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- Deep Reinforcement Learning for Persistent Cruise Control in UAV-aided Data CollectionPublication . Kurunathan, John Harrison; Li, Kai; Ni, Wei; Tovar, Eduardo; Dressler, FalkoAutonomous UAV cruising is gaining attention dueto its flexible deployment in remote sensing, surveillance, andreconnaissance. A critical challenge in data collection with theautonomous UAV is the buffer overflows at the ground sensorsand packet loss due to lossy airborne channels. Trajectoryplanning of the UAV is vital to alleviate buffer overflows as wellas channel fading. In this work, we propose a Deep DeterministicPolicy Gradient based Cruise Control (DDPG-CC) to reducethe overall packet loss through online training of headings andcruise velocity of the UAV, as well as the selection of the groundsensors for data collection. Preliminary performance evaluationdemonstrates that DDPG-CC reduces the packet loss rate byunder 5% when sufficient training is provided to the UAV.
- DynaVLC 13 towards dynamic GTS allocation in VLC networksPublication . Kurunathan, John Harrison; Gutiérrez Gaitán, Miguel; Sámano-Robles, Ramiro; Tovar, EduardoEnvisioned to deliver superior Quality of Service (QoS) by offering faster data rates and reduced latency in 6G communication scenarios, pioneering communication protocols like the IEEE 802.15.7 are poised to facilitate emerging application trends (e.g. metaverse). The IEEE 802.15.7 standard that supports visible light communication (VLC) provides determinism for time-critical reliable communication through its guaranteed time-slots mechanism of the contention-free period (CFP) while supporting non-time-critical communication through contention-access period (CAP). Nevertheless, the IEEE 802.15.7 MAC structure is fixed and statically defined at the beginning of the network creation. This rigid definition of the network can be detrimental when the traffic characteristics evolve dynamically, for example, due to environmental or user-driven workload conditions. To this purpose, this paper proposes a resource-aware dynamic architecture for IEEE 802.15.7 networks that efficiently adapts the superframe structure to traffic dynamics. Notably, this technique was shown to reduce the overall delay and throughput by up to 45% and 30%, respectively, when compared to the traditional IEEE 802.15.7 protocol performance under the same network conditions.
- Tightening Up Security In Low Power Deterministic NetworksPublication . Tiberti, Walter; Vieira, Bruno; Kurunathan, John Harrison; Severino, Ricardo; Tovar, EduardoThe unprecedented pervasiveness of IoT systems is pushing this technology into increasingly stringent domains. Such application scenarios become even more challenging due to the demand for encompassing the interplay between safety and security. The IEEE 802.15.4 DSME MAC behavior aims at addressing such systems by providing additional deterministic, synchronous multi-channel access support. However, despite the several improvements over the previous versions of the protocol, the standard lacks a complete solution to secure communications. In this front, we propose the integration of TAKS, an hybrid cryptography scheme, over a standard DSME network. In this paper, we describe the system architecture for integrating TAKS into DSME with minimum impact to the standard, and we venture into analysing the overhead of having such security solution over application delay and throughput. After a performance analysis, we learn that it is possible to achieve a minor impact of 1% to 14% on top of the expected network delay, depending on the platform used, while still guaranteeing strong security support over the DSME network.
- Towards Safe Cooperative Autonomous Platoon systems using COTS EquipmentPublication . Kurunathan, John Harrison; Santos, José; Moreira, Duarte; Santos, Pedro MiguelThe domain of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is becoming a key candidate to enable safer and efficient mobility in IoT enabled smart cities. Several recent research in cooperative autonomous systems are conducted over simulation frameworks as real experiments are still too costly. In this paper, we present a platooning robotic test-bed platform with a 1/10 scale robotic vehicles that functions based on the input front commercially off the shelf technologies (COTS) such as Lidars and cameras. We also present an in-depth analysis of the functionalities and architecture of the proposed system. We also compare the performance of the aforementioned sensors in some real-life emulated scenarios. From our results, we were able to concur that the camera based platooning is able to perform well at partially observable scenarios than its counterpart.
- WiCAR - Simulating towards the Wireless CarPublication . Kurunathan, John Harrison; Severino, Ricardo; Tovar, EduardoAdvanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) pose stringent requirements to a system’s control and communications, in terms of timeliness and reliability, hence, wireless communications have not been seriously considered a potential candidate for such deployments. However, recent developments in these technologies are supporting unprecedented levels of reliability and predictability. This can enable a new generation of ADAS systems with increased flexibility and the possibility of retrofitting older vehicles. However, to effectively test and validate these systems, there is a need for tools that can support the simulation of these complex communication infrastructures from the control and the networking perspective. This paper introduces a co-simulation framework that enables the simulation of an ADAS application scenario in these two fronts, analyzing the relationship between different vehicle dynamics and the delay required for the system to operate safely, exploring the performance limits of different wireless network configurations.
