Economic analysis of wireless sensor-based services in the framework of the Internet of Things. A game-theoretical approach

El mundo de las telecomunicaciones está cambiando de un escenario donde únicamente las personas estaban conectadas a un modelo donde prácticamente todos los dispositivos y sensores se encuentran conectados, también conocido como Internet de las cosas (IoT), donde miles de millones de dispositivos se conectarán a Internet a través de conexiones móviles y redes fijas. En este contexto, hay muchos retos que superar, desde el desarrollo de nuevos estándares de comunicación al estudio de la viabilidad económica de los posibles escenarios futuros. En esta tesis nos hemos centrado en el estudio de la viabilidad económica de diferentes escenarios mediante el uso de conceptos de microeconomía, teoría de juegos, optimización no lineal, economía de redes y redes inalámbricas. La tesis analiza la transición desde redes centradas en el servicio de tráfico HTC a redes centradas en tráfico MTC desde un punto de vista económico. El primer escenario ha sido diseñado para centrarse en las primeras etapas de la transición, en la que ambos tipos de tráfico son servidos bajo la misma infraestructura de red. En el segundo escenario analizamos la siguiente etapa, en la que el servicio a los usuarios MTC se realiza mediante una infraestructura dedicada. Finalmente, el tercer escenario analiza la provisión de servicios basados en MTC a usuarios finales, mediante la infraestructura analizada en el escenario anterior. Gracias al análisis de todos los escenarios, hemos observado que la transición de redes centradas en usuarios HTC a redes MTC es posible y que la provisión de servicios en tales escenarios es viable. Además, hemos observado que el comportamiento de los usuarios es esencial para determinar la viabilidad de los diferentes modelos de negocio, y por tanto, es necesario estudiar el comportamiento y las preferencias de los usuarios en profundidad en estudios futuros. Específicamente, los factores más relevantes son la sensibilidad de los usuarios al retardo en los datos recopilados por los sensores y la cantidad de los mismos. También hemos observado que la diferenciación del tráfico en categorías mejora el uso de las redes y permite crear nuevos servicios empleando datos que, de otro modo, no se aprovecharían, lo cual nos permite mejorar la monetización de la infraestructura. También hemos demostrado que la provisión de capacidad es un mecanismo válido, alternativo a la fijación de precios, para la optimización de los beneficios de los proveedores de servicio. Finalmente, se ha demostrado que es posible crear roles específicos para ofrecer servicios IoT en el mercado de las telecomunicaciones, específicamente, los IoT-SPs, que proporcionan servicios basados en sensores inalámbricos utilizando infraestructuras de acceso de terceros y sus propias redes de sensores. En resumen, en esta tesis hemos intentado demostrar la viabilidad económica de modelos de negocio basados en redes futuras IoT, así como la aparición de nuevas oportunidades y roles de negocio, lo cual nos permite justificar económicamente el desarrollo y la implementación de las tecnologías necesarias para ofrecer servicios de acceso inalámbrico masivo a dispositivos MTC.The communications world is moving from a standalone devices scenario to a all-connected scenario known as Internet of Things (IoT), where billions of devices will be connected to the Internet through mobile and fixed networks. In this context, there are several challenges to face, from the development of new standards to the study of the economical viability of the different future scenarios. In this dissertation we have focused on the study of the economic viability of different scenarios using concepts of microeconomics, game theory, non-linear optimization, network economics and wireless networks. The dissertation analyzes the transition from a Human Type Communications (HTC) to a Machine Type Communications (MTC) centered network from an economic point of view. The first scenario is designed to focus on the first stages of the transition, where HTC and MTC traffic are served on a common network infrastructure. The second scenario analyzes the provision of connectivity service to MTC users using a dedicated network infrastructure, while the third stage is centered in the analysis of the provision of services based on the MTC data over the infrastructure studied in the previous scenario. Thanks to the analysis of all the scenarios we have observed that the transition from HTC users-centered networks to MTC networks is possible and that the provision of services in such scenarios is viable. In