A Comprehensive Survey on Moving Networks

The unprecedented increase in the demand for mobile data, fuelled by new emerging applications such as HD video streaming and heightened online activities has caused massive strain on the existing cellular networks. As a solution, the 5G technology has been introduced to improve network performance through various innovative features such as mmWave spectrum and HetNets. In essence, HetNets include several small cells underlaid within macro-cell to serve densely populated regions. Recently, a mobile layer of HetNet has been under consideration by the researchers and is often referred to as moving networks. Moving networks comprise of mobile cells that are primarily introduced to improve QoS for commuting users inside public transport because the QoS is deteriorated due to vehicular penetration losses. Furthermore, the users inside fast moving public transport also exert excessive load on the core network due to large group handovers. To this end, mobile cells will play a crucial role in reducing overall handover count and will help in alleviating these problems by decoupling in-vehicle users from the core network. To date, remarkable research results have been achieved by the research community in addressing challenges linked to moving networks. However, to the best of our knowledge, a discussion on moving networks in a holistic way is missing in the current literature. To fill the gap, in this paper, we comprehensively survey moving networks. We cover the technological aspects and their applications in the futuristic applications. We also discuss the use-cases and value additions that moving networks may bring to future cellular architecture and identify the challenges associated with them. Based on the identified challenges we discuss the future research directions.Comment: This survey has been submitted to IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorial

