News 2020

Best Publication Award 2020

Dezember 23, 2020.
The Institute for Information Technology awarded the “Best Publication 2020 Award” to Kai-Uwe Storek. The winning publication entitled “Multi-Satellite Multi-User MIMO Precoding: Testbed and Field Trial” has been authored by Robert Schwarz and Kai-Uwe Storek. The paper, which was presented at the flagship conference IEEE International Conference on Communications 2020, demonstrates a complete satellite transmission scenario applying full frequency reuse – an upcoming technique for V/UHTS satellites to further improve the spectral efficiency of satellite systems. The impressive demonstration involved two co-located geostationary satellites that jointly utilize a common frequency band as well as two COTS DVB-S2x receivers. With on-ground MU-MIMO precoding for spatial multiplexing and advanced synchronization algorithms, the authors prepared and implemented an end-to-end testbed for the next generation of UHTS and fractionated satellite systems.
Congratulations to Kai and Robert!

VDE Bayern Award Ceremony

Dezember 01, 2020.
The renowned VDE Bayern Award has been granted to Dr.-Ing. Thomas Delamotte for his doctoral thesis „MIMO Feeder Links for Very High Throughput Satellite Systems“. His work has been selected as one of the most significant works published in the last year by bavarian universities in the domain of electrical, electronic and information engineering. As part of his research, Dr.-Ing. Delamotte has developed an innovative multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) approach for high-speed communication links between ground stations and geostationary Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS).
The VDE Bayern Award ceremony was originally planned to be held at the prestigious Bayerischer Hof on November 12, 2020. This event was, however, cancelled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the director and the spokesman of the VDE Bayern, Peter Rief and Klaus Bayer, visited the Bundeswehr University to hand over the VDE Bayern Award to Dr.-Ing. Delamotte in person. The ceremony took place in presence of the university president, Prof. Merith Niehuss, and the vice-president for Research, Prof. Eva-Maria Kern.
The VDE is the German engineering society for electrical, electronic and information technologies. In Bavaria, it counts around 5000 individual members and 170 member companies.

SeRANIS

November, 2020.
The research center SPACE and the Munich Center of Space Communications have been awarded a grant issued by the German Government to perform a small satellite mission. Until 2024, the mission called SeRANIS (Seamless Radio Access networks for Internet of Space) will demonstrate various radio communication technologies as well as GNSS and radio science experiments on a small satellite platform. The communication technologies include advanced beamforming and precoding for 6G networks, robust and resilient IoT and LPWAN technologies as well as optical / laser communications and artificial intelligence methods. “In this project, we will transfer pioneering research results into meaningful real-world prototypes and in-orbit verification experiments” is Prof. Andreas Knopp (PI) excited about this outstanding opportunity. He adds “the goals set out by the German government, however, do not only include successful research but also the involvement and participation of the German space industry and startups to transfer research into viable products and to strengthen the industry’s leading market position. This way, our research will create societal impact.” The SeRANIS project is financed by a bigger 500 Mio research stimulus package set out by the German government to combat economic shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a successful joint proposal, which included not only outstanding research concepts but also a unified approach for a startup and business incubator, the Bundeswehr Universities in Munich and Hamburg have been awarded this research grant.

Scientists at the Research Center Space have a decisive influence on the first Munich Aerospace Space Report.

May, 2020.
The first publication issued by the Munich based "Space Valley" marks the beginning of a unique series of publications that will inform about the current status and the enormous diversity of regional space research and, at the same time, makes the research available to a wider public. Moreover, it demonstrates the great potential of new applications and technologies. In addition to Prof. Förstner and Prof. Knopp, both chairperson of the FZ SPACE, Emeriti Prof. Hein and Prof. Häusler together with Dr. Thomas Andert have contributed. Further impressive articles were provide by members of the research institute CODE as well as UniBw M-Alumnus and ex-astronaut Thomas Reiter. Topic-wise the report covers a broad range from manned space flight and earth observation to new space, communications and navigation as well as cybersecurity.
Munich Aerospace is a Bavarian innovation network. It has been established to act as the interface between science, industry and politics. The non-profit organization has been initiated by the Technical University of Munich, the German Aerospace Center, the Bundeswehr University Munich and Bauhaus Luftfahrt. It stands for the strengthening of the Munich region as a significant location of internationally recognized space research – Germany’s Space Valley.
You can download the Space Report directly from the Munich Aerospace website: https://www.munich-aerospace.de/de/

Publication of the IEEE Beyond 5G Satellite Roadmap – 1st Edition

April, 2020.
The Chair of Signal Processing has participated together with other expert groups from academic and industry in the preparation of the International Network Generations Roadmap (INGR) – 1st Edition. The establishment of this roadmap has been supported by the IEEE Future Networks „Enabling 5G and Beyond“ initiative with the objective to identify in a 10 year horizon the challenges to be addressed in the design of next-generation connectivity solutions.
In this context, our institute has brought its vision in the chapter dedicated to satellite communications especially with contributions related to the following topics:

• Innovative MIMO approaches: The tremendous demand for higher throughputs in next-generation satellite systems requires the use of ground-breaking technologies. Multiple antennas schemes, allowing the transmission of independent data streams in the same time-frequency ressource block, will bring here an unprecented leap in performance. GEO, MEO and LEO systems will all benefit from this novel approach.
• Massive machine type communications (mMTC)/Internet of Things (IoT) with GEO satellites: Providing a network access to small devices (e.g. sensors) in remote areas will encourage new applications for mMTC/IoT which is a strong pillar of future communication networks. Developing advanced solutions to guarantee the uncoordinated access of millions of devices to the satellite network represents here a key challenge. Energy efficiency is also of paramount importance to allow a reliable transfer of data from transmitters with limited power supply.

