Adaptive Middleware for Resource-Constrained Mobile Ad Hoc and Wireless Sensor Networks

Mobile ad hoc networks: MANETs) and wireless sensor networks: WSNs) are two recently-developed technologies that uniquely function without fixed infrastructure support, and sense at scales, resolutions, and durations previously not possible. While both offer great potential in many applications, developing software for these types of networks is extremely difficult, preventing their wide-spread use. Three primary challenges are: 1) the high level of dynamics within the network in terms of changing wireless links and node hardware configurations,: 2) the wide variety of hardware present in these networks, and: 3) the extremely limited computational and energy resources available. Until now, the burden of handling these issues was put on the software application developer. This dissertation presents three novel programming models and middleware systems that address these challenges: Limone, Agilla, and Servilla. Limone reliably handles high levels of dynamics within MANETs. It does this through lightweight coordination primitives that make minimal assumptions about network connectivity. Agilla enables self-adaptive WSN applications via the integration of mobile agent and tuple space programming models, which is critical given the continuously changing network. It is the first system to successfully demonstrate the feasibility of using mobile agents and tuple spaces within WSNs. Servilla addresses the challenges that arise from WSN hardware heterogeneity using principles of Service-Oriented Computing: SOC). It is the first system to successfully implement the entire SOC model within WSNs and uniquely tailors it to the WSN domain by making it energy-aware and adaptive. The efficacies of the above three systems are demonstrated through implementation, micro-benchmarks, and the evaluation of several real-world applications including Universal Remote, Fire Detection and Tracking, Structural Health Monitoring, and Medical Patient Monitoring

e-Sanctuary: open multi-physics framework for modelling wildfire urban evacuation

The number of evacuees worldwide during wildfire keep rising, year after year. Fire evacuations at the wildland-urban interfaces (WUI) pose a serious challenge to fire and emergency services and are a global issue affecting thousands of communities around the world. But to date, there is a lack of comprehensive tools able to inform, train or aid the evacuation response and the decision making in case of wildfire. The present work describes a novel framework for modelling wildfire urban evacuations. The framework is based on multi-physics simulations that can quantify the evacuation performance. The work argues that an integrated approached requires considering and integrating all three important components of WUI evacuation, namely: fire spread, pedestrian movement, and traffic movement. The report includes a systematic review of each model component, and the key features needed for the integration into a comprehensive toolkit

Annual meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group : October 14-16, 2013, Laurel, Maryland

Data from an array of international lunar missions have significantly changed our understanding of many lunar processes and revealed the complex nature of the lunar poles and the distribution of volatiles on the surface. While answering many questions, those data have raised many more. The focus of the 2013 LEAG Annual Meeting will be developing an understanding of the scientific questions, measurement techniques, and options for exploring the Moon with Discovery-class missions or with payloads flown on international or commercial missions.institutional support NASA Lunar Exploration Analysis Group ... [and others] ; conveners, Jeffrey Plescia ... [and others] ; scientific organizing committee, Jeffrey Plescia ... [and others]PARTIAL CONTENTS: Overview of Results from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) Instrument / R.Z. Sagdeev, W.V. Boynton, G. Chin, M. Litvak, T.A. Livengood, T.P. McClanahan, I.G. Mitrofanov, and A.B. Sanin--Lunar Polar ISRU as a Stepping Stone for Human Exploration / G.B. Sanders--Dose Spectra from Energetic Particles and Neutrons (DoSEN) / S. Smith, N.A. Schwadron, C. Bancroft, P. Bloser, J. Legere, J. Ryan, H. Spence, J. Mazur, and C. Zeitlin