Programmable Software-Defined Testbed for Visible Light UAV Networks: Architecture Design and Implementation

As of Today, There Has Been Increasing Research on Designing Optimization Algorithms and Intelligent Network Control Methods for Visible Light Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Networks to Provide Pervasive and Broadband Connections. for Those Theoretical Analysis based Algorithms, there is an Urgent Need to Have a Visible Light UAV Network Platform that Can Help Evaluate the Proposed Algorithms in Real-World Scenarios. However, to the Best of Our Knowledge, there is Currently No Dedicated High Data Rate and Flexible Visible Light UAV Networking Prototype. to Bridge This Gap, in This Paper, We First Design a Novel Programmable Software-Defined Architecture for Visible Light UAV Networking, Including Control Plane, Network Plane, Signal Processing Chain and Front-Ends Plane, and Ground Facility Plane. We Then Implement a Prototype and Conduct Numerous Experiments to Validate the Feasibility of Visible-Light UAV Networks and Further Evaluate the System Performance Pertaining to Achievable Data Rate and Transmission Distance. the Real-Time Video Streaming Experimental Results Show that Up to 550 Kbps Data Rate and a Maximum Distance of 7 Meters Can Be Achieved

Adaptive modulation control for visible light communication systems

Visible light communication (VLC) builds on the dual use of lightening infrastructure for communication. Even though the advantages of VLC are well known, as emerging communication paradigm, some open issues still need to be addressed in order to rely on it as a robust communication system. First of all, external interference as an extremely varying signal impacting on the reliability of the VLC system needs to be analyzed. In this paper, we propose a system where the link conditions (in terms of signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR)) drive the modulation scheme and this procedure is managed through the use of an uplink/channel, to assure a feedback path. The receiver is in charge of choosing the modulation scheme matching the requirement in terms of error rate on the basis of the measured SNR after noise mitigation. The feasibility of the system and its effectiveness are evaluated by designing and implementing a complete bi-directional system. In particular, an uplink channel sending the information regarding the specific selected modulation technique has been implemented and the whole system is based on a fine synchronization approach in order to “track” in real time the most suitable modulation scheme. Experimental results show the effectiveness of a bi-directional system in order to implement an adaptive VLC system able to follow the environmental changes (in terms of interference and noise)

Improved Visible Light Communication Receiver Performance by Leveraging the Spatial Dimension

In wireless communications systems, signals can be transmitted as time (temporal) or spatial variants across 3D space, and in both ways. However, using temporal variant communication channels in high-speed data transmission introduces inter-symbol interference (ISI) which makes the systems unreliable. On the other hand, spatial diversity in signal processing reduces the ISI and improves the system throughput or performance by allowing more signals from different spatial locations at the same time. Therefore, the spatial features or properties of visible light signals can be very useful in designing a reliable visible light communication (VLC) system with higher system throughput and making it more robust against ambient noise and interference. By allowing only the signals of interest, spatial separability in VLC can minimize the noise to a greater extent to improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) which can ensure higher data rates (in the order of Gbps-Tbps) in VLC. So, designing a VLC system with spatial diversity is an exciting area to explore and might set the foundation for future VLC system architectures and enable different VLC based applications such as vehicular VLC, multi-VLC, localization, and detection using VLC, etc. This thesis work is motivated by the fundamental challenges in reusing spatial information in VLC systems to increase the system throughput or gain through novel system designing and their prototype implementations

Adaptive Modulation Control for Visible Light Communication Systems

International audienceVisible light communication (VLC) builds on the dual use of lightening infrastructure for communication. Even though the advantages of VLC are well known, as emerging communication paradigm, some open issues still need to be addressed in order to rely on it as a robust communication system. First of all, external interference as an extremely varying signal impacting on the reliability of the VLC system needs to be analyzed. In this paper, we propose a system where the link conditions (in terms of signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR)) drive the modulation scheme and this procedure is managed through the use of an uplink/channel, to assure a feedback path. The receiver is in charge of choosing the modulation scheme matching the requirement in terms of error rate on the basis of the measured SNR after noise mitigation. The feasibility of the system and its effectiveness are evaluated by designing and implementing a complete bi-directional system. In particular, an uplink channel sending the information regarding the specific selected modulation technique has been implemented and the whole system is based on a fine synchronization approach in order to "track" in real time the most suitable modulation scheme. Experimental results show the effectiveness of a bi-directional system in order to implement an adaptive VLC system able to follow the environmental changes (in terms of interference and noise)

Digital forensics challenges and readiness for 6G Internet of Things (IoT) networks

The development of sixth-generation (6G) wireless communication technology is expected to provide super high-speed data transmission, and advanced network performance than the current fifth-generation (5G) and be fully functional by the 2030s. This development will have a significant impact and add improvements to digital extended reality (XR), autonomous systems, vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), artificial intelligence (AI), underwater communications, blockchain technology, pervasive biomedical informatics and smart cities built on the digital infrastructure backbone of the Internet of Things (IoT). The ubiquitous nature of this large-scale 6G-enabled IoT that offers faster connectivity capabilities and integrates both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks will not only create new data security and privacy issues but also provide a treasure trove of digital evidence useful for digital forensic examiners investigating security incidents and cybercrime. However, for digital forensic examiners, evidence collection, preservation and analysis will become a priority in the successful deployment of 6G IoT networks. In this study, we define key applications of 6G network technology to the Internet of Things and its existing architectures. The survey introduces potential digital forensic challenges and related issues affecting digital forensic investigations specific to 6G IoT networks. Finally, we highlight and discuss forensic readiness and future research directions for identified challenges within the 6G IoT network environments

ATHENA Research Book

The ATHENA European University is an alliance of nine Higher Education Institutions with the mission of fostering excellence in research and innovation by facilitating international cooperation. The ATHENA acronym stands for Advanced Technologies in Higher Education Alliance. The partner institutions are from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia: the University of Orléans, the University of Siegen, the Hellenic Mediterranean University, the Niccolò Cusano University, the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, and the University of Maribor. In 2022 institutions from Poland and Spain joined the alliance: the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and the University of Vigo. This research book presents a selection of the ATHENA university partners' research activities. It incorporates peer-reviewed original articles, reprints and student contributions. The ATHENA Research Book provides a platform that promotes joint and interdisciplinary research projects of both advanced and early-career researchers

ATHENA Research Book, Volume 1

The ATHENA European University is an alliance of nine Higher Education Institutions with the mission of fostering excellence in research and innovation by facilitating international cooperation. The ATHENA acronym stands for Advanced Technologies in Higher Education Alliance. The partner institutions are from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia: the University of Orléans, the University of Siegen, the Hellenic Mediterranean University, the Niccolò Cusano University, the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, and the University of Maribor. In 2022 institutions from Poland and Spain joined the alliance: the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and the University of Vigo. This research book presents a selection of the ATHENA university partners' research activities. It incorporates peer-reviewed original articles, reprints and student contributions. The ATHENA Research Book provides a platform that promotes joint and interdisciplinary research projects of both advanced and early-career researchers