Improve Measurement Accuracy on Switching Characteristics of SiC and GaN devices

Speaker: Evan Shuster is presently the Director of Sales at Testforce Systems Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 11, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 06:00 p.m.; Seminar: 06:30 p.m. – 07:30 p.m.
PLACE: Ciena Optophotonics Lab (room T129), School of Advanced Technology, Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 1V8.
PARKING: after 5:00 p.m. at Lots 8 & 9. Pay $5 flat rate at the machine and display the ticket on your car dashboard.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
This presentation highlights the industry best practices for measurements on modern power electronics devices such as SiC and GAN devices. These modern devices introduce new complexities into power conversion circuits requiring the need for precise circuit timing and higher sensitivity for gate threshold voltage and timing.
Common measurement pitfalls can be avoided by using differential and floating measurements and understanding the link between CMRR and signal frequency. Today’s power designs can have common mode voltages in excess of hundreds or even thousands of volts, while still needing to measure small differential voltages, this common mode error can be even more severe. Wide bandgap devices allow switching of higher frequencies, higher voltages and faster rise times, which requires higher bandwidth scopes and probes with high CMRR. In this presentation, some solutions for improving the measurement accuracy on SiC and GaN devices during switching will be presented.

Bio
Evan Shuster is presently the Director of Sales at Testforce Systems Inc. Testforce is North America’s largest Representative of premium test equipment. Evan has thirty years of Test and Measurement experience. Originally from Montreal, with a career start at Bell Canada, Evan has held directorial positions at several small to mid-sized companies in Canada and the United States. Evan has built up hugely successful Technical Account Manager teams with market focus covering Semiconductors, Power and Wireless Technologies to name a few. Evan has previously created and delivered Technical Training courses and has been a guest lecturer at several Universities and Colleges across Canada.

An IP Strategy for Canada and Your Company

Speaker: Jeff Leuschner, Patent Agent, Smart & Biggar
DATE: Tuesday October 2, 2018
TIME: Refreshments, Lunch, and Networking: 11:30 a.m.; Seminar: 12:00 p.m. – 01:30 p.m.
PLACE: The Marshes Golf Club, 320 Terry Fox Drive, Kanata. View Map
PARKING: Free parking available.
ADMISSION: Open to all, free of charge. Registration is required by e-mail. Space is limited:
REGISTRATION: Register here, or contact Eric Karmouch ekarmouch@marchnetworks.com.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website, or contact almuhtadi@ieee.org

Abstract
Does Canada have an innovation problem? What is the right approach for the intellectual property (IP) of a Canadian company in the software/computer space? Where does IP fit in an anti-IP hacker culture? The objective could be freedom to innovate, i.e. build something great without being shut out by other market players. The objective could be to secure commercial exclusivity. In any case, the IP generated by your company needs to be handled in a way that furthers the business objectives. Join Jeff Leuschner, of Smart & Biggar, to learn about the above, and to learn about how different innovations in the software/computer space can be matched to different IP rights to best further your company’s business objectives.

Bio
Jeff Leuschner has practiced in the area of Intellectual Property (IP) for over a decade, with an emphasis on patents. When working with tech companies, Jeff advises on where to focus patenting activity to best support the company’s business objectives, especially in view of other options such as trade secret protection and defensive publication. His approach is quality over quantity. Not just a well drafted patent, but one that will actually have commercial relevance. Prior to entering the IP profession, Jeff pursued graduate studies in the field of electrical and computer engineering.
Smart & Biggar helps the world’s leading tech companies protect and leverage their IP, and advises them on how to use IP Strategy to secure growth around the world. Headquartered in Ottawa with a national presence, Smart & Biggar has a consistent track record and reputation as the leaders for IP and tech law in Canada.

Medical Device Test Strategies

Speaker: J. Max Cortner, IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society President
DATE: Friday, September 21, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
PLACE: Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6.
PARKING: at the Visitors’ Parking. Please respect restricted areas.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
Electronic medical devices challenge traditional test strategies in a number of ways. Heightened demand for quality and reliability for these life impacting electronic packages conflicts with constraints to testing including limited physical access and test times. Regulatory agencies define the boundaries of testing, but seldom provide real solutions. Current research is driving great technology which represents the frontier for successful strategies for both design validation testing and production quality control testing. Physiologic sensors make devices more effective, but are difficult to characterize and control. Lessons from battery and accelerometer testing suggest strategies for these advanced devices.

