1,251 research outputs found
Wireless communication, identification and sensing technologies enabling integrated logistics: a study in the harbor environment
In the last decade, integrated logistics has become an important challenge in
the development of wireless communication, identification and sensing
technology, due to the growing complexity of logistics processes and the
increasing demand for adapting systems to new requirements. The advancement of
wireless technology provides a wide range of options for the maritime container
terminals. Electronic devices employed in container terminals reduce the manual
effort, facilitating timely information flow and enhancing control and quality
of service and decision made. In this paper, we examine the technology that can
be used to support integration in harbor's logistics. In the literature, most
systems have been developed to address specific needs of particular harbors,
but a systematic study is missing. The purpose is to provide an overview to the
reader about which technology of integrated logistics can be implemented and
what remains to be addressed in the future
Modeling of On-line Traffic Control and Management Network for Operational and Communication Performance Evaluation
Communication systems are the backbone of every effective and reliable traffic control and management application. While traditional fiber optics and telephone communications have long been used in managing and controlling highway traffic, wireless communication technology shows great promise as an alternative solution in traffic management applications due to their suitability for deployment in rural areas, and their flexibility and cost-effectiveness for system expansion. However, the detailed characteristics of various wireless communication technologies and real performance in the field have not been systematically studied. To augment this existing knowledge so that traffic professionals may better utilize these technologies to improve traffic safety, mobility and efficiency, this study aims to 1) identify existing wireless communication technologies used in ITS, and potential wireless communication alternatives that can be widely used in ITS, 2) evaluate the performance, cost and reliability of existing and potential wireless communication technologies in supporting on-line traffic control and management functions, and 3) apply benefit-cost analysis to identify the impacts of using these wireless technologies to support on-line traffic management. To achieve these research objectives, the author first conducted an interview to discover the specifications of existing communication infrastructures deployed for various ITS related applications and the usage of wireless technologies in different states. Moreover, the author proposed a network design process that considered wireless coverage range and network topology, followed with case studies utilizing Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technologies to support a traffic surveillance system in seven metropolitan areas throughout South Carolina. Field tests were conducted to evaluate the performance and reliability of wireless transmissions between adjacent sensor nodes. After that, the author applied a communication simulator, ns-2, to compare the communication performance of a traffic sensor network with WiFi and WiMAX technologies under infrastructure and mesh topologies, and environmental conditions. Based on these simulation results, the author conducted performance-cost analysis for these selected technologies and topologies. The WiFi field test results indicated that wireless communication performance between two traffic sensors significantly degrades after 300 ft; this distance, however, may vary with the modulation rates and transmission power upon which the system operates. WiMAX nomadic test suggested that line-of-sight (LOS) greatly affects the connectivity level. Moreover, the capabilities and the performance of the WiMAX network are sometimes affected by the characteristics of the client radio. The simulation analysis and benefit-cost analysis indicated a WiFi mesh network solution has the highest throughput-cost ratio, 109 bits/dollar for supporting traffic surveillance systems, while the WiMAX infrastructure option provides the greatest amount of excess bandwidth, 9.15Mbps per device, which benefits the system\u27s future expansion. This dissertation provides an important foundation for further investigation of the performance and reliability of different wireless technologies. In addition, research results presented in this dissertation will benefit transportation agencies and other stakeholders in evaluating and selecting wireless communication options for different traffic control and management applications
Will SDN be part of 5G?
For many, this is no longer a valid question and the case is considered
settled with SDN/NFV (Software Defined Networking/Network Function
Virtualization) providing the inevitable innovation enablers solving many
outstanding management issues regarding 5G. However, given the monumental task
of softwarization of radio access network (RAN) while 5G is just around the
corner and some companies have started unveiling their 5G equipment already,
the concern is very realistic that we may only see some point solutions
involving SDN technology instead of a fully SDN-enabled RAN. This survey paper
identifies all important obstacles in the way and looks at the state of the art
of the relevant solutions. This survey is different from the previous surveys
on SDN-based RAN as it focuses on the salient problems and discusses solutions
proposed within and outside SDN literature. Our main focus is on fronthaul,
backward compatibility, supposedly disruptive nature of SDN deployment,
business cases and monetization of SDN related upgrades, latency of general
purpose processors (GPP), and additional security vulnerabilities,
softwarization brings along to the RAN. We have also provided a summary of the
architectural developments in SDN-based RAN landscape as not all work can be
covered under the focused issues. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on
the state of the art of SDN-based RAN and clearly points out the gaps in the
technology.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figure
Recommended from our members
