On the Influence of Charging Stations Spatial Distribution on Aerial Wireless Networks

Using drones for cellular coverage enhancement is a recent technology that has shown a great potential in various practical scenarios. However, one of the main challenges that limits the performance of drone-enabled wireless networks is the limited flight time. In particular, due to the limited on-board battery size, the drone needs to frequently interrupt its operation and fly back to a charging station to recharge/replace its battery. In addition, the charging station might be responsible to recharge multiple drones. Given that the charging station has limited capacity, it can only serve a finite number of drones simultaneously. Hence, in order to accurately capture the influence of the battery limitation on the performance, it is required to analyze the dynamics of the time spent by the drones at the charging stations. In this paper, we use tools from queuing theory and stochastic geometry to study the influence of each of the charging stations limited capacity and spatial density on the performance of a drone-enabled wireless network

Intelligent-Reflecting-Surface-Assisted UAV Communications for 6G Networks

In 6th-Generation (6G) mobile networks, Intelligent Reflective Surfaces (IRSs) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as promising technologies to address the coverage difficulties and resource constraints faced by terrestrial networks. UAVs, with their mobility and low costs, offer diverse connectivity options for mobile users and a novel deployment paradigm for 6G networks. However, the limited battery capacity of UAVs, dynamic and unpredictable channel environments, and communication resource constraints result in poor performance of traditional UAV-based networks. IRSs can not only reconstruct the wireless environment in a unique way, but also achieve wireless network relay in a cost-effective manner. Hence, it receives significant attention as a promising solution to solve the above challenges. In this article, we conduct a comprehensive survey on IRS-assisted UAV communications for 6G networks. First, primary issues, key technologies, and application scenarios of IRS-assisted UAV communications for 6G networks are introduced. Then, we put forward specific solutions to the issues of IRS-assisted UAV communications. Finally, we discuss some open issues and future research directions to guide researchers in related fields

Internet of Underwater Things and Big Marine Data Analytics -- A Comprehensive Survey

The Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) is an emerging communication ecosystem developed for connecting underwater objects in maritime and underwater environments. The IoUT technology is intricately linked with intelligent boats and ships, smart shores and oceans, automatic marine transportations, positioning and navigation, underwater exploration, disaster prediction and prevention, as well as with intelligent monitoring and security. The IoUT has an influence at various scales ranging from a small scientific observatory, to a midsized harbor, and to covering global oceanic trade. The network architecture of IoUT is intrinsically heterogeneous and should be sufficiently resilient to operate in harsh environments. This creates major challenges in terms of underwater communications, whilst relying on limited energy resources. Additionally, the volume, velocity, and variety of data produced by sensors, hydrophones, and cameras in IoUT is enormous, giving rise to the concept of Big Marine Data (BMD), which has its own processing challenges. Hence, conventional data processing techniques will falter, and bespoke Machine Learning (ML) solutions have to be employed for automatically learning the specific BMD behavior and features facilitating knowledge extraction and decision support. The motivation of this paper is to comprehensively survey the IoUT, BMD, and their synthesis. It also aims for exploring the nexus of BMD with ML. We set out from underwater data collection and then discuss the family of IoUT data communication techniques with an emphasis on the state-of-the-art research challenges. We then review the suite of ML solutions suitable for BMD handling and analytics. We treat the subject deductively from an educational perspective, critically appraising the material surveyed.Comment: 54 pages, 11 figures, 19 tables, IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, peer-reviewed academic journa