Bio
J. Max Cortner earned a BSEE from Iowa State University and an MSEE from the University of Minnesota. After 18 years as a Test Engineer in defense division of Sperry Corporation, Max moved to the Cardiac Rhythm Management division of Guidant, now the CRM Division of Boston Scientific. Boston Scientific CRM manufactures medical electronics including pacemakers and defibrillators. Max retired in 2016 as a Senior Fellow Engineer in Test Engineering, a group responsible for automated electronic testing of components, subassemblies and final product in manufacturing. He now consults in the areas of medical device and process validation testing. As an active member of the IEEE Twin Cities Section since 1972, Max has held offices in the Computer Society including local chapter chair and area chair. He worked with a group of activists who organized and successfully ran a 5 year series of multi-week technical symposia covering hot topics such as computer graphics and artificial intelligence. Max was among the founders of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Instrument and Measurement Society. He helped organize numerous local test conferences and served as General Chair for the IMTC 1998. In 1999, he served on the committee of the IEEE Sections Congress which was held in the Twin Cities. Max was Co-Chair of I2MTC held in Minneapolis in 2013. Having served as I2MTC Board Chair and VP of Education for the Instrumentation and Measurement Society Administration Committee, he now serves as President of the Society. Go to Top

Medical Device Instrumentation Needs and Test Strategies

Speaker: J. Max Cortner, IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society President
DATE: Friday, September 21, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
PLACE: NRC Montreal Road Campus, 1200 Montreal Rd, Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6.
PARKING: at the Visitors’ Parking. Please respect restricted areas.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
Electronic medical devices challenge traditional test strategies in a number of ways. Heightened demand for quality and reliability for these life impacting electronic packages conflicts with constraints to testing including limited physical access and test times. Regulatory agencies define the boundaries of testing, but seldom provide real solutions. Current research is driving great technology which represents the frontier for successful strategies for both design validation testing and production quality control testing. Physiologic sensors make devices more effective, but are difficult to characterize and control. Lessons from battery and accelerometer testing suggest strategies for these advanced devices.

Bio
J. Max Cortner earned a BSEE from Iowa State University and an MSEE from the University of Minnesota. After 18 years as a Test Engineer in defense division of Sperry Corporation, Max moved to the Cardiac Rhythm Management division of Guidant, now the CRM Division of Boston Scientific. Boston Scientific CRM manufactures medical electronics including pacemakers and defibrillators. Max retired in 2016 as a Senior Fellow Engineer in Test Engineering, a group responsible for automated electronic testing of components, subassemblies and final product in manufacturing. He now consults in the areas of medical device and process validation testing. As an active member of the IEEE Twin Cities Section since 1972, Max has held offices in the Computer Society including local chapter chair and area chair. He worked with a group of activists who organized and successfully ran a 5 year series of multi-week technical symposia covering hot topics such as computer graphics and artificial intelligence. Max was among the founders of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Instrument and Measurement Society. He helped organize numerous local test conferences and served as General Chair for the IMTC 1998. In 1999, he served on the committee of the IEEE Sections Congress which was held in the Twin Cities. Max was Co-Chair of I2MTC held in Minneapolis in 2013. Having served as I2MTC Board Chair and VP of Education for the Instrumentation and Measurement Society Administration Committee, he now serves as President of the Society. Go to Top

Medical Device Test Strategies

Speaker: J. Max Cortner, IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society President
DATE: Thursday, September 20, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 06:00 p.m.; Seminar: 06:30 p.m. – 07:30 p.m.
PLACE: Ciena Optophotonics Lab (room T129), School of Advanced Technology, Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 1V8.
PARKING: Parking in Lots 8 and 9 after 5 p.m. is $5 flat rate, pay at a machine and display the ticket on your dashboard.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
The Electronic medical devices challenge traditional test strategies in a number of ways. Heightened demand for quality and reliability for these life impacting electronic packages conflicts with constraints to testing including limited physical access and test times. Regulatory agencies define the boundaries of testing, but seldom provide real solutions. Current research is driving great technology which represents the frontier for successful strategies for both design validation testing and production quality control testing. Physiologic sensors make devices more effective, but are difficult to characterize and control. Lessons from battery and accelerometer testing suggest strategies for these advanced devices.

Bio
J. Max Cortner earned a BSEE from Iowa State University and an MSEE from the University of Minnesota. After 18 years as a Test Engineer in defense division of Sperry Corporation, Max moved to the Cardiac Rhythm Management division of Guidant, now the CRM Division of Boston Scientific. Boston Scientific CRM manufactures medical electronics including pacemakers and defibrillators. Max retired in 2016 as a Senior Fellow Engineer in Test Engineering, a group responsible for automated electronic testing of components, subassemblies and final product in manufacturing. He now consults in the areas of medical device and process validation testing. As an active member of the IEEE Twin Cities Section since 1972, Max has held offices in the Computer Society including local chapter chair and area chair. He worked with a group of activists who organized and successfully ran a 5 year series of multi-week technical symposia covering hot topics such as computer graphics and artificial intelligence. Max was among the founders of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Instrument and Measurement Society. He helped organize numerous local test conferences and served as General Chair for the IMTC 1998. In 1999, he served on the committee of the IEEE Sections Congress which was held in the Twin Cities. Max was Co-Chair of I2MTC held in Minneapolis in 2013. Having served as I2MTC Board Chair and VP of Education for the Instrumentation and Measurement Society Administration Committee, he now serves as President of the Society. Go to Top

