29 research outputs found
A graphics software architecture for high-end interactive TV terminals
This thesis proposes a graphics architecture for next-generation digital television receivers. The starting assumption is that in the future, a number of multimedia terminals will have access through a number of networks to a variety of content and services. One example of such a device is a media station capable of integrating different kinds of multimedia objects such as 2D/3D graphics and video, reacting to user interaction, and supporting the temporal dimension of applications. Some of the services intended for these devices include, for example, games and enhanced information over broadcasted video.
First, this thesis provides an overview of the digital television environment, focusing on the limitations of current receivers and hints at future directions. In addition, this thesis compares different solutions from regional standardisation bodies such as DVB, CableLabs, and ARIB. It proposes the adoption of the most relevant initiative, GEM by DVB. Unfortunately, GEM software middleware only considers Java language as an authoring format, meaning that the declarative environment and advanced functionalities (e.g., 3D graphics support) remain to be standardised.
Because in the future different user groups will have different demands with regard to television, this thesis identifies two major extensions to the GEM standard. First, it proposes a declarative environment for GEM that takes into account W3C standardisation efforts. This environment is divided into two configurations: one capable of rendering limited interactive applications such as information services, and another intended for more demanding applications, for example a distance learning portal that synchronises videos of lecturers and slides. Second, this thesis proposes to extend the procedural environment of GEM with 3D graphics support. The potential services of this new profile, High-End Interactive, include games and commercials.
Then, based on the requirements the proposed profiles should meet, this thesis defines a graphics architecture model composed of five layers. The hardware abstraction layer is in charge of rendering the final graphics output. The graphical context is a cross-platform abstraction of the rendering region and provides graphics primitives (e.g., rectangles and images). The graphical environment provides the means to control different graphical contexts. The GUI toolkit is a set of ready-made user interface widgets and layout schemes. Finally, high-level languages are easy-to-use tools for developing simple services.
The thesis concludes with a report of my experience implementing a digital television receiver based on the proposals described. In addition to testing the application of the proposed graphics architecture to the design and implementation of a next-generation digital television receiver, the implementation permits the analysis of the requirements of such receivers and of the services they can provide.reviewe
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Semi-automated mobile television interactive application generation based on XHTML and Java ME
This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 11/02/2011.Mobile Digital TV (MDTV), the hybrid of Digital Television (DTV) and mobile devices (such as mobile phones), has introduced a new way for people to watch DTV and has brought new opportunities for development in the DTV industry. Nowadays, the development of the next generation MDTV service has progressed in terms of both hardware layers and software, with interactive services/applications becoming one of the future MDTV service trends. However, current MDTV interactive services still lack in terms of attracting the consumers and the service creation and implementation process relies too much on commercial solutions, resulting in most parts of the process being proprietary. In addition, this has increased the technical demands for developers as well as has increased substantially the cost of producing and maintaining MDTV services. In light of the aforementioned situation, the Thesis has contributed to this field, by proposing an innovative MDTV service creation and consumption system based on XHTML and Java ME. On the head-end it introduces a semi-automatic creation mechanism to facilitate a less technical and more efficient interactive service creation process. This enables designers and creative individuals to be actively involved in the MDTV service creation process and to develop interactive-rich MDTV service. On the client-end it employs an open-source software environment as the interactive service MDTV consumption platform, rendering the MDTV service implementation process as less proprietary as possible. Furthermore, the Thesis offers a discussion on the different MDTV interactive application models currently used and based on the proposed software, a novel MDTV service presentation method is further introduced and adopted instead of the Rich Media and ECMAScript based methods. Finally, a series of qualitative testing procedures have been implemented with regards to conducting an essential evaluation on the operability of the proposed software system
3rd EGEE User Forum
