Trajectories and resource management of flying base stations for C-V2X

In a vehicular scenario where the penetration of cars equipped with wireless communication devices is far from 100% and application requirements tend to be challenging for a cellular network not specifically planned for it, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), carrying mobile base stations, becomes an interesting option. In this article, we consider a cellular-vehicle-to-anything (C-V2X) application and we propose the integration of an aerial and a terrestrial component of the network, to fill the potential unavailability of short-range connections among vehicles and address unpredictable traffic distribution in space and time. In particular, we envision a UAV with C-V2X equipment providing service for the extended sensing application, and we propose a UAV trajectory design accounting for the radio resource (RR) assignment. The system is tested considering a realistic scenario by varying the RRs availability and the number of active vehicles. Simulations show the results in terms of gain in throughput and percentage of served users, with respect to the case in which the UAV is not present

Collision Avoidance Resource Allocation for LoRaWAN

Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.Funding: This research was partially funded by the Andalusian Knowledge Agency (project A-TIC- 241-UGR18), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project TEC2016-76795-C6-4-R) and the H2020 research and innovation project 5G-CLARITY (Grant No. 871428).The number of connected IoT devices is significantly increasing and it is expected to reach more than two dozens of billions of IoT connections in the coming years. Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) have become very relevant for this new paradigm due to features such as large coverage and low power consumption. One of the most appealing technologies among these networks is LoRaWAN. Although it may be considered as one of the most mature LPWAN platforms, there are still open gaps such as its capacity limitations. For this reason, this work proposes a collision avoidance resource allocation algorithm named the Collision Avoidance Resource Allocation (CARA) algorithm with the objective of significantly increase system capacity. CARA leverages the multichannel structure and the orthogonality of spreading factors in LoRaWAN networks to avoid collisions among devices. Simulation results show that, assuming ideal radio link conditions, our proposal outperforms in 95.2% the capacity of a standard LoRaWAN network and increases the capacity by almost 40% assuming a realistic propagation model. In addition, it has been verified that CARA devices can coexist with LoRaWAN traditional devices, thus allowing the simultaneous transmissions of both types of devices. Moreover, a proof-of-concept has been implemented using commercial equipment in order to check the feasibility and the correct operation of our solution.Andalusian Knowledge Agency A-TIC-241-UGR18Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness TEC2016-76795-C6-4-RH2020 research and innovation project 5G-CLARITY 87142

Evolution towards Smart and Software-Defined Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a mesh network of interconnected objects with unique identifiers that can transmit data and communicate with one another without the need for human intervention. The IoT has brought the future closer to us. It has opened up new and vast domains for connecting not only people, but also all kinds of simple objects and phenomena all around us. With billions of heterogeneous devices connected to the Internet, the network architecture must evolve to accommodate the expected increase in data generation while also improving the security and efficiency of connectivity. Traditional IoT architectures are primitive and incapable of extending functionality and productivity to the IoT infrastructure’s desired levels. Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and virtualization are two promising technologies for cost-effectively handling the scale and versatility required for IoT. In this paper, we discussed traditional IoT networks and the need for SDN and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), followed by an analysis of SDN and NFV solutions for implementing IoT in various ways

Adaptive Network Densification with Small Cell Mobile Base Stations Carried by Vehicles

1noL'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmentopen676. INGEGNERIA ELETTRICAnopartially_openembargoed_20211014Mohammadnia, Foroog

Energy harvesting methods for transmission lines: a comprehensive review

Humanity faces important challenges concerning the optimal use, security, and availability of energy systems, particularly electrical power systems and transmission lines. In this context, data-driven predictive maintenance plans make it possible to increase the safety, stability, reliability, and availability of electrical power systems. In contrast, strategies such as dynamic line rating (DLR) make it possible to optimize the use of power lines. However, these approaches require developing monitoring plans based on acquiring electrical data in real-time using different types of wireless sensors placed in strategic locations. Due to the specific conditions of the transmission lines, e.g., high electric and magnetic fields, this a challenging problem, aggravated by the harsh outdoor environments where power lines are built. Such sensors must also incorporate an energy harvesting (EH) unit that supplies the necessary electronics. Therefore, the EH unit plays a key role, so when designing such electronic systems, care must be taken to select the most suitable EH technology, which is currently evolving rapidly. This work reviews and analyzes the state-of-the-art technology for EH focused on transmission lines, as it is an area with enormous potential for expansion. In addition to recent advances, it also discusses the research needs and challenges that need to be addressed. Despite the importance of this topic, there is still much to investigate, as this area is still in its infancy. Although EH systems for transmission lines are reviewed, many other applications could potentially benefit from introducing wireless sensors with EH capabilities, such as power transformers, distribution switches, or low- and medium-voltage power lines, among others.This research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España, grant number PID2020-114240RB-I00 and by the Generalitat de Catalunya, grant number 2017 SGR 967.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