Women in Engineering and Diversity

Speaker: Sandro Perruzza, CEO, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE)
DATE: Monday September 3, 2018
TIME: Refreshments, Lunch, and Networking: 11:30 a.m.; Seminar: 12:00 p.m. – 01:30 p.m.
PLACE: The Marshes Golf Club, 320 Terry Fox Drive, Kanata. View Map
PARKING: Free parking available.
ADMISSION: Open to all, free of charge. Registration is required by e-mail. Space is limited:
REGISTRATION: Register here, or contact Eric Karmouch ekarmouch@marchnetworks.com.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website, or contact almuhtadi@ieee.org

Abstract
The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers champions the advancement of women in engineering, STEM and diversity. Mr. Sandro Perruzza, CEO of the Society, will discuss OSPEs advocacy with respect to these subjects. Special attention will be placed on a number of programs OSPE undertakes, including the Women in Engineering Mentorship Program, the Breaking Barriers for Women in STEM initiative, as well as the national 30-by-30 Campaign, designed to see an increase of female professional engineers to 30% by 2030. Mr. Perruzza will also provide some highlights on the engineering community in Ottawa and province-wide.

Bio
Sandro Perruzza is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE), the advocacy and member services organization for the engineering profession in Ontario. Sandro also serves on the Board of Directors of Minerva Canada, and on the Board of the Construction and Design Alliance of Ontario. While at OSPE, he serves as one of Ontario’s co-champions of Engineers Canada’s 30 by 30 goal and has spoken on behalf of Ontario’s engineers at the federal, provincial and municipal level on areas of importance, including innovation, infrastructure, environment, finance and economic growth. Prior to joining OSPE, Sandro was the Chief of Client Services at Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, the largest Health and Safety Association in Canada, during which time he was also member of the Ontario Ministry of Labour’s Prevention Operations Forum. He has been recognized for bringing a diverse group of stakeholders together to develop simple solutions to solve complex problems.

Convergence between Broadcast and Mobile Broadband

CESoc DL Speaker: Dr. Ulrich Reimers, IEEE CESoc Renowned Distinguished Speaker, and Professor Institut fuer Nachrichtentechnik (IfN), Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, Germany
DATE: Monday August 13, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 06:00 p.m.; Seminar: 06:30 p.m. – 07:30 p.m.
PLACE: Ciena Optophotonics Lab (room T129), School of Advanced Technology, Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 1V8.
PARKING: No fee after 5:00 p.m. at the Visitors’ Parking Lots 8 & 9. Please respect restricted areas.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
The mobile industry has been testing the feasibility of evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS), an LTE embedded broadcast approach to support a growing mobile video/TV consumption and the delivery of other highly popular data services. But, eMBMS has so far only been used in small scale scenarios with local coverage. When it comes to large scale service areas with regional or even national coverage, the cellular nature of eMBMS has not proven to be attractive for cost efficient LTE broadcast content distribution. Adapting LTE broadcast to traditional High Tower High Power (HTHP) broadcasting towers and introducing this as a third service layer, i.e. as an extension of LTE unicast and eMBMS can resolve this issue as it reduces network load, energy consumption and network costs for such popular services. Additionally, it creates the possibility of cooperation between the cellular and broadcasting networks enabling a cooperative spectrum usage.
The term “Tower Overlay over LTE-Advanced+ (TOoL+)” describes the transmission of an extension of LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) offering broadcast services, especially live video, from a traditional High Tower High Power (HTHP) broadcast infrastructure, rather than in a cellular LTE-A network. TOoL+ was invented and developed by IfN. Since LTE-A is optimized for the Low Tower Low Power (LTLP) environment of cellular networks, the use of a HTHP environment requires some modifications of the LTE-A standard, e.g. the definition of a dedicated broadcast carrier and of additional OFDM parameters with longer cyclic prefixes. These modifications are represented by the term LTE-A+. In one of the modes, TOoL+ even supports a cooperative spectrum use by DVB-T2 (or ATSC 3.0 in the future) and LTE-A+ if this is attractive to market players. IfN developed a Software Defined Radio (SDR) based TOoL+ implementation to demonstrate the technological feasibility of this approach. An extended version of this demo has been used during two field trials conducted in Paris, France and in the Aosta Valley, Italy to evaluate the proposed modifications and the cooperative spectrum use in a real environment. The analysis shows that LTE-A+ is a suitable technology for HTHP broadcast to mobile devices as its coverage area is similar to that of DVB-T2.
In line with the ideas underlying TOoL+, 3GPP has recently specified FeMBMS (Further evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) in Release 14. FeMBMS supports a long cyclic prefix and thus makes larger network cells feasible. At IfN we have already implemented FeMBMS and by the time of the lectures in Canada will have carried out a field trial in at least one European country.

