Machine Learning in Wireless Sensor Networks: Algorithms, Strategies, and Applications

Wireless sensor networks monitor dynamic environments that change rapidly over time. This dynamic behavior is either caused by external factors or initiated by the system designers themselves. To adapt to such conditions, sensor networks often adopt machine learning techniques to eliminate the need for unnecessary redesign. Machine learning also inspires many practical solutions that maximize resource utilization and prolong the lifespan of the network. In this paper, we present an extensive literature review over the period 2002-2013 of machine learning methods that were used to address common issues in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The advantages and disadvantages of each proposed algorithm are evaluated against the corresponding problem. We also provide a comparative guide to aid WSN designers in developing suitable machine learning solutions for their specific application challenges.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial

Federated Domain Generalization: A Survey

Machine learning typically relies on the assumption that training and testing distributions are identical and that data is centrally stored for training and testing. However, in real-world scenarios, distributions may differ significantly and data is often distributed across different devices, organizations, or edge nodes. Consequently, it is imperative to develop models that can effectively generalize to unseen distributions where data is distributed across different domains. In response to this challenge, there has been a surge of interest in federated domain generalization (FDG) in recent years. FDG combines the strengths of federated learning (FL) and domain generalization (DG) techniques to enable multiple source domains to collaboratively learn a model capable of directly generalizing to unseen domains while preserving data privacy. However, generalizing the federated model under domain shifts is a technically challenging problem that has received scant attention in the research area so far. This paper presents the first survey of recent advances in this area. Initially, we discuss the development process from traditional machine learning to domain adaptation and domain generalization, leading to FDG as well as provide the corresponding formal definition. Then, we categorize recent methodologies into four classes: federated domain alignment, data manipulation, learning strategies, and aggregation optimization, and present suitable algorithms in detail for each category. Next, we introduce commonly used datasets, applications, evaluations, and benchmarks. Finally, we conclude this survey by providing some potential research topics for the future

From Intrusion Detection to Attacker Attribution: A Comprehensive Survey of Unsupervised Methods

Over the last five years there has been an increase in the frequency and diversity of network attacks. This holds true, as more and more organisations admit compromises on a daily basis. Many misuse and anomaly based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) that rely on either signatures, supervised or statistical methods have been proposed in the literature, but their trustworthiness is debatable. Moreover, as this work uncovers, the current IDSs are based on obsolete attack classes that do not reflect the current attack trends. For these reasons, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of unsupervised and hybrid methods for intrusion detection, discussing their potential in the domain. We also present and highlight the importance of feature engineering techniques that have been proposed for intrusion detection. Furthermore, we discuss that current IDSs should evolve from simple detection to correlation and attribution. We descant how IDS data could be used to reconstruct and correlate attacks to identify attackers, with the use of advanced data analytics techniques. Finally, we argue how the present IDS attack classes can be extended to match the modern attacks and propose three new classes regarding the outgoing network communicatio

A data-based approach for dynamic classification of functional scenarios oriented to industrial process plants

