Privacy of RFID - models and protocols

Radio Frequency Identification is a wireless identification method that utilizes the reception of electromagnetic radio waves. This research has proposed a novel model to allow for an in-depth security analysis of current protocols and developed new flexible protocols that can be adapted to offer either stronger security or better efficiency.

Condensed phase combustion travelling waves with sequential exothermic or endothermic reactions

The one-dimensional propagation of a combustion wave through a premixed solid fuel for two-stage kinetics is studied. We re-examine the analysis of a single reaction travelling-wave and extend it to the case of two-stage reactions. We derive an expression for the travelling wave speed in the limit of large activation energy for both reactions. The analysis shows that when both reactions are exothermic, the wave structure is similar to the single reaction case. However, when the second reaction is endothermic, the wave structure can be significantly different from single reaction case. In particular, as might be expected, a travelling wave does not necessarily exist in this case. We establish conditions in the limiting large activation energy limit for the non-existence, and for monotonicity of the temperature profile in the travelling wave.

Airwaves: 100 years of radio

Music composition using prominent broadcast speeches across the whole twentieth century in commemoration of the centenary of Marconi's first transatlantic radio transmission. The work is based on creating music from the found objects of melody derived from spoken intonation. Recordings of the speeches are accompanied throughout by live instrumental music.

Source location of acoustic emission waves for structural health monitoring of bridges

The process of structural health monitoring (SHM) involves monitoring a structure over a period of time using appropriate sensors, extracting damage sensitive features from the measurements made by the sensors and analysing these features to determine the current state of the structure. Various techniques are available for structural health monitoring of structures and acoustic emission (AE) is one technique that is finding an increasing use. Acoustic emission waves are the stress waves generated by the mechanical deformation of materials. AE waves produced inside a structure can be recorded by means of sensors attached on the surface. Analysis of these recorded signals can locate and assess the extent of damage. This paper describes preliminary studies on the application of AE technique for health monitoring of bridge structures. Crack initiation or structural damage will result in wave propagation in solid and this can take place in various forms. Propagation of these waves is likely to be affected by the dimensions, surface properties and shape of the specimen. This, in turn, will affect source localization. Various laboratory test results will be presented on source localization, using pencil lead break tests. The results from the tests can be expected to aid in enhancement of knowledge of acoustic emission process and development of effective bridge structure diagnostics system.

Radio and affective rhythm in the everyday

This article explores the role of radio sound in establishing what I term ‘affective rhythms’ in everyday life. Through exploring the affective qualities of radio sound and its capacity for mood generation in the home, this article explores personal affective states and personal organisation. The term affective rhythm relates both to mood, and to routine. It is the combination of both that allows the possibility of thinking about sound and affect, and how they relate to, and integrate with, routine everyday life. The notion of ‘affective rhythm’ forces us to consider the idea of mood in the light of the routine nature of everyday domestic life.

Accurate series solutions for gravity-driven Stokes waves

In the past, high order series expansion techniques have been used to study the nonlinear equations that govern the form of periodic Stokes waves moving steadily on the surface of an inviscid fluid. In the present study, two such series solutions are recomputed using exact arithmetic, eliminating any loss of accuracy due to accumulation of round-off error, allowing a much greater number of terms to be found with confidence. It is shown that higher order behaviour of series generated by the solution casts doubt over arguments that rely on estimating the series’ radius of convergence. Further, the exact nature of the series is used to shed light on the unusual nature of convergence of higher order Pade approximants near the highest wave. Finally, it is concluded that, provided exact values are used in the series, these Pade approximants prove very effective in successfully predicting three turning points in both the dispersion relation and the total energy.

Further results with localization and mapping using range from radio

In this paper, we present recent results with using range from radio for mobile robot localization. In previous work we have shown how range readings from radio tags placed in the environment can be used to localize a robot. We have extended previous work to consider robustness. Specifically, we are interested in the case where range readings are very noisy and available intermittently. Also, we consider the case where the location of the radio tags is not known at all ahead of time and must be solved for simultaneously along with the position of the moving robot. We present results from a mobile robot that is equipped with GPS for ground truth, operating over several km.