Situation-aware Edge Computing

Future wireless networks must cope with an increasing amount of data that needs to be transmitted to or from mobile devices. Furthermore, novel applications, e.g., augmented reality games or autonomous driving, require low latency and high bandwidth at the same time. To address these challenges, the paradigm of edge computing has been proposed. It brings computing closer to the users and takes advantage of the capabilities of telecommunication infrastructures, e.g., cellular base stations or wireless access points, but also of end user devices such as smartphones, wearables, and embedded systems. However, edge computing introduces its own challenges, e.g., economic and business-related questions or device mobility. Being aware of the current situation, i.e., the domain-specific interpretation of environmental information, makes it possible to develop approaches targeting these challenges. In this thesis, the novel concept of situation-aware edge computing is presented. It is divided into three areas: situation-aware infrastructure edge computing, situation-aware device edge computing, and situation-aware embedded edge computing. Therefore, the concepts of situation and situation-awareness are introduced. Furthermore, challenges are identified for each area, and corresponding solutions are presented. In the area of situation-aware infrastructure edge computing, economic and business-related challenges are addressed, since companies offering services and infrastructure edge computing facilities have to find agreements regarding the prices for allowing others to use them. In the area of situation-aware device edge computing, the main challenge is to find suitable nodes that can execute a service and to predict a node’s connection in the near future. Finally, to enable situation-aware embedded edge computing, two novel programming and data analysis approaches are presented that allow programmers to develop situation-aware applications. To show the feasibility, applicability, and importance of situation-aware edge computing, two case studies are presented. The first case study shows how situation-aware edge computing can provide services for emergency response applications, while the second case study presents an approach where network transitions can be implemented in a situation-aware manner

Message forwarding techniques in Bluetooth enabled opportunistic communication environment

These days, most of the mobile phones are smart enough with computer like intelligence and equipped with multiple communication technologies such as Bluetooth, wireless LAN, GPRS and GSM. Different communication medium on single device have unlocked the new horizon of communication means. Modern mobile phones are not only capable of using traditional way of communication via GSM or GPRS; but, also use wireless LANs using access points where available. Among these communication means, Bluetooth technology is very intriguing and unique in nature. Any two devices equipped with Bluetooth technology can communicate directly due to their unique IDs in the world. This is opposite to GSM or Wireless LAN technology; where devices are dependent on infrastructure of service providers and have to pay for their services. Due to continual advancement in the field of mobile technology, mobile ad-hoc network seems to be more realised than ever using Bluetooth. In traditional mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs), before information sharing, devices have partial or full knowledge of routes to the destinations using ad-hoc routing protocols. This kind of communication can only be realised if nodes follow the certain pattern. However, in reality mobile ad-hoc networks are highly unpredictable, any node can join or leave network at any time, thus making them risky for effective communication. This issue is addressed by introducing new breed of ad-hoc networking, known as opportunistic networks. Opportunistic networking is a concept that is evolved from mobile ad-hoc networking. In opportunistic networks nodes have no prior knowledge of routes to intended destinations. Any node in the network can be used as potential forwarder with the exception of taking information one step closer to intended destination. The forwarding decision is based on the information gathered from the source node or encountering node. The opportunistic forwarding can only be achieved if message forwarding is carried out in store and forward fashion. Although, opportunistic networks are more flexible than traditional MANETs, however, due to little insight of network, it poses distinct challenges such as intermittent connectivity, variable delays, short connection duration and dynamic topology. Addressing these challenges in opportunistic network is the basis for developing new and efficient protocols for information sharing. The aim of this research is to design different routing/forwarding techniques for opportunistic networks to improve the overall message delivery at destinations while keeping the communication cost very low. Some assumptions are considered to improved directivity of message flow towards intended destinations. These assumptions exploit human social relationships analogies, approximate awareness of the location of nodes in the network and use of hybrid communication by combining several routing concept to gain maximum message directivity. Enhancement in message forwarding in opportunistic networks can be achieved by targeting key nodes that show high degree of influence, popularity or knowledge inside the network. Based on this observation, this thesis presents an improved version of Lobby Influence (LI) algorithm called as Enhanced Lobby Influence (ELI). In LI, the forwarding decision is based on two important factors, popularity of node and popularity of node’s neighbour. The forwarding decision of Enhanced Lobby Influence not only depends on the intermediate node selection criteria as defined in Lobby Influence but also based on the knowledge of previously direct message delivery of intended destination. An improvement can be observed if nodes are aware of approximate position of intended destinations by some communication means such as GPS, GSM or WLAN access points. With the knowledge of nodes position in the network, high message directivity can be achieved by using simple concepts of direction vectors. Based on this observation, this research presents another new algorithm named as Location-aware opportunistic content forwarding (LOC). Last but not least, this research presents an orthodox yet unexplored approach for efficient message forwarding in Bluetooth communication environment, named as Hybrid Content Forwarding (HCF). The new approach combines the characteristics of social centrality based forwarding techniques used in opportunistic networks with traditional MANETs protocols used in Bluetooth scatternets. Simulation results show that a significant increase in delivery radio and cost reduction during content forwarding is observed by deploying these proposed algorithms. Also, comparison with existing technique shows the efficiency of using the new schemes

