Evolution of High Throughput Satellite Systems: Vision, Requirements, and Key Technologies

High throughput satellites (HTS), with their digital payload technology, are expected to play a key role as enablers of the upcoming 6G networks. HTS are mainly designed to provide higher data rates and capacities. Fueled by technological advancements including beamforming, advanced modulation techniques, reconfigurable phased array technologies, and electronically steerable antennas, HTS have emerged as a fundamental component for future network generation. This paper offers a comprehensive state-of-the-art of HTS systems, with a focus on standardization, patents, channel multiple access techniques, routing, load balancing, and the role of software-defined networking (SDN). In addition, we provide a vision for next-satellite systems that we named as extremely-HTS (EHTS) toward autonomous satellites supported by the main requirements and key technologies expected for these systems. The EHTS system will be designed such that it maximizes spectrum reuse and data rates, and flexibly steers the capacity to satisfy user demand. We introduce a novel architecture for future regenerative payloads while summarizing the challenges imposed by this architecture

Design of an UAV swarm

This master thesis tries to give an overview on the general aspects involved in the design of an UAV swarm. UAV swarms are continuoulsy gaining popularity amongst researchers and UAV manufacturers, since they allow greater success rates in task accomplishing with reduced times. Appart from this, multiple UAVs cooperating between them opens a new field of missions that can only be carried in this way. All the topics explained within this master thesis will explain all the agents involved in the design of an UAV swarm, from the communication protocols between them, navigation and trajectory analysis and task allocation

Time-Varying Graphs and Dynamic Networks

The past few years have seen intensive research efforts carried out in some apparently unrelated areas of dynamic systems -- delay-tolerant networks, opportunistic-mobility networks, social networks -- obtaining closely related insights. Indeed, the concepts discovered in these investigations can be viewed as parts of the same conceptual universe; and the formal models proposed so far to express some specific concepts are components of a larger formal description of this universe. The main contribution of this paper is to integrate the vast collection of concepts, formalisms, and results found in the literature into a unified framework, which we call TVG (for time-varying graphs). Using this framework, it is possible to express directly in the same formalism not only the concepts common to all those different areas, but also those specific to each. Based on this definitional work, employing both existing results and original observations, we present a hierarchical classification of TVGs; each class corresponds to a significant property examined in the distributed computing literature. We then examine how TVGs can be used to study the evolution of network properties, and propose different techniques, depending on whether the indicators for these properties are a-temporal (as in the majority of existing studies) or temporal. Finally, we briefly discuss the introduction of randomness in TVGs.Comment: A short version appeared in ADHOC-NOW'11. This version is to be published in Internation Journal of Parallel, Emergent and Distributed System

Self-organizing Network Optimization via Placement of Additional Nodes

Das Hauptforschungsgebiet des Graduiertenkollegs "International Graduate School on Mobile Communication" (GS Mobicom) der Technischen Universität Ilmenau ist die Kommunikation in Katastrophenszenarien. Wegen eines Desasters oder einer Katastrophe können die terrestrischen Elementen der Infrastruktur eines Kommunikationsnetzwerks beschädigt oder komplett zerstört werden. Dennoch spielen verfügbare Kommunikationsnetze eine sehr wichtige Rolle während der Rettungsmaßnahmen, besonders für die Koordinierung der Rettungstruppen und für die Kommunikation zwischen ihren Mitgliedern. Ein solcher Service kann durch ein mobiles Ad-Hoc-Netzwerk (MANET) zur Verfügung gestellt werden. Ein typisches Problem der MANETs ist Netzwerkpartitionierung, welche zur Isolation von verschiedenen Knotengruppen führt. Eine mögliche Lösung dieses Problems ist die Positionierung von zusätzlichen Knoten, welche die Verbindung zwischen den isolierten Partitionen wiederherstellen können. Hauptziele dieser Arbeit sind die Recherche und die Entwicklung von Algorithmen und Methoden zur Positionierung der zusätzlichen Knoten. Der Fokus der Recherche liegt auf Untersuchung der verteilten Algorithmen zur Bestimmung der Positionen für die zusätzlichen Knoten. Die verteilten Algorithmen benutzen nur die Information, welche in einer lokalen Umgebung eines Knotens verfügbar ist, und dadurch entsteht ein selbstorganisierendes System. Jedoch wird das gesamte Netzwerk hier vor allem innerhalb eines ganz speziellen Szenarios - Katastrophenszenario - betrachtet. In einer solchen Situation kann die Information über die Topologie des zu reparierenden Netzwerks im Voraus erfasst werden und soll, natürlich, für die Wiederherstellung mitbenutzt werden. Dank der eventuell verfügbaren zusätzlichen Information können die Positionen für die zusätzlichen Knoten genauer ermittelt werden. Die Arbeit umfasst eine Beschreibung, Implementierungsdetails und eine Evaluierung eines selbstorganisierendes Systems, welche die Netzwerkwiederherstellung in beiden Szenarien ermöglicht.The main research area of the International Graduate School on Mobile Communication (GS Mobicom) at Ilmenau University of Technology is communication in disaster scenarios. Due to a disaster or an accident, the network infrastructure can be damaged or even completely destroyed. However, available communication networks play a vital role during the rescue activities especially for the coordination of the rescue teams and for the communication between their members. Such a communication service can be provided by a Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET). One of the typical problems of a MANET is network partitioning, when separate groups of nodes become isolated from each other. One possible solution for this problem is the placement of additional nodes in order to reconstruct the communication links between isolated network partitions. The primary goal of this work is the research and development of algorithms and methods for the placement of additional nodes. The focus of this research lies on the investigation of distributed algorithms for the placement of additional nodes, which use only the information from the nodes’ local environment and thus form a self-organizing system. However, during the usage specifics of the system in a disaster scenario, global information about the topology of the network to be recovered can be known or collected in advance. In this case, it is of course reasonable to use this information in order to calculate the placement positions more precisely. The work provides the description, the implementation details and the evaluation of a self-organizing system which is able to recover from network partitioning in both situations

