Dynamic AI-IoT:enabling updatable AI models in ultra-low-power 5G IoT devices

This article addresses the challenge of integrating dynamic AI capabilities into ultralow-power (ULP) IoT devices, a critical necessity in the rapidly evolving landscape of 5G and potential 6G technologies. We introduce the Dynamic AI-IoT architecture, a novel framework designed to eliminate the need for cumbersome firmware updates. This architecture leverages Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) to facilitate smooth cloud interactions and incorporates tailored firmware extensions for enabling dynamic interactions with Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML) models. A sophisticated memory management mechanism, grounded in memory alignment and dynamic AI operations resolution, is introduced to efficiently handle AI tasks. Empirical experiments demonstrate the feasibility of implementing a Dynamic AI-IoT system using ULP IoT devices on a 5G testbed. The results show model updates taking less than one second and an average inference time of approximately 46 ms

A novel weight-driven ATN-based SQL sentence generator to accommodate AI-based reinforcement learning

This paper presents a novel approach for generating SQL queries through a weight-driven framework using a modified ATN of ANTLR4’s runtime components. Our objective is to enhance ATN capabilities for SQL generation by incorporating the functionality to accommodate adaptive learning solutions. We successfully designed and implemented a system that assigns weights to ATN transitions, including token weight assignment when presented with multiple valid tokens to choose from whilst traversing set-transitions. These weights have interfaces for dynamic adjustments based on heuristics and user-defined strategies.Our methodology involves modifying ANTLR4’s core components to include weight management and traversal algorithms. We leverage heuristics to guide weight adjustments, addressing loop structures and recursive depth control in a system controlled by weights. Additionally, we establish mechanisms for weight persistence and optimization. Experimental evaluation using a simplistic SQL grammar demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach. We observe that weights can steer the parsing process towards desired outcomes, and that convergence occurs as the exploration-exploitation balance is optimized through parameter tuning. This research lays the groundwork for integrating reinforcement learning with our weight-driven ATN system. This holds promise for tackling complex challenges in structured data analysis that might not be readily apparent through human inspection alone. While our current work primarily focuses on heuristics, future efforts will explore the next stage of our research to further enhance the decision-making capabilities of our framework using reinforcement learning

Scalable software switch based service function chaining for 5G network slicing

Service Function Chaining (SFC) is a key enabler for network slicing in the Fifth-Generation (5G) mobile networks. Despite the ongoing standardisation activities and open source projects in addressing SFC, built-in 5G network support for SFC has not been sufficiently addressed on 5G Multi-tenant infrastructures. This paper proposes an Service Function Forwarder (SFF) and Classifier which is able to provide network slicing capabilities to the Service Data Plane in this type of infrastructures. The proposed prototype has been implemented as an extension of the popular Open Virtual Switch (OVS). The results of the empirical validation demonstrate that the proposed prototype is able to deal simultaneously with up to 8192 network slices with a maximum delay of 11 microseconds and 0% packet loss processing traffic at speeds up to 20 Gbps in a 5G architecture. The performance values achieved in this work are compliant with the 5G KPI expectation

Face verification algorithms for UAV applications:an empirical comparative analysis

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are revolutionising diverse computer vision use case domains, from public safety surveillance to Search and Rescue (SAR), and other emergency management and disaster relief operations. The growing need for accurate face verification algorithms has prompted an exploration of synergies between UAVs and face verification. This promises cost-effective, wide-area, non-intrusive person verification. Real-world human-centric use cases such as a ”Drone Guard Angel” for vulnerable people can contribute to public safety management and offload significant police resources. These scenarios demand efficient face verification to distinguish correctly the end users for authentication, authorisation and customised services. This paper investigates the suitability of existing solutions, and analyses five state-of-the-art candidate face verification algorithms. Informed by the advantages and disadvantages of existing solutions, the paper proposes an extended dataset and a refined face verification pipeline. Subsequently, it conducts empirical evaluation of these algorithms using the proposed pipeline and dataset in terms of inference times and the distribution of the similarity indexes. Furthermore, this paper provides essential guidance for algorithm selection and deployment in UAV-based applications. Two candidate algorithms, ArcFace and FaceNet512, have emerged as the top performers. The choice between them will depend on the specific use case requirements

NetLabeller:architecture with data extraction and labelling framework for beyond 5G networks

The next generation of network capabilities coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) can provide innovative solutions for network control and self-optimisation. Network control demands a detailed knowledge of the network components to enforce the correct control rules. To this end, an immense number of metrics related to devices, flows, network rules, etc. can be used to describe the state of the network and to gain insights about which rule to enforce depending on the context. However, selection of the most relevant metrics often proves challenging and there is no readily available tool that can facilitate the dataset extraction and labelling for AI model training. This research work therefore first develops an analysis of the most relevant metrics in terms of network control to create a training dataset for future AI development purposes. It then presents a new architecture to allow the extraction of these metrics from a 5G network with a novel dataset visualisation and labelling tool to help perform the exploratory analysis and the labelling process of the resultant dataset. It is expected that the proposed architecture and its associated tools would significantly speed up the training process, which is crucial for the data-driven approach in developing AI-based network control capabilities

Enhancing honeynet-based protection with network slicing for massive Pre-6G IoT Smart Cities deployments

Internet of Things (IoT) coupled with 5G and upcoming pre-6G networks will provide the scalability and performance required to deploy a wide range of new digital services in Smart Cities. This new digital services will undoubtedly contribute to an improvement in the quality of life of citizens. However, security is a major concern in IoT where low-powered constrained devices are a target for attackers who identify them as a vulnerable entry point to exploit the network weaknesses. This concern is exacerbated in Smart Cities where it is expected to deploy millions of heterogeneous yet unattended and vulnerable IoT devices throughout vast urban areas. A security breach in a Smart City allows attackers to target critical services such as the power grid network or the road traffic control or to expose sensitive health data to intruders. Thus, the security and privacy of citizens could be seriously compromised. Honeynets are an effective security mechanism to distract attackers from legitimate targets and collect valuable information on how they operate. Meanwhile, current honeynets lack functionality to protect the real and lure networks from large-scale volumetric Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. This paper provides a novel solution to empower honeynet security tools with Network Slicing capabilities as an innovative way to isolate and minimize the network resources available from attackers. The proposed system supports the ambitious IoT scalability requirements associated to 5G networks and the forthcoming 6G networks. The solution has been empirically evaluated in a emulated testbed where promising results have been achieved when dealing with mMTC and eMBB traffic profiles. In mMTC scenarios where scalability is a challenge, the solution is able to deal with up to 1000 slices and 1 Million IoT devices sending traffic simultaneously. In eMBB use cases, the solution is able to cope with up to 19 Gbps of combined bandwidth. The gathered results demonstrate that the proposed solution is suitable as a security tool in 5G IoT multi-tenant infrastructures as those expected in Smart Cities deployments

Edge-accelerated UAV operations:a case study of open source solutions

This study explores the execution of AI algorithms on open Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with Beagle-Bone AI-64 (BBAI-64) boards, comparing their performance to high-performance computers equipped with GPUs. Key factors are evaluated, such as inference time, end-to-end processing time, CPU usage, or temperature on the board. Furthermore, this study presents the development of an open UAV platform based on an open-source flight controller (Durandal) executing an open-source autopilot (ArduPilot). This platform facilitates the integration of various sensors or cameras, regardless of brand or communication protocol. The study’s key findings show that the BBAI-64 offers advantages for smaller Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, and achieving comparable performance for larger models with high-performance computers. This work contributes to optimising AI execution on UAVs and supporting the development of versatile, sensor-agnostic open-source UAVs