A Design Approach to IoT Endpoint Security for Production Machinery Monitoring

The Internet of Things (IoT) has significant potential in upgrading legacy production machinery with monitoring capabilities to unlock new capabilities and bring economic benefits. However, the introduction of IoT at the shop floor layer exposes it to additional security risks with potentially significant adverse operational impact. This article addresses such fundamental new risks at their root by introducing a novel endpoint security-by-design approach. The approach is implemented on a widely applicable production-machinery-monitoring application by introducing real-time adaptation features for IoT device security through subsystem isolation and a dedicated lightweight authentication protocol. This paper establishes a novel viewpoint for the understanding of IoT endpoint security risks and relevant mitigation strategies and opens a new space of risk-averse designs that enable IoT benefits, while shielding operational integrity in industrial environments

A Systematic Review of Detecting Sleep Apnea Using Deep Learning

Sleep apnea is a sleep related disorder that significantly affects the population. Polysomnography, the gold standard, is expensive, inaccessible, uncomfortable and an expert technician is needed to score. Numerous researchers have proposed and implemented automatic scoring processes to address these issues, based on fewer sensors and automatic classification algorithms. Deep learning is gaining higher interest due to database availability, newly developed techniques, the possibility of producing machine created features and higher computing power that allows the algorithms to achieve better performance than the shallow classifiers. Therefore, the sleep apnea research has currently gained significant interest in deep learning. The goal of this work is to analyze the published research in the last decade, providing an answer to the research questions such as how to implement the different deep networks, what kind of pre-processing or feature extraction is needed, and the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of networks. The employed signals, sensors, databases and implementation challenges were also considered. A systematic search was conducted on five indexing services from 2008–2018. A total of 255 papers were found and 21 were selected by considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) approach.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Contributions to Wireless multi-hop networks : Quality of Services and Security concerns

Ce document résume mes travaux de recherche conduits au cours de ces 6 dernières années. Le principal sujet de recherche de mes contributions est la conception et l’évaluation des solutions pour les réseaux sans fil multi-sauts en particulier les réseaux mobiles adhoc (MANETs), les réseaux véhiculaires ad hoc (VANETs), et les réseaux de capteurs sans fil (WSNs). La question clé de mes travaux de recherche est la suivante : « comment assurer un transport des données e cace en termes de qualité de services (QoS), de ressources énergétiques, et de sécurité dans les réseaux sans fil multi-sauts? » Pour répondre à cette question, j’ai travaillé en particulier sur les couches MAC et réseau et utilisé une approche inter-couches.Les réseaux sans fil multi-sauts présentent plusieurs problèmes liés à la gestion des ressources et au transport des données capable de supporter un grand nombre de nœuds, et d’assurer un haut niveau de qualité de service et de sécurité.Dans les réseaux MANETs, l’absence d’infrastructure ne permet pas d’utiliser l’approche centralisée pour gérer le partage des ressources, comme l’accès au canal.Contrairement au WLAN (réseau sans fil avec infrastructure), dans les réseaux Ad hoc les nœuds voisins deviennent concurrents et il est di cile d’assurer l’équité et l’optimisation du débit. La norme IEEE802.11 ne prend pas en compte l’équité entre les nœuds dans le contexte des MANETs. Bien que cette norme propose di érents niveaux de transmission, elle ne précise pas comment allouer ces débits de manière e cace. En outre, les MANETs sont basés sur le concept de la coopération entre les nœuds pour former et gérer un réseau. Le manque de coopération entre les nœuds signifie l’absence de tout le réseau. C’est pourquoi, il est primordial de trouver des solutions pour les nœuds non-coopératifs ou égoïstes. Enfin, la communication sans fil multi-sauts peut participer à l’augmentation de la couverture radio. Les nœuds de bordure doivent coopérer pour transmettre les paquets des nœuds voisins qui se trouvent en dehors de la zone de couverture de la station de base.Dans les réseaux VANETs, la dissémination des données pour les applications de sureté est un vrai défi. Pour assurer une distribution rapide et globale des informations, la méthode de transmission utilisée est la di usion. Cette méthode présente plusieurs inconvénients : perte massive des données due aux collisions, absence de confirmation de réception des paquets, non maîtrise du délai de transmission, et redondance de l’information. De plus, les applications de sureté transmettent des informations critiques, dont la fiabilité et l’authenticité doivent être assurées.Dans les réseaux WSNs, la limitation des ressources (bande passante, mémoire, énergie, et capacité de calcul), ainsi que le lien sans fil et la mobilité rendent la conception d’un protocole de communication e cace di cile. Certaines applications nécessitent un taux important de ressources (débit, énergie, etc) ainsi que des services de sécurité, comme la confidentialité et l’intégrité des données et l’authentification mutuelle. Ces paramètres sont opposés et leur conciliation est un véritable défi. De plus, pour transmettre de l’information, certaines applications ont besoin de connaître la position des nœuds dans le réseau. Les techniques de localisation sou rent d’un manque de précision en particulier dans un environnement fermé (indoor), et ne permettent pas de localiser les nœuds dans un intervalle de temps limité. Enfin, la localisation des nœuds est nécessaire pour assurer le suivi d’objet communicant ou non. Le suivi d’objet est un processus gourmand en énergie, et requiert de la précision.Pour répondre à ces défis, nous avons proposé et évalué des solutions, présentées de la manière suivante : l’ensemble des contributions dédiées aux réseaux MANETs est présenté dans le deuxième chapitre. Le troisième chapitre décrit les solutions apportées dans le cadre des réseaux VANETs. Enfin, les contributions liées aux réseaux WSNs sont présentées dans le quatrième chapitre

