COTTON CULTIVAR, PLANTING, IRRIGATING, AND HARVESTING DECISIONS UNDER RISK

Producers in southwest Oklahoma lack adequate information about optimal planting decisions for cotton. This study uses a cotton growth simulation model to evaluate alternative cultivar, planting date, irrigation, and harvest choices. Effects of using information about soil moisture at reproduction and revenue loss at harvest in making cultivar and planting data decisions are evaluated. Using soil temperature information to plant at an early date produced high net revenue some years, but reduced mean net revenue and increased risk. Producers maximizing expected net revenue should plant a short-season cultivar in late May and use soil moisture information to schedule irrigation at reproduction.Crop Production/Industries,

Building an Intelligent Transport Information Platform for Smart Cities

Intelligent Transportation management is a key requirement in the development of Smart Cities. This can be realised with a new technology known as Vehicular Ad hoc Networks or VANETs. VANETs allow us to integrate our transport and communication infrastructures through communication devices deployed along the roads called Roadside Units (RSUs). The RSUs talk to a device in your car called an Onboard Unit (OBU). OBUs can exchange information with RSUs as well as with each other, and because VANETs have been engineered to deliver information quickly and reliably, they can be used in a number of safety-critical areas such as collision avoidance, accident notification and disaster management. This project was about building and evaluating a prototype VANET network on the Middlesex University Hendon Campus and surrounding roads. The information from this VANET Testbed was stored and processed using a Cloud platform at Middlesex University, enabling visual and data analytics to be applied in order to provide an intelligent platform for transport management

Security and QoS integration for protecting service providers in hterogeneous environments

Similar to the Internet, connectivity in Next Generation Networks such as 4G will be IP-Based. This implies that they inherit all the security problems of the current Internet. Amongst these numerous threats, compromise and resource exhaustion threats which come in the form of Denial of Service attacks, are very common and particularly serious. The severity of such attacks will be fuelled by the development of heterogeneous devices which have several wireless interfaces, as multi-homed devices will be able to send multiple connection requests to the server and thus launch attacks over different access networks. This paper details a new model to address the problem of Denial of Service attacks against the current Internet which limit the accessibility of a server based on its operational scope such that the solution will work effectively in heterogeneous, multi-homed environments. However, Denial of service attacks target the system resources and degrade their performance thus, affecting the Quality of Service’s delivery to the subscribed users. Therefore, the proposed model suggests dealing with security and QoS in an integrated manner by using the concept of Quality of Security Service where security is considered as a Quality of Service’ parameter. This paper furthermore shows how security can be integrated into the infrastructure of future network systems. However, in order to implement the proposed model, it is necessary to enhance current networking infrastructure by extending current services such as the Domain Naming Service and evolving new services such as a Master Locator to support user mobility

Security models for heterogeneous networking.

Security for Next Generation Networks (NGNs) is an attractive topic for many research groups. The Y-Comm security group believes that a new security approach is needed to address the security challenges in 4G networks. This paper sheds light on our approach of providing security for the Y-Comm architecture as an example of 4G communication frameworks. Our approach proposes a four-layer security integrated module to protect data and three targeted security models to protect different network entities, thus providing security in different situations without affecting the dynamics of the 4G networks

Proactive policy management for heterogeneous networks

Context-awareness is a vital requirement of heterogeneous devices which allows them to predict future network conditions with sufficient accuracy. In this paper we present a proactive modelling-based approach for policy management which allows the mobile node to calculate Time Before Vertical Handover for open and closed environments. The paper explains how the knowledge of this component can improve the manner in which multi-class traffic streams are allocated to available network channels. Simulation results confirm the feasibility of the concept

Stream bundle management layer for optimum management of co-existing telemedicine traffic streams under varying channel conditions in heterogeneous networks.