Cooperative Content Dissemination on Vehicle Networks

As redes veiculares têm sido alvo de grandes avanços nos últimos anos, sobretudo devido ao crescente interesse por veículos inteligentes e autónomos que motiva investimentos avultados por parte da indústria automóvel. A inexistência de uma forma oportuna e económica de executar atualizações OTA (over-the-air) está a contribuir para o adiar do lançamento de grandes frotas de veículos inteligentes. O custo associado à transmissão de dados através de redes celulares é muito elevado e não se pode garantir que cada veículo tenha acesso a uma estação ou estacionamento com conectividade adequada em tempo útil, onde possa obter os dados esperados. Com base nestas premissas, esta tese apresenta a concepção e implementação de um protocolo cooperativo de disseminação de conteúdos que aproveita as ligações Veículo-a-Veículo (V2V) para assegurar uma distribuição de dados pela rede com custos reduzidos. Além disso, este trabalho é complementado e suportado com uma análise do desempenho do protocolo numa rede de 25 veículos.Vehicular networks have seen great advancements over the last few years, mostly due to the increased eagerness for smart and autonomous vehicles that motivate hefty investments by the automotive industry. The absence of a timely and cost-effective way to perform over-the-air (OTA) updates is contributing to defer the deployment of large fleets of connected vehicles. There is a high cost associated with transmitting data over cellular networks and it cannot be expected that every vehicle has access to a station or depot with adequate connectivity where it can get the awaited data cheaply nor that this solution happens timely enough. With this in mind, this thesis presents the design and implementation of a cooperative content dissemination protocol that takes advantage of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication links to distribute data across a network with reduced costs. Moreover, this work is complemented with a performance analysis of the protocol on a deployed network of 25 vehicles

Delay Tolerant Networks for Efficient Information Harvesting and Distribution in Intelligent Transportation Systems