We have organized this book in a sequence of chapters, each chapter associated with an application or technical theme introduced by an overview of the contents, and a summary of the main conclusions coming from the Forum for the chapter topic. The first chapter gathers all the plenary session keynote addresses, and following this there is a sequence of chapters covering the application flavoured sessions. These are followed by chapters with the flavour of Computer Science and Grid Technology. The final chapter covers the important number of practical demonstrations and posters exhibited at the Forum. Much of the work presented has a direct link to specific areas of Science, and so we have created a Science Index, presented below. In addition, at the end of this book, we provide a complete list of the institutes and countries involved in the User Forum
Modelado de transmisiĂłn eficiente de datos para eventos multivariantes basados en umbral
This doctoral thesis delves into the optimization of communications in sensor networks for a specific purpose: to evaluate threshold-based events that depend on multiple distributed variables. This motivation is behind the detailed research presented here in the form of a compendium of papers. The developed work is structured in 3 scientific contributions in articles. Out of those 3 contributions, the most theoretical work has been described in 2 of them, leaving the third article for the presentation of a methodological support tool with great scientific impact and relevance in this doctoral thesis. Due to the two theoretical and large–scale contributions in the proposed field, a solution is proposed which is stated as an hypotheses. The first contribution is the mathematical foundations for modelling data reduction in the sensor network and measuring its influence on the quality of the event evaluation. For this purpose, a set of functions and parameters is defined. This logic modifies the cardinality of the mathematical domains in which information is defined in order to save traffic. Specific metrics that consider the time delays in the state changes of the evaluated condition are also defined. The second contribution is an adaptive algorithm that, taking into account the logical context of the system information, parameterizes the proposed model at runtime. As a result, this technique maximizes traffic reduction and minimizes error in the evaluation of the event simultaneously, obtaining promising results. As a methodological contribution, a procedure for generating pseudo-realistic random signals is also described, a useful tool for easily obtaining large datasets suitable for experimentation, which has been applied in the described contributions.Esta tesis doctoral profundiza en la optimizaciĂłn de las comunicaciones en redes de sensores con un propĂłsito especĂfico: evaluar eventos basados en umbral que dependen de mĂşltiples variables distribuidas. Con esta motivaciĂłn se desarrolla la investigaciĂłn detallada aquĂ en forma compendio de artĂculos. El trabajo desarrollado se estructura en 3 aportaciones cientĂficas en artĂculos. De esas 3 aportaciones, el trabajo en su vertiente más teĂłrica se desarrolla en 2 de ellas, quedando el tercer artĂculo para la presentaciĂłn de una herramienta de soporte metodolĂłgico con gran impacto cientĂfico y de relevancia en esta tesis doctoral. Gracias a las dos aportaciones teĂłricas y de gran calado en el ámbito propuesto se propone una soluciĂłn que se plantea en forma de hipĂłtesis. La primera aportaciĂłn son los fundamentos matemáticos para modelar la reducciĂłn de datos en la red de sensores y medir su incidencia en la calidad de la evaluaciĂłn del evento. Para ello define una serie de funciones y parámetros que alteran la cardinalidad de los dominios matemáticos en los que se define la informaciĂłn, asĂ como mĂ©tricas especĂficas que tienen en cuenta los desfases temporales en los cambios de estado de la condiciĂłn evaluada. La segunda aportaciĂłn es un algoritmo adaptativo que, considerando el contexto lĂłgico de la informaciĂłn del sistema, parametriza el modelo propuesto en tiempo de ejecuciĂłn. Como resultado, esta tĂ©cnica maximiza la reducciĂłn de tráfico y minimiza el error en la evaluaciĂłn del evento simultáneamente, obteniendo resultados prometedores. Como tercera aportaciĂłn se describe tambiĂ©n un procedimiento para generar señales aleatorias pseudo–realistas, una herramienta Ăştil para disponer fácilmente de grandes conjuntos de datos adecuados para experimentaciĂłn, que ha sido utilizada en las aportaciones descritas
Semi-automated mobile television interactive application generation based on XHTML and Java ME