addition, we have observed that the behavior of the users is essential in order to determine the viability of a business model, and therefore, it is needed to study their behavior and preferences in depth in future studios. Specifically, the most relevant factors are the sensitivity of the users to the delay and to the amount of data gathered by the sensors. We also have observed that the differentiation of the traffic in categories improves the usage of the networks and allows to create new services thanks to the data that otherwise would not be used, improving the monetization of the infrastructure and the data. In addition, we have shown that the capacity provision is a valid mechanism for providers' profit optimization, as an alternative to the pricing mechanisms. Finally, it has been demonstrated that it is possible to create dedicated roles to offer IoT services in the telecommunications market, specifically, the IoT-SPs, which provide wireless-sensor-based services to the final users using a third party infrastructure. Summarizing, this dissertation tries to demonstrate the economic viability of the future IoT networks business models as well as the emergence of new business opportunities and roles in order to justify economically the development and implementation of the new technologies required to offer massive wireless access to machine devices.El món de les telecomunicacions està canviant d'un escenari on únicament les persones estaven connectades a un model on pràcticament tots els dispositius i sensors es troben connectats, també conegut com a Internet de les Coses (IoT) , on milers de milions de dispositius es connectaran a Internet a través de connexions mòbils i xarxes fixes. En aquest context, hi ha molts reptes que superar, des del desenrotllament de nous estàndards de comunicació a l'estudi de la viabilitat econòmica dels possibles escenaris futurs. En aquesta tesi ens hem centrat en l'estudi de la viabilitat econòmica de diferents escenaris per mitjà de l'ús de conceptes de microeconomia, teoria de jocs, optimització no lineal, economia de xarxes i xarxes inalàmbriques. La tesi analitza la transició des de xarxes centrades en el servici de tràfic HTC a xarxes centrades en tràfic MTC des d'un punt de vista econòmic. El primer escenari ha sigut dissenyat per a centrar-se en les primeres etapes de la transició, en la que ambdós tipus de tràfic són servits davall la mateixa infraestructura de xarxa. En el segon escenari analitzem la següent etapa, en la que el servici als usuaris MTC es realitza per mitjà d'una infraestructura dedicada. Finalment, el tercer escenari analitza la provisió de servicis basats en MTC a usuaris finals, per mitjà de la infraestructura analitzada en l'escenari anterior. Als paràgrafs següents es descriu amb més detall cada escenari. Gràcies a l'anàlisi de tots els escenaris, hem observat que la transició de xarxes centrades en usuaris HTC a xarxes MTC és possible i que la provisió de servicis en tals escenaris és viable. A més a més, hem observat que el comportament dels usuaris és essencial per a determinar la viabilitat dels diferents models de negoci, i per tant, és necessari estudiar el comportament i les preferències dels usuaris en profunditat en estudis futurs. Específicament, els factors més rellevants són la sensibilitat dels usuaris al retard en les dades recopilats pels sensors i la quantitat dels mateixos. També hem observat que la diferenciació del tràfic en categories millora l'ús de les xarxes i permet crear nous servicis emprant dades que, d'una altra manera, no s'aprofitarien, la qual cosa ens permet millorar la monetització de la infraestructura. També hem demostrat que la provisió de capacitat és un mecanisme vàlid, alternatiu a la fixació de preus, per a l'optimització dels beneficis dels proveïdors de servici. Finalment, s'ha demostrat que és possible crear rols específics per a oferir servicis IoT en el mercat de les telecomunicacions, específicament, els IoT-SPs, que proporcionen servicis basats en sensors inalàmbrics utilitzant infraestructures d'accés de tercers i les seues pròpies xarxes de sensors. En resum, en aquesta tesi hem intentat demostrar la viabilitat econòmica de models de negoci basats en xarxes futures IoT, així com l'aparició de noves oportunitats i rols de negoci, la qual cosa ens permet justificar econòmicament el desenrotllament i la implementació de les tecnologies necessàries per a oferir servicis d'accés inalàmbric massiu a dispositius MTC.Sanchis Cano, Á. (2018). Economic analysis of wireless sensor-based services in the framework of the Internet of Things. A game-theoretical approach [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/102642TESI

