Facilities and Labs
Research in the department is conducted in a variety of laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, with research funding coming from federal, state, and private sources.
Center for Advanced Imaging Ladar (CAIL)
The Center for Advanced Imaging Ladar conducts research into the applications, phenomenology, and modeling of imaging ladar and ladar fused with digital imagery (texel images). Projects have included the development and enhancement of LadarSIM (an engineering simulation of complete ladar systems), several hardware designs for imaging ladar, and the exploitation of texel images for 3D image formation and visualization.
Anderson Wireless Center
Research in the Anderson Wireless Center is oriented around the generation, propagation, and reception of electromagnetic waveforms. Projects in this laboratory deal with wireless radio and telemetry systems, with special focus on antenna designs. Special facilities include an electromagnetic anechoic chamber, antenna range, and suite of high frequency test equipment.
Radio Frequency Micro/Nano Electromechanical Systems Laboratory
In this laboratory, microelectromechanical machines (MEMS) are married with Electromagnetic circuitry to build reconfigurable electrical devices.
Information Dynamics Laboratory (IDL)
Research in the Information Dynamics Laboratory (IDL) deals with the general problem of turning data into information using techniques of statistical signal and image processing, communications, statistical analysis, and error correction coding. Projects have included speech recognition, advanced digital receiver design, error correction algorithms, filter design, data mining, and high-dimensional data analysis. IDL is also the home for the recurring Research Experience for Undergraduates in Communications, Signal Processing, and Coding.
Center for Space Engineering
The Center for Space Engineering engages in the design of scientific instruments and missions for probing the Earth’s atmosphere and beyond. Research includes the design of small satellites and spacecraft instrumentation.
Robust Intelligent Sensing and Control (RISC) Lab
At RISC lab, we conduct research broadly in the area of autonomous unmanned vehicles. The research focus is on developing guidance, navigation, and control algorithms to perform intelligent sensing missions. The main objective is to close the loop between estimation and control to maximize the information gathered from sensors on board vehicles. The applications include navigation of single and multiple heterogeneous autonomous vehicles in GPS denied areas, precision agriculture and environment monitoring using unmanned aerial vehicles, cooperative localization, and control multiple cube satellites.
USU Bridge Lab
The BRIDGE lab focuses on interdisciplinary research to create gateways between Computer Architecture and Physical Design Automation. The phenomenal growth of integration capacity accompanied with growth in design complexity has far outpaced the development in design automation tools and widely adopted design methodologies.
Acoustics Laboratory
An acoustic anechoic chamber forms the centerpiece of this laboratory.
Micron Research Center (MRC)
The Micron Research Center was founded with the support of the Micron Foundation. Current research includes error correction coding support for high density memory systems, memory controllers for high-performance 3D systems, and mitigating process variables effects in DRAM fabrication.
Communications Network Innovation lab
In the Communications Network Innovation lab, we conduct research in the broad areas of 5G wireless communications and networks, Internet of Things, Cyber Physical System and Smart Grid Communications. Future wireless networks and cyber physical systems need to support high capacity, full motion video and multimedia applications, a variety of standards, be energy efficient, secure, scalable and sustainable. The research areas include next generation wireless communications and networking technologies, big data and cloud computing, multimedia QoS/QoE, and cyber-physical systems. Specifically, we are doing research in 5G wireless system design and optimization, wireless Cloud RAN design, data offloading and cloud/fog computing, scalable and reliable smart grid communications infrastructure design.