Projecte matriculat
Títol: Development of a Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Radio Telescope: SDR Front-End and Data Adquisition
Director/a: GELONCH BOSCH, ANTONI
Departament: TSC
Títol: Development of a Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Radio Telescope: SDR Front-End and Data Adquisition
Data inici oferta: 27-01-2026 Data finalització oferta: 27-09-2026
Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
DG ENG AERO/SIS TEL
| Tipus: Individual | |
| Lloc de realització: EETAC | |
| Segon director/a (UPC): GUTIÉRREZ CABELLO, JORDI | |
| Paraules clau: | |
| Radio Telescope, SDR, | |
| Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats: | |
| This thesis is devoted to the design, implementation, and characterization of a low-cost, high-flexibility radio telescope utilizing Software-Defined Radio (SDR) technology. Traditional radio astronomy instrumentation often relies on expensive, application-specific hardware that lacks the adaptability required for multi-purpose astronomical observations. By leveraging the versatility of SDR, this project aims to democratize access to radio astronomy for educational and small-scale research environments.
The system architecture consists of a parabolic reflector antenna and a high-sensitivity feedhorn optimized for observations in the range spanning from MHz to a few GHz. The signal chain incorporates a low-noise amplifier (LNA) and a bandpass filter to mitigate terrestrial interference before digitizing the signal via an RTL-SDR or similar high-bandwidth SDR platform. The core of the project focuses on the development of a digital signal processing (DSP) pipeline. This software layer performs integration, and baseline subtraction. Calibration will be conducted using the "hot/cold" method, utilizing the ground and the empty sky as thermal references to determine the system's equivalent noise temperature. A design requirement is that the entire system should be prepared to facilitate the incorporation of interferometry mechanisms. Activities Plan: 1) SDR Front-end subsystems design 2) Subsystems development and integration 3) Performance system analysis |
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| Orientació a l'estudiant: | |
| Horari d'atenció a estudiants per a l'assignació de projecte: |
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