Master Thesis: Performance of Future Wi-Fi Systems in Realistic Deployments

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About this opportunity:

We are looking for a talented Master's student to evaluate how new Wi-Fi 8 features (IEEE 802.11bn, “Ultra High Reliability”) perform in realistic deployments.

Published performance results for these features are primarily based on small, idealised topologies, often with two access points and a limited number of stations. Whether the reported gains remain valid in a real office building—with realistic walls, access point placement, channel reuse, interference, and hidden-node conditions—remains largely unanswered.

In this thesis, you will select one Wi-Fi 8 feature, implement it in a network simulation environment, and evaluate it using a digital twin of an office building. Possible features include Non-Primary Channel Access (NPCA), Multi-AP Coordination (Co-SR, Co-BF, Co-TDMA, and Co-RTWT), Dynamic Sub-band Operation (DSO), Dynamic Bandwidth Expansion (DBE), or coexistence with technologies such as Bluetooth.

The work will be carried out in close cooperation with the internal TWIST project and will contribute to ongoing standardisation and product development.

What you will do:

• Study the selected mechanism in the relevant Wi-Fi specifications and translate the specification into implementable behaviour.

• Implement the feature in a network simulation environment.

• Set up a realistic office-building scenario using a digital twin with actual access point placement and channel assignment.

• Design and run a simulation campaign and quantify system performance, including throughput and latency.

• Compare the results with performance figures reported for small, idealised topologies used during standardisation.

• Analyse how performance depends on access point density, channel reuse, interference, and hidden-node geometry.

• Investigate which protocol parameters influence the outcome and under what conditions the feature stops helping or starts harming performance.

The skills you bring:

• You are enrolled in or recently admitted to a Master's programme in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Communication Systems, or a related field.

• You have a solid foundation in wireless communications, including IEEE 802.11 or another wireless technology.

• You are willing to read technical specifications and translate them into system behaviour.

• You have programming experience in Java or Python.

• You have experience with data analysis and presenting results clearly.

• You have strong technical writing and communication skills.

• You have a structured problem-solving mindset and attention to detail.

The following are considered a plus:

• Experience with discrete-event or network simulation.

• Familiarity with IEEE 802.11 medium access control and channel access mechanisms.

• Experience with statistical analysis and plotting tools for post-processing.

• Interest in wireless standardisation.