Label Space Reduction in All-Optical Label Switchiing Networks

Report for the scientific sojourn at the Department of Information Technology (INTEC) at the Ghent University, Belgium, from january to june 2007. All-Optical Label Swapping (AOLS) forms a key technology towards the implementation of All-Optical Packet Switching nodes (AOPS) for the future optical Internet. The capital expenditures of the deployment of AOLS increases with the size of the label spaces (i.e. the number of used labels), since a special optical device is needed for each recognized label on every node. Label space sizes are affected by the wayin which demands are routed. For instance, while shortest-path routing leads to the usage of fewer labels but high link utilization, minimum interference routing leads to the opposite. This project studies and proposes All-Optical Label Stacking (AOLStack), which is an extension of the AOLS architecture. AOLStack aims at reducing label spaces while easing the compromise with link utilization. In this project, an Integer Lineal Program is proposed with the objective of analyzing the softening of the aforementioned trade-off due to AOLStack. Furthermore, a heuristic aiming at finding good solutions in polynomial-time is proposed as well. Simulation results show that AOLStack either a) reduces the label spaces with a low increase in the link utilization or, similarly, b) uses better the residual bandwidth to decrease the number of labels even more.

BCN­Routing : càlcul web de rutes amb pgRouting, OpenStreetMap i OpenLayers

En aquest projecte s'ha desenvolupat una interfície web per calcular rutes a la ciutat de Barcelona. Les rutes calculades són a peu, entre un punt d'origen qualsevol i un punt d'interès turístic de la ciutat com a destí. Per això s'han extret les dades dels carrers de Barcelona d'OpenStreetMap i s'han insertat a una base de dades postgreSQL/postGIS, juntament amb una capa vectorial de punts d'interès turístic que s'ha creat amb el SIG d'escriptori qGIS. El càlcul de les rutes amb les dades de la base de dades s'ha realitzat amb l'extensió pgRouting, i la interfície web per seleccionar els punts d'origen i destí, mostrar els mapes, i mostrar les rutes resultat, s'ha desenvolupat utilitzant la llibreria OpenLayers.

An improved method for discovering link criticality in transport networks

Quantitatively assessing the importance or criticality of each link in a network is of practical value to operators, as that can help them to increase the network's resilience, provide more efficient services, or improve some other aspect of the service. Betweenness is a graph-theoretical measure of centrality that can be applied to communication networks to evaluate link importance. However, as we illustrate in this paper, the basic definition of betweenness centrality produces inaccurate estimations as it does not take into account some aspects relevant to networking, such as the heterogeneity in link capacity or the difference between node-pairs in their contribution to the total traffic. A new algorithm for discovering link centrality in transport networks is proposed in this paper. It requires only static or semi-static network and topology attributes, and yet produces estimations of good accuracy, as verified through extensive simulations. Its potential value is demonstrated by an example application. In the example, the simple shortest-path routing algorithm is improved in such a way that it outperforms other more advanced algorithms in terms of blocking ratio

All-Optical Label Stacking: Easing the Trade-offs Between Routing and Architecture Cost in All-Optical Packet Switching

All-optical label swapping (AOLS) forms a key technology towards the implementation of all-optical packet switching nodes (AOPS) for the future optical Internet. The capital expenditures of the deployment of AOLS increases with the size of the label spaces (i.e. the number of used labels), since a special optical device is needed for each recognized label on every node. Label space sizes are affected by the way in which demands are routed. For instance, while shortest-path routing leads to the usage of fewer labels but high link utilization, minimum interference routing leads to the opposite. This paper studies all-optical label stacking (AOLStack), which is an extension of the AOLS architecture. AOLStack aims at reducing label spaces while easing the compromise with link utilization. In this paper, an integer lineal program is proposed with the objective of analyzing the softening of the aforementioned trade-off due to AOLStack. Furthermore, a heuristic aiming at finding good solutions in polynomial-time is proposed as well. Simulation results show that AOLStack either a) reduces the label spaces with a low increase in the link utilization or, similarly, b) uses better the residual bandwidth to decrease the number of labels even more

One kind of lawlessness: estimating the welfare cost of Somali piracy

This paper estimates the effect of piracy attacks on shipping costs using a unique data set on shipping contracts in the dry bulk market. We look at shipping routes whose shortest path exposes them to piracy attacks and find that the increase in attacks in 2008 lead to around a ten percent increase in shipping costs. We use this estimate to get a sense of the welfare loss imposed by piracy. Our intermediate estimate suggests that the creation of $120 million of revenue for pirates in the Somalia area led to a welfare loss of over $1.5 billion.

Tracing the Origin and Spread of Agriculture in Europe

The origins of early farming and its spread to Europe have been the subject of major interest for some time. The main controversy today is over the nature of the Neolithic transition in Europe: the extent to which the spread was, for the most part, indigenous and animated by imitatio (cultural diffusion) or else was driven by an influx of dispersing populations (demic diffusion). We analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of the transition using radiocarbon dates from 735 early Neolithic sites in Europe, the Near East, and Anatolia. We compute great-circle and shortest-path distances from each site to 35 possible agricultural centers of origin—ten are based on early sites in the Middle East and 25 arehypothetical locations set at 58 latitude/longitude intervals. We perform a linear fit of distance versus age (and viceversa) for each center. For certain centers, high correlation coefficients (R . 0.8) are obtained. This implies that a steady rate or speed is a good overall approximation for this historical development. The average rate of the Neolithic spread over Europe is 0.6–1.3 km/y (95% confidence interval). This is consistent with the prediction of demic diffusion(0.6–1.1 km/y). An interpolative map of correlation coefficients, obtained by using shortest-path distances, shows thatthe origins of agriculture were most likely to have occurred in the northern Levantine/Mesopotamian area

