Access Technologies Research Articles

Efficient Radio Resource Management in Cell-less Wireless Communication Systems

In this paper, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method with dynamic generation of biasing factors is used to determine the optimal particle size, maximize cell spectral efficiency (CSE) and balance the load in 5G networks. This work studies two distinct interference scenarios: in the first approach, CSE is calculated with varying numbers of users, when different radio services are used by each tier (when several radio access technologies are used), and when interference is received by the consumer only from the same tier base stations (BSs). In the second approach, interference is created when all levels use the same radio services and interference from BSs belonging to the same tier and other tiers is received by the consumer. Simulation results show that the cell-less network performs better than the cellular network in terms of maximizing CSE and balancing the load.

Community Initiatives and the Use of Welfare Technologies in Super-Aged Areas: A Case Study from Japan

Abstract Background Community initiatives are seen as a solution to issues such as social isolation of older people and the lack of formal care. The study examines the use of welfare technologies in two municipalities in southern Japan to enhance their community-based care systems amidst challenges like underfunding and coordination. One case, an agriculture-led town with a handful of administrators, and the other, a manufacturing-led 'Tokku' (national strategic special zone) with active central and local government involvement, provide contrasting approaches. Methods Using a case study approach, the initiatives taken by the two municipalities were identified from ’grey’ literature and examined to see what types of welfare technologies have been introduced and how, and what impacts the overall projects had on older people’s lives, well-being and care delivery. Results The current average ageing rate in Japan is 29.2%. Town A, with a population of 13,878 and a significant ageing population of 43.3%, has initiated various ICT projects since 2011. For example, recognising the difficulties older people have in accessing information, adopting a familiar ICT solution and taking time to explore new applications together contributed to the overall wellbeing during the initiation process. In contrast, ‘Tokku’ B, with a population of 916,003 and an ageing rate of 31.5%, the highest among 25 ‘Tokku’, prioritises Digital Transformation from cradle to grave. They are committed to sustainable development and improving the well-being of their residents (all ages) through collaborative strategies and a forward-looking perspective. The overall impact remains uncertain, however. Conclusion These findings shed light on Japan's technology-driven strategies to address age-related challenges, which resonate with age-friendly city initiatives worldwide. However, challenges remain, particularly in depopulated areas with limited resources and skilled care professionals. Further research, including comparative studies between Japan, Ireland and beyond, is essential to understand the impact of welfare technology integration in supporting ageing in place.

Perceiving depth beyond sight: Evaluating intrinsic and learned cues via a proof of concept sensory substitution method in the visually impaired and sighted.

This study explores spatial perception of depth by employing a novel proof of concept sensory substitution algorithm. The algorithm taps into existing cognitive scaffolds such as language and cross modal correspondences by naming objects in the scene while representing their elevation and depth by manipulation of the auditory properties for each axis. While the representation of verticality utilized a previously tested correspondence with pitch, the representation of depth employed an ecologically inspired manipulation, based on the loss of gain and filtration of higher frequency sounds over distance. The study, involving 40 participants, seven of which were blind (5) or visually impaired (2), investigates the intrinsicness of an ecologically inspired mapping of auditory cues for depth by comparing it to an interchanged condition where the mappings of the two axes are swapped. All participants successfully learned to use the algorithm following a very brief period of training, with the blind and visually impaired participants showing similar levels of success for learning to use the algorithm as did their sighted counterparts. A significant difference was found at baseline between the two conditions, indicating the intuitiveness of the original ecologically inspired mapping. Despite this, participants were able to achieve similar success rates following the training in both conditions. The findings indicate that both intrinsic and learned cues come into play with respect to depth perception. Moreover, they suggest that by employing perceptual learning, novel sensory mappings can be trained in adulthood. Regarding the blind and visually impaired, the results also support the convergence view, which claims that with training, their spatial abilities can converge with those of the sighted. Finally, we discuss how the algorithm can open new avenues for accessibility technologies, virtual reality, and other practical applications.

The usability of a wireless vocal fold vibration switch for individuals with complex communication needs: a caregiver-inclusive iterative home-based evaluation

Purpose: A vocal fold vibration switch is a type of access technology that detects voluntary vibrations of the vocal cords. In two sequential usability studies, we evaluated successive prototypes of a novel wireless vocal fold vibration switch. Methods: Each usability study enroled 7 dyads consisting of individuals with complex communication needs and their caregivers. Each study entailed a 2-week period of independent home use flanked by initial and final usability tests. Each usability test comprised nine tasks including donning and configuration of the switch, connecting it to other devices, and actual activation of the switch. Perceived task difficulty was measured via nine 21-point scales, while caregiver impressions were captured through open-ended questions, both encapsulated within a usability questionnaire. Caregivers described their experience in an open-ended interview in the second usability study. Results: Perceived task difficulty was uniformly low with both prototypes. The vast majority of tasks could be completed either independently or with hints. A small number of contraindications for use were identified with the second prototype, which included episodes of dystonia and heavy breathing, and some aspects of the physical design and robustness were flagged as needing further improvement. Conclusions: The overall qualitative feedback was overwhelmingly positive with caregivers generally desiring to keep and eager to recommend the device to others. Additionally, caregivers expressed that the vocal fold vibration switch expanded the switch user’s capabilities, and they foresaw applications beyond the study setting. Overall, our findings suggest that the wireless vocal fold vibration switch is useable in the home setting.