Efficient Group K Nearest-Neighbor Spatial Query Processing in Apache Spark

Aiming at the problem of spatial query processing in distributed computing systems, the design and implementation of new distributed spatial query algorithms is a current challenge. Apache Spark is a memory-based framework suitable for real-time and batch processing. Spark-based systems allow users to work on distributed in-memory data, without worrying about the data distribution mechanism and fault-tolerance. Given two datasets of points (called Query and Training), the group K nearest-neighbor (GKNN) query retrieves (K) points of the Training with the smallest sum of distances to every point of the Query. This spatial query has been actively studied in centralized environments and several performance improving techniques and pruning heuristics have been also proposed, while, a distributed algorithm in Apache Hadoop was recently proposed by our team. Since, in general, Apache Hadoop exhibits lower performance than Spark, in this paper, we present the first distributed GKNN query algorithm in Apache Spark and compare it against the one in Apache Hadoop. This algorithm incorporates programming features and facilities that are specific to Apache Spark. Moreover, techniques that improve performance and are applicable in Apache Spark are also incorporated. The results of an extensive set of experiments with real-world spatial datasets are presented, demonstrating that our Apache Spark GKNN solution, with its improvements, is efficient and a clear winner in comparison to processing this query in Apache Hadoop

Políticas de Copyright de Publicações Científicas em Repositórios Institucionais: O Caso do INESC TEC