Radio resource management for V2X in cellular systems

The thesis focuses on the provision of cellular vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, which have attracted great interest for 5G due to the potential of improving traffic safety and enabling new services related to intelligent transportation systems. These types of services have strict requirements on reliability, access availability, and end-to-end (E2E) latency. V2X requires advanced network management techniques that must be developed based on the characteristics of the networks and traffic requirements. The integration of the Sidelink (SL), which enables the direct communication between vehicles (i.e., vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)) without passing through the base station into cellular networks is a promising solution for enhancing the performance of V2X in cellular systems. In this thesis, we addressed some of the challenges arising from the integration of V2V communication in cellular systems and validated the potential of this technology by providing appropriate resource management solutions. Our main contributions have been in the context of radio access network slicing, mode selection, and radio resource allocation mechanisms. With regard to the first research direction that focuses on the RAN slicing management, a novel strategy based on offline Q-learning and softmax decision-making has been proposed as an enhanced solution to determine the adequate split of resources between a slice for eMBB communications and a slice for V2X. Then, starting from the outcome of the off-line Q-learning algorithm, a low-complexity heuristic strategy has been proposed to achieve further improvements in the use of resources. The proposed solution has been compared against proportional and fixed reference schemes. The extensive performance assessment have revealed the ability of the proposed algorithms to improve network performance compared to the reference schemes, especially in terms of resource utilization, throughput, latency and outage probability. Regarding the second research direction that focuses on the mode selection, two different mode selection solutions referred to as MSSB and MS-RBRS strategies have been proposed for V2V communication over a cellular network. The MSSB strategy decides when it is appropriate to use one or the other mode, i.e. sidelink or cellular, for the involved vehicles, taking into account the quality of the links between V2V users, the available resources, and the network traffic load situation. Moreover, the MS-RBRS strategy not only selects the appropriate mode of operation but also decides efficiently the amount of resources needed by V2V links in each mode and allows reusing RBs between different SL users while guaranteeing the minimum signal to interference requirements. The conducted simulations have revealed that the MS-RBRS and MSSB strategies are beneficial in terms of throughput, radio resource utilization, outage probability and latency under different offered loads comparing to the reference scheme. Last, we have focused on the resource allocation problem including jointly mode selection and radio resource scheduling. For the mode selection, a novel mode selection has been presented to decide when it is appropriate to select sidelink mode and use a distributed approach for radio resource allocation or cellular mode and use a centralized radio resource allocation. It takes into account three aspects: the quality of the links between V2V users, the available resources, and the latency. As for the radio resource allocation, the proposed approach includes a distributed radio resource allocation for sidelink mode and a centralized radio resource allocation for cellular mode. The proposed strategy supports dynamic assignments by allowing transmission over mini-slots. A simulation-based analysis has shown that the proposed strategies improved the network performance in terms of latency of V2V services, packet success rate and resource utilization under different network loads.La tesis se centra en la provisión de comunicaciones para vehículos sistemas celulares (V2X: Vehicle to Everything), que han atraído un gran interés en el contexto de 5G debido a su potencial de mejorar la seguridad del tráfico y habilitar nuevos servicios relacionados con los sistemas inteligentes de transporte. Estos tipos de servicios tienen requisitos estrictos en términos fiabilidad, disponibilidad de acceso y latencia de extremo a extremo (E2E). Para ello, V2X requiere técnicas avanzadas de gestión de red que deben desarrollarse en función de las características de las redes y los requisitos de tráfico. La integración del Sidelink (SL), que permite la comunicación directa entre vehículos (es decir, vehículo a vehículo (V2V)) sin pasar por la estación base de las redes celulares, es una solución prometedora para mejorar el rendimiento de V2X en el sistema celular. En esta tesis, abordamos algunos de los desafíos derivados de la integración de la comunicación V2V en los sistemas celulares y validamos el potencial de esta tecnología al proporcionar soluciones de gestión de recursos adecuadas. Nuestras principales contribuciones han sido en el contexto del denominado "slicing" de redes de acceso radio, la selección de modo y los mecanismos de asignación de recursos radio. Respecto a la primera dirección de investigación que se centra en la gestión del RAN slicing, se ha propuesto una estrategia novedosa basada en Q-learning y toma de decisiones softmax como una solución para determinar la división adecuada de recursos entre un slice para comunicaciones eMBB y un slice para V2X. Luego, a partir del resultado del algoritmo de Q-learning, se ha propuesto una estrategia heurística de baja complejidad para lograr mejoras adicionales en el uso de los recursos. La solución propuesta se ha comparado con esquemas de referencia proporcionales y fijos. La evaluación ha revelado la capacidad de los algoritmos propuestos para mejorar el rendimiento de la red en comparación con los esquemas de referencia, especialmente en términos de utilización de recursos, rendimiento, y latencia . Con respecto a la segunda dirección de investigación que se centra en la selección de modo, se han propuesto dos soluciones de diferentes llamadas estrategias MSSB y MS-RBRS para la comunicación V2V a través de una red celular. La estrategia MSSB decide cuándo es apropiado usar el modo SL o el modo celular, para los vehículos involucrados, teniendo en cuenta la calidad de los enlaces entre los usuarios de V2V, los recursos disponibles y la situación de carga de tráfico de la red. Además, la estrategia MS-RBRS no solo selecciona el modo de operación apropiado, sino que también decide eficientemente la cantidad de recursos que los enlaces V2V necesitan en cada modo, y permite que los RB se reutilicen entre diferentes usuarios de SL al tiempo que garantiza requisitos mínimos de señal a interferencia. Se ha presentado un análisis basado en simulación para evaluar el desempeño de las estrategias propuestas. Finalmente, nos hemos centrado en el problema conjunto de la selección de modo y la asignación de recursos de radio. Para la selección de modo, se ha presentado una nueva estrategia para decidir cuándo es apropiado seleccionar el modo SL y usar un enfoque distribuido para la asignación de recursos de radio o el modo celular y usar la asignación de recursos de radio centralizada. Tiene en cuenta tres aspectos: la calidad de los enlaces entre los usuarios de V2V, los recursos disponibles y la latencia. En términos de asignación de recursos de radio, el enfoque propuesto incluye una asignación de recursos de radio distribuida para el modo SL y una asignación de recursos de radio centralizada para el modo celular. La estrategia propuesta admite asignaciones dinámicas al permitir la transmisión a través de mini-slots. Los resultados muestran las mejoras en términos de latencia, tasa de recepción y la utilización de recursos bajo diferentes cargas de red.Postprint (published version

