1,059 research outputs found
When Internet of Things meets Metaverse: Convergence of Physical and Cyber Worlds
In recent years, the Internet of Things (IoT) is studied in the context of the Metaverse to provide users immersive cyber-virtual experiences in mixed reality environments. This survey introduces six typical IoT applications in the Metaverse, including collaborative healthcare, education, smart city, entertainment, real estate, and socialization. In the IoT-inspired Metaverse, we also comprehensively survey four pillar technologies that enable augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), namely, responsible artificial intelligence (AI), high-speed data communications, cost-effective mobile edge computing (MEC), and digital twins. According to the physical-world demands, we outline the current industrial efforts and seven key requirements for building the IoT-inspired Metaverse: immersion, variety, economy, civility, interactivity, authenticity, and independence. In addition, this survey describes the open issues in the IoT-inspired Metaverse, which need to be addressed to eventually achieve the convergence of physical and cyber worlds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Unleashing the Power of Edge-Cloud Generative AI in Mobile Networks: A Survey of AIGC Services
Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content (AIGC) is an automated method for
generating, manipulating, and modifying valuable and diverse data using AI
algorithms creatively. This survey paper focuses on the deployment of AIGC
applications, e.g., ChatGPT and Dall-E, at mobile edge networks, namely mobile
AIGC networks, that provide personalized and customized AIGC services in real
time while maintaining user privacy. We begin by introducing the background and
fundamentals of generative models and the lifecycle of AIGC services at mobile
AIGC networks, which includes data collection, training, finetuning, inference,
and product management. We then discuss the collaborative cloud-edge-mobile
infrastructure and technologies required to support AIGC services and enable
users to access AIGC at mobile edge networks. Furthermore, we explore
AIGCdriven creative applications and use cases for mobile AIGC networks.
Additionally, we discuss the implementation, security, and privacy challenges
of deploying mobile AIGC networks. Finally, we highlight some future research
directions and open issues for the full realization of mobile AIGC networks
Large-scale environment mapping and immersive human-robot interaction for agricultural mobile robot teleoperation
Remote operation is a crucial solution to problems encountered in
agricultural machinery operations. However, traditional video streaming control
methods fall short in overcoming the challenges of single perspective views and
the inability to obtain 3D information. In light of these issues, our research
proposes a large-scale digital map reconstruction and immersive human-machine
remote control framework for agricultural scenarios. In our methodology, a DJI
unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) was utilized for data collection, and a novel
video segmentation approach based on feature points was introduced. To tackle
texture richness variability, an enhanced Structure from Motion (SfM) using
superpixel segmentation was implemented. This method integrates the open
Multiple View Geometry (openMVG) framework along with Local Features from
Transformers (LoFTR). The enhanced SfM results in a point cloud map, which is
further processed through Multi-View Stereo (MVS) to generate a complete map
model. For control, a closed-loop system utilizing TCP for VR control and
positioning of agricultural machinery was introduced. Our system offers a fully
visual-based immersive control method, where upon connection to the local area
network, operators can utilize VR for immersive remote control. The proposed
method enhances both the robustness and convenience of the reconstruction
process, thereby significantly facilitating operators in acquiring more
comprehensive on-site information and engaging in immersive remote control
operations. The code is available at: https://github.com/LiuTao1126/Enhance-SF
Mobility-aware Software-Defined Service-Centric Networking for Service Provisioning in Urban Environments
Disruptive applications for mobile devices, such as the Internet of Things, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Immersive Media, and others, have requirements that the current Cloud Computing paradigm cannot meet. These unmet requirements bring the necessity to deploy geographically distributed computing architectures, such as Fog and Mobile Edge Computing. However, bringing computing close to users has its costs. One example of cost is the complexity introduced by the management of the mobility of the devices at the edge. This mobility may lead to issues, such as interruption of the communication with service instances hosted at the edge or an increase in communication latency during mobility events, e.g., handover. These issues, caused by the lack of mobility-aware service management solutions, result in degradation in service provisioning.