A progressiva transformação das práticas científicas, impulsionada pelo desenvolvimento das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), têm possibilitado aumentar o acesso à informação, caminhando gradualmente para uma abertura do ciclo de pesquisa. Isto permitirá resolver a longo prazo uma adversidade que se tem colocado aos investigadores, que passa pela existência de barreiras que limitam as condições de acesso, sejam estas geográficas ou financeiras. Apesar da produção científica ser dominada, maioritariamente, por grandes editoras comerciais, estando sujeita às regras por estas impostas, o Movimento do Acesso Aberto cuja primeira declaração pública, a Declaração de Budapeste (BOAI), é de 2002, vem propor alterações significativas que beneficiam os autores e os leitores. Este Movimento vem a ganhar importância em Portugal desde 2003, com a constituição do primeiro repositório institucional a nível nacional. Os repositórios institucionais surgiram como uma ferramenta de divulgação da produção científica de uma instituição, com o intuito de permitir abrir aos resultados da investigação, quer antes da publicação e do próprio processo de arbitragem (preprint), quer depois (postprint), e, consequentemente, aumentar a visibilidade do trabalho desenvolvido por um investigador e a respetiva instituição. O estudo apresentado, que passou por uma análise das políticas de copyright das publicações científicas mais relevantes do INESC TEC, permitiu não só perceber que as editoras adotam cada vez mais políticas que possibilitam o auto-arquivo das publicações em repositórios institucionais, como também que existe todo um trabalho de sensibilização a percorrer, não só para os investigadores, como para a instituição e toda a sociedade. A produção de um conjunto de recomendações, que passam pela implementação de uma política institucional que incentive o auto-arquivo das publicações desenvolvidas no âmbito institucional no repositório, serve como mote para uma maior valorização da produção científica do INESC TEC.The progressive transformation of scientific practices, driven by the development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which made it possible to increase access to information, gradually moving towards an opening of the research cycle. This opening makes it possible to resolve, in the long term, the adversity that has been placed on researchers, which involves the existence of barriers that limit access conditions, whether geographical or financial. Although large commercial publishers predominantly dominate scientific production and subject it to the rules imposed by them, the Open Access movement whose first public declaration, the Budapest Declaration (BOAI), was in 2002, proposes significant changes that benefit the authors and the readers. This Movement has gained importance in Portugal since 2003, with the constitution of the first institutional repository at the national level. Institutional repositories have emerged as a tool for disseminating the scientific production of an institution to open the results of the research, both before publication and the preprint process and postprint, increase the visibility of work done by an investigator and his or her institution. The present study, which underwent an analysis of the copyright policies of INESC TEC most relevant scientific publications, allowed not only to realize that publishers are increasingly adopting policies that make it possible to self-archive publications in institutional repositories, all the work of raising awareness, not only for researchers but also for the institution and the whole society. The production of a set of recommendations, which go through the implementation of an institutional policy that encourages the self-archiving of the publications developed in the institutional scope in the repository, serves as a motto for a greater appreciation of the scientific production of INESC TEC

Augmenting spaces and creating interactive experiences using video camera networks

This research addresses the problem of creating interactive experiences to encourage people to explore spaces. Besides the obvious spaces to visit, such as museums or art galleries, spaces that people visit can be, for example, a supermarket or a restaurant. As technology evolves, people become more demanding in the way they use it and expect better forms of interaction with the space that surrounds them. Interaction with the space allows information to be transmitted to the visitors in a friendly way, leading visitors to explore it and gain knowledge. Systems to provide better experiences while exploring spaces demand hardware and software that is not in the reach of every space owner either because of the cost or inconvenience of the installation, that can damage artefacts or the space environment. We propose a system adaptable to the spaces, that uses a video camera network and a wi-fi network present at the space (or that can be installed) to provide means to support interactive experiences using the visitor’s mobile device. The system is composed of an infrastructure (called vuSpot), a language grammar used to describe interactions at a space (called XploreDescription), a visual tool used to design interactive experiences (called XploreBuilder) and a tool used to create interactive experiences (called urSpace). By using XploreBuilder, a tool built of top of vuSpot, a user with little or no experience in programming can define a space and design interactive experiences. This tool generates a description of the space and of the interactions at that space (that complies with the XploreDescription grammar). These descriptions can be given to urSpace, another tool built of top of vuSpot, that creates the interactive experience application. With this system we explore new forms of interaction and use mobile devices and pico projectors to deliver additional information to the users leading to the creation of interactive experiences. The several components are presented as well as the results of the respective user tests, which were positive. The design and implementation becomes cheaper, faster, more flexible and, since it does not depend on the knowledge of a programming language, accessible for the general public.NOVA Laboratory for Computer Science and Informatics (NOVA LINCS), Multimodal Systems, Departamento de Informática (DI), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) and Escola Superior de Tecnologia de Setúbal (EST Setúbal), Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal (IPS)

SPD-safe: Secure administration of railway intelligent transportation systems

The railway transport system is critical infrastructure that is exposed to numerous manmade and natural threats, thus protecting this physical asset is imperative. Cyber security, privacy, and dependability (SPD) are also important, as the railway operation relies on cyber-physical systems (CPS) systems. This work presents SPD-Safe—an administration framework for railway CPS, leveraging artificial intelligence for monitoring and managing the system in real-time. The network layer protections integrated provide the core security properties of confidentiality, integrity, and authentication, along with energy-aware secure routing and authorization. The effectiveness in mitigating attacks and the efficiency under normal operation are assessed through simulations with the average delay in real equipment being 0.2–0.6 s. SPD metrics are incorporated together with safety semantics for the application environment. Considering an intelligent transportation scenario, SPD-Safe is deployed on railway critical infrastructure, safeguarding one outdoor setting on the railway’s tracks and one in-carriage setting on a freight train that contains dangerous cargo. As demonstrated, SPD-Safe provides higher security and scalability, while enhancing safety response procedures. Nonetheless, emergence response operations require a seamless interoperation of the railway system with emergency authorities’ equipment (e.g., drones). Therefore, a secure integration with external systems is considered as future work

