Optimal configuration of active and backup servers for augmented reality cooperative games

Interactive applications as online games and mobile devices have become more and more popular in recent years. From their combination, new and interesting cooperative services could be generated. For instance, gamers endowed with Augmented Reality (AR) visors connected as wireless nodes in an ad-hoc network, can interact with each other while immersed in the game. To enable this vision, we discuss here a hybrid architecture enabling game play in ad-hoc mode instead of the traditional client-server setting. In our architecture, one of the player nodes also acts as the server of the game, whereas other backup server nodes are ready to become active servers in case of disconnection of the network i.e. due to low energy level of the currently active server. This allows to have a longer gaming session before incurring in disconnections or energy exhaustion. In this context, the server election strategy with the aim of maximizing network lifetime is not so straightforward. To this end, we have hence analyzed this issue through a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model and both numerical and simulation-based analysis shows that the backup servers solution fulfills its design objective

A survey on Bluetooth multi-hop networks

Bluetooth was firstly announced in 1998. Originally designed as cable replacement connecting devices in a point-to-point fashion its high penetration arouses interest in its ad-hoc networking potential. This ad-hoc networking potential of Bluetooth is advertised for years - but until recently no actual products were available and less than a handful of real Bluetooth multi-hop network deployments were reported. The turnaround was triggered by the release of the Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh Profile which is unquestionable a great achievement but not well suited for all use cases of multi-hop networks. This paper surveys the tremendous work done on Bluetooth multi-hop networks during the last 20 years. All aspects are discussed with demands for a real world Bluetooth multi-hop operation in mind. Relationships and side effects of different topics for a real world implementation are explained. This unique focus distinguishes this survey from existing ones. Furthermore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first survey consolidating the work on Bluetooth multi-hop networks for classic Bluetooth technology as well as for Bluetooth Low Energy. Another individual characteristic of this survey is a synopsis of real world Bluetooth multi-hop network deployment efforts. In fact, there are only four reports of a successful establishment of a Bluetooth multi-hop network with more than 30 nodes and only one of them was integrated in a real world application - namely a photovoltaic power plant. © 2019 The Author

On supporting university communities in indoor wayfinding: An inclusive design approach

Mobility can be defined as the ability of people to move, live and interact with the space. In this context, indoor mobility, in terms of indoor localization and wayfinding, is a relevant topic due to the challenges it presents, in comparison with outdoor mobility, where GPS is hardly exploited. Knowing how to move in an indoor environment can be crucial for people with disabilities, and in particular for blind users, but it can provide several advantages also to any person who is moving in an unfamiliar place. Following this line of thought, we employed an inclusive by design approach to implement and deploy a system that comprises an Internet of Things infrastructure and an accessible mobile application to provide wayfinding functions, targeting the University community. As a real word case study, we considered the University of Bologna, designing a system able to be deployed in buildings with different configurations and settings, considering also historical buildings. The final system has been evaluated in three different scenarios, considering three different target audiences (18 users in total): i. students with disabilities (i.e., visual and mobility impairments); ii. campus students; and iii. visitors and tourists. Results reveal that all the participants enjoyed the provided functions and the indoor localization strategy was fine enough to provide a good wayfinding experience

Keyframe insertion : enabling low-latency random access and packet loss repair

From a video coding perspective, there are two challenges when performing live video distribution over error-prone networks, such as wireless networks: random access and packet loss repair. There is a scarceness of solutions that do not impact steady-state usage and users with reliable connections. The proposed solution minimizes this impact by complementing a compression-efficient video stream with a companion stream solely consisting of keyframes. Although the core idea is not new, this paper is the first work to provide restrictions and modifications necessary to make this idea work using the High-Efficiency Video Coding (H.265/HEVC) compression standard. Additionally, through thorough quantification, insight is provided on how to provide low-latency fast channel switching capabilities and error recovery at low quality impact, i.e., less than 0.94 average Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion (VMAF) score decrease. Finally, worst-case drift artifacts are described and visualized such that the reader gets an overall picture of using the keyframe insertion technique

