The first question most readers of an O’Reilly book might ask is about the choice of the
cover animal. In this case, “why a duck?” Well, for the record, our first choice was a
unicorn decked out in glitter and a rainbow sash.
That response always gets a laugh (we are sure you just giggled a little), but it also brings
to the surface a common perception of software-defined networks among many expe‐
rienced network professionals. Although we think there is some truth to this perception,
there is certainly more meat than myth to this unicorn.
Short-range communications is one of the most relevant as well as diversified fields of en-
deavour in wireless communications. As such, it has been a subject of intense research and
development worldwide, particularly in the last decade. There is no reason to believe that this
trend will decline. On the contrary, the rapidly crystallizing vision of a hyper-connected world
will certainly strengthen the role of short-range communications in the future. Concepts such
as wireless social networks, Internet of things, car communications, home and office network-
ing, wireless grids and personal communications heavily rely on short-range communications
technology.
When thinking about mobile radio engineers there is a tendency to
assume that the engineering function relates solely to the technical
aspects of the network, such as the equipment design or the network
design. That is certainly a key part of the role of a mobile radio engineer.
However,increasinglyengineersarerequiredtointeractwithprofession-
als from other divisions. The “complete wireless professional” should
know about mobile networks; fixed networks; other types of mobile
systems; regulatory and government policy; the requirements of the
users; and financial, legal, and marketing issues.
When thinking about mobile radio engineers there is a tendency to
assume that the engineering function relates solely to the technical
aspects of the network, such as the equipment design or the network
design. That is certainly a key part of the role of a mobile radio engineer.
However,increasinglyengineersarerequiredtointeractwithprofession-
als from other divisions.
This is a book on wireless communication. That usually means communica-
tion by radio, though ultrasound and infrared light are also used occasion-
ally. The term “wireless” has come to mean nonbroadcast communication,
usually between individuals who very often use portable or mobile equip-
ment. The term is rather vague, of course, and there are certainly borderline
applications that are called wireless without falling exactly into the above
definition.
This book is intended for researchers, teachers, and students willing to ex-
plore conceptual bridges between the fields of Automatic Control and Power
Electronics. The need to bring the two disciplines closer has been felt, for
many years, both by Power Electronics specialists and by Automatic Control
theorists, as a means of fruitful interaction between the two scientific com-
munities. There have, certainly, been many steps given in that direction in
the last decade as evidenced by the number of research articles in journals,
special sessions in conferences, and summer courses throughout the world.
It all started rather innocuously. I walked into Dr GT Murthy’s office one fine day, andchanged my life. “Doc” was then the General Manager, Central R&D, of a very largeelectrical company headquartered in Bombay. In his new state-of-the-art electronics center,he had hand-picked some of India’s best engineers (over a hundred already) ever assembledunder one roof. Luckily, he too was originally a Physicist, and that certainly helped me gainsome empathy. Nowadays he is in retirement, but I will always remember him as athoroughly fair, honest and facts-oriented person, who led by example. There were severalthings I absorbed from him that are very much part of my basic engineering persona today.You can certainly look upon this book as an extension of what Doc started many years agoin India … because that’s what it really is! I certainly wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t metDoc. And in fact, several of the brash, high-flying managers I’ve met in recent years,desperately need some sort of crash course in technology and human values from Doc!
