TELIAMADE ultrasonic indoor location system: Application as a teaching tool

This paper proposes TELIAMADE (an indoor location system based on ultrasonic and radiofrequency signals) to be used as a teaching tool in the context of Telecommunication Engineering. Due to its simple design, the versatility of its configuration and the characteristics of the involved signals, TELIAMADE is an appropriate tool for teaching basic aspects in location systems, digital communication systems, encoded signalling, microcontroller programming, radio protocols or advanced signal processing techniques. The TELIAMADE design allows students to sample, store and analyze signals at different points of the circuits by using conventional oscilloscopes. Furthermore, some parameters can be configured, allowing students to assess the advantages and inconveniences of each specific configuration with respect to features such as bit-rate, range, robustness against noise or updating period. Our system presents advantages in the field of teaching for understanding commercial systems for location (like GPS) or communication (like wireless digital communication systems).