Adaptive Body Area Networks Using Kinematics and Biosignals

The increasing penetration of wearable and implantable devices necessitates energy-efficient and robust ways of connecting them to each other and to the cloud. However, the wireless channel around the human body poses unique challenges such as a high and variable path-loss caused by frequent changes in the relative node positions as well as the surrounding environment. An adaptive wireless body area network (WBAN) scheme is presented that reconfigures the network by learning from body kinematics and biosignals. It has very low overhead since these signals are already captured by the WBAN sensor nodes to support their basic functionality. Periodic channel fluctuations in activities like walking can be exploited by reusing accelerometer data and scheduling packet transmissions at optimal times. Network states can be predicted based on changes in observed biosignals to reconfigure the network parameters in real time. A realistic body channel emulator that evaluates the path-loss for everyday human activities was developed to assess the efficacy of the proposed techniques. Simulation results show up to 41% improvement in packet delivery ratio (PDR) and up to 27% reduction in power consumption by intelligent scheduling at lower transmission power levels. Moreover, experimental results on a custom test-bed demonstrate an average PDR increase of 20% and 18% when using our adaptive EMG- and heart-rate-based transmission power control methods, respectively. The channel emulator and simulation code is made publicly available at https://github.com/a-moin/wban-pathloss.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatic

Organisations as complex adaptive systems : implications for the design of information systems

Today a paradigm shift in the field of organisation and management theories is no longer disputed and the need to switch from the Command-and-Control to the Leaming Organisation Paradigm (LOP) in the area of organisational theory is well understood. However, it is less well appreciated that learning organisations cannot operate effectively if supported by centralised databases and tailor-made application programs. LOP emphasises adaptability, flexibility, participation and learning. It is important to understand that the changes in organisational and management strategies will not on their own be able to produce the desired effects unless they are supported by appropriate changes in organisational culture, and by effective information systems. This research demonstrates that conventional information system strategies and development methods are no longer adequate. Information system strategies must respond to these needs of the LOP and incorporate new information systems that are capable of evolving, adapting and responding to the constantly changing business environment. The desired adaptability, flexibility and agility in information systems for LOP can be achieved by exploiting the technologies of the Internet, World Wide Web, intelligent agents and intranets. This research establishes that there is a need for synergy between organisational structures and organisational information systems. To obtain this desired synergy it is essential that new information systems be designed as an integral part of the learning organisational structure itself. Complexity theory provides a new set of metaphors and a host of concepts for the understanding of organisations as complex adaptive systems. This research introduces the principles of Complex Adaptive Systems and draws on their significance for designing the information systems needed to support the new generation of learning organisations. The search for new models of information system strategies for today's dynamic world of business points to the 'swarm models' observed in Nature

Fabrication and characterization of flexible spray-coated antennas

This paper investigates the potential of using spray coating as a methodology for flexible antenna fabrication. The methodology has advantages compared with other antenna-printing techniques, such as screen-printing and gravure printing (more flexibility in design), or inkjet printing (faster production). The methodology is demonstrated using two different types of folded dipole antennas that are designed to operate in the ultra-high frequency radio-frequency identification (UHF RFID) band. Both antennas show good agreement between simulation and measurement of the spray-coated samples in terms of power reflection coefficient and gain. The two folded dipoles, with and without ground plane, show comparable performance in terms of gain, as similar antennas found in literature. The folded dipole on a ground plane is more stable near conductive surfaces and on the human body. Given these results, we conclude that spray coating is a good technique for printing small to medium sized batches of antennas

Swarm Computing: The Emergence of a Collective Artificial Intelligence at the Edge of the Internet

Billions of devices are interacting in a growing global network, currently designated as the Internet of Things (IoT). In this scenario, embedded computers with sensors and actuators are widespread in all sorts of smart things, transforming the way we live. The complexity produced by the enormous amount of devices expected in the future IoT leads to new challenges. Furthermore, current IoT architectures are highly cloud-centric and do not take advantage of all its potential. To overcome these issues, we propose Swarm computing as the emergence of a collective artificial intelligence out of a decentralized and organic network of cooperating devices. The major contribution of this article is to provide the reader with a comprehensive vision of the key aspects of the Swarm Computing paradigm. In addition, this article addresses technical solutions, related projects, and the Swarm Computing challenges that the research community is called to contribute with

Information Outlook, November/December 2012

Volume 16, Issue 6https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2012/1005/thumbnail.jp

