Sub-GHz LPWAN network coexistence, management and virtualization : an overview and open research challenges

The IoT domain is characterized by many applications that require low-bandwidth communications over a long range, at a low cost and at low power. Low power wide area networks (LPWANs) fulfill these requirements by using sub-GHz radio frequencies (typically 433 or 868 MHz) with typical transmission ranges in the order of 1 up to 50 km. As a result, a single base station can cover large areas and can support high numbers of connected devices (> 1000 per base station). Notorious initiatives in this domain are LoRa, Sigfox and the upcoming IEEE 802.11ah (or "HaLow") standard. Although these new technologies have the potential to significantly impact many IoT deployments, the current market is very fragmented and many challenges exists related to deployment, scalability, management and coexistence aspects, making adoption of these technologies difficult for many companies. To remedy this, this paper proposes a conceptual framework to improve the performance of LPWAN networks through in-network optimization, cross-technology coexistence and cooperation and virtualization of management functions. In addition, the paper gives an overview of state of the art solutions and identifies open challenges for each of these aspects

Korkean luotettavuuden verkkohallinteiset laitteiden väliset yhteydet

Fifth generation cellular networks aim to provide new types of services. Prominent amongst these are industrial automation and vehicle-to-vehicle communications. Such new use cases demand lower latencies and higher reliability along with greater flexibility than current and past generations of cellular technologies allow. Enabling these new service types requires the introduction of device-to-device communications (D2D). This work investigated network-controlled D2D schemes wherein cellular base stations retain control over spectrum usage. D2D nodes assemble into clusters. Each D2D cluster then organises itself as it sees fit within the constraints imposed by the cellular network. A review of proposed D2D control schemes was conducted to identify pertinent interference issues. Measurements were then devised to empirically collect quantitative data on the impact of this interference. Measurements were conducted using a software-defined radio (SDR) platform. An SDR based system was selected to enable a low cost and highly flexible iterative approach to development while still providing the accuracy of real-world measurement. D2D functionality was added to the chosen SDR system with the essential parts of Long Term Evolution Release 8 implemented. Two series of measurements were performed. The first aimed to determine the adjacent channel interference impact of a cellular user being located near a D2D receiver. The second measurement series collected data on the co-channel interference of spectrum re-use between a D2D link and a moving cellular transmitter. Based on these measurements it was determined that D2D communications within a cellular system is feasible. Furthermore, the required frequency of channel state information reporting as a function of node velocity was determined.Viidennen sukupolven solukkoverkoilla pyritään mahdollistamaan uudentyyppisiä palveluja kuten teollisuusautomatiikkaa ja ajoneuvojen välistä viestintää. Tämänkaltaiset uudet käyttötarkoitukset vaativat lyhyempien viiveiden ja korkeammat luotettavuuden ohella myös suurempaa joustavuutta kuin minkä nykyisen sukupolven matkapuhelinverkkoteknologiat sallivat. Edellä mainittujen uusien palvelujen toteuttaminen vaatii suoria laitteiden välisiä yhteyksiä (engl. D2D). Tässä diplomityössä keskityttiin tutkimaan verkkohallinteisia D2D-rakenteita, joissa solukkoverkko hallinnoi spektrin käyttöä. D2D-päätteet liittyvät yhteen muodostaakseen klustereita, jotka hallinnoivat sisäistä tietoliikennettään parhaaksi katsomallaan tavalla solukkoverkon asettamien rajoitusten puitteissa. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla selvitettiin aiemmissa tutkimuksissa esitetyille D2D-ratkaisuille yhteiset interferenssiongelmat. Näiden vaikutusta ja suuruutta tutkittiin mittausten avulla. Mittaukset toteutettiin ohjelmistoradioalustan (engl. SDR) avulla. SDR-pohjaisen järjestelmän käyttö mahdollisti edullisen ja joustavan tavan kerätä empiirisiä mittaustuloksia. D2D-toiminnallisuus lisättiin Long Term Evolution Release 8:n olennaiset ominaisuudet omaavaan alustaan. Tällä alustalla toteutettiin kaksi mittaussarjaa. Ensimmäisellä kerättiin tuloksia viereisellä kanavalla toimivan matkapuhelimen D2D-vastaanottimelle aiheuttamasta interferenssistä näiden ollessa toistensa läheisyydessä. Toisella mittaussarjalla selvitettiin samalla kanavalla toimivan D2D-yhteyden ja liikkuvan matkapuhelimen välistä interferenssiä. Mittausten perusteella todettiin D2D-toiminnallisuuden lisäämisen solukkoverkkoon olevan mahdollista. Lisäksi laskettiin vaadittava kanavalaadun päivitystiheys päätteiden nopeuden funktiona

Location-Enabled IoT (LE-IoT): A Survey of Positioning Techniques, Error Sources, and Mitigation

The Internet of Things (IoT) has started to empower the future of many industrial and mass-market applications. Localization techniques are becoming key to add location context to IoT data without human perception and intervention. Meanwhile, the newly-emerged Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) technologies have advantages such as long-range, low power consumption, low cost, massive connections, and the capability for communication in both indoor and outdoor areas. These features make LPWAN signals strong candidates for mass-market localization applications. However, there are various error sources that have limited localization performance by using such IoT signals. This paper reviews the IoT localization system through the following sequence: IoT localization system review -- localization data sources -- localization algorithms -- localization error sources and mitigation -- localization performance evaluation. Compared to the related surveys, this paper has a more comprehensive and state-of-the-art review on IoT localization methods, an original review on IoT localization error sources and mitigation, an original review on IoT localization performance evaluation, and a more comprehensive review of IoT localization applications, opportunities, and challenges. Thus, this survey provides comprehensive guidance for peers who are interested in enabling localization ability in the existing IoT systems, using IoT systems for localization, or integrating IoT signals with the existing localization sensors

Your WiFi Is Leaking: Inferring Private User Information Despite Encryption

This thesis describes how wireless networks can inadvertently leak and broadcast users' personal information despite the correct use of encryption. Users would likely assume that their activities (for example, the program or app they are using) and personal information (including age, religion, sexuality and gender) would remain confidential when using an encrypted network. However, we demonstrate how the analysis of encrypted traffic patterns can allow an observer to infer potentially sensitive data remotely, passively, undetectably, and without any network credentials. Without the ability to read encrypted WiFi traffic directly, the limited side-channel data available is processed. Following an investigation to determine what information is available and how it can be represented, it was determined that the comparison of various permutations of timing and frame size information is sufficient to distinguish specific user activities. The construction of classifiers via machine learning (Random Forests) utilising this side-channel information represented as histograms allows for the detection of user activity despite WiFi encryption. Studies showed that Skype voice traffic could be identified despite being interleaved with other activities. A subsequent study then demonstrated that mobile apps could be individually detected and, concerningly, used to infer potentially sensitive information about users due to their personalised nature. Furthermore, a full prototype system is developed and used to demonstrate that this analysis can be performed in real-time using low-cost commodity hardware in real-world scenarios. Avenues for improvement and the limitations of this approach are identified, and potential applications for this work are considered. Strategies to prevent these leaks are discussed and the effort required for an observer to present a practical privacy threat to the everyday WiFi user is examined