Revisión de la literatura del problema de ruteo de vehículos en un contexto de transporte verde

In the efficient management of the supply chain the optimal management of transport of consumables and finished products appears. The costs associated with transport have direct impact on the final value consumers must pay, which in addition to requiring competitive products also demand that they are generated in environmentally friendly organizations. Aware of this reality, this document is intended to be a starting point for Master’s and Doctoral degree students who want to work in a line of research recently proposed: green routing. The state of the art of the vehicle routing problem is presented in this paper, listing its variants, models and methodologies for solution. Furthermore, the proposed interaction between variants of classical routing problems and environmental effects of its operations, known in the literature as Green- VRP is presented. The goal is to generate a discussion in which mathematical models and solution strategies that can be applied within organizations that consider within their objectives an efficient and sustainable operation are posed.En el gerenciamiento eficiente de la cadena de suministro aparece la gestión óptima del transporte de insumos y productos terminados. Los costos asociados al transporte tienen impacto directo sobre el valor final que deben pagar los consumidores, que además de requerir productos competitivos también exigen que los mismos sean generados en organizaciones amigables con el medioambiente. Consientes de esa realidad este documento pretende ser un punto de partida para estudiantes de maestría y doctorado que quieran trabajar en una línea de investigación propuesta recientemente: el ruteo verde. En este trabajo se muestra un estado del arte del problema de ruteo de vehículos, enumerando sus variantes, modelos y metodologías de solución. Además, se presenta la interacción que se ha propuesto entre variantes clásicas de los problemas de ruteo y los efectos ambientales de su operación, denominados en la literatura como Green-VRP. El objetivo es generar una discusión donde se planteen modelos matemáticos y estrategias de solución que puedan ser aplicadas en organizaciones que consideren dentro de sus objetivos una operación eficiente y sustentable

REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA DEL PROBLEMA DE RUTEO DE VEHÍCULOS EN UN CONTEXTO DE TRANSPORTE VERDE

In the efficient management of the supply chain the optimal management of transport of consumables and finished products appears. The costs associated with transport have direct impact on the final value consumers must pay, which in addition to requiring competitive products also demand that they are generated in environmentally friendly organizations. Aware of this reality, this document is intended to be a starting point for Master's and Doctoral degree students who want to work in a line of research recently proposed: green routing. The state of the art of the vehicle routing problem is presented in this paper, listing its variants, models and methodologies for solution. Furthermore, the proposed interaction between variants of classical routing problems and environmental effects of its operations, known in the literature as Green-VRP is presented. The goal is to generate a discussion in which mathematical models and solution strategies that can be applied within organizations that consider within their objectives an efficient and sustainable operation are posed. En el gerenciamiento eficiente de la cadena de suministro aparece la gestión óptima del transporte de insumos y productos terminados. Los costos asociados al transporte tienen impacto directo sobre el valor final que deben pagar los consumidores, que además de requerir productos competitivos también exigen que los mismos sean generados en organizaciones amigables con el medioambiente. Consientes de esa realidad este documento pretende ser un punto de partida para estudiantes de maestría y doctorado que quieran trabajar en una línea de investigación propuesta recientemente: el ruteo verde. En este trabajo se muestra un estado del arte del problema de ruteo de vehículos, enumerando sus variantes, modelos y metodologías de solución. Además, se presenta la interacción que se ha propuesto entre variantes clásicas de los problemas de ruteo y los efectos ambientales de su operación, denominados en la literatura como Green-VRP. El objetivo es generar una discusión donde se planteen modelos matemáticos y estrategias de solución que puedan ser aplicadas en organizaciones que consideren dentro de sus objetivos una operación eficiente y sustentable. Document type: Articl

Large-scale dynamic observation planning for unmanned surface vessels

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Operations Research Center, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-134).With recent advances in research and technology, autonomous surface vessel capabilities have steadily increased. These autonomous surface vessel technologies enable missions and tasks to be performed without the direction of human operators, and have changed the way scientists and engineers approach problems. Because these robotic devices can work without manned guidance, they can execute missions that are too difficult, dangerous, expensive, or tedious for human operators to attempt. The United States government is currently expanding the use of autonomous surface vessel technologies through the United States Navy's Spartan Scout unmanned surface vessel (USV) and NASA's Ocean-Atmosphere Sensor Integration System (OASIS) USV. These USVs are well-suited to complete monotonous, dangerous, and time-consuming missions. The USVs provide better performance, lower cost, and reduced risk to human life than manned systems. In this thesis, we explore how to plan multiple USV observation schedules for two significant notional observation scenarios, collecting water temperatures ahead of the path of a hurricane, and collecting fluorometer readings to observe and track a harmful algal bloom.(cont.) A control system must be in place that coordinates a fleet of USVs to targets in an efficient manner. We develop three algorithms to solve the unmanned surface vehicle observation-planning problem. A greedy construction heuristic runs fastest, but produces suboptimal plans; a 3-phase algorithm which combines a greedy construction heuristic with an improvement phase and an insertion phase, requires more execution time, but generates significantly better plans; an optimal mixed integer programming algorithm produces optimal plans, but can only solve small problem instances.by John V. Miller.S.M