An Orthogonal Air Pollution Monitoring Method (OAPM) Based on LoRaWAN

International audienceHigh accuracy air pollution monitoring in a smart city requires the deployment of a huge number of sensors in this city. One of the most appropriate wireless technologies expected to support high density deployment is LoRaWAN which belongs to the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) family and offers long communication range, multi-year battery lifetime and low cost end devices. It has been designed for End Devices (EDs) and applications that need to send small amounts of data a few times per hour. However, a high number of end devices breaks the orthogonality of LoRaWAN transmissions, which was one of the main advantages of LoRaWAN. Hence, network performances are strongly impacted. To solve this problem, we propose a solution called OAPM (Orthogonal Air Pollution Monitoring) which ensures the orthogonality of LoRaWAN transmissions and provides accurate air pollution monitoring. In this paper, we show how to organize EDs into clusters and sub-clusters, assign transmission times to EDs, configurate and synchronize them, taking into account the specificities of LoRaWAN and the features of the air pollution monitoring application. Simulation results corroborate the very good behavior of OAPM

Collision-Free Transmissions in an IoT Monitoring Application Based on LoRaWAN

International audienceWith the Internet of Things (IoT), the number of monitoring applications deployed is considerably increasing, whatever the field considered: smart city, smart agriculture, environment monitoring, air pollution monitoring, to name a few. The LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network)architecture with its long range communication, its robustness to interference and its reduced energy consumption is an excellent candidate to support such applications. However, if the number of end devices is high, the reliability of LoRaWAN, measured by the Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), becomes unacceptable due to an excessive number of collisions. In this paper, we propose two different families of solutions ensuring collision-free transmissions. The first family is TDMA (Time-Division Multiple Access)-based. All clusters transmit in sequence and up to six end devices with different spreading factors belonging to the same cluster are allowed to transmit in parallel. The second family is FDMA (Frequency Divsion Multiple Access)-based. All clusters transmit in parallel, each cluster on its own frequency. Within each cluster, all end devices transmit in sequence. Their performance are compared in terms of PDR, energy consumption by end device and maximum number of end devices supported. Simulation results corroborate the theoretical results and show the high efficiency of the solutions proposed

Eighth International Symposium “Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas. Problems and Measurement Techniques”

The 8th International Symposium "Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas. Problems and Measurements Techniques" was organized by CNR-IBE in collaboration with FCS Foundation, and Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean and under the patronage of University of Florence, Accademia dei Geogofili, Tuscany Region and Livorno Province. It is the occasion in which scholars can illustrate and exchange their activities and innovative proposals, with common aims to promote actions to preserve coastal marine environment. Considering Symposium interdisciplinary nature, the Scientific Committee, underlining this holistic view of Nature, decided to celebrate Alexander von Humboldt; a nature scholar that proposed the organic and inorganic nature’s aspects as a single system. It represents a sign of continuity considering that in-presence Symposium could not be carried out due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Subjects are related to coastal topics: morphology; flora and fauna; energy production; management and integrated protection; geography and landscape, cultural heritage and environmental assets, legal and economic aspects

Seventh International Symposium "Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas. Problems and Measurement Techniques"

The Seventh International Symposium Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas. Problems and Measurement Techniques (Livorno, Italy June 19-20-21, 2018) was organized by the CNR-IBIMET in collaboration with the City of Livorno, the LEM Foundation, the FCS Foundation and the Compagnia dei Portuali di Livorno, with the patronage by Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Accademia dei Georgofili, The University of Florence, the Tuscany Region and the North Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority. The Symposium, in which scholars from all over the Mediterranean basin participated, was an opportunity to illustrate new proposals and to promote actions to protect the Mediterranean coastal marine environment. In particular, the event was characterized by the search for technical and instrumental solutions to problems related to: energy production in the coastal area, morphology and evolution of coastlines, flora and fauna of the littoral system, management and integrated coastal protection, coastline geography, human influence on coastal landscape