Hardware Acceleration for Unstructured Big Data and Natural Language Processing.

The confluence of the rapid growth in electronic data in recent years, and the renewed interest in domain-specific hardware accelerators presents exciting technical opportunities. Traditional scale-out solutions for processing the vast amounts of text data have been shown to be energy- and cost-inefficient. In contrast, custom hardware accelerators can provide higher throughputs, lower latencies, and significant energy savings. In this thesis, I present a set of hardware accelerators for unstructured big-data processing and natural language processing. The first accelerator, called HAWK, aims to speed up the processing of ad hoc queries against large in-memory logs. HAWK is motivated by the observation that traditional software-based tools for processing large text corpora use memory bandwidth inefficiently due to software overheads, and, thus, fall far short of peak scan rates possible on modern memory systems. HAWK is designed to process data at a constant rate of 32 GB/s—faster than most extant memory systems. I demonstrate that HAWK outperforms state-of-the-art software solutions for text processing, almost by an order of magnitude in many cases. HAWK occupies an area of 45 sq-mm in its pareto-optimal configuration and consumes 22 W of power, well within the area and power envelopes of modern CPU chips. The second accelerator I propose aims to speed up similarity measurement calculations for semantic search in the natural language processing space. By leveraging the latency hiding concepts of multi-threading and simple scheduling mechanisms, my design maximizes functional unit utilization. This similarity measurement accelerator provides speedups of 36x-42x over optimized software running on server-class cores, while requiring 56x-58x lower energy, and only 1.3% of the area.PhDComputer Science and EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116712/1/prateekt_1.pd

Smart system and mobile interface for healthcare: stress and diabetes

In this thesis, a system with multi-channel measurement capabilities was designed and implemented, associated with the monitoring of stress levels, through a proposed algorithm that correlates heart rate, respiratory rate, and galvanic skin response. Experimental validation tests were carried out, as well as experiments with patients suffering from diabetes. To this end, measurements were made not only of stress-related parameters, but also of parameters such as blood glucose levels and blood pressure levels, seeking to extract correlations between stress and diabetes status. In addition, body temperature was another parameter acquired, in order to assess its importance and relation to stress and diabetes. The proposed multichannel system also features RFID technology for authentication purposes, as well as Wi-Fi access for internet connection and storage of the acquired data in a database structured for that purpose, thus enabling remote access. To allow the assessment of stress levels and diabetes progress, a mobile application was also developed, which also allows the visualisation of the analysed data.In this thesis, a system with multi-channel measurement capabilities was designed and implemented, associated with the monitoring of stress levels, through a proposed algorithm that correlates heart rate, respiratory rate, and galvanic skin response. Experimental validation tests were carried out, as well as experiments with patients suffering from diabetes. To this end, measurements were made not only of stress-related parameters, but also of parameters such as blood glucose levels and blood pressure levels, seeking to extract correlations between stress and diabetes status. In addition, body temperature was another parameter acquired, in order to assess its importance and relation to stress and diabetes. The proposed multichannel system also features RFID technology for authentication purposes, as well as Wi-Fi access for internet connection and storage of the acquired data in a database structured for that purpose, thus enabling remote access. To allow the assessment of stress levels and diabetes progress, a mobile application was also developed, which also allows the visualisation of the analysed data

VIOLA - A multi-purpose and web-based visualization tool for neuronal-network simulation output

Neuronal network models and corresponding computer simulations are invaluable tools to aid the interpretation of the relationship between neuron properties, connectivity and measured activity in cortical tissue. Spatiotemporal patterns of activity propagating across the cortical surface as observed experimentally can for example be described by neuronal network models with layered geometry and distance-dependent connectivity. The interpretation of the resulting stream of multi-modal and multi-dimensional simulation data calls for integrating interactive visualization steps into existing simulation-analysis workflows. Here, we present a set of interactive visualization concepts called views for the visual analysis of activity data in topological network models, and a corresponding reference implementation VIOLA (VIsualization Of Layer Activity). The software is a lightweight, open-source, web-based and platform-independent application combining and adapting modern interactive visualization paradigms, such as coordinated multiple views, for massively parallel neurophysiological data. For a use-case demonstration we consider spiking activity data of a two-population, layered point-neuron network model subject to a spatially confined excitation originating from an external population. With the multiple coordinated views, an explorative and qualitative assessment of the spatiotemporal features of neuronal activity can be performed upfront of a detailed quantitative data analysis of specific aspects of the data. Furthermore, ongoing efforts including the European Human Brain Project aim at providing online user portals for integrated model development, simulation, analysis and provenance tracking, wherein interactive visual analysis tools are one component. Browser-compatible, web-technology based solutions are therefore required. Within this scope, with VIOLA we provide a first prototype.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures, 3 table