Δίκτυα Συνδεδεμένων Οχημάτων : Τρέχουσα Κατάσταση και Ανοιχτές Προκλήσεις

Η ολοένα αυξανόμενη παραγωγή οχημάτων σε όλο τον κόσμο και ταυτόχρονα η μεγαλύτερη ανάγκη για ασφάλεια αλλά και μείωση των εκπομπών άνθρακα που ορίζει μια σύγχρονη κοινωνία, έχουν οδηγήσει τη αυτοκινητοβιομηχανία σε νέες προκλήσεις για την δημιουργία ασφαλέστερων και φιλικότερων προς το περιβάλλον προτύπων για το σύστημα των οδικών μεταφορών. Αυτές οι προκλήσεις με την βοήθεια των ραγδαίως αναπτυσσόμενων νέων τεχνολογιών έχουν φέρει στην επιφάνεια τα λεγόμενα ασύρματα δίκτυα συνδεμένων οχημάτων και καινοτόμες υπηρεσίες όπως το Vehicle to Everything. Αυτές οι υπηρεσίες έχουν πολύ ψηλές απαιτήσεις και θέτουν αυστηρές προκλήσεις στο δίκτυο όπως η αξιοπιστία των υπηρεσιών, το latency και το mobility management καθώς μιλάμε για πολύ δυναμικά περιβάλλοντα. Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία εξηγεί τα ασύρματα δίκτυα συνδεδεμένων οχημάτων και αναλύει ξεχωριστά τις επικοινωνίες (ασύρματες και κυψελωτές) που χρησιμοποιούνται σε αυτά τα δίκτυα. Ακόμα εξετάζει υβριδικές μεθόδους ασύρματων και κυψελωτών τεχνολογιών για την αντιμετώπιση αρκετών ζητημάτων όπως το handover, ενώ το 5G υπόσχεται να δώσει λύσεις σε αρκετές προκλήσεις. Ακόμα γίνεται αναφορά στα δίκτυα οχημάτων αυτοματοποιημένης οδήγησης, τα αυτόνομα διασυνδεδεμένα οχήματα καθώς και στο fog computing για δίκτυα οχημάτων. Τέλος γίνεται μια εκτενής ανάλυση των απαιτήσεων - προκλήσεων ασφαλείας καθώς και πιθανών κακόβουλων επιθέσεων σε δίκτυα οχημάτων, ενώ παρουσιάζονται και τεχνικές για την διατήρηση της ιδιωτικότητας και της εμπιστευτικότητας για την διασφάλιση των επικοινωνιών.The increasing production of vehicles around the world and at the same time the greater need for safety but also the reduction of carbon emissions defined by a modern society, has led the automotive industry to new challenges in order to create safer and more environmentally friendly standards for the road transport system. These challenges, with the help of rapidly evolving new technologies, have brought to the surface so-called wireless interconnected vehicle networks and innovative services such as Vehicle to Everything. These services have very high requirements and pose severe challenges to the network such as service reliability, latency and mobility management as we are talking about very dynamic environments. This dissertation explains the wireless networks of connected vehicles and analyzes separately the communications (wireless and cellular) used in these networks. It is also considering hybrid methods of wireless and cellular technologies to address several issues such as handover, while 5G promises to provide solutions to several challenges. Reference is also made to automated driving vehicle networks, autonomous interconnected vehicles as well as fog computing for vehicle networks. Finally, an extensive analysis is made of the requirements - security challenges as well as possible malicious attacks on vehicle networks. Techniques for maintaining privacy and confidentiality to secure communications are also presented

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Digital Finance

This open access book presents how cutting-edge digital technologies like Big Data, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Blockchain are set to disrupt the financial sector. The book illustrates how recent advances in these technologies facilitate banks, FinTech, and financial institutions to collect, process, analyze, and fully leverage the very large amounts of data that are nowadays produced and exchanged in the sector. To this end, the book also describes some more the most popular Big Data, AI and Blockchain applications in the sector, including novel applications in the areas of Know Your Customer (KYC), Personalized Wealth Management and Asset Management, Portfolio Risk Assessment, as well as variety of novel Usage-based Insurance applications based on Internet-of-Things data. Most of the presented applications have been developed, deployed and validated in real-life digital finance settings in the context of the European Commission funded INFINITECH project, which is a flagship innovation initiative for Big Data and AI in digital finance. This book is ideal for researchers and practitioners in Big Data, AI, banking and digital finance

The Pull Paradigm : foundations of user-centric advanced driver assistant systems based on bidirectional car2X communication

