Technical Program

Abstract:
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have attracted significant attention in recent years for their potential to replace many of the existing wired sensing solutions, as well as provide new solution platforms where wired solutions are hard to deploy and maintain. The use of low cost communication and sensing devices, and the operation of such networks in harsh environments, however, make the nodes prone to random failure. Various reliability aspects of WSNs have been investigated in the literature since the cost and means of handling such failure events in the field can be a significant detrimental factor against adopting WSNs as dependable solutions.
In this talk, we discuss approaches for analysing the impact of node failure events on the operation of the overall network. To explore the problems landscape, we adopt a simple probabilistic graph model where sensing and communication devices of the nodes fail independently. We illustrate the development of such approaches for WSN tasks involving surveillance and area coverage. We also discuss possible future research directions.

Bio: Prof. E. Elmallah is a Professor at the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta in the areas of networks architecture, resource management algorithms and protocols, performance evaluation, and combinatorial algorithms for scheduling and network reliability analysis. Dr. Elmallah obtained Ph.D. in Computing Science from the University of Waterloo, M.Sc. in Computing Science from the University of Saskatchewan, and B.Sc. in Computer and Systems Engineering from Alexandria University. He has numerous publications in reputable journals and conferences in various areas of computer networks and combinatorial algorithms. He delivered invited talks to a wide spectrum of audience including academics in the fields of combinatorial algorithms, computer networks, and modelling and performance evaluation. He is a Foundation Fellow of the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications and a senior member of the IEEE. He has served on the organizing and program committees of numerous international conferences.

Abstract: Wireless communication has already enabled the phenomenal growth of mobile computing. But what other impacts can Maxwell's four humble equations have on the world of computing? In this talk I will show some examples of how advances in the wireless world can change the way we think about computing through innovations in energy, communication, sensing, and imaging.

One example is a tiny wireless backpack that enables neural and EMG telemetry from dragonflies in flight, with a 5 Mbps uplink, 1.2mW total power, and a weight of only 38 mg. The backpack is wirelessly powered and employs a modulated backscatter communication link that achieves an energy cost of only a few pJ/bit, over 100X lower energy per bit than Wi-Fi. I will then present results that extend MIMO techniques from communication to wireless power transmission, to enhance long range wireless power delivery to mobile devices, and some results, recently reported in Science, on lensless compressive imaging at millimeter wavelengths.

Bio: Matt Reynolds is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. He was previously the Nortel Networks Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. He is also co-founder of the RFID systems firm ThingMagic Inc (acquired by Trimble Navigation), the energy conservation firm Zensi (acquired by Belkin), and the home sensing company SNUPI Inc.

Matt's research interests include RFID, energy efficiency at the physical layer of wireless communication, and the physics of sensing and actuation. Matt received the Ph.D. from the MIT Media Lab in 2003, where he was a Motorola Fellow, as well as S.B. and M.Eng. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE, has received five Best Paper awards, and has 17 issued and over 40 pending patents.

The research on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is often motivated through applications that involve monitoring of the natural environment far from, or rarely involving, human presence. The upshot of such deployments is that, apart from the whimsical nature of wireless propagation, the wireless channel is expected to be "quiet". On the contrary, urban environments, where every imaginable machine and electrical gadget might be in operation are unfriendly to WSNs because interference is ever-present and likely to become rampant in the future. Not all interference is due to communication devices. Microwave ovens, electrical motors, lighting systems, internal combustion engine ignition systems, etc. are some of the many faces of interference WSN deployments face in urban environments. All the same, in keeping with the WSN design philosophy of making nodes as inexpensive as possible, we do not wish to endow each node with elaborate physical layer capabilities beyond what one can find in off-the-shelf components. In other words, WSN nodes may have to learn to live amidst a sea of interference. Is there at least something we can do about it using information that the nodes are already capable of collecting?

 We review some of the interesting observations made with respect to interference based on data we collected in an urban indoor WSN, as well as other relevant experiments that have appeared in the literature. We find that, equipped with the bare minimum of (and inexpensive to conduct) observations, namely using the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) listening to the background noise, we can distinguish a handful of interference patterns. We therefore develop classification schemes for those patterns. We address some of the questions of how classification of interference can be performed accurately and in the small resource footprint of WSN nodes such that each node can, on its own, decide on the nature of the interference it is observing. We also explore a few ideas on how, once classified, interference can be exploited to the WSN nodes' advantage, and whether per-node classification and subsequent consensus across nodes is a useful strategy.

Player satisfaction with real-time multiplayer mobile games is known to be directly correlated with performance of the communications network, particularly with variation in latency (jitter). The network is the most dynamic component of such games, and congestion and channel loss figure prominently in achieving the latency bounds required for real-time response. The upper bound on message delivery latency for a game to be considered playable varies with game type, but is typically less than 250 milliseconds. In many cases, the underlying network cannot reliably deliver messages within the required window and game developers must use a variety of predictive techniques to maintain the believability of the game experience. Additional complexity in game play requiring additional bandwidth and/or game state processing could be possible under favourable network conditions.

 In this talk, we describe our efforts to provide a light weight, embedded measurement framework that can be integrated into the game play experience at the application level. We implement these features on top of the industry standard UNITY-3D game engine, and deploy a test game over WiFi, Cellular, and Bluetooth networks. Particular measures of interest are the frame rate, one-way latency, and frame processing period within a gameplay session. The captured data can be used by game designers to tune game complexity and to manage predictive algorithm parameters. Game designers use these predictive algorithms to maintain an approximation of what occurs in real-time, despite delays from network transmission, and can use this information in providing game options that appropriately restrict the resource utilization to provide the maximum-sustainable-quality game experience. This provides the best opportunity to retain engaged players, who contribute to the data collection loop. The network measurements can also be of use to service providers as delay and congestion indications can be piggy-backed on game traffic packets. This enables their capacity planning with respect to quality of service for the user base.