The present thesis proposes a series of protocols and algorithms to handle user and service mobility at the edge of the network. User mobility is characterized when user change access points of wireless networks, while service mobility happens when services have to be provisioned from different hosts. It assembles them in a solution for mobility-aware service orchestration based on Information-Centric Networking (ICN) and runs on top of Software-Defined Networking (SDN). This solution addresses three issues related to handling user mobility at the edge: (i) proactive support for user mobility events, (ii) service instance addressing management, and (iii) distributed application state data management. For (i), we propose a proactive SDN-based handover scheme. For (ii), we propose an ICN addressing strategy to remove the necessity of updating addresses after service mobility events. For (iii), we propose a graph-based framework for state data placement in the network nodes that accounts for user mobility and latency requirements.
The protocols and algorithms proposed in this thesis were compared with different approaches from the literature through simulation. Our results show that the proposed solution can reduce service interruption and latency in the presence of user and service mobility events while maintaining reasonable overhead costs regarding control messages sent in the network by the SDN controller
Remote Monitoring and Teleoperation of Autonomous Vehicles Is Virtual Reality an Option?
While the promise of autonomous vehicles has led to significant scientific
and industrial progress, fully automated, SAE level 5 conform cars will likely
not see mass adoption anytime soon. Instead, in many applications, human
supervision, such as remote monitoring and teleoperation, will be required for
the foreseeable future. While Virtual Reality (VR) has been proposed as one
potential interface for teleoperation, its benefits and drawbacks over physical
monitoring and teleoperation solutions have not been thoroughly investigated.
To this end, we contribute three user studies, comparing and quantifying the
performance of and subjective feedback for a VR-based system with an existing
monitoring and teleoperation system, which is in industrial use today. Through
these three user studies, we contribute to a better understanding of future
virtual monitoring and teleoperation solutions for autonomous vehicles. The
results of our first user study (n=16) indicate that a VR interface replicating
the physical interface does not outperform the physical interface. It also
quantifies the negative effects that combined monitoring and teleoperating
tasks have on users irrespective of the interface being used. The results of
the second user study (n=24) indicate that the perceptual and ergonomic issues
caused by VR outweigh its benefits, like better concentration through
isolation. The third follow-up user study (n=24) specifically targeted the
perceptual and ergonomic issues of VR; the subjective feedback of this study
indicates that newer-generation VR headsets have the potential to catch up with
the current physical displays
The Need of Multidisciplinary Approaches and Engineering Tools for the Development and Implementation of the Smart City Paradigm
This paper is motivated by the concept that the successful, effective, and sustainable implementation of the smart city paradigm requires a close cooperation among researchers with different, complementary interests and, in most cases, a multidisciplinary approach. It first briefly discusses how such a multidisciplinary methodology, transversal to various disciplines such as architecture, computer science, civil engineering, electrical, electronic and telecommunication engineering, social science and behavioral science, etc., can be successfully employed for the development of suitable modeling tools and real solutions of such sociotechnical systems. Then, the paper presents some pilot projects accomplished by the authors within the framework of some major European Union (EU) and national research programs, also involving the Bologna municipality and some of the key players of the smart city industry. Each project, characterized by different and complementary approaches/modeling tools, is illustrated along with the relevant contextualization and the advancements with respect to the state of the art
Metaverse for Wireless Systems: Architecture, Advances, Standardization, and Open Challenges
The growing landscape of emerging wireless applications is a key driver
toward the development of novel wireless system designs. Such a design can be
based on the metaverse that uses a virtual model of the physical world systems
along with other schemes/technologies (e.g., optimization theory, machine
learning, and blockchain). A metaverse using a virtual model performs proactive
intelligent analytics prior to a user request for efficient management of the
wireless system resources. Additionally, a metaverse will enable
self-sustainability to operate wireless systems with the least possible
intervention from network operators. Although the metaverse can offer many
benefits, it faces some challenges as well. Therefore, in this tutorial, we
discuss the role of a metaverse in enabling wireless applications. We present
an overview, key enablers, design aspects (i.e., metaverse for wireless and
wireless for metaverse), and a novel high-level architecture of metaverse-based
wireless systems. We discuss metaverse management, reliability, and security of
the metaverse-based system. Furthermore, we discuss recent advances and
standardization of metaverse-enabled wireless system. Finally, we outline open
challenges and present possible solutions
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