Mobile Digital TV (MDTV), the hybrid of Digital Television (DTV) and mobile devices (such as mobile phones), has introduced a new way for people to watch DTV and has brought new opportunities for development in the DTV industry. Nowadays, the development of the next generation MDTV service has progressed in terms of both hardware layers and software, with interactive services/applications becoming one of the future MDTV service trends. However, current MDTV interactive services still lack in terms of attracting the consumers and the service creation and implementation process relies too much on commercial solutions, resulting in most parts of the process being proprietary. In addition, this has increased the technical demands for developers as well as has increased substantially the cost of producing and maintaining MDTV services. In light of the aforementioned situation, the Thesis has contributed to this field, by proposing an innovative MDTV service creation and consumption system based on XHTML and Java ME. On the head-end it introduces a semi-automatic creation mechanism to facilitate a less technical and more efficient interactive service creation process. This enables designers and creative individuals to be actively involved in the MDTV service creation process and to develop interactive-rich MDTV service. On the client-end it employs an open-source software environment as the interactive service MDTV consumption platform, rendering the MDTV service implementation process as less proprietary as possible. Furthermore, the Thesis offers a discussion on the different MDTV interactive application models currently used and based on the proposed software, a novel MDTV service presentation method is further introduced and adopted instead of the Rich Media and ECMAScript based methods. Finally, a series of qualitative testing procedures have been implemented with regards to conducting an essential evaluation on the operability of the proposed software system.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Semi-automated mobile television interactive application generation based on XHTML and Java ME
Mobile Digital TV (MDTV), the hybrid of Digital Television (DTV) and mobile devices (such as mobile phones), has introduced a new way for people to watch DTV and has brought new opportunities for development in the DTV industry. Nowadays, the development of the next generation MDTV service has progressed in terms of both hardware layers and software, with interactive services/applications becoming one of the future MDTV service trends. However, current MDTV interactive services still lack in terms of attracting the consumers and the service creation and implementation process relies too much on commercial solutions, resulting in most parts of the process being proprietary. In addition, this has increased the technical demands for developers as well as has increased substantially the cost of producing and maintaining MDTV services. In light of the aforementioned situation, the Thesis has contributed to this field, by proposing an innovative MDTV service creation and consumption system based on XHTML and Java ME. On the head-end it introduces a semi-automatic creation mechanism to facilitate a less technical and more efficient interactive service creation process. This enables designers and creative individuals to be actively involved in the MDTV service creation process and to develop interactive-rich MDTV service. On the client-end it employs an open-source software environment as the interactive service MDTV consumption platform, rendering the MDTV service implementation process as less proprietary as possible. Furthermore, the Thesis offers a discussion on the different MDTV interactive application models currently used and based on the proposed software, a novel MDTV service presentation method is further introduced and adopted instead of the Rich Media and ECMAScript based methods. Finally, a series of qualitative testing procedures have been implemented with regards to conducting an essential evaluation on the operability of the proposed software system.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Situation-aware Edge Computing
Future wireless networks must cope with an increasing amount of data that needs to be transmitted to or from mobile devices. Furthermore, novel applications, e.g., augmented reality games or autonomous driving, require low latency and high bandwidth at the same time. To address these challenges, the paradigm of edge computing has been proposed. It brings computing closer to the users and takes advantage of the capabilities of telecommunication infrastructures, e.g., cellular base stations or wireless access points, but also of end user devices such as smartphones, wearables, and embedded systems. However, edge computing introduces its own challenges, e.g., economic and business-related questions or device mobility. Being aware of the current situation, i.e., the domain-specific interpretation of environmental information, makes it possible to develop approaches targeting these challenges.
In this thesis, the novel concept of situation-aware edge computing is presented. It is divided into three areas: situation-aware infrastructure edge computing, situation-aware device edge computing, and situation-aware embedded edge computing. Therefore, the concepts of situation and situation-awareness are introduced. Furthermore, challenges are identified for each area, and corresponding solutions are presented. In the area of situation-aware infrastructure edge computing, economic and business-related challenges are addressed, since companies offering services and infrastructure edge computing facilities have to find agreements regarding the prices for allowing others to use them. In the area of situation-aware device edge computing, the main challenge is to find suitable nodes that can execute a service and to predict a node’s connection in the near future. Finally, to enable situation-aware embedded edge computing, two novel programming and data analysis approaches are presented that allow programmers to develop situation-aware applications.