Integration of Multiscale Sensing Data for Phenomics Applications

Sensing technologies can be a powerful tool for phenotyping in breeding programs. Plant phenotypes can be assessed non-invasively and repeatedly across the whole population and throughout the plant development period utilizing advanced sensors and remote sensing platforms. In this study, multiscale sensing platforms—satellite, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), proximal sensing system, and Internet of Things (IoT) based sensing systems—equipped with sensors such as visible/RGB, multispectral, and hyperspectral systems were utilized for field-based phenomics applications. The applicability of a suitable sensing technology depends on the area of study, specific phenomics application, sensor specification, and data acquisition conditions. Three main phenomics applications were explored: (i) pasture crop health status evaluation, (ii) above-ground biomass quantity and quality evaluation in the field pea, and (iii) evaluating wheat yield potential in winter and spring wheat. The first study demonstrates the reliability of using a high-resolution satellite (ground sampling distance, GSD = 3 m) and UAV imagery for pasture management. The data from multiscale sensing data showed that the grazing density significantly affected pasture biomass (p < 0.05) only in 2019, and the vegetation index (VI) data from the two imagery types were highly correlated (r ≥ 0.78, p < 0.001, 2019). In the second study, the above-ground biomass (AGBM) and biomass quality (12 quality traits) were evaluated using UAV-based RGB and multispectral imaging, and hyperspectral sensing, respectively, in the winter pea breeding program (2019 and 2020 seasons). Three image processing approaches were evaluated for AGBM estimation, where the best results were acquired using the 3D point cloud model at 1.5 alpha shape technique showing high correlation with harvested fresh (r = 0.78–0.81, p < 0.001) and dry (r = 0.70–0.81, p < 0.001) AGBM. Similarly, the selected features from the normalized difference spectral indices and the ratio spectral indices extracted from hyperspectral data with the random forest model provided high predictive accuracy for all 12 biomass quality traits (0.81 < R2 < 0. 93; 0.05 < RMSE (%) < 1.80; 0.03 < MAE (%) < 1.32).In the wheat study, the vegetation indies were highly correlated between satellite (GSD = 0.31 m) and UAV data (0.42 ≤ r ≤ 0.99, p < 0.01) from winter and spring wheat breeding trials (2020 and 2021). The yield prediction using such VIs with the high-resolution satellite imagery (6.26 ≤ RMSE% ≤ 25.49; 5.11 ≤ MAE% ≤ 20.95; 0.17 ≤ r ≤0.78) and UAV imagery (5.53 ≤ RMSE% ≤ 17.20; 4.28 ≤ MAE% ≤ 14.20; 0.43 ≤ r ≤ 0.92) was also high. In addition to these two platforms, an intelligent and compact IoT-based sensor system was developed for independent and automated phenomics applications to measure and monitor plant responses in real-time. The sensor development, improvisation, and implementation encompassed three field seasons (2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons). The developed IoT-based sensor system could be successfully implemented to monitor multiple trials for timely crop management and increased resource efficiency. The system shows a high potential for supporting plant breeding programs for in-field phenotyping applications. All studies demonstrated promising results in monitoring and estimating crop performance and phenotypic traits using multiscale sensing systems

Selected Papers from the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications

This Special Issue comprises selected papers from the proceedings of the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications, held on 15–30 November 2018, on sciforum.net, an online platform for hosting scholarly e-conferences and discussion groups. In this 5th edition of the electronic conference, contributors were invited to provide papers and presentations from the field of sensors and applications at large, resulting in a wide variety of excellent submissions and topic areas. Papers which attracted the most interest on the web or that provided a particularly innovative contribution were selected for publication in this collection. These peer-reviewed papers are published with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications. We hope this conference series will grow rapidly in the future and become recognized as a new way and venue by which to (electronically) present new developments related to the field of sensors and their applications

Deep learning for internet of underwater things and ocean data analytics

The Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) is an emerging technological ecosystem developed for connecting objects in maritime and underwater environments. IoUT technologies are empowered by an extreme number of deployed sensors and actuators. In this thesis, multiple IoUT sensory data are augmented with machine intelligence for forecasting purposes

Precision Agriculture Technology for Crop Farming

This book provides a review of precision agriculture technology development, followed by a presentation of the state-of-the-art and future requirements of precision agriculture technology. It presents different styles of precision agriculture technologies suitable for large scale mechanized farming; highly automated community-based mechanized production; and fully mechanized farming practices commonly seen in emerging economic regions. The book emphasizes the introduction of core technical features of sensing, data processing and interpretation technologies, crop modeling and production control theory, intelligent machinery and field robots for precision agriculture production

Precision Agriculture Technology for Crop Farming

This book provides a review of precision agriculture technology development, followed by a presentation of the state-of-the-art and future requirements of precision agriculture technology. It presents different styles of precision agriculture technologies suitable for large scale mechanized farming; highly automated community-based mechanized production; and fully mechanized farming practices commonly seen in emerging economic regions. The book emphasizes the introduction of core technical features of sensing, data processing and interpretation technologies, crop modeling and production control theory, intelligent machinery and field robots for precision agriculture production