Experiments with cooperative control of underwater robots

In this paper we describe cooperative control algorithms for robots and sensor nodes in an underwater environment. Cooperative navigation is defined as the ability of a coupled system of autonomous robots to pool their resources to achieve long-distance navigation and a larger controllability space. Other types of useful cooperation in underwater environments include: exchange of information such as data download and retasking; cooperative localization and tracking; and physical connection (docking) for tasks such as deployment of underwater sensor networks, collection of nodes and rescue of damaged robots. We present experimental results obtained with an underwater system that consists of two very different robots and a number of sensor network modules. We present the hardware and software architecture of this underwater system. We then describe various interactions between the robots and sensor nodes and between the two robots, including cooperative navigation. Finally, we describe our experiments with this underwater system and present data.

An IEEE 802.11p empirical performance model for cooperative systems applications

IEEE 802.11p is the new standard for Inter-Vehicular Communications (IVC) using the 5.9 GHz frequency band, as part of the DSRC framework; it will enable applications based on Cooperative Systems. Simulation is widely used to estimate or verify the potential benefits of such cooperative applications, notably in terms of safety for the drivers. We have developed a performance model for 802.11p that can be used by simulations of cooperative applications (e.g. collision avoidance) without requiring intricate models of the whole IVC stack. Instead, it provide a a straightforward yet realistic modelisation of IVC performance. Our model uses data from extensive field trials to infer the correlation between speed, distance and performance metrics such as maximum range, latency and frame loss. Then, we improve this model to limit the number of profiles that have to be generated when there are more than a few couples of emitter-receptor in a given location. Our model generates realistic performance for rural or suburban environments among small groups of IVC-equipped vehicles and road side units.

Scaffolding techniques : a teacher training for cooperative learning in Thailand primary education

Using cooperative learning in classrooms promotes academic achievement, communication skills, problem-solving, social skills and student motivation. Yet it is reported that cooperative learning as a Western educational concept may be ineffective in Asian cultural contexts. The study aims to investigate the utilisation of scaffolding techniques for cooperative learning in Thailand primary mathematics classes. A teacher training program was designed to foster Thai primary school teachers’ cooperative learning implementation. Two teachers participated in this experimental program for one and a half weeks and then implemented cooperative learning strategies in their mathematics classes for six weeks. The data collected from teacher interviews and classroom observations indicates that the difficulty or failure of implementing cooperative learning in Thailand education may not be directly derived from cultural differences. Instead, it does indicate that Thai culture can be constructively merged with cooperative learning through a teacher training program and practices of scaffolding techniques.

A conceptual framework for the cultural integration of cooperative learning : a Thai primary mathematics education perspective

The Thailand education reform adopted cooperative learning to improve the quality of education. However, it has been reported that the introduction and maintenance of cooperative learning has been difficult and uncertain because of the cultural differences. The study proposed a conceptual framework developed based on making a connection between Thai cultures and cooperative learning elements, and implemented a small-scale research project in a Thai primary mathematics class with a teacher and thirty-two Grade 4 students. The results uncovered that the three components including preparation of teachers, instructional strategies and preparation of students can be vehicles for the culture integration in cooperative learning.

Cooperative education through a large scale industry-school partnership

In most of the advanced economies, students are losing interest in careers especially in en¬gineering and related industries. Hence, western economies are confronting a critical skilled labour shortage in areas of technology, science and engineering. Decisions about career pathways are made as early as the primary years of schooling and hence cooperation be¬tween industry and schools to attract students to the professions is crucial. The aim of this paper is to document how the organisational and institutional elements of one industry-school partnerships initiative — The Gateway Schools Program — contribute to productive knowledge sharing and networking. In particular this paper focuses on an initiative of an Australian State government in response to a perceived crisis around the skills shortage in an economy transitioning from a localised to a global knowledge production economy. The Gateway Schools initiative signals the first sustained attempt in Australia to incorporate schools into production networks through strategic partnerships linking them to partner organisations at the industry level. We provide case examples of how four schools opera¬tionalise the partnerships with the minerals and energy industries and how these partner¬ships as knowledge assets impact the delivery of curriculum and capacity building among teachers. Our ultimate goal is to define those characteristics of successful partnerships that do contribute to enhanced interest and engagement by students in those careers that are currently experiencing critical shortages.