Application priority framework for fixed mobile converged communication networks
This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The current prospects in wired and wireless access networks, it is becoming increasingly important to address potential convergence in order to offer integrated broadband services. These systems will need to offer higher data transmission capacities and long battery life, which is the catalyst for an everincreasing variety of air interface technologies targeting local area to wide area connectivity. Current integrated industrial networks do not offer application aware context delivery and enhanced services for optimised networks. Application aware services provide value-added functionality to business applications by capturing, integrating, and consolidating intelligence about users and their endpoint devices from various points in the network. This thesis mainly intends to resolve the issues related to ubiquitous application aware service, fair allocation of radio access, reduced energy consumption and improved capacity. A technique that measures and evaluates the data rate demand to reduce application response time and queuing delay for multi radio interfaces is proposed. The technique overcomes the challenges of network integration, requiring no user intervention, saving battery life and selecting the radio access connection for the application requested by the end user. This study is split in two parts. The first contribution identifies some constraints of the services towards the application layer in terms of e.g. data rate and signal strength. The objectives are achieved by application controlled handover (ACH) mechanism in order to maintain acceptable data rate for real-time application services. It also looks into the impact of the radio link on the application and identifies elements and parameters like wireless link quality and handover that will influence the application type. It also identifies some enhanced traditional mechanisms such as distance controlled multihop and mesh topology required in order to support energy efficient multimedia applications. The second contribution unfolds an intelligent application priority assignment mechanism (IAPAM) for medical applications using wireless sensor networks. IAPAM proposes and evaluates a technique based on prioritising multiple virtual queues for the critical nature of medical data to improve instant transmission. Various mobility patterns (directed, controlled and random waypoint) has been investigated and compared by simulating IAPAM enabled mobile BWSN. The following topics have been studied, modelled, simulated and discussed in this thesis: 1. Application Controlled Handover (ACH) for multi radios over fibre 2. Power Controlled Scheme for mesh multi radios over fibre using ACH 3. IAPAM for Biomedical Wireless Sensor Networks (BWSN) and impact of mobility over IAPAM enabled BWSN. Extensive simulation studies are performed to analyze and to evaluate the proposed techniques. Simulation results demonstrate significant improvements in multi radios over fibre performance in terms of application response delay and power consumption by upto 75% and 15 % respectively, reduction in traffic loss by upto 53% and reduction in delay for real time application by more than 25% in some cases
A Comprehensive Survey on Networking over TV White Spaces
The 2008 Federal Communication Commission (FCC) ruling in the United States
opened up new opportunities for unlicensed operation in the TV white space
spectrum. Networking protocols over the TV white spaces promise to subdue the
shortcomings of existing short-range multi-hop wireless architectures and
protocols by offering more availability, wider bandwidth, and longer-range
communication. The TV white space protocols are the enabling technologies for
sensing and monitoring, Internet-of-Things (IoT), wireless broadband access,
real-time, smart and connected community, and smart utility applications. In
this paper, we perform a retrospective review of the protocols that have been
built over the last decade and also the new challenges and the directions for
future work. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive
survey to present and compare existing networking protocols over the TV white
spaces.Comment: 19 page
User-interactive wirelessly-communicating âsmartâ textiles made from multimaterial fibers
En raison de la nature intime des interactions homme-textiles (essentiellement, nous sommes entourĂ©s par les textiles 24/7 - soit sous la forme de vĂȘtements que nous portons ou comme rembourrage dans nos voitures, maisons, bureaux, etc.), les textiles intelligents sont devenus des plates-formes de plus en plus attrayantes pour les rĂ©seaux de capteurs innovants biomĂ©dicaux, transducteurs, et des microprocesseurs dĂ©diĂ©s Ă la surveillance continue de la santĂ©. En mĂȘme temps, l'approche commune dans le domaine des textiles intelligents consiste en l'adaptation de la microĂ©lectronique planaire classique Ă une sorte de substrat souple. Cela se traduit souvent par de mauvaises propriĂ©tĂ©s mĂ©caniques et donc des compromis au niveau du confort et de l'acceptation des usagers, qui Ă leur tour peuvent probablement expliquer pourquoi ces solutions Ă©mergent rarement du laboratoire et, Ă l'exception de certains cas trĂšs spĂ©cifiques, ne soit pas utilisĂ©s dans la vie de tous les jours. Par ailleurs, nous assistons prĂ©sentement Ă un changement de paradigme au niveau de l'informatique autonome classique vers le concept de calculs distribuĂ©s (ou informatique en nuage). Dans ce cas, la puissance de calcul du nĆud individuel ou d'un dispositif de textile intelligent est moins importante que la capacitĂ© de transmettre des donnĂ©es Ă l'Internet. Dans ce travail, je propose une nouvelle approche basĂ©e sur l'intĂ©gration de polymĂšre, verre et mĂ©tal dans des structures de fibres miniaturisĂ©es afin de rĂ©aliser des dispositifs de textiles intelligents de prochaine gĂ©nĂ©ration avec des fonctionnalitĂ©s de niveau supĂ©rieur (comme la communication sans fil, la reconnaissance tactile, les interconnexions Ă©lectriques) tout en ayant une forme minimalement envahissante. Tout d'abord, j'Ă©tudie diffĂ©rents modĂšles d'antennes compatibles avec la gĂ©omĂ©trie des fibres et des techniques de fabrication. Ensuite, je dĂ©montre expĂ©rimentalement que ces antennes en fibres multi-matĂ©riaux peuvent ĂȘtre