A bluetooth low energy indoor positioning system with channel diversity, weighted trilateration and Kalman filtering

Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology are currently becoming real and available, which has made them grow in popularity and use. However, there are still plenty of challenges related to this technology, especially in terms of Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) fluctuations due to the behaviour of the channels and the multipath effect, that lead to poor precision. In order to mitigate these effects, in this paper we propose and implement a real Indoor Positioning System based on Bluetooth Low Energy, that improves accuracy while reducing power consumption and costs. The three main proposals are: frequency diversity, Kalman filtering and a trilateration method what we have denominated “weighted trilateration”. The analysis of the results proves that all the proposals improve the precision of the system, which goes up to 1.82 m 90% of the time for a device moving in a middle-size room and 0.7 m for static devices. Furthermore, we have proved that the system is scalable and efficient in terms of cost and power consumption. The implemented approach allows using a very simple device (like a SensorTag) on the items to locate. The system enables a very low density of anchor points or references and with a precision better than existing solutionsPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Implementation of context-aware network architecture for smart objects based on functional composition

Lack of flexibility of current Internet architecture led researchers to come up with new paradigms for a novel Internet architecture, which would be able to reduce complexity and increase flexibility compared to current Internet architecture. Functional co mposition is a promising approach to flexible and evolvable architecture design. The idea is composing complex protocol suites by dynamically bind and arrange different functions to obtain certain behavior. Herein, we present the implementation of a contex t - aware network architecture based on functional composition for smart objects. A sub - set of those basic functional blocks has been implemented and validated on an experimental testbed using different network topologies .Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Design and implementation of a Wake-up Radio receiver for fast 250 kbps bit rate

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Wake-up radio (WuR) systems have appeared as a solution for reducing power consumption. As IEEE 802.11 is the preferred radio technology, IEEE 802.11 task group TGba focuses on the IEEE 802.11-based WuR standardization. We present an implementation of a wake-up receiver (WuRx), based on off-the-shelf components, using a microcontroller unit for decodification at the fastest bit rate of 250 kb/s allowed by TGba. The proof-of-concept that has been developed, does not aim at presenting an optimized power consumption solution for WuRx, but at enabling a comparative evaluation for several reception cases based on latency and power utilization. The evaluation of the performance shows the WuRx robustness in presence of frame receptions different from the expected for WuR operation or addressed to other WuRx in the surrounding area. This letter also presents the convenience of implementing a mechanism for avoiding consecutive erroneous WuRx identification matchings within the same WuR procedure.Postprint (author's final draft

Web browsing optimization over 2.5G and 3G: end-to-end mechanisms vs. usage of performance enhancing proxies

Published version on Wiley's platform: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcm.4562.5 Generation (2.5G) and Third Generation (3G) cellular wireless networks allow mobile Internet access withbearers specifically designed for data communications. However, Internet protocols under-utilize wireless widearea network (WWAN) link resources, mainly due to large round trip times (RTTs) and request–reply protocolpatterns. Web browsing is a popular service that suffers significant performance degradation over 2.5G and 3G. Inthis paper, we review and compare the two main approaches for improving web browsing performance over wirelesslinks: (i) using adequate end-to-end parameters and mechanisms and (ii) interposing a performance enhancingproxy (PEP) between the wireless and wired parts. We conclude that PEPs are currently the only feasible way forsignificantly optimizing web browsing behavior over 2.5G and 3G. In addition, we evaluate the two main currentcommercial PEPs over live general packet radio service (GPRS) and universal mobile telecommunications system(UMTS) networks. The results show that PEPs can lead to near-ideal web browsing performance in certain scenarios.Postprint (published version

An alternative to IEEE 802.11ba: wake-up radio with legacy IEEE 802.11 transmitters

Current standardization process for Wake-up Radio (WuR) within the IEEE 802.11 Working Group, known as the IEEE 802.11ba, has brought interest to the IEEE 802.11-related technologies for the implementation of WuR systems. This paper proposes a new WuR system, where the Wake-up Transmitter (WuTx) is based on the legacy IEEE 802.11 Orthogonal Frequency Division Modulation (OFDM) Physical Layer (PHY) specification. Using the IEEE 802.11, OFDM PHY makes it possible for an IEEE 802.11a/g/n/ac transmitter to operate as WuTx for this WuR system. The WuTx generates a Wake-up Signal (WuS) coded with an amplitude-based digital modulation, achieving a bit rate of 250 kbps. This modulation, which we call Peak-Flat modulation, can be received using low-power receivers. A simulated proof of concept of the WuTx based on the IEEE 802.11g is presented and evaluated using MATLAB WLAN Toolbox. A method to generate the Peak-Flat modulated WuS from an IEEE 802.11a/g standard-compliant transmitter, using only software-level access, is explained. In addition, two possible low-power Wake-up Receiver (WuRx) architectures capable of decoding the presented modulation are proposed. The design of those receivers is generic enough to be used as a reference to compare the performance of the Peak-Flat Modulation with the other state-of-the-art approaches. The evaluation results conclude that the Peak-Flat modulation has similar performance compared to the other IEEE 802.11 WuR solutions on the reference receivers. Moreover, this solution provides a notorious advantage: legacy OFDM-based IEEE 802.11 transmitters can generate the Peak-Flat modulated WuS.Postprint (published version

