A Packet/Frame sync detector based on statistical mode with application to wireless-USB

Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) are offering high data rates suitable for interconnecting high bandwidth personal consumer devices (Wireless HD streaming, Wireless-USB and Bluetooth EDR). ECMA-368 is the Physical (PHY) and Media Access Control (MAC) backbone of many of these wireless devices. WPAN devices tend to operate in an ad-hoc based network and therefore it is important to successfully latch onto the network and become part of one of the available piconets. This paper presents a new algorithm for detecting the Packet/Fame Sync (PFS) signal in ECMA-368 to identify piconets and aid symbol timing. The algorithm is based on correlating the received PFS symbols with the expected locally stored symbols over the 24 or 12 PFS symbols, but selecting the likely TFC based on the highest statistical mode from the 24 or 12 best correlation results. The results are very favorable showing an improvement margin in the order of 11.5dB in reference sensitivity tests between the required performance using this algorithm and the performance of comparable systems.

Co-ordinated management of intelligent pervasive spaces

The content of this paper is a snapshot of a current project looking at producing a real-time sensor-based building assessment tool, and a system that personalises work-spaces using multi-agent technology. Both systems derive physical environment information from a wireless sensor network that allows clients to subscribe to real-time sensed data. The principal ideologies behind this project are energy efficiency and well-being of occupants; in the context of leveraging the current state-of-the-art in agent technology, wireless sensor networks and building assessment systems to enable the optimisation and assessment of buildings. Participants of this project are from both industry (construction and research) and academia.

A question of identity - wiring in the human

This paper discusses the RFID implants for identification via a sensor network. Brain-computer implants linked in to a wireless network. Biometric identification via body sensors is also discussed. The use of a network as a means for remote and distance monitoring of humans opens up a range of potential uses. Where implanted identification is concerned this immediately offers high security access to specific areas by means of only an RFID device. If a neural implant is employed then clearly the information exchanged with a network can take on a much richer form, allowing for identification and response to an individual's needs based on the signals apparent on their nervous system.

Modeling energy consumption of dual-hop relay based MAC protocols in ad hoc networks

Given that the next and current generation networks will coexist for a considerable period of time, it is important to improve the performance of existing networks. One such improvement recently proposed is to enhance the throughput of ad hoc networks by using dual-hop relay-based transmission schemes. Since in ad hoc networks throughput is normally related to their energy consumption, it is important to examine the impact of using relay-based transmissions on energy consumption. In this paper, we present an analytical energy consumption model for dual-hop relay-based medium access control (MAC) protocols. Based on the recently reported relay-enabled Distributed Coordination Function (rDCF), we have shown the efficacy of the proposed analytical model. This is a generalized model and can be used to predict energy consumption in saturated relay-based ad hoc networks. This model can predict energy consumption in ideal environment and with transmission errors. It is shown that using a relay results in not only better throughput but also better energy efficiency. Copyright (C) 2009 Rizwan Ahmad et al.

A survey of multi-fingered robot hands: issues and grasping achievements

Recently a substantial amount of research has been done in the field of dextrous manipulation and hand manoeuvres. The main concern has been how to control robot hands so that they can execute manipulation tasks with the same dexterity and intuition as human hands. This paper surveys multi-fingered robot hand research and development topics which include robot hand design, object force distribution and control, grip transform, grasp stability and its synthesis, grasp stiffness and compliance motion and robot arm-hand coordination. Three main topics are presented in this article. The first is an introduction to the subject. The second concentrates on examples of mechanical manipulators used in research and the methods employed to control them. The third presents work which has been done on the field of object manipulation.

A multi-agent system for pervasive healthcare

Wireless technology based pervasive healthcare has been proposed in many applications such as disease management and accident prevention for cost saving and promoting citizen’s wellbeing. However, the emphasis so far is on the artefacts with limited attentions to guiding the development of an effective and efficient solution for pervasive healthcare. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a framework of multi-agent systems design for pervasive healthcare by adopting the concept of pervasive informatics and using the methods of organisational semiotics. The proposed multi-agent system for pervasive healthcare utilises sensory information to support healthcare professionals for providing appropriate care. The key contributions contain theoretical aspect and practical aspect. In theory, this paper articulates the information interactions between the pervasive healthcare environment and stakeholders by using the methods of organisational semiotics; in practice, the proposed framework improves the healthcare quality by providing appropriate medical attentions when and as needed. In this paper, both systems and functional architecture of the multi-agent system are elaborated with the use of wireless technologies such as RFID and wireless sensor networks. The future study will focus on the implementation of the proposed framework.

