of two SunSPOT sensors, one base station, and a USB cable. You are responsible for returning all portions of the kit, in working order, before the last day of the final period. If you fail to return the kit assigned to you, your grade will be withheld until the kit is replaced. The kits cost $750, so please be careful.

Some assignments will require you to use more than 2 sensors for testing purposes. For these assignments, you will need to form testing groups and loan one another your sensors for testing. I also have a few extra kits that I can loan out for this purpose. Finally, you are strongly advised to bring your kits with you to class so that you may use them to work on your projects as time permits. When possible, I will notify you ahead of time that some of the class period will be allocated as lab time.

Academic Honesty

ALL assignments are to be completed individually unless specified, in writing, on the assignment. Academic dishonesty will NOT be tolerated. This is your warning! Students are encouraged to meet with me if they have questions regarding assignments or this policy. Students caught cheating will face severe penalty.

Students may:

• receive help from the professor and the TA.
• discuss the requirements of the assignments, the meaning of programs, or high-level algorithms with other students or outside sources. If you have any doubt with respect to what is acceptable to discuss, speak with the professor first.

Students may NOT:

• look at another student's code.
• look at another student's solutions to homework problems.
• receive unapproved help from an outside source including a tutor or a family member.
• submit code which has, in whole or in part, been copied from any other source (including another student, a web page, or another text).
• submit solutions to problems which have, in whole or in part, been copied from any other source (including another student, a web page, or another text).

Requirements

• Any help from a source other than the professor, the lab assistant, or a TA must acknowledged. Example sources that must be cited are a parent, a family friend, and an outside tutor.
• If you wish to get a tutor in the course, speak with the professor.
• Any code submitted by a student must be completely original. No portion of a student's code may be copied from any other source (including, but not limited to, another student, a web page, or another text).

Penalties

• Students caught violating the academic honesty policy will face severe penalty. A first offense will result in a 0 on an assignment and a report to the Dean's office.