Algorithmes passant à l’échelle pour la gestion de données du Web sémantique sur les platformes cloud

In order to build smart systems, where machines are able to reason exactly like humans, data with semantics is a major requirement. This need led to the advent of the Semantic Web, proposing standard ways for representing and querying data with semantics. RDF is the prevalent data model used to describe web resources, and SPARQL is the query language that allows expressing queries over RDF data. Being able to store and query data with semantics triggered the development of many RDF data management systems. The rapid evolution of the Semantic Web provoked the shift from centralized data management systems to distributed ones. The first systems to appear relied on P2P and client-server architectures, while recently the focus moved to cloud computing.Cloud computing environments have strongly impacted research and development in distributed software platforms. Cloud providers offer distributed, shared-nothing infrastructures that may be used for data storage and processing. The main features of cloud computing involve scalability, fault-tolerance, and elastic allocation of computing and storage resources following the needs of the users.This thesis investigates the design and implementation of scalable algorithms and systems for cloud-based Semantic Web data management. In particular, we study the performance and cost of exploiting commercial cloud infrastructures to build Semantic Web data repositories, and the optimization of SPARQL queries for massively parallel frameworks.First, we introduce the basic concepts around Semantic Web and the main components and frameworks interacting in massively parallel cloud-based systems. In addition, we provide an extended overview of existing RDF data management systems in the centralized and distributed settings, emphasizing on the critical concepts of storage, indexing, query optimization, and infrastructure. Second, we present AMADA, an architecture for RDF data management using public cloud infrastructures. We follow the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, where the complete platform is running in the cloud and appropriate APIs are provided to the end-users for storing and retrieving RDF data. We explore various storage and querying strategies revealing pros and cons with respect to performance and also to monetary cost, which is a important new dimension to consider in public cloud services. Finally, we present CliqueSquare, a distributed RDF data management system built on top of Hadoop, incorporating a novel optimization algorithm that is able to produce massively parallel plans for SPARQL queries. We present a family of optimization algorithms, relying on n-ary (star) equality joins to build flat plans, and compare their ability to find the flattest possibles. Inspired by existing partitioning and indexing techniques we present a generic storage strategy suitable for storing RDF data in HDFS (Hadoop’s Distributed File System). Our experimental results validate the efficiency and effectiveness of the optimization algorithm demonstrating also the overall performance of the system.Afin de construire des systèmes intelligents, où les machines sont capables de raisonner exactement comme les humains, les données avec sémantique sont une exigence majeure. Ce besoin a conduit à l’apparition du Web sémantique, qui propose des technologies standards pour représenter et interroger les données avec sémantique. RDF est le modèle répandu destiné à décrire de façon formelle les ressources Web, et SPARQL est le langage de requête qui permet de rechercher, d’ajouter, de modifier ou de supprimer des données RDF. Être capable de stocker et de rechercher des données avec sémantique a engendré le développement des nombreux systèmes de gestion des données RDF.L’évolution rapide du Web sémantique a provoqué le passage de systèmes de gestion des données centralisées à ceux distribués. Les premiers systèmes étaient fondés sur les architectures pair-à-pair et client-serveur, alors que récemment l’attention se porte sur le cloud computing.Les environnements de cloud computing ont fortement impacté la recherche et développement dans les systèmes distribués. Les fournisseurs de cloud offrent des infrastructures distribuées autonomes pouvant être utilisées pour le stockage et le traitement des données. Les principales caractéristiques du cloud computing impliquent l’évolutivité́, la tolérance aux pannes et l’allocation élastique des ressources informatiques et de stockage en fonction des besoins des utilisateurs.Cette thèse étudie la conception et la mise en œuvre d’algorithmes et de systèmes passant à l’échelle pour la gestion des données du Web sémantique sur des platformes cloud. Plus particulièrement, nous étudions la performance et le coût d’exploitation des services de cloud computing pour construire des entrepôts de données du Web sémantique, ainsi que l’optimisation de requêtes SPARQL pour les cadres massivement parallèles.Tout d’abord, nous introduisons les concepts de base concernant le Web sémantique et les principaux composants des systèmes fondés sur le cloud. En outre, nous présentons un aperçu des systèmes de gestion des données RDF (centralisés et distribués), en mettant l’accent sur les concepts critiques de stockage, d’indexation, d’optimisation des requêtes et d’infrastructure.Ensuite, nous présentons AMADA, une architecture de gestion de données RDF utilisant les infrastructures de cloud public. Nous adoptons le modèle de logiciel en tant que service (software as a service - SaaS), où la plateforme réside dans le cloud et des APIs appropriées sont mises à disposition des utilisateurs, afin qu’ils soient capables de stocker et de récupérer des données RDF. Nous explorons diverses stratégies de stockage et d’interrogation, et nous étudions leurs avantages et inconvénients au regard de la performance et du coût monétaire, qui est une nouvelle dimension importante à considérer dans les services de cloud public.Enfin, nous présentons CliqueSquare, un système distribué de gestion des données RDF basé sur Hadoop. CliqueSquare intègre un nouvel algorithme d’optimisation qui est capable de produire des plans massivement parallèles pour des requêtes SPARQL. Nous présentons une famille d’algorithmes d’optimisation, s’appuyant sur les équijointures n- aires pour générer des plans plats, et nous comparons leur capacité à trouver les plans les plus plats possibles. Inspirés par des techniques de partitionnement et d’indexation existantes, nous présentons une stratégie de stockage générique appropriée au stockage de données RDF dans HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System). Nos résultats expérimentaux valident l’effectivité et l’efficacité de l’algorithme d’optimisation démontrant également la performance globale du système