Optical boundaries for LED-based indoor positioning system

Overlap of footprints of light emitting diodes (LEDs) increases the positioning accuracy of wearable LED indoor positioning systems (IPS) but such an approach assumes that the footprint boundaries are defined. In this work, we develop a mathematical model for defining the footprint boundaries of an LED in terms of a threshold angle instead of the conventional half or full angle. To show the effect of the threshold angle, we compare how overlaps and receiver tilts affect the performance of an LED-based IPS when the optical boundary is defined at the threshold angle and at the full angle. Using experimental measurements, simulations, and theoretical analysis, the effect of the defined threshold angle is estimated. The results show that the positional time when using the newly defined threshold angle is 12 times shorter than the time when the full angle is used. When the effect of tilt is considered, the threshold angle time is 22 times shorter than the full angle positioning time. Regarding accuracy, it is shown in this work that a positioning error as low as 230 mm can be obtained. Consequently, while the IPS gives a very low positioning error, a defined threshold angle reduces delays in an overlap-based LED IPS

Sensor Technologies for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Modern society faces serious problems with transportation systems, including but not limited to traffic congestion, safety, and pollution. Information communication technologies have gained increasing attention and importance in modern transportation systems. Automotive manufacturers are developing in-vehicle sensors and their applications in different areas including safety, traffic management, and infotainment. Government institutions are implementing roadside infrastructures such as cameras and sensors to collect data about environmental and traffic conditions. By seamlessly integrating vehicles and sensing devices, their sensing and communication capabilities can be leveraged to achieve smart and intelligent transportation systems. We discuss how sensor technology can be integrated with the transportation infrastructure to achieve a sustainable Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and how safety, traffic control and infotainment applications can benefit from multiple sensors deployed in different elements of an ITS. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges that need to be addressed to enable a fully operational and cooperative ITS environment

Mediator-assisted multi-source routing in information-centric networks

Among the new communication paradigms recently proposed, information-centric networking (ICN) is able to natively support content awareness at the network layer shifting the focus from hosts (as in traditional IP networks) to information objects. In this paper, we exploit the intrinsic content-awareness ICN features to design a novel multi-source routing mechanism. It involves a new network entity, the ICN mediator, responsible for locating and delivering the requested information objects that are chunked and stored at different locations. Our approach imposes very limited signalling overhead, especially for large chunk size (MBytes). Simulations show significant latency reduction compared to traditional routing approaches

Acceleration of Statistical Detection of Zero-day Malware in the Memory Dump Using CUDA-enabled GPU Hardware

This paper focuses on the anticipatory enhancement of methods of detecting stealth software. Cyber security detection tools are insufficiently powerful to reveal the most recent cyber-attacks which use malware. In this paper, we will present first an idea of the highest stealth malware, as this is the most complicated scenario for detection because it combines both existing anti-forensic techniques together with their potential improvements. Second, we will present new detection methods which are resilient to this hidden prototype. To help solve this detection challenge, we have analyzed Windows’ memory content using a new method of Shannon Entropy calculation; methods of digital photogrammetry; the Zipf–Mandelbrot law, as well as by disassembling the memory content and analyzing the output. Finally, we present an idea and architecture of the software tool, which uses CUDA-enabled GPU hardware, to speed-up memory forensics. All three ideas are currently a work in progress. Keywords: rootkit detection, anti-forensics, memory analysis, scattered fragments, anticipatory enhancement, CUDA

Acceleration of Statistical Detection of Zero-day Malware in the Memory Dump Using CUDA-enabled GPU Hardware

This paper focuses on the anticipatory enhancement of methods of detecting stealth software. Cyber security detection tools are insufficiently powerful to reveal the most recent cyber-attacks which use malware. In this paper, we will present first an idea of the highest stealth malware, as this is the most complicated scenario for detection because it combines both existing anti-forensic techniques together with their potential improvements. Second, we present new detection methods, which are resilient to this hidden prototype. To help solve this detection challenge, we have analyzed Windows memory content using a new method of Shannon Entropy calculation; methods of digital photogrammetry; the Zipf Mandelbrot law, as well as by disassembling the memory content and analyzing the output. Finally, we present an idea and architecture of the software tool, which uses CUDA enabled GPU hardware to speed-up memory forensics. All three ideas are currently a work in progress