Simulating cooperative systems applications : a new complete architecture

For a decade, embedded driving assistance systems were mainly dedicated to the management of short time events (lane departure, collision avoidance, collision mitigation). Recently a great number of projects have been focused on cooperative embedded devices in order to extend environment perception. Handling an extended perception range is important in order to provide enough information for both path planning and co-pilot algorithms which need to anticipate events. To carry out such applications, simulation has been widely used. Simulation is efficient to estimate the benefits of Cooperative Systems (CS) based on Inter-Vehicular Communications (IVC). This paper presents a new and modular architecture built with the SiVIC simulator and the RTMaps™ multi-sensors prototyping platform. A set of improvements, implemented in SiVIC, are introduced in order to take into account IVC modelling and vehicles’ control. These 2 aspects have been tuned with on-road measurements to improve the realism of the scenarios. The results obtained from a freeway emergency braking scenario are discussed.

Hybrid multi-channel cooperative spectrum sensing to satisfy channel target

Spectrum sensing of multiple primary user channels is a crucial function in cognitive radio networks. In this paper we propose an optimal, sensing resource allocation algorithm for multi-channel cooperative spectrum sensing. The channel target is implemented as an objective and constraint to ensure a pre-determined number of empty channels are detected for secondary user network operations. Based on primary user traffic parameters, we calculate the minimum number of primary user channels that must be sensed to satisfy the channel target. We implement a hybrid sensing structure by grouping secondary user nodes into clusters and assign each cluster to sense a different primary user channels. We then solve the resource allocation problem to find the optimal sensing configuration and node allocation to minimise sensing duration. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm requires the shortest sensing duration to achieve the channel target compared to existing studies that require long sensing and cannot guarantee the target.

Supporting cooperative design through "living" artefacts

We present findings from a field trial of CAM (Cooperative Artefact Memory) -- a mobile-tagging based messaging system -- in a design studio environment. CAM allows individuals to collaboratively store relevant information onto their physical design artefacts, such as sketches, collages, story-boards, and physical mock-ups in the form of messages, annotations and external web links. We studied the use of CAM in three student design projects. We observed that CAM facilitated new ways of collaborating in joint design projects. The serendipitous and asynchronous nature of CAM facilitated expressions of design aesthetics, allowed designers to have playful interactions, supported exploration of new design ideas, and supported designers' reflective practices. In general, our results show how CAM transformed mundane design artefacts into "living" artefacts that made the creative and playful side of cooperative design visible.

Experiential role of artefacts in cooperative design

The role of material artefacts in supporting distributed and co-located work practices has been well acknowledged within HCI and CSCW research. In this paper, we show that in addition to their ecological, coordinative and organizational support, artefacts also play an 'experiential' role. In this case, artefacts not only improve efficiency or have a purely functional role (e.g. allowing people to complete tasks quickly), but the materiality, use and manifestations of these artefacts bring quality and richness to people's performance and help them make better sense of their everyday lives. In a domain such as industrial design, such artefacts play an important role for supporting creativity and innovation. Based on our ethnographic fieldwork on understanding cooperative design practices of industrial design students and researchers, we describe several experiential practices that are supported by design-related artefacts such as sketches, drawings, physical models and explorative prototypes -- used and developed in designers' everyday work. Our main intention in carrying out this kind of research is to develop technologies to support designers' everyday practices. We believe that with the emergence of ubiquitous computing, there is a growing need to focus on the personal, social and creative side of people's everyday experiences. By focusing on the experiential practices of designers, we can provide a much broader view in the design of new interactive technologies.