A New Approach to Information Extraction in User-Centric E-Recruitment Systems

In modern society, people are heavily reliant on information available online through various channels, such as websites, social media, and web portals. Examples include searching for product prices, news, weather, and jobs. This paper focuses on an area of information extraction in e-recruitment, or job searching, which is increasingly used by a large population of users in across the world. Given the enormous volume of information related to job descriptions and users’ profiles, it is complicated to appropriately match a user’s profile with a job description, and vice versa. Existing information extraction techniques are unable to extract contextual entities. Thus, they fall short of extracting domain-specific information entities and consequently affect the matching of the user profile with the job description. The work presented in this paper aims to extract entities from job descriptions using a domain-specific dictionary. The extracted information entities are enriched with knowledge using Linked Open Data. Furthermore, job context information is expanded using a job description domain ontology based on the contextual and knowledge information. The proposed approach appropriately matches users’ profiles/queries and job descriptions. The proposed approach is tested using various experiments on data from real life jobs’ portals. The results show that the proposed approach enriches extracted data from job descriptions, and can help users to find more relevant jobs

Low Energy Physical Activity Recognition System on Smartphones

An innovative approach to physical activity recognition based on the use of discrete variables obtained from accelerometer sensors is presented. The system first performs a discretization process for each variable, which allows efficient recognition of activities performed by users using as little energy as possible. To this end, an innovative discretization and classification technique is presented based on the 2 distribution. Furthermore, the entire recognition process is executed on the smartphone, which determines not only the activity performed, but also the frequency at which it is carried out. These techniques and the new classification system presented reduce energy consumption caused by the activity monitoring system. The energy saved increases smartphone usage time to more than 27 h without recharging while maintaining accuracy.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2013-46801-C4-1-rJunta de Andalucía TIC-805

Sensor Network-Based Localization for Continuous Tracking Applications: Implementation and Performance Evaluation

The increasing interest in systems able to provide users with immersive services (e.g., domotics, context-aware applications, and immersive distance learning tools) has encouraged the development of cheap and effective platforms aimed at tracking objects and people within a certain space. In this context, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can play a very important role, since specialized sensors can be fruitfully exploited in order to generate/receive signals by means of which the WSN can derive the position of nodes joined to the objects to be tracked. The paper presents an original localization platform that exploits a single-hop WSN, based on a Microchip MCU and a Cypress RF device, to track its moving nodes. Specifically, the nodes of the network are divided into three sets: the first set consists of anchor nodes that, according to the commands from the sink (the central node of the WSN), generate ultrasonic pulses. These pulses are received by the second set of (moving) nodes, which estimate the pulse time trip and communicate it to the sink. Finally, the last set is constituted by general purpose nodes that collect any kind of data from the surrounding field. The sink gathers all the data, computes the position of moving nodes, and transfers information to external users on the Internet. The algorithms adopted to manage the network and to localize moving nodes are discussed. A working prototype based upon the hardware platform, software, and protocol described in this paper has been deployed and tested, and some results are shown. Simulation results of the localization system are presented to show system scalability

Ubiquitous Computing for Remote Cardiac Patient Monitoring: A Survey

New wireless technologies, such as wireless LAN and sensor networks, for telecardiology purposes give new possibilities for monitoring vital parameters with wearable biomedical sensors, and give patients the freedom to be mobile and still be under continuous monitoring and thereby better quality of patient care. This paper will detail the architecture and quality-of-service (QoS) characteristics in integrated wireless telecardiology platforms. It will also discuss the current promising hardware/software platforms for wireless cardiac monitoring. The design methodology and challenges are provided for realistic implementation