2,913 research outputs found
A middleware for a large array of cameras
Large arrays of cameras are increasingly being employed for producing high quality image sequences needed for motion analysis research. This leads to the logistical problem with coordination and control of a large number of cameras. In this paper, we used a lightweight multi-agent system for coordinating such camera arrays. The agent framework provides more than a remote sensor access API. It allows reconfigurable and transparent access to cameras, as well as software agents capable of intelligent processing. Furthermore, it eases maintenance by encouraging code reuse. Additionally, our agent system includes an automatic discovery mechanism at startup, and multiple language bindings. Performance tests showed the lightweight nature of the framework while validating its correctness and scalability. Two different camera agents were implemented to provide access to a large array of distributed cameras. Correct operation of these camera agents was confirmed via several image processing agents
A middleware for a large array of cameras
Large arrays of cameras are increasingly being employed for producing high quality image sequences needed for motion analysis research. This leads to the logistical problem with coordination and control of a large number of cameras. In this paper, we used a lightweight multi-agent system for coordinating such camera arrays. The agent framework provides more than a remote sensor access API. It allows reconfigurable and transparent access to cameras, as well as software agents capable of intelligent processing. Furthermore, it eases maintenance by encouraging code reuse. Additionally, our agent system includes an automatic discovery mechanism at startup, and multiple language bindings. Performance tests showed the lightweight nature of the framework while validating its correctness and scalability. Two different camera agents were implemented to provide access to a large array of distributed cameras. Correct operation of these camera agents was confirmed via several image processing agents
Modern middleware for the data acquisition of the Cherenkov Telescope Array
The data acquisition system (DAQ) of the future Cherenkov Telescope Array
(CTA) must be ef- ficient, modular and robust to be able to cope with the very
large data rate of up to 550 Gbps coming from many telescopes with different
characteristics. The use of modern middleware, namely ZeroMQ and Protocol
Buffers, can help to achieve these goals while keeping the development effort
to a reasonable level. Protocol Buffers are used as an on-line data for- mat,
while ZeroMQ is employed to communicate between processes. The DAQ will be
controlled and monitored by the Alma Common Software (ACS). Protocol Buffers
from Google are a way to define high-level data structures through an in-
terface description language (IDL) and a meta-compiler. ZeroMQ is a middleware
that augments the capabilities of TCP/IP sockets. It does not implement very
high-level features like those found in CORBA for example, but makes use of
sockets easier, more robust and almost as effective as raw TCP. The use of
these two middlewares enabled us to rapidly develop a robust prototype of the
DAQ including data persistence to compressed FITS files.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at
arXiv:1508.0589
TZC: Efficient Inter-Process Communication for Robotics Middleware with Partial Serialization
Inter-process communication (IPC) is one of the core functions of modern
robotics middleware. We propose an efficient IPC technique called TZC (Towards
Zero-Copy). As a core component of TZC, we design a novel algorithm called
partial serialization. Our formulation can generate messages that can be
divided into two parts. During message transmission, one part is transmitted
through a socket and the other part uses shared memory. The part within shared
memory is never copied or serialized during its lifetime. We have integrated
TZC with ROS and ROS2 and find that TZC can be easily combined with current
open-source platforms. By using TZC, the overhead of IPC remains constant when
the message size grows. In particular, when the message size is 4MB (less than
the size of a full HD image), TZC can reduce the overhead of ROS IPC from tens
of milliseconds to hundreds of microseconds and can reduce the overhead of ROS2
IPC from hundreds of milliseconds to less than 1 millisecond. We also
demonstrate the benefits of TZC by integrating with TurtleBot2 that are used in
autonomous driving scenarios. We show that by using TZC, the braking distance
can be shortened by 16% than ROS
A Case Study on Formal Verification of Self-Adaptive Behaviors in a Decentralized System
Self-adaptation is a promising approach to manage the complexity of modern
software systems. A self-adaptive system is able to adapt autonomously to
internal dynamics and changing conditions in the environment to achieve
particular quality goals. Our particular interest is in decentralized
self-adaptive systems, in which central control of adaptation is not an option.
