Timed-pNets: a communication behavioural semantic model for distributed systems

International audienceThis paper presents an approach to build a communicationbehavioural semantic model for heterogeneousdistributed systems that include synchronous and asynchronouscommunications. Since each node of such systemhas its own physical clock, it brings the challenges of correctlyspecifying the system time constraints. Based on thelogical clocks proposed by Lamport, and CCSL proposed byAoste team in INRIA, as well as pNets from Oasis teamin INRIA, we develop timed-pNets to model communicationbehaviours for distributed systems. Timed-pNets are treestyle hierarchical structures. Each node is associated with atimed specification which consists of a set of logical clocksand some relations on clocks. The leaves are representedby timed-pLTSs. Non-leaf nodes (called timed-pNets nodes)are synchronisation devices that synchronize the behavioursof subnets (these subnets can be leaves or non-leaf nodes).Both timed-pLTSs and timed-pNets nodes can be translatedto timed specifications. All these notions and methods are illustratedon a simple use-case of car insertion from the areaof intelligent transportation systems (ITS). In the end theTimeSquare tool is used to simulate and check the validityof our model

Timed-pNets: A formal communication behavior model for real-time CPS system

International audienceWe propose a semantic model named timed-pNets to de ne hierarchical structures for CPSs as well as its communication behaviors semantic with time constraints. Logical clocks relations are introduced to describe the partial order of event occurring. After setting (time)- boundaries and designing properties, we use the TimeSquare tool to simulate the system and check its properties

Timed-pNets: A formal communication behavior model for real-time CPS system

International audienceWe propose a semantic model named timed-pNets to de ne hierarchical structures for CPSs as well as its communication behaviors semantic with time constraints. Logical clocks relations are introduced to describe the partial order of event occurring. After setting (time)- boundaries and designing properties, we use the TimeSquare tool to simulate the system and check its properties

Transcriptional Regulation: a Genomic Overview

The availability of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome sequence allows a comprehensive analysis of transcriptional regulation in plants using novel genomic approaches and methodologies. Such a genomic view of transcription first necessitates the compilation of lists of elements. Transcription factors are the most numerous of the different types of proteins involved in transcription in eukaryotes, and the Arabidopsis genome codes for more than 1,500 of them, or approximately 6% of its total number of genes. A genome-wide comparison of transcription factors across the three eukaryotic kingdoms reveals the evolutionary generation of diversity in the components of the regulatory machinery of transcription. However, as illustrated by Arabidopsis, transcription in plants follows similar basic principles and logic to those in animals and fungi. A global view and understanding of transcription at a cellular and organismal level requires the characterization of the Arabidopsis transcriptome and promoterome, as well as of the interactome, the localizome, and the phenome of the proteins involved in transcription

MARTE/pCCSL: Modeling and Refining Stochastic Behaviors of CPSs with Probabilistic Logical Clocks

Best Paper AwardInternational audienceCyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are networks of heterogeneous embedded systems immersed within a physical environment. Several ad-hoc frameworks and mathematical models have been studied to deal with challenging issues raised by CPSs. In this paper, we explore a more standard-based approach that relies on SysML/MARTE to capture different aspects of CPSs, including structure, behaviors, clock constraints, and non-functional properties. The novelty of our work lies in the use of logical clocks and MARTE/CCSL to drive and coordinate different models. Meanwhile, to capture stochastic behaviors of CPSs, we propose an extension of CCSL, called pCCSL, where logical clocks are adorned with stochastic properties. Possible variants are explored using Statistical Model Checking (SMC) via a transformation from the MARTE/pCCSL models into Stochastic Hybrid Automata. The whole process is illustrated through a case study of energy-aware building, in which the system is modeled by SysML/MARTE/pCCSL and different variants are explored through SMC to help expose the best alternative solutions