- Routing Aware DSME NetworksPublication . Kurunathan, John Harrison; Severino, Ricardo; Koubaa, Anis; Tovar, EduardoDeterministic Synchronous Multichannel Extension (DSME) is a prominent MAC behavior of IEEE 802.15.4e can avail deterministic service using its multisuperframe structure. RPL is a routing protocol for wireless networks with low power consumption and generally susceptible to packet loss. A combination of these two protocols can integrate real-time QoS demanding and large-scale IoT networks. In this paper, we propose an architecture to integrate routing with DSME. We also show a simulation result by which we improve reliability by 40 % using routing.
- Edge-aided V2X collision avoidance with platoons: Towards a hybrid evaluation toolsetPublication . Pereira, João; Kurunathan, Harrison; Filho, Ênio; Santos, Pedro M.Infrastructure-brokered collision avoidance is an Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) application built on top of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) links. An edge-hosted ITS service receives information from road-side sensors (or CAM messages in V2X-enabled vehicles) and detects impending collisions where vehicles cannot sense or contact each other directly. If so happens, it issues a warning message through network-to-vehicle links. Another relevant ITS application is platooning, through which vehicles following each other closely can benefit of improved fuel economy, and that can be further enhanced through communication. In case of emergency braking in platoons, the response times of network and edge-hosted services must be minimal to ensure no collision amongst the platoon or any other road user. In this paper we present the implementation of a simulation framework tailored (but not limited) to evaluate the presented use-case. This complex and multi-layered use-case can be handled by a dedicated ITS service that leverages the sensing, radio and computing resources available at infrastructure and vehicles, and requires a realistic evaluation framework prior to deployment. Such framework is mostly based on simulation, albeit, to the extent possible, actual devices or services should be used; the present work is a step towards that hybrid setup.
- Machine Learning-Aided Operations and Communications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: A Contemporary SurveyPublication . Kurunathan, John Harrison; Li, Kai; Ni, WeiOver the past decade, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have provided pervasive, efficient, and cost-effective solutions for data collection and communications. Their excellent mobility, flexibility, and fast deployment enable UAVs to be extensively utilized in agriculture, medical, rescue missions, smart cities, and intelligent transportation systems. Machine learning (ML) has been increasingly demonstrating its capability of improving the automation and operation precision of UAVs and many UAV-assisted applications, such as communications, sensing, and data collection. The ongoing amalgamation of UAV and ML techniques is creating a significant synergy and empowering UAVs with unprecedented intelligence and autonomy. This survey aims to provide a timely and comprehensive overview of ML techniques used in UAV operations and communications and identify the potential growth areas and research gaps. We emphasize the four key components of UAV operations and communications to which ML can significantly contribute, namely, perception and feature extraction, feature interpretation and regeneration, trajectory and mission planning, and aerodynamic control and operation. We classify the latest popular ML tools based on their applications to the four components and conduct gap analyses. This survey also takes a step forward by pointing out significant challenges in the upcoming realm of ML-aided automated UAV operations and communications. It is revealed that different ML techniques dominate the applications to the four key modules of UAV operations and communications. While there is an increasing trend of cross-module designs, little effort has been devoted to an end-to-end ML framework, from perception and feature extraction to aerodynamic control and operation. It is also unveiled that the reliability and trust of ML in UAV operations and applications require significant attention before the full automation of UAVs and potential cooperation between UAVs and humans come to fruition.
- Energy savings and emissions reduction of BEVs at an isolated complex intersectionPublication . Reddy, Radha; Almeida, Luis; Santos, Pedro Miguel; Kurunathan, Harrison; Tovar, EduardoImproving urban dwellers quality of life requires mitigating traffic congestion, minimizing waiting delays, and reducing fuel wastage and associated toxic air pollutants. Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are envisioned as the best option, thanks to zero exhaust emissions and regenerative braking. BEVs can be human-driven or autonomous and will co-exist with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) for years. BEVs can help at complex intersections where traffic is saturated. However, their benefits can be reduced by poor intersection management (IM) strategies that coordinate mixed traffic configurations inefficiently. This paper studies energy savings and emissions reduction using BEVs mixed with human-driven ICEVs under eight relevant IM approaches. It shows that adding BEVs has impacts on throughput, energy consumption, waiting delays, and tail-pipe emissions that depend on the specific IM approach used. Thus, this study provides the information needed to support an optimal choice of IM approaches considering the emerging trend towards electrical mobility.
- Work-In-Progress: Worst-Case Response Time of Intersection Management ProtocolsPublication . Reddy, Radha; Almeida, Luis; Gutiérrez Gaitán, Miguel; Kurunathan, John Harrison; Santos, Pedro M.; Tovar, EduardoIntersections are critical elements of urban traffic management and are identified as bottlenecks prone to traffic congestion and accidents. Intelligent intersection management plays a significant role in improving traffic efficiency and safety determining, among other metrics, the waiting time that vehicles incur when crossing an intersection. This work presents a preliminary analysis of the worst-case response time of intersection management protocols that handle mixed traffic with autonomous and human-driven vehicles. We deduce theoretical bounds for such time considered as the interval between the injection of a vehicle in the road system and its departure from the intersection, considering different intersection management protocols for mixed traffic, namely the Synchronous Intersection Management Protocol (SIMP) and several configurations of the conventional Round-Robin (RR) policy. Simulation results validate the analytical bounds partially. Ongoing work addresses thequeue dynamics and its reliable detection by traffic simulators.