Emna Ben Yacoub

Troubleshooting: Excellent!

The communications engineer managed to improve error correction methods for communication networks by developing simple decoding algorithms that can correct data errors drawing on significantly less information.

New correction procedure

The challenge for the developers of the future 5G communication network is to transfer data error-free and in real time. In order to achieve this, they might soon be using new data correction methods developed by Emna Ben Yacoub, who studied at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and is currently working on her doctorate at the Department of Communications Engineering.

"In these procedures, messages are exchanged between nodes – similar to a network. We were able to show how well this process works by limiting the number of messages that can be exchanged to two or three".

Error-free data transmission

Correction procedures like this are of particular interest in applications where a lot of data has to be processed in short time or where the power supply is limited. This applies, for example, to the transatlantic fiber optic cable, the "backbone" of the Internet, but also to simple WLAN modules or to applications in space travel.

"Error correction can require a lot of computing time and energy. That's why I'm trying to develop methods that are very efficient in this respect. Further, I am trying to determine the limits of error-free transmission using my 'simple correction procedures'," explains the daughter of an engineer and a teacher.