[EN] Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) can make transportation safer, more efficient, and more sustainable by applying various information and communication technologies. One of these technologies are \acfp{VN}. \acp{VN} combine different communication solutions such as cellular networks, \acfp{VANET}, or IEEE 802.11 technologies to provide connectivity among vehicles, and between vehicles and road infrastructure. This thesis focuses on VNs, and considers that the high speed of the nodes and the presence of obstacles like buildings, produces a highly variable network topology, as well as more frequent partitions in the network. Therefore, classical \ac{MANET} protocols do not adapt well to VANETs. Under these conditions, \ac{DTN} have been proposed as an alternative able to cope with these adverse characteristics. In DTN, when a message cannot be routed to its destination, it is not immediately dropped but it is instead stored and carried until a new route becomes available. The combination of VN and DTN is called \acp{VDTN}. In this thesis, we propose a new VDTN protocol designed to collect information from vehicular sensors. Our proposal, called \ac{MSDP}, combines information about the localization obtained from a GNSS system with the actual street/road layout obtained from a Navigation System (NS) to define a new routing metric. Both analytical and simulation results prove that MSDP outperforms previous proposals. Concerning the deployment of VNs and VANET technologies, technology already left behind the innovation and the standardization phases, and it is about time it reach the first early adopters in the market. However, most car manufacturers have decided to implement VN devices in the form of On Board Units (OBUs), which are expensive, heavily manufacturer dependent, and difficult to upgrade. These facts are delaying the deployment of VN. To boost this process, we have developed the GRCBox architecture. This architecture is based on low-cost devices and enables the establishment of V2X, \emph{i.e.} V2I and V2V, communications while integrating users by easing the use of general purpose devices like smartphones, tablets or laptops. To demonstrate the viability of the GRCBox architecture, we combined it with a DTN platform called Scampi to obtain actual results over a real VDTN scenario. We also present several GRCBox-aware applications that illustrate how developers can create applications that bring the potential of VN to user devices.[ES] Los sistemas de transporte inteligente (ITS) son el soporte para el establecimiento de un transporte más seguro, más eficiente y más sostenible mediante el uso de tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones. Una de estas tecnologías son las redes vehiculares (VNs). Las VNs combinan diferentes tecnologías de comunicación como las redes celulares, las redes ad-hoc vehiculares (VANETs) o las redes 802.11p para proporcionar conectividad entre vehículos, y entre vehículos y la infraestructura de carreteras. Esta tesis se centra en las VNs, en las cuales la alta velocidad de los nodos y la presencia de obstáculos como edificios producen una topología de red altamente variable, así como frecuentes particiones en la red. Debido a estas características, los protocolos para redes móviles ad-hoc (MANETs) no se adaptan bien a las VANETs. En estas condiciones, las redes tolerantes a retardos (DTNs) se han propuesto como una alternativa capaz de hacer frente a estos problemas. En DTN, cuando un mensaje no puede ser encaminado hacia su destino, no es inmediatamente descartado sino es almacenado hasta que una nueva ruta esta disponible. Cuando las VNs y las DTNs se combinan surgen las redes vehiculares tolerantes a retardos (VDTN). En esta tesis proponemos un nuevo protocolo para VDTNs diseñado para recolectar la información generada por sensores vehiculares. Nuestra propuesta, llamada MSDP, combina la información obtenida del servicio de información geográfica (GIS) con el mapa real de las calles obtenido del sistema de navegación (NS) para definir una nueva métrica de encaminamiento. Resultados analíticos y mediante simulaciones prueban que MSDP mejora el rendimiento de propuestas anteriores. En relación con el despliegue de las VNs y las tecnologías VANET, la tecnología ha dejado atrás las fases de innovación y estandarización, ahora es el momento de alcanzar a los primeros usuarios del mercado. Sin embargo, la mayoría de fabricantes han decidido implementar los dispositivos para VN como unidades de a bordo (OBU), las cuales son caras y difíciles de actualizar. Además, las OBUs son muy dependientes del fabricante original. Todo esto esta retrasando el despliegue de las VNs. Para acelerar la adopción de las VNs, hemos desarrollado la arquitectura GRCBox. La arquitectura GRCBox esta basada en un dispositivo de bajo coste que permite a los usuarios usar comunicaciones V2X (V2V y V2I) mientras utilizan dispositivos de propósito general como teléfonos inteligentes, tabletas o portátiles. Las pruebas incluidas en esta tesis demuestran la viabilidad de la arquitectura GRCBox. Mediante la combinación de nuestra GRCBox y una plataforma de DTN llamada Scampi hemos diseñado y probado un escenario VDTN real. También presentamos como los desarrolladores pueden crear nuevas aplicaciones GRCBox para llevar el potencial de las VN a los dispositivos de usuario.[CA] Els sistemes de transport intel·ligent (ITS) poden crear un transport més segur, més eficient i més sostenible mitjançant l'ús de tecnologies de la informació i les comunicacions aplicades al transport. Una d'aquestes tecnologies són les xarxes vehiculars (VN). Les VN combinen diferents tecnologies de comunicació, com ara les xarxes cel·lulars, les xarxes ad-hoc vehiculars (VANET) o les xarxes 802.11p, per a proporcionar comunicació entre vehicles, i entre vehicles i la infraestructura de carreteres. Aquesta tesi se centra en les VANET, en les quals l'alta velocitat dels nodes i la presència d'obstacles, com els edificis, produeixen una topologia de xarxa altament variable, i també freqüents particions en la xarxa. Per aquest motiu, els protocols per a xarxes mòbils ad-hoc (MANET) no s'adapten bé. En aquestes condicions, les xarxes tolerants a retards (DTN) s'han proposat com una alternativa capaç de fer front a aquests problemes. En DTN, quan un missatge no pot ser encaminat cap a la seua destinació, no és immediatament descartat sinó que és emmagatzemat fins que apareix una ruta nova. Quan les VN i les DTN es combinen sorgeixen les xarxes vehicular tolerants a retards (VDTN). En aquesta tesi proposem un nou protocol per a VDTN dissenyat per a recol·lectar la informació generada per sensors vehiculars. La nostra proposta, anomenada MSDP, combina la informació obtinguda del servei d'informació geogràfica (GIS) amb el mapa real dels carrers obtingut del sistema de navegació (NS) per a definir una nova mètrica d'encaminament. Resultats analítics i mitjançant simulacions proven que MSDP millora el rendiment de propostes prèvies. En relació amb el desplegament de les VN i les tecnologies VANET, la tecnologia ha deixat arrere les fases d'innovació i estandardització, ara és temps d'aconseguir als primers usuaris del mercat. No obstant això, la majoria de fabricants han decidit implementar els dispositius per a VN com a unitats de bord (OBU), les quals són cares i difícils d'actualitzar. A més, les OBU són molt dependents del fabricant original. Tot això està retardant el desplegament de les VN. Per a accelerar l'adopció de les VN, hem desenvolupat l'arquitectura GRCBox. L'arquitectura GRCBox està basada en un dispositiu de baix cost que permet als usuaris usar comunicacions V2V mentre usen dispositius de propòsit general, com ara telèfons intel·ligents, tauletes o portàtils. Les proves incloses en aquesta tesi demostren la viabilitat de l'arquitectura GRCBox. Mitjançant la combinació de la nostra GRCBox i la plataforma de DTN Scampi, hem dissenyat i provat un escenari VDTN pràctic. També presentem com els desenvolupadors poden crear noves aplicacions GRCBox per a portar el potencial de les VN als dispositius d'usuari.Martínez Tornell, S. (2016). Delay Tolerant Networks for Efficient Information Harvesting and Distribution in Intelligent Transportation Systems [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/68486TESI