Real-Time Sensor Networks and Systems for the Industrial IoT

The Industrial Internet of Things (Industrial IoT—IIoT) has emerged as the core construct behind the various cyber-physical systems constituting a principal dimension of the fourth Industrial Revolution. While initially born as the concept behind specific industrial applications of generic IoT technologies, for the optimization of operational efficiency in automation and control, it quickly enabled the achievement of the total convergence of Operational (OT) and Information Technologies (IT). The IIoT has now surpassed the traditional borders of automation and control functions in the process and manufacturing industry, shifting towards a wider domain of functions and industries, embraced under the dominant global initiatives and architectural frameworks of Industry 4.0 (or Industrie 4.0) in Germany, Industrial Internet in the US, Society 5.0 in Japan, and Made-in-China 2025 in China. As real-time embedded systems are quickly achieving ubiquity in everyday life and in industrial environments, and many processes already depend on real-time cyber-physical systems and embedded sensors, the integration of IoT with cognitive computing and real-time data exchange is essential for real-time analytics and realization of digital twins in smart environments and services under the various frameworks’ provisions. In this context, real-time sensor networks and systems for the Industrial IoT encompass multiple technologies and raise significant design, optimization, integration and exploitation challenges. The ten articles in this Special Issue describe advances in real-time sensor networks and systems that are significant enablers of the Industrial IoT paradigm. In the relevant landscape, the domain of wireless networking technologies is centrally positioned, as expected

Automatic generation of software interfaces for supporting decisionmaking processes. An application of domain engineering & machine learning

[EN] Data analysis is a key process to foster knowledge generation in particular domains or fields of study. With a strong informative foundation derived from the analysis of collected data, decision-makers can make strategic choices with the aim of obtaining valuable benefits in their specific areas of action. However, given the steady growth of data volumes, data analysis needs to rely on powerful tools to enable knowledge extraction. Information dashboards offer a software solution to analyze large volumes of data visually to identify patterns and relations and make decisions according to the presented information. But decision-makers may have different goals and, consequently, different necessities regarding their dashboards. Moreover, the variety of data sources, structures, and domains can hamper the design and implementation of these tools. This Ph.D. Thesis tackles the challenge of improving the development process of information dashboards and data visualizations while enhancing their quality and features in terms of personalization, usability, and flexibility, among others. Several research activities have been carried out to support this thesis. First, a systematic literature mapping and review was performed to analyze different methodologies and solutions related to the automatic generation of tailored information dashboards. The outcomes of the review led to the selection of a modeldriven approach in combination with the software product line paradigm to deal with the automatic generation of information dashboards. In this context, a meta-model was developed following a domain engineering approach. This meta-model represents the skeleton of information dashboards and data visualizations through the abstraction of their components and features and has been the backbone of the subsequent generative pipeline of these tools. The meta-model and generative pipeline have been tested through their integration in different scenarios, both theoretical and practical. Regarding the theoretical dimension of the research, the meta-model has been successfully integrated with other meta-model to support knowledge generation in learning ecosystems, and as a framework to conceptualize and instantiate information dashboards in different domains. In terms of the practical applications, the focus has been put on how to transform the meta-model into an instance adapted to a specific context, and how to finally transform this later model into code, i.e., the final, functional product. These practical scenarios involved the automatic generation of dashboards in the context of a Ph.D. Programme, the application of Artificial Intelligence algorithms in the process, and the development of a graphical instantiation platform that combines the meta-model and the generative pipeline into a visual generation system. Finally, different case studies have been conducted in the employment and employability, health, and education domains. The number of applications of the meta-model in theoretical and practical dimensions and domains is also a result itself. Every outcome associated to this thesis is driven by the dashboard meta-model, which also proves its versatility and flexibility when it comes to conceptualize, generate, and capture knowledge related to dashboards and data visualizations