 We will present results characterizing various Cellular environments to provide bounds on game designs feasible with current network technology as it is deployed in urban and rural areas around North America and Europe. As well, development and use of the performance models in game design techniques will be outlined as deployed in the multiplayer network game environment on mobile networks.

Abstract: Communication Eco-System is in Motion at an unprecedented pace. This is driven by Consumerization of IT and Democratization of the Internet by Social Media, etc.

This talk will look at the following trends:
• Services are becoming Access Independence
• Wireline and Wireless network boundaries are blurring
• Network Functions are being Virtualized
• Infrastructure is becoming Software Driven
• Cloud is making the Back-end Infra Common

Abstract: We live in an era where our physical and personal environments are becoming increasingly smarter as they are immersed with sensing, networking, computing and communication capabilities. The availability of rich mobile devices like smartphones have empowered humans as an integral part of many cyber-physical systems. This synergy has indeed led to what is called "cyber-physical-social convergence" exhibiting complex interactions, interdependencies and adaptations among objects, devices, machines, systems/environments, users, human behavior, and social dynamics. In such a connected world, almost everything can potentially act as information source, analyzer and decision maker. This keynote talk will present some of the emerging research challenges and opportunities in the world of cyber-physical-social convergence. It will also reflect upon the fundamental question: "What's Next?"

Abstract:

Urban communities comprise a significant portion of the human population both in numbers and economic value produced. With rise in energy demand and depletion of resources, sustainability of urban communities is at risk. Energy Microgrids address these issues by integrating modular energy sources coupled with energy storage to local demand creating a coordinated, controllable entity. In this context, local generation systems also called distributed energy resources (DER) support local thermal and electrical demand while ensuring reliability and power quality with lower emission footprint. While microgrids can be a source of renewable and reliable energy for end users, significant challenges exist in stable operation and meeting economic goals of the microgrid owners. Current installations are cost prohibitive and heavily subsidized by incentives, unsustainable in a free and competitive market . In addition, lack of strong regulatory policies affect the growth of microgrid enterprises in the retail energy market within distribution systems. The three pillars for sustainable energy ecosystem relate to sound technology, proven business models and robust regulatory policies. In this talk, I will address how sophisticated energy management systems (EMS) can help energy microgrids provide economic value to end-users, owners and utilities in current energy markets. While EMS cannot surpass regulatory hurdles, it does engender a sustainable business model for energy microgrids to address the current problems of urban communities .

Bio:

Ratnesh Sharma has over a decade of experience in sustainable energy management for microgrids in buildings and transportation sectors. He has a PhD degree from University of Colorado at Boulder and BTech. (Hons.) degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He is the founding head of the Energy Management Department at NEC Laboratories America. Prior to that, he was a Principal Scientist at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories leading research in energy management in datacenter microgrids. He is a member of US Technical Advisory Group for IEC TC120 on Energy Storage Systems (ESS) and participated in numerous US DOE working groups for ESS standardization and cyber-physical systems. He has authored more than 200 papers/technical reports and holds over 80 US patents on energy management and related areas.

Abstract:

Extensive research activities and field operation tests on V2I and V2V communication have been carried out for more than a decade. However, there are still some unsolved issues for successful and sustainable deployment of cooperative systems based on vehicular communication. Open challenges for a deployment of cooperative applications with high reliability and user acceptance include: minimal performance requirements on positioning accuracy and wireless performance to ensure interoperability, congestion control and adaptive data aggregation for reliable communications, life cycle management and security & privacy issues to ensure the user acceptance and protect the investments.

Advanced cooperative applications require a deployment of vehicles equipped with V2V communication at high penetration rate. However, presently only applications which do not require time-critical communication and high penetration rate can be deployed based on cellular communication (3G/4G). But how can we bridge the penetration rate gap and introduce also time-critical applications step-by-step? One promising solution might be selective infrastructure support: Roadside units with 802.11p technology, initially deployed on accident prone spots, extend the coverage and enable time-critical applications for every equipped vehicle from the start of deployment. It is also possible to reduce the latency of cellular communication by moving the applications closer to the road. Thereby, applications reside directly on mobile base stations and do not need additional connectivity to the core network.

A second approach is hybrid communication providing seamless connectivity. Vehicles equipped with multiple wireless technologies are able to decide which interface to use based on the availability of the technology, its current coverage, or requirements of the applications. With this approach, all traffic participants including pedestrians and vulnerable users can be integrated seamlessly into one common ITS system. Hence, the overall question is: What will bring us closest to the goal of seamless V2X connectivity? Is the full V2V penetration rate the ultimate solution? Do we have to wait for the next evolution of cellular communication technologies? Or will the hybrid concept with seamless connectivity and evolutionary integration of other technologies pave the way?

Bio:

Mr. Josef Jiru heads the Automotive Connectivity group at the Fraunhofer Institute for Embedded Systems and Communication Technologies ESK which he joined in 2006. He has been in charge of several projects in the field of Vehicle-to-X Communication and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems based on communication. His research activities focus on efficient networking concepts and adaptive data aggregation in vehicular networks.

Josef Jiru studied electrical engineering and information technology at the Technical University Munich and graduated as "Diplom-Ingenieur".