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and vitamin D receptor variants in melanoma patients from the Mediterranean area of Barcelona

BACKGROUND: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (Vitamin D) insufficiency and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on its receptor, Vitamin D receptor (VDR), have been reported to be involved in melanoma susceptibility in populations mostly from northern countries. OBJECTIVE: To investigate 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and VDR SNPs in melanoma patients from sunny area of Barcelona, two studies were carried out. The first study evaluated the levels of Vitamin D at time of melanoma diagnosis and the second one analyzed the association between VDR genetic variants and risk of having a high nevus number, the strongest phenotypic risk factor for melanoma. METHODS: The levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in 81 melanoma patients at diagnosis were measured. In a second group of melanoma patients, including 150 with low and 113 with high nevus number, 11 VDR SNPs were analyzed for their association with nevus number. RESULTS: In the first study, 68% of patients had insufficient levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (<25 ng/ml). Autumn-winter months and fair phototype were associated with 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 insufficiency; after multivariate analysis, season of sampling remained the only independent predictor of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels. In the second study, VDR variant rs2189480 (P = 0.006) was associated with risk of high nevus number whereas rs2239179 (P = 0.044) and rs7975128 (P = 0.0005) were protective against high nevus number. After Bonferroni adjustment only rs7975128 remained significant. In stratified analysis, SNP rs7975128 was found protective against multiple melanomas (P = 0.021). CONCLUSION: This study showed that even in Barcelona, a sunny Mediterranean area, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels were sub-optimal in the majority of melanoma patients at diagnosis. The involvement of VDR in nevi and, in turn, in melanoma susceptibility has also been suggested. Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings

QUALITEL: qualitat docent als estudis de telecomunicació

El projecte consisteix en una sèrie d'actuacions de caràcter metodològic i organitzatiu portades a terme a primer curs (fase selectiva) dels estudis d'enginyeria de telecomunicació de l'ETSETB per millorar el rendiment d'aquest cicle educatiu.Peer Reviewe

Mixed integration of CDIO skills into telecommunication engineering curricula

Spain has been intensively involved in designing engineering curricula for the last two years and next academic year all engineering schools will be deploying all bachelor programs adapted to the EHEA and to the Spanish laws. The different frameworks that set the conditions of the process of drawing up new curricula emphasize the use of competency-based learning and the insertion of certain generic skills within the structure of the new plans. In the school of Telecommunication Engineering of Barcelona, the CDIO initiative (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate) first developed jointly by MIT and some Swedish Universities, has been chosen as paradigm for new engineering curricula design. We used a mixed approximation to integrate CDIO skills into the study plans. In this paper we will explain the approach to include generic skills when designing new curricula.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Evaluating the Potential of Polygenic Risk Score to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening

Background: Colorectal cancer has high incidence and associ-ated mortality worldwide. Screening programs are recommended for men and women over 50. Intermediate screens such as fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) select patients for colonoscopy with suboptimal sensitivity. Additional biomarkers could improve the current scenario. Methods: We included 2,893 individuals with a positive FIT test. They were classified as cases when a high-risk lesion for colorectal cancer was detected after colonoscopy, whereas the control group comprised individuals with low-risk or no lesions. 65 colorectal cancer risk genetic variants were geno-typed. Polygenic risk score (PRS) and additive models for risk prediction incorporating sex, age, FIT value, and PRS were generated. Results: Risk score was higher in cases compared with controls [per allele OR = 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.06; P = 65), compared with those in the first decile (<= 54; OR = 2.22; 95% CI, 1.59-3.12; P < 0.0001). The model combining sex, age, FIT value, and PRS reached the highest accuracy for identifying patients with a high-risk lesion [cross-validated area under the ROC curve (AUROC): 0.64; 95% CI, 0.62-0.66]. Conclusions: This is the first investigation analyzing PRS in a two-step colorectal cancer screening program. PRS could improve current colorectal cancer screening, most likely for higher at-risk subgroups. However, its capacity is limited to predict colorectal cancer risk status and should be complemented by additional biomarkers.Impact: PRS has capacity for risk stratification of colorectal cancer suggesting its potential for optimizing screening strategies alongside with other biomarkers