Pervasive Secure Content Delivery Networks Implementation

Over the years, communication networks have been shifting their focus from providing connectivity in a client/server model to providing a service or content. This shift has led to topic areas like Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Heterogeneous Wireless Mesh Networks, and Ubiquitous Computing. Furthermore, probably the broadest of these areas which embarks all is the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is defined as an Internet where all physical entities (e.g., vehicles, appliances, smart phones, smart homes, computers, etc.), which we interact daily are connected and exchanging data among themselves and users. The IoT has become a global goal for companies, researchers, and users alike due to its different implementation and functional benefits: performance efficiency, coverage, economic and health. Due to the variety of devices which connect to it, it is expected that the IoT is composed of multiple technologies interacting together, to deliver a service. This technologies interactions renders an important challenge that must be overcome: how to communicate these technologies effectively and securely? The answer to this question is vital for a successful deployment of IoT and achievement of all the potential benefits that the IoT promises. This thesis proposes a SOA approach at the Network Layer to be able to integrate all technologies involved, in a transparent manner. The proposed set of solutions is composed of primarily the secure implementation of a unifying routing algorithm and a layered messaging model to standardize communication of all devices. Security is targeted to address the three main security concerns (i.e., confidentiality, integrity, and availability), with pervasive schemes that can be employed for any kind of device on the client, backbone, and server side. The implementation of such schemes is achieved by standard current security mechanisms (e.g., encryption), in combination with novel context and intelligent checks that detect compromised devices. Moreover, a decentralized content processing design is presented. In such design, content processing is handled at the client side, allowing server machines to serve more content, while being more reliable and capable of processing complete security checks on data and client integrity

Experimental Study on Real-Time Wireless Networks for Motion Control of Manipulator and Mobile Platform in Industrial Robotics

The integration of ICT with manufacturing technologies is a key step towards intelligent manufacturing. The goal is to investigate some industrial application scenarios and evaluate the performance of selected wireless technologies. A recently standardized industrial wireless technology, WIA-FA, has shown good performance in practical deployments. Two experimental applications are considered: path planning testing with different wireless technologies and CANbus bridging with WIA-FA.openEmbargo temporaneo per motivi di segretezza e/o di proprietà dei risultati e informazioni di enti esterni o aziende private che hanno partecipato alla realizzazione del lavoro di ricerca relativo alla tes

Supporting context-aware collaborative learning through automatic group formation

Collaborative learning is based on groups of students working together with traditional and computer-based tools or applications. We have found that to make these supporting applications more effective we need to address the problem of automating group awareness in CSCL applications by estimating group arrangements from location sensors and the history of interaction. This contextual information can enable the construction of applications that facilitate communication among group members in synchronous and collocated collaborative learning activities. We used data traces collected from the study of students‟ behavior to train and test an intelligent system. Results show that context-information can be effectively used as a basis for a middleware for automating group management. Inferring group membership is technically feasible, can be integrated in group-support applications and can be used in real-world settings.Postprint (published version

Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions

Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers, involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems. SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues, challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems

Group Prediction in Collaborative Learning

We propose an approach for predicting group formations, to address the problem of automating the incorporation of group awareness into CSCL applications. Contextual information can enable the construction of applications that effectively assist the group members to automatically communicate in synchronous and collocated collaborative learning activities. We used data traces collected from the study of students’ behavior to train and test an intelligent system. Results have shown that context-information can be effectively used as a basis for a middleware for a dynamic group management. Inferring group membership is technically viable and can be used in real world settings.Postprint (published version

A PROTOCOL SUITE FOR WIRELESS PERSONAL AREA NETWORKS

A Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) is an ad hoc network that consists of devices that surround an individual or an object. Bluetooth® technology is especially suitable for formation of WPANs due to the pervasiveness of devices with Bluetooth® chipsets, its operation in the unlicensed Industrial, Scientific, Medical (ISM) frequency band, and its interference resilience. Bluetooth® technology has great potential to become the de facto standard for communication between heterogeneous devices in WPANs. The piconet, which is the basic Bluetooth® networking unit, utilizes a Master/Slave (MS) configuration that permits only a single master and up to seven active slave devices. This structure limitation prevents Bluetooth® devices from directly participating in larger Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) and Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs). In order to build larger Bluetooth® topologies, called scatternets, individual piconets must be interconnected. Since each piconet has a unique frequency hopping sequence, piconet interconnections are done by allowing some nodes, called bridges, to participate in more than one piconet. These bridge nodes divide their time between piconets by switching between Frequency Hopping (FH) channels and synchronizing to the piconet\u27s master. In this dissertation we address scatternet formation, routing, and security to make Bluetooth® scatternet communication feasible. We define criteria for efficient scatternet topologies, describe characteristics of different scatternet topology models as well as compare and contrast their properties, classify existing scatternet formation approaches based on the aforementioned models, and propose a distributed scatternet formation algorithm that efficiently forms a scatternet topology and is resilient to node failures. We propose a hybrid routing algorithm, using a bridge link agnostic approach, that provides on-demand discovery of destination devices by their address or by the services that devices provide to their peers, by extending the Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) to scatternets. We also propose a link level security scheme that provides secure communication between adjacent piconet masters, within what we call an Extended Scatternet Neighborhood (ESN)