Addressing the Digital Divide in Health Education: A Systematic Review.

The disparity in access to essential healthcare resources and services is exacerbated by the digital divide, which presents a significant obstacle to health education. Effective tactics to advance digital equity and provide equitable access to resources for telehealth and digital health are needed to close this gap. Digital databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were used to conduct a systematic review. Keywords and Boolean operators including "digital divide," "health education," "digital equity," "telehealth," "digital health literacy," and "strategies" were used in the literature search process. Only peer-reviewed English-language papers that addressed methods for bridging the digital divide in health education were accepted after being screened in accordance with the preset inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results were compiled using a narrative synthesis method after data were retrieved and synthesized with the aid of suitable quality assessment tools. After satisfying the inclusion criteria, seven papers were added to the systematic review. The results emphasized the complexity of the digital divide in health education and provided a range of approaches to mitigate disparities in access to digital health technologies and resources. The importance of digital equality and universal design, continuous intervention evaluation and monitoring, and enduring obstacles to Internet access and healthcare technology availability were among the major themes. This systematic study emphasizes how critical it is to put evidence-based tactics into practice in order to close the digital divide in health education. Through the promotion of universal design principles, ongoing evaluation of treatments, and digital equity, stakeholders can mitigate health disparities, improve population health, and guarantee equitable access to telehealth and digital health services.

Artificial Neural Network Approach for Analysis and Prediction of Solar Radiation and Wind Speed in Telecommunication Systems

The use of renewable energy sources in the power grid is essential for maintaining economic growth, especially for many African countries. Therefore, these countries can also install advanced artificial intelligence technology in their airport’s power system to capture renewable energy. The paper aims to propose a real-time power management algorithm for a distributed hybrid renewable energy grid. It continues with the network modeling with the integration of solar and wind power. A multi-objective approach is proposed for the maximization of the spatial spectral efficiency and the energy efficiency as a function of the number of wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels. Radio parameters for a Mobile Wireless inter-operability Medium Access (WiMAX) technology are considered for the simulation in MATLAB software. The results are quite mitigated but theoretically promising for the integration of green energy into the current telecommunication systems

Combining 5G New Radio, Wi-Fi, and LiFi for Industry 4.0: Performance Evaluation.

Fifth-generation mobile networks (5G) are designed to support enhanced Mobile Broadband, Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications, and massive Machine-Type Communications. To meet these diverse needs, 5G uses technologies like network softwarization, network slicing, and artificial intelligence. Multi-connectivity is crucial for boosting mobile device performance by using different Wireless Access Technologies (WATs) simultaneously, enhancing throughput, reducing latency, and improving reliability. This paper presents a multi-connectivity testbed from the 5G-CLARITY project for performance evaluation. MultiPath TCP (MPTCP) was employed to enable mobile devices to send data through various WATs simultaneously. A new MPTCP scheduler was developed, allowing operators to better control traffic distribution across different technologies and maximize aggregated throughput. Our proposal mitigates the impact of limitations on one path affecting others, avoiding the Head-of-Line blocking problem. Performance was tested with real equipment using 5GNR, Wi-Fi, and LiFi -complementary WATs in the 5G-CLARITY project-in both static and dynamic scenarios. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheduler can manage the traffic distribution across different WATs and achieve the combined capacities of these technologies, approximately 1.4 Gbps in our tests, outperforming the other MPTCP schedulers. Recovery times after interruptions, such as coverage loss in one technology, were also measured, with values ranging from 400 to 500 ms.

ARCHITECTURE DESIGN OF HEALTH ASSET DETECTION SYSTEM IN HOSPITAL

Efficient management of hospital assets is essential to ensure that operations can run optimally and the quality of health services is good. However, the recording and management of assets in hospitals carried out manually often causes data errors, information mismatches, and also assets are only known by the manager without being explicitly recorded. In overcoming this problem, the researcher aims to develop a hospital asset detection system architecture using an iterative and incremental methodology approach. The stages of this system development include identification of needs and conceptual models, logical architecture design, conceptual architecture design, logical architecture, physical architecture, technology selection, and evaluation. This system utilizes YOLO model reading technology for asset detection and identification, storing detection results into a local database using SQLite3, sending data to a central server via API, and post-processing data by selecting the highest confidence score stored in a MySQL database and then using the data to manage asset management and asset visualization. The implementation of this system successfully reduces manual recording time, improves asset visibility, and optimizes resource usage, thus contributing to the improvement of efficiency and quality of health services.