Bio
Prof. Ulrich H. Reimers studied communication engineering at Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, Germany. Following research at the university’s Institut fuer Nachrichtentechnik (IfN – Institute for Communications Technology) he joined BTS Broadcast Television Systems in Darmstadt. Between 1989 and 1993 he was Technical Director of Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in Hamburg – one of the major public broadcasters in Germany. Since 1993 he has been a Professor at Technische Universitaet Braunschweig and Managing Director of the Institut fuer Nachrichtentechnik (Institute for Communications Technology). Prof. Reimers was chairman of the Technical Module within the DVB Project from 1993 to 2012. Since 2012 he is Vice President Strategic Development and Technology Transfer of Technische Universitaet Braunschweig. He is the author of more than 120 publications, among others of various text books on DVB. Prof. Reimers received a significant number of international and national awards. He is an IEEE Life Fellow and the recipient of the IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award. Recently Prof. Reimers and the research teams at IfN invented innovative solutions for the co-existence of broadcast and wireless broadband such as “Dynamic Broadcast”, “Tower Overlay over LTE-A+ (TOoL+)”, or “Redundancy on Demand”.
Prof. Reimers is a Renowned Distinguished Speaker of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society (CESoc). Go to Top

Canadian Telecoms and the Appearance of Choice: Are monopolies and government interference stifling innovation and growth in Canada?

Speaker: Michael Lalonde, Senior Solutions Manager,, PureColo Inc., Ottawa
DATE: Monday June 4, 2018
TIME: Refreshments, Lunch, and Networking: 11:30 a.m.; Seminar: 12:00 p.m. – 01:30 p.m.
PLACE: The Marshes Golf Club, 320 Terry Fox Drive, Kanata. View Map
PARKING: Free parking available.
ADMISSION: Open to all, free of charge. Registration is required by e-mail. Space is limited:
REGISTRATION: Register here, or contact Eric Karmouch ekarmouch@marchnetworks.com.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website, or contact almuhtadi@ieee.org

Abstract
Canadians currently pay more for telecom services than any other country in the world. What are some of the driving forces behind this? Is it for better or worst? What are the positive and negative consequences of such an environment for innovation and growth on the world stage? Michael Lalonde will give an overview of the Canadian landscape as it compares to other countries around the world and provide insight into how this impacts businesses on both a macro and micro level.

Bio
Michael Lalonde is a part owner and sales director of PureColo, Ottawa’s only commercially available carrier neutral data center located in the heart of Kanata’s technology hub, as well as a consultant for Ruckify and The Better Software Company. While completing two degrees from both Carleton University and Algonquin College, Michael started his career in consumer packaged goods working at Coca-Cola. He then started his own beverage line via Kickstarter.com which created a thirst for entrepreneurship ultimately leading him into the world of telecommunications and technology. Currently, Michael is helping with the creation of a new Ottawa Gatineau Internet Exchange in conjunction with growing the adoption of his carrier neutral data center. He believes strongly in freedom of choice and net neutrality, and advocates for both passionately in everything he does.

A Microinverter Based, Self-Forming Nanogrid for ON and OFF Grid Applications

Speaker: Edward Keyes M.Eng, Solantro Semiconductor Corporation
DATE: Thursday, May 24, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 06:00 p.m.; Seminar: 06:30 p.m. – 07:30 p.m.
PLACE: Ciena Optophotonics Lab (room T129), School of Advanced Technology, Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 1V8.
PARKING: No fee after 5:00 p.m. at the Visitors’ Parking Lots 8 & 9. Please respect restricted areas.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
This talk will disclose a novel, microinverter based, all AC nanogrid architecture using photovoltaic panels and lithium ion battery storage. Much of the nanogrid’s hardware is based on Solantro’s Digital Power Processor chipset. The nanogrid is capable of on-grid and off-grid (islanded) operation with “hot” switching between modes. While in grid tied mode the nanogrid can provide a variety of grid support services to increase the percentage of renewables on the utility grid. These include power smoothing, peak limiting, time shifting of PV generation, and California Rule 21 behaviors. The architecture is granular and highly scaleable. It can be scaled from a single microinverter and battery into the hundreds of devices. In islanded operation the nanogrid is self forming with battery operation controlled by a novel resistive droop control method, click here.