Efficient wireless power delivery for biomedical implants

Power delivery for biomedical implants is a major consideration in their design for both measurement and stimulation. When performed by a wireless technique, transmission efficiency is critically important not only because of the costs associated with any losses but also because of the nature of those losses, for example, excessive heat can be uncomfortable for the individual involved. In this study, a method and means of wireless power transmission suitable for biomedical implants are both discussed and experimentally evaluated. The procedure initiated is comparable in size and simplicity to those methods already employed; however, some of Tesla’s fundamental ideas have been incorporated in order to obtain a significant improvement in efficiency. This study contains a theoretical basis for the approach taken; however, the emphasis here is on practical experimental analysis

Mobile-to-mobile MIMO transmit-receive diversity systems: analysis and performance in three-dimensional double-correlated channels

Mobile-to-mobile (M-to-M) communications are expected to play a crucial role in future wireless systems and networks. In this paper, we consider M-to-M multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) maximal ratio combining system and assess its performance in spatially correlated channels. The analysis assumes double-correlated Rayleigh-and-Lognormal fading channels and is performed in terms of average symbol error probability, outage probability, and ergodic capacity. To obtain the receive and transmit spatial correlation functions needed for the performance analysis, we used a three-dimensional (3D) M-to-M MIMO channel model, which takes into account the effects of fast fading and shadowing. The expressions for the considered metrics are derived as a function of the average signal-to-noise ratio per receive antenna in closed-form and are further approximated using the recursive adaptive Simpson quadrature method. Numerical results are provided to show the effects of system parameters, such as distance between antenna elements, maximum elevation angle of scatterers, orientation angle of antenna array in the x–y plane, angle between the x–y plane and the antenna array orientation, and degree of scattering in the x–y plane, on the system performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Building networks to work: an ethnographic study of informal routes into the UK construction industry and pathways for migrant up-skilling

The UK construction industry labour market is characterised by high levels of self-employment, sub-contracting, informality and flexibility. A corollary of this, and a sign of the increasing globalisation of construction, has been an increasing reliance on migrant labour, particularly that from the Eastern European Accession states. Yet, little is known about how their experiences within and outside of work shape their work in the construction sector. In this context better qualitative understandings of the social and communication networks through which migrant workers gain employment, create routes through the sector and develop their role/career are needed. We draw on two examples from a short-term ethnographic study of migrant construction worker employment experiences and practices in the town of Crewe in Cheshire, UK, to demonstrate how informal networks intersect with formal elements of the sector to facilitate both recruitment and up-skilling. Such research knowledge, we argue, offers new evidence of the importance of attending to migrant worker’s own experiences in the development of more transparent recruitment processes.

Efficient wireless power delivery for biomedical implants

Power delivery for biomedical implants is a major consideration in their design for both measurement and stimulation. When performed by a wireless technique, transmission efficiency is critically important not only because of the costs associated with any losses but also because of the nature of those losses, for example, excessive heat can be uncomfortable for the individual involved. In this study, a method and means of wireless power transmission suitable for biomedical implants are both discussed and experimentally evaluated. The procedure initiated is comparable in size and simplicity to those methods already employed; however, some of Tesla’s fundamental ideas have been incorporated in order to obtain a significant improvement in efficiency. This study contains a theoretical basis for the approach taken; however, the emphasis here is on practical experimental analysis.

Enabling actor model for crowd sensing and IoT

The cloud is playing a very important role in wireless sensor network, crowd sensing and IoT data collection and processing. However, current cloud solutions lack of some features that hamper the innovation a number of other new services. We propose a cloud solution that provides these missing features as multi-cloud and device multi-tenancy relying in a whole different fully distributed paradigm, the actor model.

Morphology of polymer networks formed in the chiral and non chiral phases of an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal

We introduced photo-polymer networks into the various liquid crystalline phases of the antiferroelectric liquid crystal AS612 and studied the effects of these networks by measuring the temperature dependence of the Bragg wavelengths selectively reflected. After polymerization, the decrease in Bragg wavelengths with respect to the original values is consistent with a shorter helical pitch due to polymer network shrinkage. Also, by removing the liquid crystalline material, we are able to image the residual polymer network using scanning electron microscopy and polarized light microscopy. The polymer strands are a few microns thick and the networks show both chiral and non-chiral features.