Enhanced Quality of Experience Based on Enriched Network Centric and Access Control Mechanisms

In the digital world service provisioning in user satisfying quality has become the goal of any content or network provider. Besides having satisfied and therefore, loyal users, the creation of sustainable revenue streams is the most important issue for network operators [1], [2], [3]. The motivation of this work is to enhance the quality of experience of users when they connect to the Internet, request application services as well as to maintain full service when these users are on the move in WLAN based access networks. In this context, the aspect of additional revenue creation for network operators is considered as well. The enhancements presented in this work are based on enriched network centric and access control mechanisms which will be achieved in three different areas of networks capabilities, namely the network performance, the network access and the network features themselves. In the area of network performance a novel authentication and authorisation method is introduced which overcomes the drawback of long authentication time in the handover procedure as required by the generic IEEE 802.1X process using the EAP-TLS method. The novel sequential authentication solution reduces the communication interruption time in a WLAN handover process of currently several hundred milliseconds to some milliseconds by combining the WPA2 PSK and the WPA2 EAP-TLS. In the area of usability a new user-friendly hotspot registration and login mechanisms is presented which significantly simplifies how users obtain WLAN hotspot login credentials and logon to a hotspot. This novel barcode initiated hotspot auto-login solution obtains user credentials through a simple SMS and performs an auto-login process that avoids the need to enter user name and password on the login page manually. In the area of network features a new system is proposed which overcomes the drawback that users are not aware of the quality in which a service can be provided prior to starting the service. This novel graceful denial of service solution informs the user about the expected application service quality before the application service is started

Embedded computing systems design: architectural and application perspectives

Questo elaborato affronta varie problematiche legate alla progettazione e all'implementazione dei moderni sistemi embedded di computing, ponendo in rilevo, e talvolta in contrapposizione, le sfide che emergono all'avanzare della tecnologia ed i requisiti che invece emergono a livello applicativo, derivanti dalle necessità degli utenti finali e dai trend di mercato. La discussione sarà articolata tenendo conto di due punti di vista: la progettazione hardware e la loro applicazione a livello di sistema. A livello hardware saranno affrontati nel dettaglio i problemi di interconnettività on-chip. Aspetto che riguarda la parallelizzazione del calcolo, ma anche l'integrazione di funzionalità eterogenee. Sarà quindi discussa un'architettura d'interconnessione denominata Network-on-Chip (NoC). La soluzione proposta è in grado di supportare funzionalità avanzate di networking direttamente in hardware, consentendo tuttavia di raggiungere sempre un compromesso ottimale tra prestazioni in termini di traffico e requisiti di implementazioni a seconda dell'applicazione specifica. Nella discussione di questa tematica, verrà posto l'accento sul problema della configurabilità dei blocchi che compongono una NoC. Quello della configurabilità, è un problema sempre più sentito nella progettazione dei sistemi complessi, nei quali si cerca di sviluppare delle funzionalità, anche molto evolute, ma che siano semplicemente riutilizzabili. A tale scopo sarà introdotta una nuova metodologia, denominata Metacoding che consiste nell'astrarre i problemi di configurabilità attraverso linguaggi di programmazione di alto livello. Sulla base del metacoding verrà anche proposto un flusso di design automatico in grado di semplificare la progettazione e la configurazione di una NoC da parte del designer di rete. Come anticipato, la discussione si sposterà poi a livello di sistema, per affrontare la progettazione di tali sistemi dal punto di vista applicativo, focalizzando l'attenzione in particolare sulle applicazioni di monitoraggio remoto. A tal riguardo saranno studiati nel dettaglio tutti gli aspetti che riguardano la progettazione di un sistema per il monitoraggio di pazienti affetti da scompenso cardiaco cronico. Si partirà dalla definizione dei requisiti, che, come spesso accade a questo livello, derivano principalmente dai bisogni dell'utente finale, nel nostro caso medici e pazienti. Verranno discusse le problematiche di acquisizione, elaborazione e gestione delle misure. Il sistema proposto introduce vari aspetti innovativi tra i quali il concetto di protocollo operativo e l'elevata interoperabilità offerta. In ultima analisi, verranno riportati i risultati relativi alla sperimentazione del sistema implementato. Infine, il tema del monitoraggio remoto sarà concluso con lo studio delle reti di distribuzione elettrica intelligenti: le Smart Grid, cercando di fare uno studio dello stato dell'arte del settore, proponendo un'architettura di Home Area Network (HAN) e suggerendone una possibile implementazione attraverso Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS)

Towards Secure Fog Computing: A Survey on Trust Management, Privacy, Authentication, Threats and Access Control

Fog computing is an emerging computing paradigm that has come into consideration for the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) applications amongst researchers and technology industries over the last few years. Fog is highly distributed and consists of a wide number of autonomous end devices, which contribute to the processing. However, the variety of devices offered across different users are not audited. Hence, the security of Fog devices is a major concern that should come into consideration. Therefore, to provide the necessary security for Fog devices, there is a need to understand what the security concerns are with regards to Fog. All aspects of Fog security, which have not been covered by other literature works, need to be identified and aggregated. On the other hand, privacy preservation for user’s data in Fog devices and application data processed in Fog devices is another concern. To provide the appropriate level of trust and privacy, there is a need to focus on authentication, threats and access control mechanisms as well as privacy protection techniques in Fog computing. In this paper, a survey along with a taxonomy is proposed, which presents an overview of existing security concerns in the context of the Fog computing paradigm. Moreover, the Blockchain-based solutions towards a secure Fog computing environment is presented and various research challenges and directions for future research are discussed