BDS GNSS for Earth Observation

For millennia, human communities have wondered about the possibility of observing phenomena in their surroundings, and in particular those affecting the Earth on which they live. More generally, it can be conceptually defined as Earth observation (EO) and is the collection of information about the biological, chemical and physical systems of planet Earth. It can be undertaken through sensors in direct contact with the ground or airborne platforms (such as weather balloons and stations) or remote-sensing technologies. However, the definition of EO has only become significant in the last 50 years, since it has been possible to send artificial satellites out of Earth’s orbit. Referring strictly to civil applications, satellites of this type were initially designed to provide satellite images; later, their purpose expanded to include the study of information on land characteristics, growing vegetation, crops, and environmental pollution. The data collected are used for several purposes, including the identification of natural resources and the production of accurate cartography. Satellite observations can cover the land, the atmosphere, and the oceans. Remote-sensing satellites may be equipped with passive instrumentation such as infrared or cameras for imaging the visible or active instrumentation such as radar. Generally, such satellites are non-geostationary satellites, i.e., they move at a certain speed along orbits inclined with respect to the Earth’s equatorial plane, often in polar orbit, at low or medium altitude, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), thus covering the entire Earth’s surface in a certain scan time (properly called ’temporal resolution’), i.e., in a certain number of orbits around the Earth. The first remote-sensing satellites were the American NASA/USGS Landsat Program; subsequently, the European: ENVISAT (ENVironmental SATellite), ERS (European Remote-Sensing satellite), RapidEye, the French SPOT (Satellite Pour l’Observation de laTerre), and the Canadian RADARSAT satellites were launched. The IKONOS, QuickBird, and GeoEye-1 satellites were dedicated to cartography. The WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 satellites and the COSMO-SkyMed system are more recent. The latest generation are the low payloads called Small Satellites, e.g., the Chinese BuFeng-1 and Fengyun-3 series. Also, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) have captured the attention of researchers worldwide for a multitude of Earth monitoring and exploration applications. On the other hand, over the past 40 years, GNSSs have become an essential part of many human activities. As is widely noted, there are currently four fully operational GNSSs; two of these were developed for military purposes (American NAVstar GPS and Russian GLONASS), whilst two others were developed for civil purposes such as the Chinese BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS) and the European Galileo. In addition, many other regional GNSSs, such as the South Korean Regional Positioning System (KPS), the Japanese quasi-zenital satellite system (QZSS), and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS/NavIC), will become available in the next few years, which will have enormous potential for scientific applications and geomatics professionals. In addition to their traditional role of providing global positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) information, GNSS navigation signals are now being used in new and innovative ways. Across the globe, new fields of scientific study are opening up to examine how signals can provide information about the characteristics of the atmosphere and even the surfaces from which they are reflected before being collected by a receiver. EO researchers monitor global environmental systems using in situ and remote monitoring tools. Their findings provide tools to support decision makers in various areas of interest, from security to the natural environment. GNSS signals are considered an important new source of information because they are a free, real-time, and globally available resource for the EO community

Embedding CCSL into Dynamic Logic: A Logical Approach for the Verification of CCSL Specifications

International audienceThe Clock Constraint Specification Language (CCSL) is a clock-based specification language for capturing causal and chronometric constraints between events in Real-Time Embedded Systems (RTESs). Due to the limitations of the existing verification approaches, CCSL lacks a full verification support for 'unsafe CCSL specifications' and a unified proof framework. In this paper, we propose a novel verification approach based on theorem proving and SMT-checking. We firstly build a logic called CCSL Dynamic Logic (CDL), which extends the traditional dynamic logic with 'signals' and 'clock relations' as primitives, and with synchronous execution mechanism for modelling RTESs. Then we propose a sound and relatively complete proof system for CDL to provide the verification support. We show how CDL can be used to capture RTES and verify CCSL specifications by analyzing a simple case study

Effects of Traffic Noise on the Social Behavior of Tufted Titmice (Baeolophus bicolor).

The presence of traffic noise and its potential effects on wildlife is a burgeoning topic of research within the fields of conservation behavior, animal behavior, ecology and wildlife management. Accumulated data from these efforts, mostly correlative and rarely-experimental, suggest that traffic noise induces a myriad of species-specific changes to population dynamics, breeding behavior and acoustic structure of avian song. However, the degree of generalizability of these findings is confounded by the limited variety of behaviors studied within a relatively small sample of species. This original research provides experimental evidence of the effects of simulated and real traffic noise on previously unstudied social and vocal behavior in tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor). First, titmice were exposed to simulated traffic noise for 8 hours per day to determine whether traffic noise caused changes in social and vocal behavior as had been suggested by previous research. This stimulus, background noise mimicking the duration of exposure, amplitude and frequency parameters of traffic noise, significantly affected several aspects of social behavior. Analyses on the vocal behavior of these subjects suggests that noise only affects call use of the most vocally-productive bird, who also happens to be the most dominant group member. A second study broadcasted recordings of traffic noise to titmice for 2.5 hours per day to test for the effects of the temporary rise in background noise levels resulting from \u27rush hour\u27 on the same social behavior found to be effected in study one. Results of Study 2 corroborated those of Study 1 and indicated that characteristics of traffic noise itself influence its effects. Among the first of its kind, this research demonstrates a direct link between traffic noise and survival-relevant social and vocal behavior