State of the art of audio- and video based solutions for AAL

Working Group 3. Audio- and Video-based AAL ApplicationsIt is a matter of fact that Europe is facing more and more crucial challenges regarding health and social care due to the demographic change and the current economic context. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has stressed this situation even further, thus highlighting the need for taking action. Active and Assisted Living (AAL) technologies come as a viable approach to help facing these challenges, thanks to the high potential they have in enabling remote care and support. Broadly speaking, AAL can be referred to as the use of innovative and advanced Information and Communication Technologies to create supportive, inclusive and empowering applications and environments that enable older, impaired or frail people to live independently and stay active longer in society. AAL capitalizes on the growing pervasiveness and effectiveness of sensing and computing facilities to supply the persons in need with smart assistance, by responding to their necessities of autonomy, independence, comfort, security and safety. The application scenarios addressed by AAL are complex, due to the inherent heterogeneity of the end-user population, their living arrangements, and their physical conditions or impairment. Despite aiming at diverse goals, AAL systems should share some common characteristics. They are designed to provide support in daily life in an invisible, unobtrusive and user-friendly manner. Moreover, they are conceived to be intelligent, to be able to learn and adapt to the requirements and requests of the assisted people, and to synchronise with their specific needs. Nevertheless, to ensure the uptake of AAL in society, potential users must be willing to use AAL applications and to integrate them in their daily environments and lives. In this respect, video- and audio-based AAL applications have several advantages, in terms of unobtrusiveness and information richness. Indeed, cameras and microphones are far less obtrusive with respect to the hindrance other wearable sensors may cause to one’s activities. In addition, a single camera placed in a room can record most of the activities performed in the room, thus replacing many other non-visual sensors. Currently, video-based applications are effective in recognising and monitoring the activities, the movements, and the overall conditions of the assisted individuals as well as to assess their vital parameters (e.g., heart rate, respiratory rate). Similarly, audio sensors have the potential to become one of the most important modalities for interaction with AAL systems, as they can have a large range of sensing, do not require physical presence at a particular location and are physically intangible. Moreover, relevant information about individuals’ activities and health status can derive from processing audio signals (e.g., speech recordings). Nevertheless, as the other side of the coin, cameras and microphones are often perceived as the most intrusive technologies from the viewpoint of the privacy of the monitored individuals. This is due to the richness of the information these technologies convey and the intimate setting where they may be deployed. Solutions able to ensure privacy preservation by context and by design, as well as to ensure high legal and ethical standards are in high demand. After the review of the current state of play and the discussion in GoodBrother, we may claim that the first solutions in this direction are starting to appear in the literature. A multidisciplinary 4 debate among experts and stakeholders is paving the way towards AAL ensuring ergonomics, usability, acceptance and privacy preservation. The DIANA, PAAL, and VisuAAL projects are examples of this fresh approach. This report provides the reader with a review of the most recent advances in audio- and video-based monitoring technologies for AAL. It has been drafted as a collective effort of WG3 to supply an introduction to AAL, its evolution over time and its main functional and technological underpinnings. In this respect, the report contributes to the field with the outline of a new generation of ethical-aware AAL technologies and a proposal for a novel comprehensive taxonomy of AAL systems and applications. Moreover, the report allows non-technical readers to gather an overview of the main components of an AAL system and how these function and interact with the end-users. The report illustrates the state of the art of the most successful AAL applications and functions based on audio and video data, namely (i) lifelogging and self-monitoring, (ii) remote monitoring of vital signs, (iii) emotional state recognition, (iv) food intake monitoring, activity and behaviour recognition, (v) activity and personal assistance, (vi) gesture recognition, (vii) fall detection and prevention, (viii) mobility assessment and frailty recognition, and (ix) cognitive and motor rehabilitation. For these application scenarios, the report illustrates the state of play in terms of scientific advances, available products and research project. The open challenges are also highlighted. The report ends with an overview of the challenges, the hindrances and the opportunities posed by the uptake in real world settings of AAL technologies. In this respect, the report illustrates the current procedural and technological approaches to cope with acceptability, usability and trust in the AAL technology, by surveying strategies and approaches to co-design, to privacy preservation in video and audio data, to transparency and explainability in data processing, and to data transmission and communication. User acceptance and ethical considerations are also debated. Finally, the potentials coming from the silver economy are overviewed.publishedVersio