Heterogeneous networks facilitate easy and cost-effective penetration of medical advice in both rural and urban areas. However, disparate characteristics of different wireless networks lead to noticeable variations in network conditions when users roam among them e.g. during vertical handovers. Telemedicine traffic consists of a variety of real-time and non real-time traffic streams, each with a different set of Quality of Service requirements. This paper discusses the challenges and issues involved in the successful adaptation of heterogeneous networks by wireless telemedicine applications. We propose the development of a Smart Bundle Management (SBM) Layer for optimally managing co-existing traffic streams under varying channel conditions in a heterogeneous network. The SBM Layer acts as an interface between the applications and the underlying layers for maintaining a fair sharing of channel resources. Internal priority management algorithms are explained using Coloured Petri nets. This paper lays the foundation for the development of strategies for efficient management of co-existing traffic streams across varying channel conditions

Client-based SBM layer for predictive management of traffic flows in heterogeneous networks

In a heterogeneous networking environment, the knowledge of the time before a vertical handover (TBVH) for any network is vital in correctly assigning connections to available channels. In this paper, we introduce a predictive mathematical model for calculating the estimated TBVH component from available network parameters and discuss the different scenarios that arise based on a mobile host’s trajectory. We then introduce the concept of an intelligent Stream Bundle Management Layer (SBM) which consists of a set of policies for scheduling and mapping prioritised traffic streams on to available channels based on their priority, device mobility pattern and prevailing channel conditions. The layer is also responsible for the maintenance of connections during vertical handovers to avoid their forced termination

Exploring intelligent service migration in vehicular networks

Mobile edge clouds have great potential to address the challenges in vehicular networks by transferring storage and computing functions to the cloud. This brings many advantages of the cloud closer to the mobile user, by installing small cloud infrastructures at the network edge. However, it is still a challenge to efficiently utilize heterogeneous communication and edge computing architectures. In this paper, we investigate the impact of live service migration within a Vehicular Ad-hoc Network environment by making use of the results collected from a real experimental test-bed. A new proactive service migration model which considers both the mobility of the user and the service migration time for different services is introduced. Results collected from a real experimental test-bed of connected vehicles show that there is a need to explore proactive service migration based on the mobility of users. This can result in better resource usage and better Quality of Service for the mobile user. Additionally, a study on the performance of the transport protocol and its impact in the context of live service migration for highly mobile environments is presented with results in terms of latency, bandwidth, and burst and their potential effect on the time it takes to migrate services

Proactive policy management using TBVH mechanism in heterogeneous networks.

In order to achieve seamless interoperability in heterogeneous networking, it is vital to improve the context-awareness of the mobile node (MN) so that it is able to predict future network conditions with sufficient accuracy. In this paper, we introduce a predictive mathematical model for calculating the estimated Time Before Vertical Handover (TBVH) component from available network parameters. The model is practically implemented in OPNET and our simulation results confirm the validity of the concept. We then demonstrate how the knowledge of TBVH along with other network parameters can be applied by downward Quality of Service management policies which bundle multi-class traffic streams on to available network channels based on application QoS, device mobility patterns and prevailing channel conditions

A formally verified AKA protocol for vertical handover in heterogeneous environments using Casper/FDR

Next generation networks will comprise different wireless networks including cellular technologies, WLAN and indoor technologies. To support these heterogeneous environments, there is a need to consider a new design of the network infrastructure. Furthermore, this heterogeneous environment implies that future devices will need to roam between different networks using vertical handover techniques. When a mobile user moves into a new foreign network, data confidentiality and mutual authentication between the user and the network are vital issues in this heterogeneous environment. This article deals with these issues by first examining the implication of moving towards an open architecture, and then looking at how current approaches such as the 3GPP, HOKEY and mobile ethernet respond to the new environment while trying to address the security issue. The results indicate that a new authentication and key agreement protocol is required to secure handover in this environment. Casper/FDR, is used in the analysis and development of the protocol. The proposed protocol has been proven to be successful in this heterogeneous environment