L'objectif principal de cette thèse est de développer un algorithme dynamique de partitionnement de données (classification non supervisée ou " clustering " en anglais) qui ne se limite pas à des concepts statiques et qui peut gérer des distributions qui évoluent au fil du temps. Cet algorithme peut être utilisé dans les systèmes de surveillance du processus, mais son application ne se limite pas à ceux-ci. Les contributions de cette thèse peuvent être présentées en trois groupes: 1. Contributions au partitionnement dynamique de données en utilisant : un algorithme de partitionnement dynamique basé à la fois sur la distance et la densité des échantillons est présenté. Cet algorithme ne fait aucune hypothèse sur la linéarité ni la convexité des groupes qu'il analyse. Ces clusters, qui peuvent avoir des densités différentes, peuvent également se chevaucher. L'algorithme développé fonctionne en ligne et fusionne les étapes d'apprentissage et de reconnaissance, ce qui permet de détecter et de caractériser de nouveaux comportements en continu tout en reconnaissant l'état courant du système. 2. Contributions à l'extraction de caractéristiques : une nouvelle approche permettant d'extraire des caractéristiques dynamiques est présentée. Cette approche, basée sur une approximation polynomiale par morceaux, permet de représenter des comportements dynamiques sans perdre les informations relatives à la magnitude et en réduisant simultanément la sensibilité de l'algorithme au bruit dans les signaux analysés. 3. Contributions à la modélisation de systèmes à événements discrets évolutifs a partir des résultats du clustering : les résultats de l'algorithme de partitionnement sont utilisés comme base pour l'élaboration d'un modèle à événements discrets du processus. Ce modèle adaptatif offre une représentation du comportement du processus de haut niveau sous la forme d'un automate dont les états représentent les états du processus appris par le partitionnement jusqu'à l'instant courant et les transitions expriment l'atteignabilité des états.The main objective of this thesis is to propose a dynamic clustering algorithm that can handle not only dynamic data but also evolving distributions. This algorithm is particularly fitted for the monitoring of processes generating massive data streams, but its application is not limited to this domain. The main contributions of this thesis are: 1. Contribution to dynamic clustering by the proposal of an approach that uses distance- and density-based analyses to cluster non-linear, non-convex, overlapped data distributions with varied densities. This algorithm, that works in an online fashion, fusions the learning and lassification stages allowing to continuously detect and characterize new concepts and at the same time classifying the input samples, i.e. which means recognizing the current state of the system in a supervision application. 2. Contribution to feature extraction by the proposal of a novel approach to extract dynamic features. This approach ,based on piece-polynomial approximation, allows to represent dynamic behaviors without losing magnitude related information and to reduce at the same time the algorithm sensitivity to noise corrupting the signals. 3. Contribution to automatic discrete event modeling for evolving systems by exploiting informations brought by the clustering. The generated model is presented as a timed automaton that provides a high-level representation of the behavior of the process. The latter is adaptive in the sense that its construction is elaborated following the discovery of new concepts by the clustering algorithm

A Decentralized Architecture for Active Sensor Networks

This thesis is concerned with the Distributed Information Gathering (DIG) problem in which a Sensor Network is tasked with building a common representation of environment. The problem is motivated by the advantages offered by distributed autonomous sensing systems and the challenges they present. The focus of this study is on Macro Sensor Networks, characterized by platform mobility, heterogeneous teams, and long mission duration. The system under consideration may consist of an arbitrary number of mobile autonomous robots, stationary sensor platforms, and human operators, all linked in a network. This work describes a comprehensive framework called Active Sensor Network (ASN) which addresses the tasks of information fusion, decistion making, system configuration, and user interaction. The main design objectives are scalability with the number of robotic platforms, maximum flexibility in implementation and deployment, and robustness to component and communication failure. The framework is described from three complementary points of view: architecture, algorithms, and implementation. The main contribution of this thesis is the development of the ASN architecture. Its design follows three guiding principles: decentralization, modularity, and locality of interactions. These principles are applied to all aspects of the architecture and the framework in general. To achieve flexibility, the design approach emphasizes interactions between components rather than the definition of the components themselves. The architecture specifies a small set of interfaces sufficient to implement a wide range of information gathering systems. In the area of algorithms, this thesis builds on the earlier work on Decentralized Data Fusion (DDF) and its extension to information-theoretic decistion making. It presents the Bayesian Decentralized Data Fusion (BDDF) algorithm formulated for environment features represented by a general probability density function. Several specific representations are also considered: Gaussian, discrete, and the Certainty Grid map. Well known algorithms for these representations are shown to implement various aspects of the Bayesian framework. As part of the ASN implementation, a practical indoor sensor network has been developed and tested. Two series of experiments were conducted, utilizing two types of environment representation: 1) point features with Gaussian position uncertainty and 2) Certainty Grid maps. The network was operational for several days at a time, with individual platforms coming on and off-line. On several occasions, the network consisted of 39 software components. The lessons learned during the system's development may be applicable to other heterogeneous distributed systems with data-intensive algorithms