One important challenge in self-adaptive systems, in particular those with
decentralized control of adaptation, is to provide guarantees about the
intended runtime qualities. In this paper, we present a case study in which we
use model checking to verify behavioral properties of a decentralized
self-adaptive system. Concretely, we contribute with a formalized architecture
model of a decentralized traffic monitoring system and prove a number of
self-adaptation properties for flexibility and robustness. To model the main
processes in the system we use timed automata, and for the specification of the
required properties we use timed computation tree logic. We use the Uppaal tool
to specify the system and verify the flexibility and robustness properties.Comment: In Proceedings FOCLASA 2012, arXiv:1208.432
Big Data Model Simulation on a Graph Database for Surveillance in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks
Sensors are present in various forms all around the world such as mobile
phones, surveillance cameras, smart televisions, intelligent refrigerators and
blood pressure monitors. Usually, most of the sensors are a part of some other
system with similar sensors that compose a network. One of such networks is
composed of millions of sensors connect to the Internet which is called
Internet of things (IoT). With the advances in wireless communication
technologies, multimedia sensors and their networks are expected to be major
components in IoT. Many studies have already been done on wireless multimedia
sensor networks in diverse domains like fire detection, city surveillance,
early warning systems, etc. All those applications position sensor nodes and
collect their data for a long time period with real-time data flow, which is
considered as big data. Big data may be structured or unstructured and needs to
be stored for further processing and analyzing. Analyzing multimedia big data
is a challenging task requiring a high-level modeling to efficiently extract
valuable information/knowledge from data. In this study, we propose a big
database model based on graph database model for handling data generated by
wireless multimedia sensor networks. We introduce a simulator to generate
synthetic data and store and query big data using graph model as a big
database. For this purpose, we evaluate the well-known graph-based NoSQL
databases, Neo4j and OrientDB, and a relational database, MySQL.We have run a
number of query experiments on our implemented simulator to show that which
database system(s) for surveillance in wireless multimedia sensor networks is
efficient and scalable
Status and Plans for the Array Control and Data Acquisition System of the Cherenkov Telescope Array
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next-generation atmospheric
Cherenkov gamma-ray observatory. CTA will consist of two installations, one in
the northern, and the other in the southern hemisphere, containing tens of
telescopes of different sizes. The CTA performance requirements and the
inherent complexity associated with the operation, control and monitoring of
such a large distributed multi-telescope array leads to new challenges in the
field of the gamma-ray astronomy. The ACTL (array control and data acquisition)
system will consist of the hardware and software that is necessary to control
and monitor the CTA arrays, as well as to time-stamp, read-out, filter and
store -at aggregated rates of few GB/s- the scientific data. The ACTL system
must be flexible enough to permit the simultaneous automatic operation of
multiple sub-arrays of telescopes with a minimum personnel effort on site. One
of the challenges of the system is to provide a reliable integration of the
control of a large and heterogeneous set of devices. Moreover, the system is
required to be ready to adapt the observation schedule, on timescales of a few
tens of seconds, to account for changing environmental conditions or to
prioritize incoming scientific alerts from time-critical transient phenomena
such as gamma ray bursts. This contribution provides a summary of the main
design choices and plans for building the ACTL system.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at
arXiv:1508.0589
APECS - The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment Control System
APECS is the distributed control system of the new Atacama Pathfinder
EXperiment (APEX) telescope located on the Llano de Chajnantor at an altitude
of 5107 m in the Atacama desert in northern Chile. APECS is based on Atacama
Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) software and employs a modern, object-oriented
design using the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) as the
middleware. New generic device interfaces simplify adding instruments to the
control system. The Python based observer command scripting language allows
using many existing software libraries and facilitates creating more complex
observing modes. A new self-descriptive raw data format (Multi-Beam FITS or
MBFITS) has been defined to store the multi-beam, multi-frequency data. APECS
provides an online pipeline for initial calibration, observer feedback and a
quick-look display. APECS is being used for regular science observations in
local and remote mode since August 2005.Comment: 4 pages, A&A, accepte
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