A survey on coverage path planning for robotics

Coverage Path Planning (CPP) is the task of determining a path that passes over all points of an area or volume of interest while avoiding obstacles. This task is integral to many robotic applications, such as vacuum cleaning robots, painter robots, autonomous underwater vehicles creating image mosaics, demining robots, lawn mowers, automated harvesters, window cleaners and inspection of complex structures, just to name a few. A considerable body of research has addressed the CPP problem. However, no updated surveys on CPP reflecting recent advances in the field have been presented in the past ten years. In this paper, we present a review of the most successful CPP methods, focusing on the achievements made in the past decade. Furthermore, we discuss reported field applications of the described CPP methods. This work aims to become a starting point for researchers who are initiating their endeavors in CPP. Likewise, this work aims to present a comprehensive review of the recent breakthroughs in the field, providing links to the most interesting and successful works

The orthogonal subcategory problem in homotopy theory

It is known that, in a locally presentable category, localization exists with respect to every set of morphisms, while the statement that localization with respect to every (possibly proper) class of morphisms exists in locally presentable categories is equivalent to a large-cardinal axiom from set theory. One proves similarly, on one hand, that homotopy localization exists with respect to sets of maps in every cofibrantly generated, left proper, simplicial model category M whose underlying category is locally presentable. On the other hand, as we show in this article, the existence of localization with respect to possibly proper classes of maps in a model category M satisfying the above assumptions is implied by a large-cardinal axiom called Vopënka's principle, although we do not know if the reverse implication holds. We also show that, under the same assumptions on M, every endofunctor of M that is idempotent up to homotopy is equivalent to localization with respect to some class S of maps, and if Vopënka's principle holds then S can be chosen to be a set. There are examples showing that the latter need not be true if M is not cofibrantly generated. The above assumptions on M are satisfied by simplicial sets and symmetric spectra over simplicial sets, among many other model categories.

Periodic orbits of the planar collision restricted 3-body problem

Using the continuation method we prove that the circular and the elliptic symmetric periodic orbits of the planar rotating Kepler problem can be continued into periodic orbits of the planar collision restricted 3–body problem. Additionally, we also continue to this restricted problem the so called “comets orbits”.

Polynomial-time complexity for instances of the endomorphism problem in free groups

We say the endomorphism problem is solvable for an element W in a free group F if it can be decided effectively whether, given U in F, there is an endomorphism Φ of F sending W to U. This work analyzes an approach due to C. Edmunds and improved by C. Sims. Here we prove that the approach provides an efficient algorithm for solving the endomorphism problem when W is a two- generator word. We show that when W is a two-generator word this algorithm solves the problem in time polynomial in the length of U. This result gives a polynomial-time algorithm for solving, in free groups, two-variable equations in which all the variables occur on one side of the equality and all the constants on the other side.

Periodic orbits near a heteroclinic loop formed by one dimensional orbit and a 2-dimensional manifold: application to the charged collinear 3-body problem

The paper is devoted to the study of a type of differential systems which appear usually in the study of some Hamiltonian systems with 2 degrees of freedom. We prove the existence of infinitely many periodic orbits on each negative energy level. All these periodic orbits pass near the total collision. Finally we apply these results to study the existence of periodic orbits in the charged collinear 3–body problem.

Bribe-proof rules in the division problem

The division problem consists of allocating an amount of a perfectly divisible good among a group of n agents with single-peaked preferences. A rule maps preference profiles into n shares of the amount to be allocated. A rule is bribe-proof if no group of agents can compensate another agent to misrepresent his preference and, after an appropriate redistribution of their shares, each obtain a strictly preferred share. We characterize all bribe-proof rules as the class of efficient, strategy-proof, and weak replacement monotonic rules. In addition, we identify the functional form of all bribe-proof and tops-only rules.

A maximal domain of preferences for tops-only rules in the division problem

The division problem consists of allocating an amount M of a perfectly divisible good among a group of n agents. Sprumont (1991) showed that if agents have single-peaked preferences over their shares, the uniform rule is the unique strategy-proof, efficient, and anonymous rule. Ching and Serizawa (1998) extended this result by showing that the set of single-plateaued preferences is the largest domain, for all possible values of M, admitting a rule (the extended uniform rule) satisfying strategy-proofness, efficiency and symmetry. We identify, for each M and n, a maximal domain of preferences under which the extended uniform rule also satisfies the properties of strategy-proofness, efficiency, continuity, and "tops-onlyness". These domains (called weakly single-plateaued) are strictly larger than the set of single-plateaued preferences. However, their intersection, when M varies from zero to infinity, coincides with the set of single-plateaued preferences.

Growth, habit formation, and catching-up\ with the Joneses

When habits are introduced multiplicatively in a capital accumulation model, the consumers' objective function might fail to be concave. In this paper we provide conditions aimed at guaranteeing the existence of interior solutions to the consumers' problem. We also characterize the equilibrium path of two growth models with multiplicative habits: the internal habit formation model, where individual habits coincide with own past consumption, and the external habit formation (or catching-up with the Joneses) model, where habits arise from the average past consumption in the economy. We show that the introduction of external habits makes the equilibrium path inefficient during the transition towards the balanced growth path. We characterize in this context the optimal tax policy.