The AURORA Gigabit Testbed

AURORA is one of five U.S. networking testbeds charged with exploring applications of, and technologies necessary for, networks operating at gigabit per second or higher bandwidths. The emphasis of the AURORA testbed, distinct from the other four testbeds, BLANCA, CASA, NECTAR, and VISTANET, is research into the supporting technologies for gigabit networking. Like the other testbeds, AURORA itself is an experiment in collaboration, where government initiative (in the form of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, which is funded by DARPA and the National Science Foundation) has spurred interaction among pre-existing centers of excellence in industry, academia, and government. AURORA has been charged with research into networking technologies that will underpin future high-speed networks. This paper provides an overview of the goals and methodologies employed in AURORA, and points to some preliminary results from our first year of research, ranging from analytic results to experimental prototype hardware. This paper enunciates our targets, which include new software architectures, network abstractions, and hardware technologies, as well as applications for our work

An Overview of the AURORA Gigabit Testbed

AURORA is one of five U.S. testbeds charged with exploring applications of, and technologies necessary for, networks operating at gigabit per second or higher bandwidths. AURORA is also an experiment in collaboration, where government support (through the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, which is in turn funded by DARPA and the NSF) has spurred interaction among centers of excellence in industry, academia, and government. The emphasis of the AURORA testbed, distinct from the other four testbeds, is research into the supporting technologies for gigabit networking. Our targets include new software architectures, network abstractions, hardware technologies, and applications. This paper provides an overview of the goals and methodologies employed in AURORA, and reports preliminary results from our first year of research

Evolution of INMARSAT systems and applications: The land mobile experience

Inmarsat has provided mobile satellite communication services for land mobile applications for well over a decade. Having started with the Inmarsat-A voice and telex system, Inmarsat is committed to the evolution of services towards a global personal, handheld satellite communicator. Over the years, users have benefitted from the evolution of technologies, increased user friendliness and portability of terminals and ever decreasing cost of operations. This paper describes the various present systems, their characteristics and applications, and outlines their contributions in the evolution towards the personal global communicator

Intense Collaboration In Globally Distributed Teams: Evolving Patterns Of Dependencies And Coordination

As multi-national firms and major offshore outsourcing companies develop experience with global work, their globally distributed teams face the challenge of collaborating intensely without the common interaction advantages associated with collocated work. This chapter analyzes the sources of intense collaboration. It then introduces strategies that organizations have developed to reduce the intensity of collaboration (sequentializing work, using mediating artifacts, modularity), or to enable intense teamwork (real time contact, boundary spanners). Strategy properties and deployment opportunities and constraints are indicated in order to equip managers and researchers with a framework for handling or analyzing globally distributed teamwork

The impact of implementation of VOIP in call centres : A Western Australia perspective

By fostering the finalization of open standards and the convergence of voice, video and data, the internet protocol provides an ideal driver for the definition of the infrastructure of new multimedia and advanced communications applications (Adams & Bhalla, 2005). The key advantages of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) for enterprises have been the promise of lower costs, infrastructure consolidation and increased flexibility. Carriers are also positioning VoiP as a cost-saving business solution. It is an application which seemed like a godsend to business and people alike who rely on telephony services (Blood, 2005). The aim of this study was to investigate what factors may influence the adoption of VoiP as a technology as a West Australia context. Specifically the research undertook a case study using an establish call centre in a government agency, City of Melville. The company is a provider of wide range of services including recreation centres, aquatic centres, libraries, creches, pre-school centres, community centres, food inspection services, citizenships, recycling, planning and building services, maintenance, streetscapes, landscaping disability services, immunisation clinics, cultural and educational centres, environmental preservation and management. This study analysed the steps through to adoption of VoiP and IP telephony from the original technology for the Melville City Council call centre. Also, the procedures towards acquisition and installation of the supporting framework that eases the implementation and day to day running are depicted. The main impacts on the company as a result of the implementation in terms of cost reduction and implications, staff satisfaction and benefits, ease of business operations has been reported in this study. Statistics of the business functions and operations based on VoiP solutions were critically analyzed. Results from the research suggested further research needs to be undertaken on factor affecting the adoption of VoiP in a Western Australia context

DEPLOYING RESOURCES TO SAVE LIVES: PARTNERS TELE-STROKE SERVICE

Innovative ICT applications such as patient-present telemedicine consultation services can save lives, yet following pilot-testing few have achieved long-term viability. Partners Health Care’s TeleStroke service, in full operation, is financially self-sustaining. Interviews with clinical, technical and administrative personnel at Partners and two “spoke” hospitals revealed practical lessons learned. Analysis through the lens of the Resource Based View reveals that many valuable assets and capabilities that Partners and its spoke hospitals developed are necessary for a successful TeleStroke program yet could be acquired or copied (they are not rare or inimitable). We note further that Partners’ overriding goal for TeleStroke is to achieve clinical success in its catchment area, without depleting financial resources; competitive advantage is sought within the catchment area but not beyond it. Resource analysis reveals that other institutions could develop successful telemedicine services for acute stroke care, since the needed assets are readily available, most of the capabilities can be imitated, and viable substitutes are limited. We contend that the lessons learned in this case study -- about the effective deployment of assets and capabilities -- are broadly applicable to other settings, in health care and other industries

AI and robotics to help older adults: Revisiting projects in search of lessons learned

Abstract This article is a retrospective overview of work performed in the domain of Active Assisted Living over a span of almost 18 years. The authors have been creating and refining artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics solutions to support older adults in maintaining their independence and improving their quality of life. The goal of this article is to identify strong features and general lessons learned from those experiences and conceive guidelines and new research directions for future deployment, also relying on an analysis of similar research efforts. The work considers key points that have contributed to increase the success of the innovative solutions grounding them on known technology acceptance models. The analysis is presented with a threefold perspective: A Technological vision illustrates the characteristics of the support systems to operate in a real environment with continuity, robustness, and safety; a Socio-Health perspective highlights the role of experts in the socio-assistance domain to provide contextualized and personalized help based on actual people's needs; finally, a Human dimension takes into account the personal aspects that influence the interaction with technology in the long term experience. The article promotes the crucial role of AI and robotics in ensuring intelligent and situated assistive behaviours. Finally, considering that the produced solutions are socio-technical systems, the article suggests a transdisciplinary approach in which different relevant disciplines merge together to have a complete, coordinated, and more informed vision of the problem