Virtual mindfulness system designed for patients of a palliative care center

[EN] The document contains the final master thesis by Ángel Sanchis Cano of the Masters Degree in Artificial Intelligence, Pattern Recognition and Digital Image (Máster Universitario en Inteligencia Artificial, Reconocimiento de Formas e Imagen Digital). The thesis is focused on the development and validation of an Android application for improve the quality of life of the patients residing in a palliative and convalescent unit on the hospital San José in Teruel. The main goal of this work is improving the physical and emotional awareness in the patients residing in the palliative and convalescent care unit. To achieve the proposed objectives we have developed an Android application to induce relaxation using visual and auditory stimuli controlled by therapists. In this document first of all we show an introduction of the work done and a review of the state of the art in cognitive rehabilitation using virtual reality. Secondly we explain the methodology used to achieve the proposed goals, including the development of an Android application of virtual walks in familiar environments. Thirdly we show the obtained results of the system for the SEQ (Suitability Evaluation Questionnaire). The SEQ final score of the system is 59.46, an excellent result considering that SEQ score ranges from 13 (poor suitability) to 65 (excellent suitability). Finally we conclude the document with the description of all the problems encountered during the work and the solutions for this problems as well as recommendations for future works and a brief study of costs face a hypothetical product commercialization in the future.[ES] En el presente documento se expone la realización del trabajo final de máster de Ángel Sanchis Cano del Máster Universitario en Inteligencia Artificial, Reconocimiento de Formas e Imagen Digital (MUIARFID), centrado en el desarrollo y validación de una aplicación Android para la mejora de la calidad de vida de personas en la unidad de paliativos del hospital San José de Teruel. El objetivo de este trabajo es mejorar la conciencia física y emocional de los pacientes convalecientes en la unidad de paliativos. Para lograr este objetivo se busca inducir relajación en los pacientes mediante el uso de estímulos visuales y auditivos controlados por el terapeuta. En la presente memoria en primer lugar se realiza una introducción al trabajo realizado y un estudio del estado del arte de las técnicas de rehabilitación cognitiva empleadas hasta la fecha que hacen uso de realidad virtual. En segundo lugar se describe la metodología empleada para lograr los objetivos propuestos, entre los cuales está la creación de una aplicación sobre la plataforma Android de Paseos Virtuales en entornos familiares personalizables a cada paciente. En tercer lugar se describen los resultados obtenidos para la aplicación empleando el cuestionario SEQ (Suitability Evaluation Questionnaire), obteniendo una puntuación excelente en el mismo (59.46/65). Finalmente se concluye el trabajo con la descripción de los problemas que han surgido durante el desarrollo del mismo, así como las soluciones encontradas a las mismas, así como recomendaciones para futuros trabajos y un pequeño estudio de costes del producto de cara a una hipotética comercialización del mismo en el futuroSanchis Cano, Á. (2015). Virtual mindfulness system designed for patients of a palliative care center. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/62233Archivo delegad

Economic Feasibility of Wireless Sensor Network-Based Service Provision in a Duopoly Setting with a Monopolist Operator

[EN] We analyze the feasibility of providing Wireless Sensor Network-data-based services in an Internet of Things scenario from an economical point of view. The scenario has two competing service providers with their own private sensor networks, a network operator and final users. The scenario is analyzed as two games using game theory. In the first game, sensors decide to subscribe or not to the network operator to upload the collected sensing-data, based on a utility function related to the mean service time and the price charged by the operator. In the second game, users decide to subscribe or not to the sensor-data-based service of the service providers based on a Logit discrete choice model related to the quality of the data collected and the subscription price. The sinks and users subscription stages are analyzed using population games and discrete choice models, while network operator and service providers pricing stages are analyzed using optimization and Nash equilibrium concepts respectively. The model is shown feasible from an economic point of view for all the actors if there are enough interested final users and opens the possibility of developing more efficient models with different types of services.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through projects TIN2013-47272-C2-1-R and (co-supported by the European Social Fund) BES-2014-068998.Sanchis-Cano, Á.; Romero-Chavarro, JC.; Sacoto-Cabrera, E.; Guijarro, L. (2017). Economic Feasibility of Wireless Sensor Network-Based Service Provision in a Duopoly Setting with a Monopolist Operator. Sensors. 17 (12)(2727):1-22. https://doi.org/10.3390/s17122727S12217 (12)272

Dynamic Price Competition between a Macrocell Operator and a Small Cell Operator: A Differential Game Model

[EN] An economic model was analyzed where a new supplier implements the technology of the small cells and positions itself as an incumbent service provider. This provider performs a dynamic reuse of resources to compete with the macrocells service provider. Themodel was analyzed using game theory as a two-stage game. In the first stage, the service providers play a Stackelberg differential game where the price is the control variable, the existing provider is the leader, and the new supplier is the follower. In the second stage, users' behavior ismodeled using an evolutionary game that allows predicting the population changeswith variable conditions. This paper contributes to the implementation of new technologies in the market of mobile communications through analysis of competition between the new small cell service providers (SSPs) and the existing service providers along with the users' behavior of mobile communications. The result shows that users get a better service, SSP profits are guaranteed, and SSP entry improves users' welfare and social welfare.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through Project TIN2013-47272-C2-1R and cosupported by the European Social Fund BES-2014-068998.Romero-Chavarro, JC.; Sanchis-Cano, Á.; Guijarro, L. (2018). Dynamic Price Competition between a Macrocell Operator and a Small Cell Operator: A Differential Game Model. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing (Online). 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1012041S11