This thesis develops applications for vehicular ad-hoc networks that go far beyond the currently established areas of driving safety and traffic efficiency. The ad-hoc network is regarded as a dynamic information resource which is available to any vehicle at any time. In contrast to current state-of-the-art research, the proposed Pull Paradigm starts at the user\u27s vehicle rather than at an information source somewhere in the network, e.g. a braking car. To access information from highly dynamic ad-hoc networks, bidirectional communication and information discovery and retrieval play a vital role. Therefore, in the course of the work, the applicability of the Pull Paradigm to established vehicular ad-hoc networks is thoroughly examined and missing aspects are identified. It turns out that a number of enhancements to almost all layers of the network stack are necessary in order to apply the Pull Paradigm using existing technology. The central elements here are two novel algorithms for managing information flow and dissemination in ad-hoc networks, which are at first formulated from the abstract perspective of graph theory. Using the knowledge gained leads to the development of PADE, a platform that supports development of vehicular ad-hoc network applications. The designed algorithms are then implemented as a routing scheme, integrated and evaluated in large, simulated city scenarios. Furthermore, PADE combines real\u27\u27 and simulated communication technologies and abstracts from them, so that applications can be transferred from the lab into a test vehicle with minimal effort. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, PADE builds on a number of existing simulation and communication technologies. The practical applicability of the Pull approach is shown in two demonstrators that are integrated into a BMW 5 series test vehicle. The presentation module of the PADE platform was tested in the currently largest field operational test for vehicular ad-hoc communication. Over 400 drivers in 120 vehicles experienced the system on a daily basis.In dieser Doktorarbeit werden Anwendungen für Fahrzeug Ad-hoc Netzwerke erarbeitet, die weit über die derzeit etablierten Bereiche der Fahrsicherheit und Verkehrseffizienz hinausgehen. Das Ad-hoc Netzwerk wird dabei als dynamische Informationsressource angesehen, die jedem Fahrzeug zu jedem Zeitpunkt zur Verfügung steht. Im Gegensatz zum derzeitigen Stand der Forschung geht das vorgestellte Pull Paradigma vom Fahrzeug des Benutzers und nicht von der Informationsquelle aus, z.B. einem bremsenden Fahrzeug. Für den Zugriff auf Informationen aus hochdynamischen Ad-hoc Netzen, spielen bidirektionale Kommunikation, Informationssuche und -rücktransport eine entscheidende Rolle. Im Verlauf der Arbeit wird deshalb die Anwendbarkeit des Pull Paradigmas auf etablierte Fahrzeug Ad-hoc Netze untersucht und fehlende Aspekte identifiziert. Es zeigt sich, dass eine Reihe an Erweiterungen auf fast allen Ebenen des Netzwerkstapels nötig sind damit die bestehende Technologie um das Pull Paradigma erweitert werden kann. Zentraler Punkt hierbei sind zwei neuartige Algorithmen zur Informationsverwaltung und -verbreitung in Ad-hoc Netzwerken die zunächst abstrakt aus Sicht der Graphentheorie formuliert werden. Mit Hilfe der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse wird PADE, eine Plattform zur Entwicklung von Anwendungen für Fahrzeug Ad-hoc Netze, entwickelt. Die entworfenen Algorithmen werden dann als Routingverfahren im Netzwerkstapel realisiert, in diesen integriert und auf großflächigen Stadtszenarien im Simulator evaluiert. Des Weiteren vereint PADE echte\u27\u27 und simulierte Kommunikationstechnologien und abstrahiert von diesen, sodass Anwendungen mit minimalem Aufwand vom Labor in ein Testfahrzeug überführt werden können. Um dieses ambitionierte Ziel zu erreichen, wird auf einer Reihe bereits bestehender Simulations- und Kommunikationstechnologien aufgebaut. Die praktische Anwendbarkeit des Pull Paradigmas wird anschließend in zwei Demonstratoren implementiert und in ein BMW 5er Testfahrzeug integriert. Das Präsentationsmodul der PADE Plattform wurde im derzeit weltgrößten Feldversuch für Fahrzeug Ad-hoc Kommunikation von über 400 Fahrern in 120 Fahrzeugen im Alltag getestet

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Digital Finance

This open access book presents how cutting-edge digital technologies like Big Data, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Blockchain are set to disrupt the financial sector. The book illustrates how recent advances in these technologies facilitate banks, FinTech, and financial institutions to collect, process, analyze, and fully leverage the very large amounts of data that are nowadays produced and exchanged in the sector. To this end, the book also describes some more the most popular Big Data, AI and Blockchain applications in the sector, including novel applications in the areas of Know Your Customer (KYC), Personalized Wealth Management and Asset Management, Portfolio Risk Assessment, as well as variety of novel Usage-based Insurance applications based on Internet-of-Things data. Most of the presented applications have been developed, deployed and validated in real-life digital finance settings in the context of the European Commission funded INFINITECH project, which is a flagship innovation initiative for Big Data and AI in digital finance. This book is ideal for researchers and practitioners in Big Data, AI, banking and digital finance