EES 2013 - Energy EcoSystems 2013: Leipzig, Germany, 23 - 24 September 2013; proceedings

Im Kontext der Energiewende durchlebt die Energiewirtschaft in Deutschland gegenwärtig einen tiefgreifenden Strukturwandel. Der Trend zur Fragmentierung und Dezentralisierung von Marktteilnehmern wird sich in den nächsten Jahren fortsetzen und weiter beschleunigen. Die Komplexität des Energiesystems wird weiter steigen. Gleichzeitig ergeben sich im Zuge dieser Entwicklung für energiewirtschaftliche Akteure (Erzeuger, Verbraucher, Netze, Energiemärkte und IuK-Technologien) vielfältige wirtschaftliche Herausforderungen und Entwicklungsperspektiven. Das Konzept 'Ecosystems' eröffnet innovative Perspektiven auf die zu erwartenden energiewirtschaftlichen Entwicklungen. Es strukturiert das komplexe Zusammenspiel der einzelnen Akteure und Teilsysteme mit der Zielsetzung, das Gesamtsystem sicherer, effizienter und umweltverträglicher zu gestalten. Im Fokus der Energy EcoSystems Conference 2013 stehen hierbei vier Betrachtungsebenen – die physikalische Ebene, die IKT-Ebene, die ökonomische Ebene und die soziokulturelle Ebene – sowie deren ebenenübergreifenden Wechselwirkungen. Mit den Sessions 'Energy EcoSystems heute und morgen', 'Technische Informationsbedarfe im Energy EcoSystem', 'Vermarktung und Verbrauch im Energy EcoSystem\\\', \\\'Erneuerbare Energien im Energy EcoSystem', 'Innovationen im Energy EcoSystem' und 'Quo vadis Energy EcoSystems?' liegen die Schwerpunkte der Konferenz in der Systemintegration von Erneuerbare-Energie-Anlagen, der Flexibilisierung des Verbrauchs auf physikalischer und ökonomischer Ebene, der Standardisierung von Datenformaten und Kommunikationsprotokollen, der Umsetzung steigender informationstechnischer Anforderungen sowie in Ansätzen zur Optimierung des Gesamtsystems. Dieser Tagungsband beinhaltet die wissenschaftlichen Beiträge der Scientific Tracks sowie ausgewählte Präsentationen der Industrie Tracks der Konferenz. Dr. Gerd Arnold, Dr. Stefan Kühne, Johannes Schmidt und Dr. Andrej Werner – das Konferenzkomitee – danken den Teilnehmern für die hochwertigen wissenschaftlichen sowie praxisrelevanten Beiträge und Diskussionen. Weiterhin möchte sich das Konferenzkomitee bei den Projektförderern Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB), Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) sowie Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi) bedanken, welche durch unterschiedliche Förderprogramme die anstehenden Herausforderungen in der Energiewirtschaft und die Entwicklung hin zu einer erfolgreichen und exportierbaren Energiewende unterstützen. Besonderer Dank gilt den Sponsoren perdata Gesellschaft für Informationsverarbeitung mbH und GETEC net AG, durch deren Unterstützung viele Teilnehmer ihre Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse auf der EcoSystems Conference 2013 vorstellen konnten. Das Konferenzkomitee dankt auch den Mitgliedern des Organisationskomitees –- Axel Hummel, Stefan Sprick und Robert Wehlitz –- für ihr persönliches Engagement und ihre tatkräftige operative Unterstützung. Weitere Informationen zur Energy EcoSystems Conference 2013 sowie die Folien der ReferentInnen finden Sie unter http://ees2013.infai.org. Alle Informationen zur nächsten Energy EcoSystems Conference werden unter http://ees.infai.org bekannt gegeben.:Sabine Wieland: Informationsarchitektur im Smart Meter Umfeld unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen Netzsituation; Stefan Saatmann und Sandra Maeding: Energiewende und Regulierung — Wie werden Sonne und Wind im Stromnetz integriert und reguliert; Stefan Sprick, Tino Ryll, Kerstin Wurdinger, Andrej Werner, Bogdan Franczyk, Marcus Grieger, Jan Pfeifer und Robert Wehlitz: Regenerative Energien Management-Cockpit (REMC): Informationstransparenz in Energiewertschöpfungsnetzwerken; Hendrik Kondziella und Thomas Bruckner: Modellbasierte Investitionsentscheidungen in dezentralen Energiesystemen; Diana Böttger, Philipp Hanemann und Thomas Bruckner: Wirtschaftlichkeitsanalyse eines virtuellen Kraftwerks in Delitzsch innerhalb des EU-Projektes VIS NOVA; Robert Wehlitz, Andrej Werner, Marcus Grieger, Jan Pfeifer, Bogdan Franczyk, Stefan Sprick und Tino Ryll: Smart Meter Installation Management — Prototypgestützte Digitalisierung von Smart Meter Montageprozessen; Marcus Grieger, Andrej Werner, Robert Wehlitz, Jan Pfeifer, Stefan Sprick, Tino Ryll und Bogdan Franczyk: How ICT Could Accelerate the Smart Meter Installation Process — An Assessment of Rollout Experiences; Heiko Mevert: Smart-Metering: Theorie und Praxis; Hartmut Entrup: Anforderungen an IT-Systeme im Zuge der Einführung intelligenter Messsysteme; Martin Winter: Dynamische Anbindung dezentraler Energieanlagen mit IEC 61850; Olaf Krietsch: Verbindungen zwischen SRL-Anbieter und Übertragungsnetzbetreibern gemäß 'Mindestanforderungen an die Informationstechnik für die Erbringung von Sekundärregelleistung'; Sabrina Schlammerl: Innovative Services in der Windenergie: Der Einsatz von RDS-PP und dessen Bedeutung für das Life Cycle Management; Christian Schweitzer: Lebenslaufakte: Ganzheitlicher Ansatz für einen gesicherten Anlagenbetrieb; Rene Baumann: Vermarktungskonzepte für dezentrale Anlagen; Heike Diebler und Lutz Maicher: Energiekosten sparen durch Energetische Transparenz in der verarbeitenden Industrie – ein Praxisbericht; Philipp Guttenberg, Heinrich Hördegen: Betriebsoptimierung für Energiespeicher durch Energieflussmodellierung; Winfried Damm: Regenerative Energieversorgung einer Großstadt, Stadtwerke Leipzig; Uwe Härling: Herausforderungen der Energiewende für das Verteilnetz der MITNETZ STROM; Matthias Müller-Mienack: Integration Erneuerbarer Energien — Notwendige Werkzeuge für den ÜNB; Martin Jarosch-Mitko: Eine Integrationsplattform für Erneuerbare-Energie-Anlagen; Stephan Witt: Energiesysteme als Business Ecosystems – Bedeutung für die strategische Planung und das Innovationsmanagement am Beispiel dezentraler Netzsteuerungsparadigmen; Thomas Bruckner: Die Energiewende in Deutschland – Technologische Lösungen und energiewirtschaftliche Herausforderunge