Smart Urban Water Networks

This book presents the paper form of the Special Issue (SI) on Smart Urban Water Networks. The number and topics of the papers in the SI confirm the growing interest of operators and researchers for the new paradigm of smart networks, as part of the more general smart city. The SI showed that digital information and communication technology (ICT), with the implementation of smart meters and other digital devices, can significantly improve the modelling and the management of urban water networks, contributing to a radical transformation of the traditional paradigm of water utilities. The paper collection in this SI includes different crucial topics such as the reliability, resilience, and performance of water networks, innovative demand management, and the novel challenge of real-time control and operation, along with their implications for cyber-security. The SI collected fourteen papers that provide a wide perspective of solutions, trends, and challenges in the contest of smart urban water networks. Some solutions have already been implemented in pilot sites (i.e., for water network partitioning, cyber-security, and water demand disaggregation and forecasting), while further investigations are required for other methods, e.g., the data-driven approaches for real time control. In all cases, a new deal between academia, industry, and governments must be embraced to start the new era of smart urban water systems

Decentralized data fusion and data harvesting framework for heterogeneous dynamic network systems

Diese Dissertation behandelt das Thema der dezentralisieren Sammlung und Fusion von Daten in heterogenen, ressourcenbeschraekten und dynamischen Netzwerkszenarien. Dazu wird ein generisches Framework vorgestellt, dass es erlaubt die Datensammlung, den Datenaustausch und auch die Datenfusion dynamisch zu konfigurieren. Im Zuge dessen wird auch eine Methode zur gerichteten Fusion von Daten auf graphentheoretischer Basis eingefrt, die es erlaubt eine logische Struktur fuer die Fusion von Informationen zu modellieren. Eine Markup-Sprache, die sowohl menschen- als auch maschinenlesbar ist, erlaubt es diese Struktur leicht zu editieren. Im Bereich der Protokolle zum Datenaustausch liegt der Fokus dieser Arbeit auf Energieeffizienz, um auch ressourcenbeschraenkte Geraete einzubinden. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt liegt auf Robustheit fuer die betrachteten dynamischen Szenarien. Diese Dissertation schlaet zudem Design-Richtlinien vor, um verschiedene Ziele fuer unterschiedliche Applikationen umzusetzen. Diese lassen sich leicht in das vorgestellte Framework integrieren und darueber konfigurieren. Dadurch ergibt sich im Ganzen eine flexible Architektur, die sich leicht an dynamische Umgebungen anpassen laesst.With the increasing number of available smart phones, sensor nodes, and novel mobile smart devices such as Google glass, a large volume of data reflecting the environment is generated in the form of sensing data sources (such as GPS, received signal strength identification, accelerometer, microphone, images, videos and gyroscope, etc.). Some context-aware and data centric applications require the online processing of the data collected. The thesis researches on the decentralized data fusion and data harvesting framework for heterogeneous dynamic network system consisting of various devices with resource constraints. In order to achieve the flexible design, a general architecture is provided while the detailed data fusion and data exchange functions can be dynamically configured. A novel method to use directed fusion graph to model the logical structure of the distributed information fusion architecture is introduced. This directed fusion graph can accurately portray the interconnection among different data fusion components and the data exchange protocols, as well as the detailed data streams. The directed fusion graph is then transformed into a format with marked language, so that both human and machine can easily understand and edit. In the field of data exchange protocols, this thesis targets energy-efficiency considering the resource constraints of the devices and robustness, as the dynamic environment might cause failures to the system. It proposes a refined gossip strategy to reduce retransmission of redundant data. The thesis also suggests a design guideline to achieve different design aims for different applications. These results in this field can be integrated into the framework effortlessly. The configuration mechanism is another feature of this framework. Different from other research work which consider configuration as a post-design work separated from the main design of any middle-ware. This thesis considers the configuration part as another dimension of the framework. The whole strategy in configuration sets up the foundation for the flexible architecture, and makes it easy to adapt to the dynamic environment. The contributions in the above fields lead to a light-weight data fusion and data harvesting framework which can be deployed easily above wireless based, heterogeneous, dynamic network systems, even in extreme conditions, to handle data-centric applications