Perception-aware Path Planning

In this paper, we give a double twist to the problem of planning under uncertainty. State-of-the-art planners seek to minimize the localization uncertainty by only considering the geometric structure of the scene. In this paper, we argue that motion planning for vision-controlled robots should be perception aware in that the robot should also favor texture-rich areas to minimize the localization uncertainty during a goal-reaching task. Thus, we describe how to optimally incorporate the photometric information (i.e., texture) of the scene, in addition to the the geometric one, to compute the uncertainty of vision-based localization during path planning. To avoid the caveats of feature-based localization systems (i.e., dependence on feature type and user-defined thresholds), we use dense, direct methods. This allows us to compute the localization uncertainty directly from the intensity values of every pixel in the image. We also describe how to compute trajectories online, considering also scenarios with no prior knowledge about the map. The proposed framework is general and can easily be adapted to different robotic platforms and scenarios. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated with extensive experiments in both simulated and real-world environments using a vision-controlled micro aerial vehicle.Comment: 16 pages, 20 figures, revised version. Conditionally accepted for IEEE Transactions on Robotic

Second-order Shape Optimization for Geometric Inverse Problems in Vision

We develop a method for optimization in shape spaces, i.e., sets of surfaces modulo re-parametrization. Unlike previously proposed gradient flows, we achieve superlinear convergence rates through a subtle approximation of the shape Hessian, which is generally hard to compute and suffers from a series of degeneracies. Our analysis highlights the role of mean curvature motion in comparison with first-order schemes: instead of surface area, our approach penalizes deformation, either by its Dirichlet energy or total variation. Latter regularizer sparks the development of an alternating direction method of multipliers on triangular meshes. Therein, a conjugate-gradients solver enables us to bypass formation of the Gaussian normal equations appearing in the course of the overall optimization. We combine all of the aforementioned ideas in a versatile geometric variation-regularized Levenberg-Marquardt-type method applicable to a variety of shape functionals, depending on intrinsic properties of the surface such as normal field and curvature as well as its embedding into space. Promising experimental results are reported

Cooperative announcement-based caching for video-on-demand streaming

Recently, video-on-demand (VoD) streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have gained a lot of popularity. This has led to a strong increase in bandwidth capacity requirements in the network. To reduce this network load, the design of appropriate caching strategies is of utmost importance. Based on the fact that, typically, a video stream is temporally segmented into smaller chunks that can be accessed and decoded independently, cache replacement strategies have been developed that take advantage of this temporal structure in the video. In this paper, two caching strategies are proposed that additionally take advantage of the phenomenon of binge watching, where users stream multiple consecutive episodes of the same series, reported by recent user behavior studies to become the everyday behavior. Taking into account this information allows us to predict future segment requests, even before the video playout has started. Two strategies are proposed, both with a different level of coordination between the caches in the network. Using a VoD request trace based on binge watching user characteristics, the presented algorithms have been thoroughly evaluated in multiple network topologies with different characteristics, showing their general applicability. It was shown that in a realistic scenario, the proposed election-based caching strategy can outperform the state-of-the-art by 20% in terms of cache hit ratio while using 4% less network bandwidth

Quality of Experience monitoring and management strategies for future smart networks

One of the major driving forces of the service and network's provider market is the user's perceived service quality and expectations, which are referred to as user's Quality of Experience (QoE). It is evident that QoE is particularly critical for network providers, who are challenged with the multimedia engineering problems (e.g. processing, compression) typical of traditional networks. They need to have the right QoE monitoring and management mechanisms to have a significant impact on their budget (e.g. by reducing the users‘ churn). Moreover, due to the rapid growth of mobile networks and multimedia services, it is crucial for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to accurately monitor and manage the QoE for the delivered services and at the same time keep the computational resources and the power consumption at low levels. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the issue of QoE monitoring and management for future networks. This research, developed during the PhD programme, aims to describe the State-of-the-Art and the concept of Virtual Probes (vProbes). Then, I proposed a QoE monitoring and management solution, two Agent-based solutions for QoE monitoring in LTE-Advanced networks, a QoE monitoring solution for multimedia services in 5G networks and an SDN-based approach for QoE management of multimedia services

