Engineering Thesis 2026

For the upcoming academic year I propose the following topics:

  1. [THIS TOPIC IS RESERVED] An IEEE 802.11bn Coordinated Beamforming Channel Access Simulator based on the Python NumPy Library – The goal is to implement and test a simulator of IEEE 802.11 channel access for coordinated beamforming, a variant of multi-AP coordination. The simulator should be Monte Carlo-based (similarly to this DCF simulator), i.e., simulate consecutive transmission rounds, using Python’s NumPy library. All channel access is coordinated and all transmissions are beamformed. A single beamforming pattern should be selected. APs and stations should be placed on a 2D plane and interference between transmissions calculated using the TGax model. Beamforming strategies to consider include directing the highest gain towards the intended destination as well as directing the lowest gain toward the recipient of another transmission.
  2. [THIS TOPIC IS RESERVED] An IEEE 802.11 Channel Access and Frame Exchange Simulator based on the Python SimPy Library – The goal is to implement and test a discrete-event simulator of IEEE 802.11 channel access using Python’s SimPy library. The simulator should be similar to this DCF simulator but include not only the channel access mechanism of IEEE 802.11 (i.e., DCF), but also the four-way frame exchange: RTS, CTS, DATA, ACK. Therefore, each node should run a state machine, e.g., so that received DATA frames are discarded if the node is awaiting a CTS. Validation tests should show the operation under frame loss conditions (e.g., ACK timeout), but otherwise all nodes are within a single collision domain.
  3. [THIS TOPIC IS RESERVED] Vulnerability of Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) Wi-Fi Equipment to Recent Cyberattacks – The goal is to assess how typical Wi-Fi equipment is vulnerable to recently published (since 2022) security attacks. A list of such attacks can be found in the recent publications of Mathy Vanhoef. For example, the Framing Frames attack enables bypassing Wi-Fi encryption by forging power-save frames and manipulating transmit queues. Within the scope of this thesis, recreate selected modern attacks against Wi-Fi equipment and check if devices are vulnerable.

Requirements:

  • Knowledge of Wi-Fi basics
  • Familiarity with relevant programming languages (Python or C++)
  • Good knowledge of the English language

I put forward these topics for the consideration of 3rd year students of

  • Elektronika i Telekomunikacja,
  • Electronics and Telecommunications,
  • Teleinformatyka,
  • Cyberbezpieczeństwo,

who plan to complete their engineer’s degrees by defending their diploma theses in January 2026.

If you are interested in writing a thesis under my supervision, please send an e-mail to szott@agh.edu.pl with the subject “Praca inżynierska 2026”. Please write a few words about yourself and your motivation. Relevant information (such as past grades from related courses) is appreciated.

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