Internet2

Requires RealPlayer to view.The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.Presentation at Technology for the Rest of Us: What Every Librarian Should Understand about the Technologies that Affect Us, May 24-27, 2004.This project is funded in part through an Institute of Museum and Library Services LSTA grant awarded by the State Library of Ohi

The emergence of specialization in heterogeneous artificial agent populations

In this dissertation, I present the Weight-Allocated Social Pressure System (WASPS). WASPS is a computational framework that when applied, can allow for the increase in agent specialization within a multi-agent population. Research has shown that specialization can lead to an overall increase in the productivity levels within a population [55]. WASPS aims to provide a mix of features from existing frameworks such as the genetic threshold and social inhibition models. It also subsumes these models, and allows hybrids of them to be created. It provides individual level behaviour as found in the genetic threshold model. As in some variations of the genetic threshold model [49], WASPS also allows for individual level learning. As found in the social inhibition models, WASPS allows for social influence, or population level learning. Unlike some models, WASPS allows agents to self-organize based on available tasks. In addition, it makes allowances for agents to allocate a resource among multiple tasks during a work period, wherein most models allow the selection of only one task. WASPS allows the assumption that agents are heterogeneous in their task performance aptitudes. It thus aims to create skill-based agent specialization within the population. This will allow more skilled agents to allocate more resources to tasks for which they have comparative advantages over their competition. Because WASPS is self-organizing, it can handle the addition and removal of agents from social networks, as well as changes in the connections between agents. WASPS does not limit the definition of many or its parameters, which allows it to deal with changing definitions for those parameters. For example, WASPS can easily adjust to deal with changing definitions of agent skill and influence. In fact, the individual level learning can be implemented in such a way that an agent can self-optimize even when it has no competitors to influence it

Distribuição de conteúdos multimédia na Web/P2P : SeedSeer

Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e TelemáticaDesde a criação da Internet que existem inumeras formas de partilhar ficheiros, mas até ao dia de hoje é discutível se alguma possa ser considerada a melhor. A apetência do público em geral para conteúdo multimedia levou ao aparecimento de novas plataformas de distribuição de conteúdo como o Google Play, Netflix, Apple Store, entre outros. Estes conteúdos são distribuídos de forma centralizada e levam a grandes custos de infra-estrutura para essas entidades. Por outro lado, as redes P2P permitem a distribuição de conteúdos de forma descentralizada e com baixos custos, estes contudo, exigem aplicações específicas e conhecimentos técnicos, o que se torna uma barreira entre o consumidor e os conteúdos que estão disponíveis nestas plataformas. Nesta tese é desenvolvido um protótipo de uma nova solução, usando novos standards HTML5 como WebSockets e WebRTC para introduzir uma nova perspectiva de como os utilizadores podem partilhar e consumir conteúdo. Em termos simples, a abordagem desta tese procura trazer a rede BitTorrent para os Browsers usando apenas javascript, tirando partido da sua facilidade de utilização por não exigir qualquer tipo de instalação necessária. Usando WebRTC esta tese foca-se em como fazer crescer a rede dos Browsers de forma descentralizada, incentivando o consumo de conteúdo em comunidades de utilizadores num esforço para aumentar a privacidade e resistência à censura, assim como mitigar limitações de escala da solução. Os resultados deste trabalho demonstram que alguns conceitos utilizados nesta tese têm vantagens únicas que são relevantes para o público em geral, no entanto, estas vêm com o custo de algumas limitações que são inerentes e devem ser mitigadas.Since the inception of the Internet there are a lot of ways to share files, but still to this day it is arguable if there’s a best one. The palatability of the general public for multimedia content created the need for new platforms of content distribution like Google Play, Netflix, Apple Store and some others. Contents that are distributed in a centralized way and that lead to great infrastructure costs to these entities. On the other hand, P2P networks allow the distribution of content in a decentralized way with low costs, these however require specific applications and technical knowledge, which is a barrier between the consumer and the contents that are available in these platforms. In this thesis a prototype of a new solution is developed, using upcoming HTML5 standards like WebSockets and WebRTC to introduce a new perspective to how users can share and consume content. In simple terms, the approach of this thesis is to bring the BitTorrent network into the browsers using only javascript, taking advantage of its ease of use by not requiring any kind installation. Using WebRTC this thesis focused in how to grow the browser’s network while being decentralized, encouraging content consumption in communities of users in an effort to increase privacy and resilience to censorship as well as mitigate scaling limitations of the solution. Results of this research demonstrate that some concepts used in this thesis have unique advantages that are relevant to the general public, however they come at the cost of some inherent limitations that should be mitigated