Fashion Industry

Fashion is a lot more than providing an answer to primary needs. It is a way of communication, of distinction, of proclaiming a unique taste and expressing the belonging to a group. Sometimes to an exclusive group. Currently, the fashion industry is moving towards hyperspace, to a multidimensional world that is springing from the integration of smart textiles and wearable technologies. It is far beyond aesthetics. New properties of smart textiles let designers experiment with astonishing forms and expressions. There are also surprising contrasts and challenges: a new life for natural fibers, sustainable fabrics and dyeing techniques, rediscovered by eco-fashion, and "artificial apparel," made of wearable electronic components. How is this revolution affecting the strategies of the fashion industry

Enhanced Living Environments

This open access book was prepared as a Final Publication of the COST Action IC1303 “Algorithms, Architectures and Platforms for Enhanced Living Environments (AAPELE)”. The concept of Enhanced Living Environments (ELE) refers to the area of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) that is more related with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Effective ELE solutions require appropriate ICT algorithms, architectures, platforms, and systems, having in view the advance of science and technology in this area and the development of new and innovative solutions that can provide improvements in the quality of life for people in their homes and can reduce the financial burden on the budgets of the healthcare providers. The aim of this book is to become a state-of-the-art reference, discussing progress made, as well as prompting future directions on theories, practices, standards, and strategies related to the ELE area. The book contains 12 chapters and can serve as a valuable reference for undergraduate students, post-graduate students, educators, faculty members, researchers, engineers, medical doctors, healthcare organizations, insurance companies, and research strategists working in this area

Effect of curing conditions and harvesting stage of maturity on Ethiopian onion bulb drying properties

The study was conducted to investigate the impact of curing conditions and harvesting stageson the drying quality of onion bulbs. The onion bulbs (Bombay Red cultivar) were harvested at three harvesting stages (early, optimum, and late maturity) and cured at three different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 oC) and relative humidity (30, 50 and 70%). The results revealed that curing temperature, RH, and maturity stage had significant effects on all measuredattributesexcept total soluble solids

Usability analysis of contending electronic health record systems

In this paper, we report measured usability of two leading EHR systems during procurement. A total of 18 users participated in paired-usability testing of three scenarios: ordering and managing medications by an outpatient physician, medicine administration by an inpatient nurse and scheduling of appointments by nursing staff. Data for audio, screen capture, satisfaction rating, task success and errors made was collected during testing. We found a clear difference between the systems for percentage of successfully completed tasks, two different satisfaction measures and perceived learnability when looking at the results over all scenarios. We conclude that usability should be evaluated during procurement and the difference in usability between systems could be revealed even with fewer measures than were used in our study. © 2019 American Psychological Association Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe