Robust terminal attitude navigation for autonomous vehicles

Here we define the terminal attitude of the pursuer with respect to a target and present a LQR and H¿ control approach to solving the problem of pursuer achieving a desired terminal attack/approach angle. The intercept or engagement criteria is defined in terms of both minimizing the miss distance and controlling the pursuer's body attitude with respect to the target at the terminal point. This approach in comparison to previous approaches consider the relativistic approach of the pursuer with respect to the target as opposed the absolute velocities of the two dynamic bodies, and have possible applications ranging from autonomous vehicle entry in to a mother craft to nossle engagements in on-flight refuelling or even in precision missile guidance. Here we also suitably formulate the H¿ control ideas directly applicable to the underlying problem and presents both state feedback and output feed back results for the case of finite horizon and non-zero initial conditions together with a optimal parameter value to achieve a desired terminal characteristic in terms of the original weighting parameters.

Sensor fusion based localization of a mobile user in a wireless network

This paper applies sensor fusion to the localization problem of a mobile user. We propose that the use of direction of arrival (DOA) estimations along with received signal strength measurements can increase the accuracy and robustness of location estimations. The DOA estimations are incapable of providing multi-dimensional positioning alone, while signal strength methods are prone to high uncertainties. A Robust Extended Kalman Filter (REKF) is used to derive the state estimate of the mobile user's position, and successfully track the mobile users with less system complexity, as it requires measurements from only one base station. Therefore, localization of mobile users can be performed at the single base station. Furthermore, the technique is robust against system uncertainties caused by the inherent deterministic nature of the mobility model. Through simulation, we show the accuracy of our prediction algorithm and the simplicity of its implementation.

Location based power control for mobile devices in a cellular network

This paper provides location estimation based power control strategy for cellular radio systems via a location based interference management scheme. Our approach considers the carrier-to-interference as dependent on the transmitter and receiver separation distance and therefore an accurate estimation of the precise locations can provide the power critical mobile user to control the transition power accordingly. In this fully
distributed algorithms, we propose using a Robust Extended Kalman Filter (REKF) to derive an estimate of the mobile user’s closest mobile base station from the user’s location, heading and altitude. Our analysis demonstrates that this algorithm can successfully track the mobile users with less system complexity, as it requires measurements from only one or two closest mobile base stations and hence enable the user to transmit at the rate that is sufficient for the interference management. Our power control
algorithms based on this estimation converges to the desired power trajectory. Further, the technique is robust against system uncertainties caused by the inherent deterministic nature of the mobility model. Through simulation, we show the accuracy of our prediction algorithm and the simplicity of its implementation.

A framework for merging inconsistent beliefs in security protocol analysis

This paper proposes a framework for merging inconsistent beliefs in the analysis of security protocols. The merge application is a procedure of computing the inferred beliefs of message sources and resolving the conflicts among the sources. Some security properties of secure messages are used to ensure the correctness of authentication of messages. Several instances are presented, and demonstrate our method is useful in resolving inconsistent beliefs in secure messages.

The multifaceted and ever-changing directions of information security - Australia get ready!

In recent years, we have witnessed many information security developmental trends. As a consequence, the dimensions of information security - once single disciplinary area - have become multifaceted and convoluted. This paper aims to (1) recapitulate these key developments: (2) argue that the emergence of many complex information security dimensions are the result of 'constant change agents' (CCAs); (3) discuss the implications on Australia's society, i. e. government, companies and individuals; and (4) propose key consideration areas and possible solutions thereof. We hope that the discussion presented here will position Australia to make better aligned information security and strategic plans, such as choosing appropriate investments and adopting effective solutions to strengthen and secure Australia's national information security posture.

Haptic handwriting aid for training and rehabilitation

This paper reports a method of controlling a user's hand through the process of writing. Developed predominantly for enabling users to re-learn the skill of writing after a stroke, the process could also be used for teaching children hand/eye coordination, motor skills, movement and position awareness in writing. Utilising low cost haptic technology and custom control software, the system has the potential to increase writing skills in stroke sufferers in the privacy and comfort of their own home.

A parallel Euler approach for large-scale biological sequence assembly

Biological sequence assembly is an essential step for sequencing the genomes of organisms. Sequence assembly is very computing intensive especially for the large-scale sequence assembly. Parallel computing is an effective way to reduce the computing time and support the assembly for large amount of biological fragments. Euler sequence assembly algorithm is an innovative algorithm proposed recently. The advantage of this algorithm is that its computing complexity is polynomial and it provides a better solution to the notorious “repeat” problem. This paper introduces the parallelization of the Euler sequence assembly algorithm. All the Genome fragments generated by whole genome shotgun (WGS) will be assembled as a whole rather than dividing them into groups which may incurs errors due to the inaccurate group partition. The implemented system can be run on supercomputers, network of workstations or even network of PC computers. The experimental results have demonstrated the performance of our system.

A defense system against DDoS attacks by large-scale IP traceback

In this paper, we present a new approach, called Flexible Deterministic Packet Marking (FDPM), to perform a large-scale IP traceback to defend against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. In a DDoS attack the victim host or network is usually attacked by a large number of spoofed IP packets coming from multiple sources. IP traceback is the ability to trace the IP packets to their sources without relying on the source address field of the IP header. FDPM provides many flexible features to trace the IP packets and can obtain better tracing capability than current IP traceback mechanisms, such as Probabilistic Packet Marking (PPM), and Deterministic Packet Marking (DPM). The flexibilities of FDPM are in two ways, one is that it can adjust the length of marking field according to the network protocols deployed; the other is that it can adjust the marking rate according to the load of participating routers. The implementation and evaluation demonstrates that the FDPM needs moderately only a small number of packets to complete the traceback process; and can successfully perform a large-scale IP traceback, for example, trace up to 110,000 sources in a single incident response. It has a built-in overload prevention mechanism, therefore this scheme can perform a good traceback process even it is heavily loaded.

Security in the online e-learning environment

This paper addresses the role of security in the collaborative e-learning environment, and in particular, the social aspects of security and the importance of identity. It represents a case study, completed in Nov 2004, which was conducted to test the sense of security that students experienced whilst using the wiki platform as a means of online collaboration in the tertiary education environment. Wikis, fully editable Web sites, are easily accessible, require no software and allow its contributors (in this case students) to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership. A comparison between two wiki studies will be made whereby one group employed user login and the other maintained anonymity throughout the course of the study. The results consider the democratic participation and evolution of the work requirements over time, which in fact ascertains the nonvalidity of administrative identification.

Employing wikis for online collaboration in the e-learning environment: case study

This paper examines the various ways in which students reflect on their very recent experiences in collaborating in an online e-learning environment. Wikis, fully editable Websites, are easily accessible, require no software and allow its contributors, in these case students, to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership. Wikis are everywhere, but, unfortunately, the online literature has not yet begun to focus enough on wikis (Mattison 2003). Whereas students are used to the WebCT based university Elearning environment, Deakin Studies Online (DSO), this case study, completed in Nov 2004, was conducted to test the wiki platform as a means of online collaboration in the tertiary education environment. A full analysis of the results is presented, as are recommendations for improving the platform in an effort to employ wikis and utilize them to their full and absolute potential.

Mark-aided distributed filtering by using neural network for DDoS defense

Currently Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have been identified as one of the most serious problems on the Internet. The aim of DDoS attacks is to prevent legitimate users from accessing desired resources, such as network bandwidth. Hence the immediate task of DDoS defense is to provide as much resources as possible to legitimate users when there is an attack. Unfortunately most current defense approaches can not efficiently detect and filter out attack traffic. Our approach is to find the network anomalies by using neural network, deploy the system at distributed routers, identify the attack packets, and then filter them. The marks in the IP header that are generated by a group of IP traceback schemes, Deterministic Packet Marking (DPM)/Flexible Deterministic Packet Marking (FDPM), assist this process of identifying attack packets. The experimental results show that this approach can be used to defend against both intensive and subtle DDoS attacks, and can catch DDoS attacks’ characteristic of starting from multiple sources to a single victim. According to results, we find the marks in IP headers can enhance the sensitivity and accuracy of detection, thus improve the legitimate traffic throughput and reduce attack traffic throughput. Therefore, it can perform well in filtering DDoS attack traffic precisely and effectively.

Spam filtering based on preference ranking

When the average number of spam messages received is continually increasing exponentially, both the Internet service provider and the end user suffer. The lack of an efficient solution may threaten the usability of the email as a communication means. In this paper we present a filtering mechanism applying the idea of preference ranking. This filtering mechanism will distinguish spam emails from other email on the Internet. The preference ranking gives the similarity values for nominated emails and spam emails specified by users, so that the ISP/end users can deal with spam emails at filtering points. We designed three filtering points to classify nominated emails into spam email, unsure email and legitimate email. This filtering mechanism can be applied on both middleware and at the client-side. The experiments show that high precision, recall and TCR (total cost ratio) of spam emails can be predicted for the preference based filtering mechanisms.

A decision support tool for resource allocation in batch manufacturing

A decision support tool for production planning is discussed in this paper to perform the job of machine grouping and labour allocation within a machining line. The production plans within the industrial partner have been historically inefficient because the relationship between the cycle times, the machine group size, and the operator's utilisation hasn't been properly understood. Starting with a simulation model, a rule-base has been generated to predict the operator's utilisation for a range of production settings. The resource allocation problem is then solved by breaking the problem into a series of smaller sized tasks. The objective is to minimise the number of operators and the difference between the maximum and minimum cycle times of machines within each group. The results from this decision support tool is presented for the particular case study.

Inhibitors and facilitators for mobile payment adoption in Australia: a preliminary study

With the seamless diffusion and acceptance of mobile phones into people's everyday life as trusted communication devices, businesses have begun exploring their potential as payment devices. In this paper, we report on the findings from a pioneering study conducted in Australia, which explored inhibitors and facilitators in the adoption of mobile phones as payment devices.

Intelligent headrest

In this paper we discuss the design and development of a novel intelligent headrest system. Developed to reduce neck injuries resulting from up to 63% of rear end accidents, this system uses inductive sensing technology to establish the position of a driver or passenger's skull in a vehicle. Once detected, the system autonomously places the vehicle's headrest in a position that best support an occupant's head in the case of an accident. Sensor construction, mechatronic design and controller selection and real world tests of the system under various conditions are covered.