Augmented Reality Browser for Android Smartphones

Master's thesis in Computer scienceAugmented Reality capabilities complement the reality captured by the sensors (human’s senses or technological devices) by adding virtual elements that improve the experience with the real world. The purpose of this project is to develop an application for android smartphones with Augmented Reality (AR) characteristics. Principal characteristic includes an AR view location-based, by using the GPS, camera, and the sensors such as accelerometer, magnetic field, and gyroscope. In addition, the integration of different open data sources that provide relevant information of points of interest (POI's) like touristic places, natural locations, and local business. Based on the searching filters and coordinates of current position. For a better understanding, the mathematical foundation will be explained (three axes space x, y and z) for calculate positioning of markers that will be projected in the augmented reality view, by processing and filtering the data provided by the sensors, as well, an explanation of the libraries used to develop the different components of the application. After this, a revision to the accuracy of sensor methods for capture the localization and motion changes, by using low/high pass filters in the signals and fusion of sensed data, to cancel noise and drift, and get more accurate orientation vectors. The results of this project are presented in form of an application with AR capabilities, such that it can be used for smart and interactive browsing, and to understand the basis of AR concept applied in a real use case. Further research, in this project is to present additional helps in the dashboard by using image recognition, for interact with the objects around, and contextualized searching based on filtering history and user preferences

Um estudo comparativo de contramedidas para detectar ataques de spoofing em sistemas de autenticação de faces

Orientador: José Mario De MartinoDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de ComputaçãoResumo: O Resumo poderá ser visualizado no texto completo da tese digitalAbstract: The complete Abstract is available with the full electronic document.MestradoEngenharia de ComputaçãoMestre em Engenharia Elétric

Development of a Cardiac Auscultation Virtual Reality App

La auscultación cardiaca es un procedimiento que permite diagnosticar la condición del corazón de un paciente haciendo uso de un estetoscopio. Una examinaciOn apropiada con el estetoscopio puede resultar en un adecuado diagnóstico y tratamiento. Habilidades en auscultación cardiaca están en decaimiento entre practicantes y profesionales de áreas relacionadas al cuidado de la salud debido al extenso tiempo requerido de entrenamiento. Herramientas actuales de entrenamiento incluyen maniquíes de simulación y equipamiento de diagnóstico que está tomando un papel con mayor prominencia en la práctica de auscultación cardiaca que el entrenamiento con el estetoscopio. De acuerdo con la Organización Mundial de la Salud, en 2015 los dos causantes más grandes de muerte fueron ataques al corazón y enfermedades cerebrovasculares. La disponibilidad y bajo costos del estetoscopio lo hace una herramienta rentable en el entrenamiento en auscultación cardiaca. Actualmente, dispositivos de realidad virtual disponibles para el consumidor común están permitiendo el desarrollo de experiencias virtuales asequibles que tienen el potencial para complementar otras formas de entrenamiento. En este trabajo se presenta una aplicación móvil que combina elementos multimedia tales como sonidos de ritmos cardiacos e imágenes indicando áreas donde la exploración cardiaca debería ser llevada a cabo. Modelados 3D con animaciones realistas de pacientes con diferentes características físicas para simulación y texto explicativo para el diagnóstico fueron usados para proveer inmersión y realismo. El sistema está basado en el procedimiento de entrenamiento en auscultación cardiaca, haciendo uso de elementos de juego para enganchar y motivar los usuarios en el proceso de aprendizaje.Cardiac auscultation is a procedure that allows diagnosing a patient’s heart condition making use of the stethoscope. Proper examination skills with the stethoscope may result in proper diagnostics and treatment. Auscultation skills are in decay among health care trainees and even professionals, due to the required extensive training. Current training tools include simulation manikins and diagnostics equipment that is taking a more prominent role in auscultation practice than the training with the stethoscope. According to the World Health Organization, in 2015 the top two causes of death were ischaemic heart disease and stroke. The availability and low cost of the stethoscope makes it a cost-effective tool in cardiac auscultation skills. Currently, virtual reality consumer-grade devices are allowing the development of affordable virtual experiences that have the potential to complement other forms of training. In this work a mobile app combines multimedia elements such as heart rhythm sounds and images indicating areas where cardiac exploration should be performed is presented. 3D models with realistic animations of patients with different physical characteristics for the simulation and explanatory text for the diagnosis were used to provide immersion and realism. The system is based on the cardiac auscultation training procedure, making use of game elements in order to engage and motivate users in the learning process.Pregrad

FINE-GRAINED ACCESS CONTROL ON ANDROID COMPONENT

The pervasiveness of Android devices in today’s interconnected world emphasizes the importance of mobile security in protecting user privacy and digital assets. Android’s current security model primarily enforces application-level mechanisms, which fail to address component-level (e.g., Activity, Service, and Content Provider) security concerns. Consequently, third-party code may exploit an application’s permissions, and security features like MDM or BYOD face limitations in their implementation. To address these concerns, we propose a novel Android component context-aware access control mechanism that enforces layered security at multiple Exception Levels (ELs), including EL0, EL1, and EL3. This approach effectively restricts component privileges and controls resource access as needed. Our solution comprises Flasa at EL0, extending SELinux policies for inter-component interactions and SQLite content control; Compac, spanning EL0 and EL1, which enforces component-level permission controls through Android runtime and kernel modifications; and TzNfc, leveraging TrustZone technologies to secure third-party services and limit system privileges via Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). Our evaluations demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed solution in containing component privileges, controlling inter-component interactions and protecting component level resource access. This enhanced solution, complementing Android’s existing security architecture, provides a more comprehensive approach to Android security, benefiting users, developers, and the broader mobile ecosystem