Bio
Mr. Keyes is the Nanogrid Projects Manager at Solantro Semiconductor where he leads the company’s development of nanogrid technology. He holds a B. Sc. in Applied Physics from the University of Waterloo and a Masters in Electronic Engineering from Carleton University. Mr. Keyes was formerly Chief Technology Officer of Semiconductor Insights (now Techinsights Inc.) where he led the company’s R&D activities. Previous to Techinsights Mr. Keyes held positions at Optotek Ltd, Xerox Research Corp. and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Mr. Keyes holds over 14 US patents in a range of areas including power electronics, nanogrids and integrated circuit analysis.

Talk 1: Machine Learning in Digital Medicine
Talk 2: Cellular and Device-to-Device Networks Coexistence

Speaker: Professor Giorgio Quer, Sr. Research Scientist and Director of Artificial Intelligence, Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California
, USA
DATE: Wednesday May 9, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 06:00 p.m.; Seminar: 06:30 p.m. – 07:30 p.m.
PLACE: Ciena Optophotonics Lab (room T129), School of Advanced Technology, Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 1V8.
PARKING: No fee after 5:00 p.m. at the Visitors’ Parking Lots 8 & 9. Please respect restricted areas.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
Talk organization: In the following, two possible topics for a DL talk. It would be possible to do two shorter talks (30 minutes) in the same institution.

Talk 1: Machine Learning in Digital Medicine (30 minutes):

Digitalize human beings using biosensors to track our complex physiologic system, process the large amount of data generated with artificial intelligence (AI) and change clinical practice towards individualized medicine: these are the goals of digital medicine. At Scripps, we promote a strong collaboration between computer scientist, engineers, and clinical researchers, as well as a direct partnership with health industry leaders. We propose new solutions to analyze large longitudinal data using statistical learning and deep convolutional neural networks to address different cardiovascular health issues. Among them, one of the greatest contributors to premature morbidity and mortality worldwide is hypertension. It is known that lowering blood pressure (BP) by just a few mmHg can bring substantial clinical benefits, but the assessment of the “true” BP for an individual is non-trivial, as the individual BP can fluctuate significantly. We analyze a large dataset of more than 16 million BP measurements taken at home with commercial BP monitoring devices, in order to unveil the BP patterns and provide insights on the clinical relevance of these changes.
Another prevalent health issue we investigated is atrial fibrillation (AFib), one of the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, which is associated with stroke, hospitalization, heart failure and coronary artery disease. AFib detection from single-lead electrocardiography (ECG) recordings is still an open problem, as AFib events may be episodic and the signal noisy. We conduct a thoughtful analysis of recent deep network architectures developed in the computer vision field, redesigned to be suitable for a one-dimensional signal, and we evaluate their performance for the AFib detection problem using 200 thousand seconds of ECG recording, highlighting the potential of this technology.

Looking to the future, we are investigating new applications of existing wearable devices, requiring advanced processing and clinical validation, and we are participating to the All of Us research program, an unprecedented research effort to gather data from one million people in the USA to accelerate the advent of precision medicine.

Talk 2: Cellular and Device-to-Device Networks Coexistence (30 minutes):

The coexistence of device-to-device (D2D) and cellular communications in the same band is a promising solution to the dramatic increase of wireless networks traffic load. Mobile nodes may communicate in a semi-autonomous way (D2D mode), with minimal or no control by the base station (BS), but they will create a harmful interference to the cellular communications.

To control this interference, we propose a distributed approach that allows the mobile nodes to acquire local information in real time, infer the impact on other surrounding communications towards the BS, and optimize mode and power selection performed with a network wide perspective. In a single-cell scenario, we develop a rigorous theoretical analysis to quantify the balance between the gain offered by a D2D transmission and its impact on the cellular network communications, while in a multi-cell scenario, we exploit a probabilistic approach with Bayesian networks.
As a practical application, we envision a network with one macro BS, multiple small cell BSs, and several mobile D2D users, where proactive caching can be used to take full advantage of this heterogeneity. In this scenario, we propose a robust optimization framework to derive a proactive caching policy that exploits all these communication opportunities and reduces congestion on the backhaul link.

The adoption of D2D technologies may save precious resources like spectrum and energy for future 5G networks by exploiting physical proximity between terminals, helping to counteract the increasing traffic demand in cellular networks, click here.

Bio
Giorgio Quer is a Sr. Research Scientist at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California, and he is the Director of Artificial Intelligence at the Scripps Translational Science Institute.
He received the B.Sc. degree, the M.Sc. degree (with honors) in Telecommunications Engineering and the Ph.D. degree (2011) in Information Engineering from University of Padova, Italy. In 2007 he was a visiting researcher at the Centre for Wireless Communication at the University of Oulu, Finland. During his Ph.D., he proposed a solution for the distributed compression of wireless sensor networks signals, based on the joint exploitation of Compressive Sensing and Principal Component Analysis. From 2010 to 2017 he was a visiting scholar at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology and then a postdoc at the Qualcomm Institute, University of California San Diego (UCSD), working on cognitive networks protocols and implementation.
He is a Senior Member of the IEEE, a member of the American Heart Association (AHA), and a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Communications society. His research interests include wireless sensor networks, network optimization, compressive sensing, probabilistic models, deep convolutional networks, wearable sensors, physiological signal processing, and digital medicine.

