Wireless Research Centre

Adriel joined the University of Canterbury in October 2013 as a Senior Research Engineer at the Wireless Research Centre.
Adriel has 10 years of industrial experience in wireless telecommunications engineering.
Most recently he was with NEC Australia as a 3GPP standards delegate and IP producer for LTE-advanced.
He spent four years at Agere Systems/LSI, developing smart algorithms for low power WCDMA receiver ASICs. Adriel has also worked with several startups where he was able to successfully apply his expertise in signal processing, algorithm development, machine learning and information theory.
He has published ten peer reviewed papers and eight international patents.

My primary research area is communication system and algorithm design. Research themes within this area include reduced complexity algorithms, high throughout system and modulation design, and incorporating more realistic assumptions and models into my research.

Technology has an ever increasing impact on our daily lives. The world has some massive challenges, which need to be solved. It is more critical than ever to have a diverse group of people designing the next generation of technology to serve our diverse society. This leads to an increasing need for socio-technical design for 5G and eventually 6G communication systems.

My research spans from the highly technical engineering of channel models, error control coding, detection, equalization and decoding, coded modulation, cognitive radio, mmwave communications etc, through to engineering education research and then on to diversity, equity and inclusion research.

I am active in the areas of Forest entomology, invasive species, biosecurity, biodiversity and ecosystem processes, using new technologies for active surveillance that informs incursion response and eradication.

My research has resulted in awards for new mobile electrophysiology equipment. I have developed new insect tracking (Harmonic Radar, Active transmitter, and retroreflective) methods for forest insects in collaboration with University of Canterbury College of Engineering. My interests include the ecological impacts of artificial light and forest management on invertebrates.

I am involved in citizen science and participatory networks, and have completed a Biological Heritage National Science Challenge and Curious Minds contestable projects to deliver Find-A-Pest a new mobile app for general surveillance reporting (Findapest.nz).

My interest and expertise extends to phytosanitary treatments (including heating, irradiation, ecological risk assessment and systems approaches) for biosecurity and market access. I apply Bayesian networks to ecological problems.

As a hands on engineer and when Fred was research active, his areas of interest were: ASIC design – primarily CMOS; Microprocessor design - both RISC and CISC; Mainframe/mid-frame/small frame computer architecture; Microprocessor and various I/O mainframe board designs; Desktop mother boards

In general, I am interested in the design and performance evaluation of architectures and protocols for packet-oriented networks, in particular wireless ad-hoc type networks, wireless sensor networks and mission-critical wireless networks.

I have a strong research interest in mathematical modelling of power electronic circuits that are connected to AC power supply networks. The aim of this modelling is two-fold; for the development of improved control strategies, and for assessing harmonic current and voltage levels, taking into full account the characteristics of the ac supply network and other electronic devices or loads that are connected to it. This modelling approach began with HVdc converters, and has been extended to a number of FACTs devices, and modelling of loads for active harmonic filter design. It is naturally applicable to renewable energy and distributed generation technologies, where the power source is likely to be connected to the AC system via power electronics. This type of plant has high controllability, but zero inertia, posing unique control problems. This has extended to modelling of transients in electric power systems, including development of fault location hardware and algorithms.

Signal processing expert with specialist skills in wireless communications- particularly multi-antenna and multi-user systems. Industry track record mapping algorithms to hardware and knowledge of future generation mobile wireless standards. 15 years directing team research, including experience managing research teams with up to 30 members multi-disciplinary teams. Inventor on 11 patents.

Application areas include critical communications, private wireless networks particularly for infrastructure (infrastructure resilience), UAV (drone) swarming, transport including connected and autonomous vehicles, environmental monitoring, biosecurity (pest tracking/remote trap monitoring), wireless positioning & tracking, vehicle automation within warehouses to support logistics.