Strategic Interaction between Operators in the Context of Spectrum Sharing for 5G Networks

[EN] 5G networks will make network sharing agreements between mobile operators technically possible. However, depending on the agreed and implemented quality-of-service isolation, the provision of services may lead to unsustainable business cases. In this paper, the economic feasibility of such arrangements is analyzed for the case of two operators. Concretely, while one network operator owns the spectrum, one virtual operator does not, and each one provides service to its subscriber base. Two sharing alternatives, namely, pooling and priority sharing, are studied regarding the profits that each operator gets. We conclude that the network operator is worse off under any circumstances under a pooling agreement, while a lump sum payment may leave the network operator better off under a priority sharing agreement.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through projects TIN2013-47272-C2-1-R (cosupported by the European Social Fund) and BES-2014-068998 and partially supported by the Salesian Polytechnic University of Ecuador through a Ph.D. scholarship granted to the first author.Sacoto-Cabrera, E.; Sanchis-Cano, Á.; Guijarro, L.; Vidal Catalá, JR.; Pla, V. (2018). Strategic Interaction between Operators in the Context of Spectrum Sharing for 5G Networks. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing (Online). 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4308913S11

Mediknect: Un Sistema de Rehabilitación Virtual

En el presente documento se expone la realización del proyecto de final de carrera del alumno Ángel Sanchis Cano de Ingeniería de Telecomunicación centrado en el desarrollo de una aplicación para la realización de rehabilitación mediante Kinect. En primer lugar se realiza un estudio del estado actual del área de la rehabilitación mediante realidad virtual poniendo especial interés en los dispositivos de bajo coste para posteriormente explicar las fases del diseño de un proyecto software según el modelo del proceso unificado, a continuación se explican las herramientas utilizadas y la estructura y el funcionamiento lógico del sistema de rehabilitación virtual y se detallan las interfaces y el funcionamiento del mismo. Por último se explican los problemas encontrados durante el desarrollo del proyecto y las soluciones a esos problemas, así como las recomendaciones para futuros estudios y un pequeño estudio de costes del producto.This document contains the study for the degree ending project made by the student of telecommunications engineering Angel Sanchis Cano, focused in the development of a Virtual Rehabilitation (VR) application using the Kinect Sensor. First of all we present a study of the status of the art in the area of rehabilitation with virtual reality and the low-cost devices used to do VR systems. After that we explain the phases of design of a software project based in the unified process model. The project also contains a description of the used software tools, the structure, the logic of the VR System and a detailed explanation of the interfaces. Finally we explain the problems that we have found in the project development and the solutions for these problems as well as the suggestions for future studies and a short study of costs.Sanchis Cano, Á. (2013). Mediknect: Un Sistema de Rehabilitación Virtual. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/33595.Archivo delegad

Duopoly Provision of Services Based on Wireless Sensor-supplied Data: a Differential Game Model

[EN] The provision of services based on wireless sensor data is analyzed dynamically. In the proposed scenario, two competing service providers deploy their own wireless sensor networks in order to collect the data and provide services to final users. The service providers compete in prices dynamically in order to maximize their profits, while the behavior of the users is modeled using a discrete choice model. The model is analyzed using game theory. The changes in the population of users are analyzed through an evolutionary game and the Logit dynamic, while the dynamic competition in prices is studied using a differential game. We conclude that the dynamic pricing competition is economically feasible for the service providers and, in addition, the dynamic solution converges to the static solution of the scenario. This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through project TIN2013-47272-C2-1-R and co-supported by the European Social Fund BES-2014-068998. Sanchis-Cano, Á.; Guijarro, L.; Pla, V.; Vidal Catalá, JR. (2019). Duopoly Provision of Services Based on Wireless Sensor-supplied Data: a Differential Game Model. Mobile Networks and Applications (Online). 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11036-018-1128-6 S 1 1

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)