Navigating the Wireless IoT Implementation Waters

Speaker: Don Hawkins, RF Hardware Engineering Manager, Syntronict
DATE: Monday May 7, 2018
TIME: Refreshments, Lunch, and Networking: 11:30 a.m.; Seminar: 12:00 p.m. – 01:30 p.m.
PLACE: The Marshes Golf Club, 320 Terry Fox Drive, Kanata. View Map
PARKING: Free parking available.
ADMISSION: Open to all, free of charge. Registration is required by e-mail. Space is limited:
REGISTRATION: Register here, or contact Eric Karmouch ekarmouch@marchnetworks.com.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website, or contact almuhtadi@ieee.org

Abstract
The Wireless IoT landscape is covered with many standards and chipsets that can address almost any application. Choosing the right implementation method so your product achieves the design goals can be challenging. Don Hawkins will give an overview of this space and describe some of the challenges that Syntronic has seen while working with clients looking for wireless IoT solutions. He’ll provide some examples of choosing a system design that addresses the product goals while keeping cost and time to market top of mind.

Bio
Don Hawkins is the RF Hardware Engineering Manager at Syntronic Research and Development Canada Inc. After graduating from the University of Waterloo in 1998, he worked in RF Systems, Hardware and Software teams in Nortel, DragonWave, and BlackBerry. Currently, in addition to managing a growing team of 50 RF designers and engineers, Don is actively involved with Syntronic’s soccer and curling teams. Syntronic is a global engineering design house founded in Sweden in 1983. It has 16 locations worldwide and over 1,000 employees. The company specializes in the design and development of products/solutions and test systems including electronics, electro-mechanics, embedded and application software. Syntronic has active clients in various markets such as telecom, defence, automotive, industrial and medtech. All design centres offer services that cover the entire product life cycle, from the concept stage to the complete product or system. Their Ottawa office was established in 2014 as headquarters for the Americas and has rapidly grown to over 200 employees in Kanata North Technology Park. The new expanded location has an on-site anechoic chamber, as well as a variety of other lab equipment to perform RF, system, climate, digital, EMI, ESD, and other testing.

Advances and Challenges in 5G Wireless Security

Speaker: Professor Yi Qian, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska‐Lincoln, USA
DATE: Wednesday May 2, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 06:00 p.m.; Seminar: 06:30 p.m. – 07:30 p.m.
PLACE: Ciena Optophotonics Lab (room T129), School of Advanced Technology, Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 1V8.
PARKING: No fee after 5:00 p.m. at the Visitors’ Parking Lots 8 & 9. Please respect restricted areas.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
Wireless communication technologies are ubiquitous nowadays. Most of the smart devices have Cellular, Wi‐Fi, Bluetooth connections. These technologies have been developed for many years, nonetheless they are still being enhanced. More development can be expected in the next 5 years, such as faster transmission data rate, more efficient spectrum usage, lower power consumption, etc. Similarly, cellular networks have been evolved for several generations. For example, GSM as part of 2G family, UMTS as part of the 3G family, and LTE as part of 4G family. In the next few years, 5G cellular network systems will continue the evolution to keep up with the fast‐growing needs of customers. Secure wireless communications will certainly be part of other advances in the industry such as multimedia streaming, data storage and sharing in clouds, mobile cloud computing services, etc. This talk covers the topics on security for next generation mobile wireless networks, with focusing on 5G mobile wireless network systems, followed by a discussion on the challenges and open research issues in the area, click here.

Bio
Yi Qian received a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University. He is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska‐Lincoln (UNL). Prior to joining UNL, he worked in the telecommunications industry, academia, and the government. Some of his previous professional positions include serving as a senior member of scientific staff and a technical advisor at Nortel Networks, a senior systems engineer and a technical advisor at several start‐up companies, an assistant professor at University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, and a senior researcher at National Institute of Standards and Technology. His research interests include information assurance and network security, network design, network modeling, simulation and performance analysis for next generation wireless networks, wireless ad‐hoc and sensor networks, vehicular networks, smart grid communication networks, broadband satellite networks, optical networks, high‐speed networks and the Internet. He has a successful track record to lead research teams and to publish research results in leading scientific journals and conferences. Dr. Yi Qian is a member of ACM and a senior member of IEEE. He is serving on the editorial board for several international journals and magazines, including serving as the Associate Editor‐in‐Chief for IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine. He is a Distinguished Lecturer for IEEE Vehicular Technology Society and IEEE Communications Society. He is serving as the Technical Program Committee Chair for IEEE International Conference on Communications 2018. Go to Top