Wheras the first edition of the INGR has recently been published, preparatory works for a second edition, in which the Chair of Signal Processing will also be involved, have already started.

Satellites for the 5th generation of mobile communications

February 27, 2020.
As part of the successful completion of the ESA-sponsored SATis5 project, the "Space" research center is demonstrating a space application for the next generation of mobile communications 5G.
Space applications such as satellite communications are about to become an integral part of our communications infrastructure. Over the past two years, the ESA SATis5 project has impressively demonstrated with several testbed demonstrations, such as at the Mobile World Congress 2019 or the IEEE 5G World Forum, that satellite communication can also enable terrestrial mobile radio applications. The Munich Center for Space Communications, which is an integral part of the newly founded and broadly based "Space" research center at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich, has made a significant contribution with its experimental satellite ground station to the development of a Europe-wide testbed for the investigation of "5G applications via satellite".
A major advantage of satellite over earth-based solutions is that there is no need to install wiring up to the cell tower. Laying fiber optic and copper cables is expensive and only worthwhile in urban areas. This puts remote areas at a competitive disadvantage.
The advantages of satellites are now being recognized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the standardization organization that is driving the specification of mobile communications (3G, 4G and 5G) worldwide. Professor Andreas Knopp, spokesman for the Space Research Center at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich, is convinced that the tests carried out in SATis5 have provided important impulses for standardization: "Projects such as SATis5 have made a decisive contribution in recent years to the fact that satellite communication technologies have now been included in 5G as part of a separate 3GPP work item. The European Space Agency ESA in particular, along with the national delegations, has provided important funding for this, which is now paying off".
The space industry is also receiving a boost from private providers who are driving forward the commercial use of space and enabling low-cost launches of satellites into lower earth orbits. The advantage of lower orbits is the significantly reduced latency compared to the geostationary orbit at 36,000 km. Within the ESA SATis5 project, 5G use cases for satellites in geostationary orbit as well as in lower orbits of about 8,000 km were investigated for the first time in a testbed.

Visiting Professor of Space Communications Technology in the Space Systems Academic Group (SSAG)

On February 15, 2020, Prof. Andreas Knopp followed an invitation of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, to serve as a Visiting Professor of Space Communications Technology in the Space Systems Academic Group (SSAG). Alike the Bundeswehr University in this country, the NPS is the United States Navy’s academic educational institution and research university, offering programs for Masters and PhDs. Within the NPS, the SSAG forms a cross-faculty research center with a focus on small satellites and cube-sat technology. The group operates a unique worldwide network of ground stations for small satellites in a low earth orbit. With a substantial 20 years heritage in small satellite technology, the group has achieved high reputation among the most pioneering and leading institutions of this rapidly developing technological discipline. Since responsive space capabilities are quickly gaining importance within the military of all NATO member countries, Germany has recently made significant efforts to develop competences and capabilities in both research as well as related scientific education. Together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Bundeswehr University Munich has become a second core strategic partner to advance Germany’s responsive space capabilities and the main pillar for academic education in space technology. In this context, Andreas Knopp who is also a chairperson of the University’s newly founded research center SPACE, exploits a unique opportunity to work in a leading environment for rapid space projects and successful mission design. Moreover, while getting insight into some of the most successful academic space education programs, he will be contributing recent scientific results and lectures in satellite communications to expand and intensify the relationship between both institutions.
More information:
https://www.unibw.de/space
https://nps.edu
https://nps.edu/web/ssag/faculty

Research Center SPACE

On 13.02.2020 the new research center SPACE was inaugurated at the Bundeswehr University Munich. As the chairpersons of the board, Prof. Roger Förstner (LRT faculty member) and Prof. Andreas Knopp (EIT faculty member) were elected. In the research center SPACE, active scientists and associated experts of all disciplines related to satellite and space technology work together, acting as a holistic and unique “one-stop-shop” for space research and technology transfer. Beyond the goals of intensified research and extended collaboration in a national as well as international frame, the research center will act as Germany’s pivot point for comprehensive educational programs on the topmost scientific level and matching international standards. As a first major step, a novel PhD program for space enthusiasts will be developed, followed by a Master’s program for different stakeholders in governmental satellite communications.
More information: https://www.unibw.de/space

Honorary professorship „Information technology systems for Human-Machine-Communication“

January 30, 2020: The faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology expands its expertise by awarding Dr.rer.nat. Dietrich Manstetten to be an honorary faculty member due to his internationally recognized reputation. The president of the university, Prof. Dr.Merith Niehuss appointed him to an honorary professor lecturing and supporting research in the field of Human-Machine-Communication. This field coincides with Dr. Manstetten’s professional activity at Robert Bosch GmbH as a leader of the research department for Human-Machine-Interaction. Dr. Manstetten gave a course on “Application of Information technology – the designs of automotive navigation systems” since 11 years already which attracted a lot of students even if the course was given during weekends. The professorship is affiliated with the chair of Signal Processing hold by Prof. Dr. A. Knopp. Dr. Manstetten will especially support the new branch “connected life” in the educational program of the faculty.