To show the feasibility, applicability, and importance of situation-aware edge computing, two case studies are presented. The first case study shows how situation-aware edge computing can provide services for emergency response applications, while the second case study presents an approach where network transitions can be implemented in a situation-aware manner
Ubiquitous Computing
The aim of this book is to give a treatment of the actively developed domain of Ubiquitous computing. Originally proposed by Mark D. Weiser, the concept of Ubiquitous computing enables a real-time global sensing, context-aware informational retrieval, multi-modal interaction with the user and enhanced visualization capabilities. In effect, Ubiquitous computing environments give extremely new and futuristic abilities to look at and interact with our habitat at any time and from anywhere. In that domain, researchers are confronted with many foundational, technological and engineering issues which were not known before. Detailed cross-disciplinary coverage of these issues is really needed today for further progress and widening of application range. This book collects twelve original works of researchers from eleven countries, which are clustered into four sections: Foundations, Security and Privacy, Integration and Middleware, Practical Applications
Application of service composition mechanisms to Future Networks architectures and Smart Grids
Aquesta tesi gira entorn de la hipòtesi de la metodologia i mecanismes de composiciĂł de serveis i com es poden aplicar a diferents camps d'aplicaciĂł per a orquestrar de manera eficient comunicacions i processos flexibles i sensibles al context. MĂ©s concretament, se centra en dos camps d'aplicaciĂł: la distribuciĂł eficient i sensible al context de contingut multimèdia i els serveis d'una xarxa elèctrica intel·ligent. En aquest Ăşltim camp es centra en la gestiĂł de la infraestructura, cap a la definiciĂł d'una Software Defined Utility (SDU), que proposa una nova manera de gestionar la Smart Grid amb un enfocament basat en programari, que permeti un funcionament molt mĂ©s flexible de la infraestructura de xarxa elèctrica. Per tant, revisa el context, els requisits i els reptes, aixĂ com els enfocaments de la composiciĂł de serveis per a aquests camps. Fa especial èmfasi en la combinaciĂł de la composiciĂł de serveis amb arquitectures Future Network (FN), presentant una proposta de FN orientada a serveis per crear comunicacions adaptades i sota demanda. TambĂ© es presenten metodologies i mecanismes de composiciĂł de serveis per operar sobre aquesta arquitectura, i posteriorment, es proposa el seu Ăşs (en conjunciĂł o no amb l'arquitectura FN) en els dos camps d'estudi. Finalment, es presenta la investigaciĂł i desenvolupament realitzat en l'Ă mbit de les xarxes intel·ligents, proposant diverses parts de la infraestructura SDU amb exemples d'aplicaciĂł de composiciĂł de serveis per dissenyar seguretat dinĂ mica i flexible o l'orquestraciĂł i gestiĂł de serveis i recursos dins la infraestructura de l'empresa elèctrica.Esta tesis gira en torno a la hipĂłtesis de la metodologĂa y mecanismos de composiciĂłn de servicios y cĂłmo se pueden aplicar a diferentes campos de aplicaciĂłn para orquestar de manera eficiente comunicaciones y procesos flexibles y sensibles al contexto. Más concretamente, se centra en dos campos de aplicaciĂłn: la distribuciĂłn eficiente y sensible al contexto de contenido multimedia y los servicios de una red elĂ©ctrica inteligente. En este Ăşltimo campo se centra en la gestiĂłn de la infraestructura, hacia la definiciĂłn de una Software Defined Utility (SDU), que propone una nueva forma de gestionar la Smart Grid con un enfoque basado en software, que permita un funcionamiento mucho más flexible de la infraestructura de red elĂ©ctrica. Por lo tanto, revisa el contexto, los requisitos y los retos, asĂ como los enfoques de la composiciĂłn de servicios para estos campos. Hace especial hincapiĂ© en la combinaciĂłn de la composiciĂłn de servicios con arquitecturas Future Network (FN), presentando una propuesta de FN orientada a servicios para crear comunicaciones adaptadas y bajo demanda. TambiĂ©n se presentan metodologĂas y mecanismos de composiciĂłn de servicios para operar sobre esta arquitectura, y posteriormente, se propone su uso (en conjunciĂłn o no con la arquitectura FN) en los dos campos de estudio. Por Ăşltimo, se presenta la investigaciĂłn y desarrollo realizado en el ámbito de las redes inteligentes, proponiendo varias partes de la infraestructura SDU con ejemplos de aplicaciĂłn de composiciĂłn de servicios para diseñar seguridad dinámica y flexible o la orquestaciĂłn y gestiĂłn de servicios y recursos dentro de la infraestructura de la empresa elĂ©ctrica.This thesis revolves around the hypothesis the service composition methodology and mechanisms and how they can be applied to different fields of application in order to efficiently orchestrate flexible and context-aware communications and processes. More concretely, it focuses on two fields of application that are the context-aware media distribution and smart grid services and infrastructure management, towards a definition of a Software-Defined Utility (SDU), which proposes a new way of managing the Smart Grid following a software-based approach that enable a much more flexible operation of the power infrastructure. Hence, it reviews the context, requirements and challenges of these fields, as well as the service composition approaches. It makes special emphasis on the combination of service composition with Future Network (FN) architectures, presenting a service-oriented FN proposal for creating context-aware on-demand communication services. Service composition methodology and mechanisms are also presented in order to operate over this architecture, and afterwards, proposed for their usage (in conjunction or not with the FN architecture) in the deployment of context-aware media distribution and Smart Grids. Finally, the research and development done in the field of Smart Grids is depicted, proposing several parts of the SDU infrastructure, with examples of service composition application for designing dynamic and flexible security for smart metering or the orchestration and management of services and data resources within the utility infrastructure