FPGA-based Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing for Smart Grid and Electric Motor Drive Applications

Speakers: Sébastien Cense and François Berthelot, OPAL-RT Technologies
DATE: Thursday, April 26, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments/Registration/Networking: 06:00 p.m.; Seminar: 06:30 p.m. – 07:30 p.m.
PLACE: Ciena Optophotonics Lab (room T129), School of Advanced Technology, Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 1V8.
PARKING: No fee after 5:00 p.m. at the Visitors’ Parking Lots 8 & 9. Please respect restricted areas.
ADMISSION: Free. Registration required. To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Wahab Almuhtadi.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website.

Abstract
This presentation will highlight OPAL-RT’s latest FPGA-based electrical hardware solver for real-time simulation of high-frequency grid and drive converters, for smart grid and electric motor drive applications. As the development of FPGA-based systems is typically for advanced users, OPAL-RT’s solution is oriented towards non-flashing technology using a generic and optimized approach to solve power electronics circuit for these applications. As motor controller’s algorithms become more complex, so do tests and development of new control strategies. This presentation will also highlight the latest developments of OPAL-RT efforts to work efficiently with these new challenges and to improve time to market of grid converters and electric motor drive systems. OPAL-RT turnkey system for ECU testing and rapid motor prototyping is in line with this philosophy as the user interface allows easy modification of motor or drive topology without requiring knowledge in FPGA or reprogramming the FPGA. The objective of this approach is to enable hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing with submicrosecond time steps, click here.

Bios
Sébastien Cense – eFPGASIM Team Leader
Sebastien Cense received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in micro electronics from the ISEN Engineering School in Lille, France in 2010. His final paper on FPGA embedded command of polyphase motor using space vector algorithm was conducted at the Arts et Metiers Paris Tech in collaboration with OPAL-RT. He joined OPAL-RT in October 2010 where he has been engaged in developing FPGA application solutions such as rapid control prototyping and on-board motor simulation. Sebastien also contributed to a number of technical presentations.

François Berthelot – Business Unit Manager – Eastern North America
François Berthelot received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the École Polytechnique de
Montréal, Canada in 2008. He received his post-graduate diploma in electrical engineering from the
École de technologie supérieure (ETS) de Montréal, Canada in 2013. His final project was related to FPGA motor model integration with controller in the loop. He joined OPAL-RT in 2008 and has been involved in worldwide technical support, R&D and sales activities for the last 10 years with the company. Go to Top

State of the Art in Today’s Fiber Optic Transmission

Speaker: Henry (Han) Sun, Distinguished Engineer, Infinera
DATE: Monday April 2, 2018
TIME: Refreshments, Lunch, and Networking: 11:30 a.m.; Seminar: 12:00 p.m. – 01:30 p.m.
PLACE: The Marshes Golf Club, 320 Terry Fox Drive, Kanata. View Map
PARKING: Free parking available.
ADMISSION: Open to all, free of charge. Registration is required by e-mail. Space is limited:
REGISTRATION: Register here, or contact Eric Karmouch ekarmouch@marchnetworks.com.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website, or contact almuhtadi@ieee.org

Abstract
Since 1980’s, the capacity growth of digital fiber optic networks has been met by increasing single channel data rate (TDM) and wavelength multiplexing (WDM). The prevalent modulation format used was intensity modulation and direct detection (a.k.a. IMDD). Inter-symbol interferences in the fiber increases strongly with baud rate and thereby severely degrades signal quality and limiting reach in high bit rate TDM systems. In the early 2000’s, commercial serial 40G systems were not able to successfully deploy in the field. For the 10 years between 2007 and 2017, the commercial single channel data rate have increased 10 fold, from 40Gbit to the state of art 400Gbit per optical wavelength. The winning recipe is a coherent receiver with intra-dyne detection followed by high speed A/D sampling and digital signal processing. The combination enables the use of both the amplitude and phase of the optical electric field, allowing digital filters to compensate for linear impairments in the fiber. With access to the complete field information, advanced phase-modulated formats such as polarization-multiplexed QAM are ubiquitous, and is reducing the cost of a transmitted bit in all aspects of the fiber optic network. Combining advanced modulation techniques with large scale photonic integration, the state of art transmission system today, as implemented by Infinera, carries multi-terabits of data over a super channel. The development of the coherent DSP is at the heart of the Infinera Ottawa office.

