Energy-Efficient Design of Wavelength-Routing Networks

We discuss the power-aware Logical Topology Design problem in wavelength routing net- works, and analyze the economical impacts of power-efficiency. Results show that energy-optimized logical topologies can bring significant economical saving

Optical Technologies Can Improve the Energy Efficiency of Networks

Abstract Optical technologies, in comparison with electronic technologies, need less power to switch high bitrates and to interconnect farther subsystems. The paper discusses with specific examples how optics can improve the energy efficiency of networks and switches

Antibacterial composite based on nanostructured ZnO mesoscale particles and a poly(vinyl chloride) matrix

The microwave-assisted solvothermal synthesis of inorganic ZnO nanoparticles is a facile method yielding a broad variety of active fillers with specific properties. The synthesis of hierarchical nanostructured zinc oxide mesoscale particles was carried out under continuous microwave irradiation from soluble zinc acetate as the precursor in a diethylene glycol solvent. The prepared ZnO particles were characterized with X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and UV-VIS spectrometry. A composite was obtained by mixing these particles with the softened medical-grade poly(vinyl chloride) as a model polymer matrix to develop an antibacterial polymer system with a possible application for plastic medical devices. The testing of the antibacterial activity of the composite confirmed an excellent performance against Escherichia coli (gram-negative) and sufficient activity against Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive) bacteria according to ISO 22196: 2007. In addition, no adverse effects of the filler on the mechanical properties of the composite were observed in comparison with the neat PVC resin. Therefore, the prepared composites can be considered as suitable candidates for application in plastic medical devices and other industries.TBU in Zlin [IGA/FT/2013/026]; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); national budget of the Czech Republic, within the Centre of Polymer Systems project [CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0111]; European Social Fund (ESF); national budget of the Czech Republic, within the Advanced Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Polymer Systems project [CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0104

IoT Technologies for Connected and Automated Driving Applications

The applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies connect mul-tiple devices directly and through the Internet. Autonomous vehicles utiliseconnectivity when updating their algorithms based on user data, interact withthe infrastructure to get environmental information, communicate with othervehicles. They exchange information with pedestrians using mobile devicesand wearables and provide information about the traffic attributes and datacollected by the vehicle sensors. The connected and automated vehicles(CAV) require a significant quantity of collecting and processing data andthrough IoT applications and services the autonomous vehicles share information about the road, the present path, traffic, and how to navigate arounddifferent obstacles. This information can be shared between IoT connectedvehicles and uploaded wirelessly to the cloud or/and edge system to be anal-ysed and operated improving the levels of automation and the autonomousdriving (AD) functions of each vehicle. This chapter gives an overview ofthe integration of IoT devices contributing to automated/autonomous driving, and the IoT infrastructure deployed and seamlessly integrated into theAUTOPILOT project use cases and pilot demonstrators, including the IoTplatforms integration

IoT solutions for large open-air events

This chapter presents the main results of the MONICA project, one of the five large-scale pilot projects funded by the European Commission. MONICA focuses on the adoption of wearable IoT solutions for the management of safety and security in large open-air events as well as on the reduction of noise level for neighbours. The project addresses several challenges in eleven pilots of six major European cities using a large number of IoT wearables and sensors. The chapter first introduces all MONICA challenges in the context of large open-air events and then presents the corresponding adopted technical solutions, the defined IoT architecture and the perspective in integrating a wide range of heterogeneous sensors. On one side, the focus is on the solutions that have been adopted to improve the crowd management, crowd safety and emergency responses by using wearables for both visitors and the security staff at the events, including also the adoption of video processing and data fusion algorithms to estimate the number of visitors and its distribution in the event area and to detect suspicious activity patterns. On the other hand, it describes how innovative Sound Level Meters (SLMs) can be deployed to monitor the sound propagation within the event area while reducing the noise impact on the neighbourhood