Contributions to modeling, structural analysis, and routing performance in dynamic networks

Cette thèse apporte des contributions à la modélisation, compréhension ainsi qu’à la communication efficace d’information dans les réseaux dynamiques peuplant la périphérie de l’Internet. Par réseaux dynamiques, nous signifions les réseaux pouvant être modélisés par des graphes dynamiques dans lesquels noeuds et liens évoluent temporellement. Dans la première partie de la thèse, nous proposons un nouveau modèle de mobilité - STEPS - qui permet de capturer un large spectre de comportement de mobilité humains. STEPS mets en oeuvre deux principes fondamentaux de la mobilité humaine : l’attachement préférentiel à une zone de prédilection et l’attraction vers une zone de prédilection. Nous proposons une modélisation markovienne de ce modèle de mobilité. Nous montrons que ce simple modèle paramétrique est capable de capturer les caractéristiques statistiques saillantes de la mobilité humaine comme la distribution des temps d’inter-contacts et de contacts. Dans la deuxième partie, en utilisant STEPS, nous analysons les propriétés comportementales et structurelles fondamentales des réseaux opportunistes. Nous redéfinissons dans le contexte des réseaux dynamiques la notion de structure petit monde et montrons comment une telle structure peut émerger. En particulier, nous montrons que les noeuds fortement dynamiques peuvent jouer le rôle de ponts entre les composants déconnectés, aident à réduire significativement la longueur du chemin caractéristique du réseau et contribuent à l’émergence du phénomène petit-monde dans les réseaux dynamiques. Nous proposons une façon de modéliser ce phénomène sous STEPS. À partir d’un réseau dynamique régulier dans lequel les noeuds limitent leur mobilité à leurs zones préférentielles respectives. Nous recablons ce réseau en injectant progressivement des noeuds nomades se déplaçant entre plusieurs zones. Nous montrons que le pourcentage de tels nœuds nomades est de 10%, le réseau possède une structure petit monde avec un fort taux de clusterisation et un faible longueur du chemin caractéristique. La troisième contribution de cette thèse porte sur l’étude de l’impact du désordre et de l’irrégularité des contacts sur la capacité de communication d’un réseau dynamique. Nous analysons le degré de désordre de réseaux opportunistes réels et montrons que si exploité correctement, celui-ci peut améliorer significativement les performances du routage. Nous introduisons ensuite un modèle permettant de capturer le niveau de désordre d’un réseau dynamique. Nous proposons deux algorithmes simples et efficaces qui exploitent la structure temporelle d’un réseau dynamique pour délivrer les messages avec un bon compromis entre l’usage des ressources et les performances. Les résultats de simulations et analytiques montrent que ce type d’algorithme est plus performant que les approches classiques. Nous mettons également en évidence aussi la structure de réseau pour laquelle ce type d’algorithme atteint ses performances optimum. Basé sur ce résultat théorique nous proposons un nouveau protocole de routage efficace pour les réseaux opportunistes centré sur le contenu. Dans ce protocole, les noeuds maintiennent, via leurs contacts opportunistes, une fonction d’utilité qui résume leur proximité spatio-temporelle par rapport aux autres noeuds. En conséquence, router dans un tel contexte se résume à suivre le gradient de plus grande pente conduisant vers le noeud destination. Cette propriété induit un algorithme de routage simple et efficace qui peut être utilisé aussi bien dans un contexte d’adressage IP que de réseau centré sur les contenus. Les résultats de simulation montrent que ce protocole superforme les protocoles de routage classiques déjà définis pour les réseaux opportunistes. La dernière contribution de cette thèse consiste à mettre en évidence une application potentielle des réseaux dynamiques dans le contexte du « mobile cloud computing ». En utilisant les techniques d’optimisation particulaires, nous montrons que la mobilité peut augmenter considérablement la capacité de calcul des réseaux dynamiques. De plus, nous montrons que la structure dynamique du réseau a un fort impact sur sa capacité de calcul. ABSTRACT : This thesis contributes to the modeling, understanding and efficient communication in dynamic networks populating the periphery of the Internet. By dynamic networks, we refer to networks that can be modeled by dynamic graphs in which nodes and links change temporally. In the first part of the thesis, we propose a new mobility model - STEPS - which captures a wide spectrum of human mobility behavior. STEPS implements two fundamental principles of human mobility: preferential attachment and attractor. We show that this simple parametric model is able to capture the salient statistical properties of human mobility such as the distribution of inter-contact/contact time. In the second part, using STEPS, we analyze the fundamental behavioral and structural properties of opportunistic networks. We redefine in the context of dynamic networks the concept of small world structure and show how such a structure can emerge. In particular, we show that highly dynamic nodes can play the role of bridges between disconnected components, helping to significantly reduce the length of network path and contribute to the emergence of small-world phenomenon in dynamic networks. We propose a way to model this phenomenon in STEPS. From a regular dynamic network in which nodes limit their mobility to their respective preferential areas. We rewire this network by gradually injecting highly nomadic nodes moving between different areas. We show that when the ratio of such nomadic nodes is around 10%, the network has small world structure with a high degree of clustering and a low characteristic path length. The third contribution of this thesis is the study of the impact of disorder and contact irregularity on the communication capacity of a dynamic network. We analyze the degree of disorder of real opportunistic networks and show that if used correctly, it can significantly improve routing performances. We then introduce a model to capture the degree of disorder in a dynamic network. We propose two simple and efficient algorithms that exploit the temporal structure of a dynamic network to deliver messages with a good tradeoff between resource usage and performance. The simulation and analytical results show that this type of algorithm is more efficient than conventional approaches. We also highlight also the network structure for which this type of algorithm achieves its optimum performance. Based on this theoretical result, we propose a new efficient routing protocol for content centric opportunistic networks. In this protocol, nodes maintain, through their opportunistic contacts, an utility function that summarizes their spatio-temporal proximity to other nodes. As a result, routing in this context consists in following the steepest slopes of the gradient field leading to the destination node. This property leads to a simple and effective algorithm routing that can be used both in the context of IP networks and content centric networks. The simulation results show that this protocol outperforms traditional routing protocols already defined for opportunistic networks. The last contribution of this thesis is to highlight the potential application of dynamic networks in the context of "mobile cloud computing." Using the particle optimization techniques, we show that mobility can significantly increase the processing capacity of dynamic networks. In addition, we show that the dynamic structure of the network has a strong impact on its processing capacity