Bio
Han Sun received the B.Eng. degree in electrical engineering and post-graduate degree in photonics and semiconductor lasers, both from the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1997 and 1999, respectively. From 2001 to 2009, he was employed with Nortel, Ottawa, Ontario, doing research on future optical transport systems. From 2003 to 2006, he was instrumental in the development of DSP algorithms which led to the World’s first commercial 40Gb optical modem employing Pol-Mux QPSK modulation format. He is currently with Infinera Canada, architecting the next generation transceivers targeting multiple Terabits per second. He holds 20 granted US patents and 40 additional submissions. He has authored/co-authored over 39 technical journals papers and conference presentations. His publications have accumulated over 1200 citations. He has been a reviewer of IEEE Photonic Technology Letters and Journal of Lightwave Technology. His research interests include signal processing, receiver equalization, and error correction coding.Go to Top

Kick-Starting Test Automation

Speaker: Chris Huddleston, P.Eng., Test Automation Manager, General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada
DATE: Monday March 5, 2018.
TIME: Refreshments, Lunch, and Networking: 11:30 a.m.; Seminar: 12:00 p.m. – 01:30 p.m.
PLACE: The Marshes Golf Club, 320 Terry Fox Drive, Kanata. View Map
PARKING: Free parking available.
ADMISSION: Open to all, free of charge. Registration is required by e-mail. Space is limited:
REGISTRATION: Register here, or contact Eric Karmouch ekarmouch@marchnetworks.com.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website, or contact almuhtadi@ieee.org

Abstract
Test Automation is not a new thing, it has been around for decades in various forms. Although usage and maturity have evolved a lot over the last 20 years there are still a lot of projects that are just starting out on their Test Automation journey. This discussion will touch on some of the basics and motivation behind automating, but will focus more on how to get started and maximize your success. Topics will include advocating and getting the buy-in you need, different project needs and requirements and how to address them, various ways to automate based on your product and technologies, different ways to structure your team, some tools, and some common approaches and challenges.

Bio
Stephan Chris Huddleston is an engineer with 20 years of experience at all levels of the product development life cycle. After spending several years working in software development, he stumbled into the exciting world of testing and automation and has not looked back. In his current role as Test Automation Manager with General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada, he founded, and now leads, the group that works with teams from across the company to develop automation solutions that fit with product architecture, technologies, staff and programmatic needs, and customer expectations. Previously a Test Engineering Manager and System Integration / QA Lead, he developed the team that integrates and tests the system of software and hardware products that form the tactical voice and data networks for the Canadian Army. Also with General Dynamics, he has held development and test-related roles on programs such as the Hydra Naval Sonar Suite and the Maritime Helicopter Program. Prior to joining General Dynamics, he worked in various software development roles in the telecommunications industry. Chris holds an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo. He loves traveling and visiting new places, and enjoying the outdoors with his family and friends.

IBIONICS – Doing for Blind People What Cochlear is Doing for the Deaf

Speaker: Suzanne Grant, BSc, CD, Co-founder and CEO, iBIONICS
DATE: Monday February 5, 2018
TIME: Refreshments, Lunch, and Networking: 11:30 a.m.; Seminar: 12:00 p.m. – 01:30 p.m.
PLACE: The Marshes Golf Club, 320 Terry Fox Drive, Kanata. View Map
PARKING: Free parking available.
ADMISSION: Open to all, free of charge. Registration is required by e-mail. Space is limited:
REGISTRATION: Register here, or contact Eric Karmouch ekarmouch@marchnetworks.com.
MORE INFO: Ottawa ComSoc/CESoc/BTS Chapter website, or contact almuhtadi@ieee.org

Abstract
For years, visual implants using electrodes have demonstrated blind people can again see – a little. For decades Cochlear has demonstrated that by replicating natural sensory brain communication, deaf people can interpret speech, and even hear crickets chirping. iBIONICS is pulling these together – implants and sensory brain communication replication, so a playing child saying “look at me, look at me” can be seen by her blind father.
Suzanne will share how demonstrated technology is being used along with patented iBIONICS technology to move the bar in bionic vision capability. She will discuss how embracing converging technologies, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence will improve user experience for blind people, bionic surgeons and clinical support teams helping DiamondEye recipients learn a revised sensory brain language.
Suzanne will speak about how the Canadian Eco-system has helped iBIONICS get where they are today and share some insight into winning grants, competitions and awards. She will wrap her talk up with the necessity for a bold global strategy that embraces diversity and entrepreneurial grit.

Bio
Suzanne’s curious and adventurous nature propelled her through a diverse career of discovery, travel and pushing boundaries. From Canadian Military engineering officer she pivoted to entrepreneurship creating – The Art of Business in a frontier market. This strategic communications agency helped fortune 500 C Suite executives launch companies in emerging markets. Today, as CEO and co-founder of iBIONICS, Suzanne’s mission is to return sight to blind people. She lives by her mantra – The Art of the Possible blending cutting edge technology and social change with making the world better.