intĂ©grĂ©es dans les textiles lors dâun processus standard de fabrication de textiles. Les tests effectuĂ©s sur ces textiles ont montrĂ© que, pour les scĂ©narios «sur-corps et hors-corps», les propriĂ©tĂ©s Ă©missives en termes de perte de retour (S11), le patron (diagramme) de radiation, l'efficacitĂ© (gain), et le taux d'erreur binaire (TEB) sont directement comparables Ă des solutions classiques rigides. Ces antennes sont adĂ©quates pour les communications Ă courte portĂ©e des applications de communications sans fil ayant un dĂ©bit de donnĂ©es de Mo/s (mĂ©ga-octets par seconde) (via protocoles Bluetooth et IEEE 802.15.4 Ă la frĂ©quence de 2,4 GHz). Des simulations numĂ©riques de taux d'absorption spĂ©cifique dĂ©montrent Ă©galement le plein respect des rĂšgles de sĂ©curitĂ© imposĂ©es par Industrie Canada pour les rĂ©seaux sans fil Ă proximitĂ© du corps humain. Puisque les matĂ©riaux composites de fibres mĂ©tal-verre-polymĂšre sont fabriquĂ©s en utilisant des fibres de silice creuses de diamĂštre submillimĂ©trique et la technique de dĂ©pĂŽt d'argent Ă l'Ă©tat liquide, les Ă©lĂ©ments conducteurs sont protĂ©gĂ©s de l'environnement et ceci prĂ©serve aussi les propriĂ©tĂ©s mĂ©caniques et esthĂ©tiques des vĂȘtements. Cet aspect est confirmĂ© par des essais correspondant aux normes de l'industrie du textile, l'Ă©tirement standard et des essais de flexion. De plus, appliquer des revĂȘtements superhydrophobes (WCA = 152Âș, SA = 6Âș) permet une communication sans fil sans interruption de ces textiles sous l'application directe de l'eau, mĂȘme aprĂšs plusieurs cycles de lavage. Enfin, le prototype de textile intelligent fabriquĂ© interagit avec l'utilisateur Ă travers un dĂ©tecteur tactile et transmet les donnĂ©es tactiles Ă travers le protocole Bluetooth Ă un smartphone. Cette dĂ©monstration valide lâapproche des fibres multi-matĂ©riaux pour une variĂ©tĂ© d'applications.As we are surrounded by textiles 24/7, either in the form of garments that we wear or as upholstery in our cars, homes, offices, etc., textiles are especially attractive platforms for arrays of innovative biomedical sensors, transducers, and microprocessors dedicated, among other applications, to continuous health monitoring. In the same time, the common approach in the field of smart textiles consists in adaptation of conventional planar microelectronics to some kind of flexible substrate, which often results in poor mechanical properties and thus compromises wearing comfort and complicates garment care, which results in low user acceptance. This explains why such solutions rarely emerge from the lab and, with the exception of some very specific cases, cannot be seen in the everyday life. Furthermore, we are currently witnessing a global shift from classical standalone computing to the concept of distributed computation (e.g. so-called thin clients and cloud storage). In this context, the computation power of the individual node or smart textile device in this case, becomes progressively less important than the ability to relay data to the Internet. In this work, I propose a novel approach based on the idea of integration of polymer, glass and metal into miniaturized fiber structures in order to achieve next-generation smart textile devices with higher-level functionalities, such as wireless communication, touch recognition, electrical interconnects, with minimally-invasive attributes. First, I investigate different possible fiber-shaped antenna designs and fabrication techniques. Next, I experimentally demonstrate that such multi-material fiber antennas can be integrated into textiles during standard textile manufacturing process. Tests conducted on these textiles have shown that, for on-body and off-body scenarios, the emissive properties in terms of return loss (S11), radiation pattern, efficiency (gain), and bit-error rate (BER) are directly comparable to classic ârigidâ solutions and adequately address short-range wireless communications applications at Mbps data-rates (via Bluetooth and IEEE 802.15.4 protocols at 2.4 GHz frequency). Numerical simulations of the specific absorption rate (SAR) also demonstrate full compliance with safety regulations imposed by Industry Canada for wireless body area network devices. Since metal-glass-polymer fiber composites were fabricated using sub-millimetre hollow-core silica fibers and liquid state silver deposition technique, the conductor elements are shielded against the environment and preserve the mechanical and cosmetic properties of the garments. This is confirmed by the textile industry standard stretching and bending tests. Additionally, applied superhydrophobic coatings (WCA=152Âș, SA=6Âș) allow uninterrupted wireless communication of the textiles under direct water application even after multiple washing cycles. Finally, I fabricated a user-interactive and wireless-communicating smart textile prototype, that interacts with the user through capacitive touch-sensing and relays the touch data through Bluetooth protocol to a smartphone. This demonstration validates that the proposed approach based on multi-material fibers is suitable for applications to sensor fabrics and bio-sensing textiles connected in real time to mobile communications infrastructures, suitable for a variety of health and life science applications
Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions
Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to
address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information
flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs
offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers,
involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems.
SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the
grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises
in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the
tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things
(IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the
generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by
incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as
well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such
devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG
systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes
of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues,
challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems
- âŠ