A policy compliance detection architecture for data exchange infrastructures

Data sharing and federation can significantly increase efficiency and lower the cost of digital collaborations. It is important to convince the data owners that their outsourced data will be used in a secure and controlled manner. To achieve this goal, constructing a policy governing concrete data usage rule among all parties is essential. More importantly, we need to establish digital infrastructures that can enforce the policy. In this thesis, we investigate how to select optimal application-tailored infrastructures and enhance policy compliance capabilities. First, we introduce a component linking the policy to the infrastructure patterns. The mechanism selects digital infrastructure patterns that satisfy the collaboration request to a maximal degree by modelling and closeness identification. Second, we present a threat-analysis driven risk assessment framework. The framework quantitatively assesses the remaining risk of an application delegated to digital infrastructure. The optimal digital infrastructure for a specific data federation application is the one which can support the requested collaboration model and provides the best security guarantee. Finally, we present a distributed architecture that detects policy compliance when an algorithm executes on the data. A profile and an IDS model are built for each containerized algorithm and are distributed to endpoint execution platforms via a secure channel. Syscall traces are monitored and analysed in endpoint points platforms. The machine learning based IDS is retrained periodically to increase generalization. A sanitization algorithm is implemented to filter out malicious samples to further defend the architecture against adversarial machine learning attacks