Physicality and cooperative design

CSCW researchers have increasingly come to realize that the material work setting and its population of artefacts play a crucial part in coordination of distributed or co-located work. This paper uses the notion of physicality as a basis to understand cooperative work. Using examples from an ongoing fieldwork on cooperative design practices, it provides a conceptual understanding of physicality and shows that material settings and co-workers’ working practices play an important role in understanding the physicality of cooperative design.

Designing awareness support for distributed cooperative design teams

Motivation Awareness is an integral part of remote collaborative work and has been an important theme within the CSCW research. Our project aims at understanding and mediating non-verbal cues between remote participants involved in a design project. Research approach Within the AMIDA project we focus on distributed 'cooperative design' teams. We especially focus on the 'material' signals - signals in which people communicate through material artefacts, locations and their embodied actions. We apply an ethnographic approach to understand the role of physical artefacts in co-located naturalistic design setting. Based on the results we will generate important implications to support remote design work. We plan to develop a mixed-reality interface supported by a shared awareness display. This awareness display will provide information about the activities happening in the design room to remotely located participants. Findings/Design Our preliminary investigation with real-world design teams suggests that both the materiality of designers' work settings and their social practices play an important role in understanding these material signals that are at play. Originality/Value Most research supporting computer mediated communication have focused on either face-to-face or linguistically oriented communication paradigms. Our research focuses on mediating the non-verbal, material cues for supporting collaborative activities without impoverishing what designers do in their day to day working lives. Take away message An ethnographic approach allows us to understand the naturalistic practices of design teams, which can lead to designing effective technologies to support group work. In that respect, the findings of our research will have a generic value beyond the application domain chosen (design teams).

On power minimisation and SNR maximisation of distributed beamforming in cooperative communication systems

A comparison of relay power minimisation subject to received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the receiver and SNR maximisation subject to the total transmitted power of relays for a typical wireless network with distributed beamforming is presented. It is desirable to maximise receiver quality-of-service (QoS) and also to minimise the cost of transmission in terms of power. Hence, these two optimisation problems are very common and have been addressed separately in the literature. It is shown that SNR maximisation subject to power constraint and power minimisation subject to SNR constraint yield the same results for a typical wireless network. It proves that either one of the optimisation approaches is sufficient.

The role and future challenges of wireless communication networks for cooperative autonomous city vehicles

This paper elaborates on the use of future wireless communication networks for autonomous city vehicles. After addressing the state of technology, the paper explains the autonomous vehicle control system architecture and the Cybercars-2 communication framework; it presents experimental tests of communication-based real-time decision making; and discusses potential applications for communication in order to improve the localization and perception abilities of autonomous vehicles in urban environments.

Finite-SNR diversity-multiplexing trade-off of inter-vehicular cooperative diversity protocols

The finite-signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) diversity-multiplexing trade-off (DMT) of cooperative diversity protocols are investigated in vehicular networks based on cascaded Rayleigh fading. Lower bounds of DMT at finite SNR for orthogonal and non-orthogonal protocols are derived. The results showcase the first look into the achievable DMT trade-off of cooperative diversity in volatile vehicular environments. It is shown that the diversity gains are significantly suboptimal at realistic SNRs.

Detection of dynamic primary user with cooperative spectrum sensing

In this paper we demonstrate that existing cooperative spectrum sensing formulated for static primary users cannot accurately detect dynamic primary users regardless of the information fusion method. Performance error occurs as the sensing parameters calculated by the conventional detector result in sensing performance that violates the sensing requirements. Furthermore, the error is accumulated and compounded by the number of cooperating nodes. To address this limitation, we design and implement the duty cycle detection model for the context of cooperative spectrum sensing to accurately calculate the sensing parameters that satisfy the sensing requirements. We show that longer sensing duration is required to compensate for dynamic primary user traffic.