FTT-MA: A Flexible Time-Triggered Middleware Architecture for Time Sensitive, Resource-Aware AmI Systems

There is an increasing number of Ambient Intelligence (AmI) systems that are time-sensitive and resource-aware. From healthcare to building and even home/office automation, it is now common to find systems combining interactive and sensing multimedia traffic with relatively simple sensors and actuators (door locks, presence detectors, RFIDs, HVAC, information panels, etc.). Many of these are today known as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Quite frequently, these systems must be capable of (1) prioritizing different traffic flows (process data, alarms, non-critical data, etc.), (2) synchronizing actions in several distributed devices and, to certain degree, (3) easing resource management (e.g., detecting faulty nodes, managing battery levels, handling overloads, etc.). This work presents FTT-MA, a high-level middleware architecture aimed at easing the design, deployment and operation of such AmI systems. FTT-MA ensures that both functional and non-functional aspects of the applications are met even during reconfiguration stages. The paper also proposes a methodology, together with a design tool, to create this kind of systems. Finally, a sample case study is presented that illustrates the use of the middleware and the methodology proposed in the paper.

A review of travel time estimation and forecasting for advanced traveler information systems

Providing on line travel time information to commuters has become an important issue for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Route Guidance Systems in the past years, due to the increasing traffic volume and congestion in the road networks. Travel time is one of the most useful traffic variables because it is more intuitive than other traffic variables such as flow, occupancy or density, and is useful for travelers in decision making. The aim of this paper is to present a global view of the literature on the modeling of travel time, introducing crucial concepts and giving a thorough classification of the existing tech- niques. Most of the attention will focus on travel time estimation and travel time prediction, which are generally not presented together. The main goals of these models, the study areas and methodologies used to carry out these tasks will be further explored and categorized.

Cambios en la gestión contable: influencia de las nuevas tecnologías

[ES]En el trabajo que presentamos se revisan los nuevos enfoques de dirección de empresas basados en gestión de procesos y gestión de riesgos, y su influencia en el futuro de la información económica-financiera, lo que dará lugar a cambios acelerados por las más avanzadas aplicaciones informáticas de la contabilidad y las prácticas de auditoría, puesto que en la práctica diaria de las empresas, tanto la auditoría como la información contable y los sistemas de información, contemplan ya dicho enfoque de la contabilidad por procesos. En consecuencia, la evolución de los sistemas de información favorece, cuando no obliga, a que el profesional de la contabilidad empresarial adopte una visión de la misma según los nuevos puntos de vista basados en procesos, provocando nuevas aplicaciones informáticas a la contabilidad.