First in-Lab Testing of a Cost-Effective Prototype for PM2.5 Monitoring: The P.ALP Assessment.

The goal of the present research was to assess, under controlled laboratory conditions, the accuracy and precision of a prototype device (named 'P.ALP': Ph.D. Air-quality Low-cost Project) developed for PM2.5 concentration level monitoring. Indeed, this study follows a complementary manuscript (previously published) focusing on the in-field evaluation of the device's performance. Four P.ALP prototypes were co-located with the reference instrument in a calm-air aerosol chamber at the NIOSH laboratories in Pittsburgh, PA (USA), used by the Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies. The devices were tested for 10 monitoring days under several exposure conditions. To evaluate the performance of the prototypes, different approaches were employed. After the data from the devices were stored and prepared for analysis, to assess the accuracy (comparing the reference instrument with the prototypes) and the precision (comparing all the possible pairs of devices) of the P.ALPs, linear regression analysis was performed. Moreover, to find out the applicability field of this device, the US EPA's suggested criteria were adopted, and to assess error trends of the prototype in the process of data acquisition, Bland-Altman plots were built. The findings show that, by introducing ad hoc calibration factors, the P.ALP's performance needs to be further implemented, but the device can monitor the concentration trend variations with satisfying accuracy. Overall, the P.ALP can be involved in and adapted to a wide range of applications because of the inexpensive nature of the components, the small dimensions, and the high data storage capacity.

Artificial Intelligence in Virtual Reality for Blind and Low Vision Individuals: Literature Review

Virtual reality (VR) technologies have garnered substantial attention and adoption across various fields, including workspaces and education. People with disabilities, who already face lower employment rates and fewer full-time opportunities, may be further disadvantaged. Addressing this, recent advancements have focused on making VR inclusive, particularly for individuals with visual impairments. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, it has also become possible to integrate AI technologies into VR systems to enhance accessibility for individuals with visual impairments. Despite growing interest, there is a gap in comprehensive literature focusing on AI’s role in enabling blind and low vision individuals to experience VR. This review aims to fill that void by providing an overview of current research, discussing benefits and challenges, and identifying future opportunities. By synthesizing existing research, this study contributes insights for researchers, developers, and practitioners working in the field of accessibility and assistive technology.

The Impact of Using AI in Learning on Understanding of Material by Young Students

This study aims to examine the impact of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in learning on the understanding of material by young students. In today's digital era, AI is increasingly being adopted in educational environments, with the potential to personalize learning, increase student engagement, and accelerate the process of understanding material. This research method uses a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design. A total of 120 students from various study programs at a university in Indonesia became research respondents, who were divided into two groups: a group that used an AI-based learning platform and a group that used conventional learning methods. Data collection was carried out through pre-tests and post-tests to measure the level of understanding of the material, as well as surveys to evaluate the learning experience. The results of the study showed that the group of students who used AI technology in learning had a more significant increase in understanding the material compared to the control group. In addition, students who used AI reported a more interactive and motivating learning experience. However, this study also found challenges, such as excessive dependence on technology and disparities in access to adequate technological devices. Based on these findings, the study recommends the integration of AI into the education curriculum in a balanced manner, considering technical and pedagogical factors to maximize the potential of AI-based learning.

EXO: A commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns

The advent of Wi-Fi in the 1990s stimulated the creation of Community networks (CNs), a new networking paradigm deployed and maintained by their users. The non-profit and grassroots self-organization of CNs has shown significant potential in enhancing communication technologies grounded in ethical values, transcending mere Internet expansion to contribute to broader social impacts. Since its conception, hundreds of CNs have been deployed worldwide. However, many have faltered, primarily due to a lack of solid economic models and legal setup. This paper presents Expansió Xarxa Oberta (eXO) association, a commons Internet Service Provider (ISP). In contrast to commercial ISPs, eXO follows the same grassroots principles of CNs. Establishing a commons-based ISP is challenging, yet it is a key component for the sustainability and success of CNs. Therefore, our paper aims to dissect the complexity of a commons ISP by explaining eXO, a pioneering example that has already been in production for more than 14 years. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a commons ISP is described in all its components.To describe eXO, we have proceeded in two parts. In the first one, we delineate the organizational structure, economics, funding mechanisms, activities, legal framework, and infrastructure. To gain more insight on eXO, in the second part, we conduct a technical analysis of traffic data collected from eXO’s core router, elucidating subscriber usage patterns. Our study encompasses various subscriber categories, including regular and financially subsidized users, Wi-Fi and optical fiber access, and traffic characteristics such as volume, TCP/UDP usage, services accessed, and traffic distribution across countries.

Injustices of Shadow Information Technology in Creating Open Educational Resources

The emergence of open educational resources (OER) promotes open access which aims to widen information access as part of smart learning in higher education institutions. However, this has caused these institutions to rely on shadow information technology (SIT) for information access and service delivery, to the point where shadow IT principles contradict open education principles. When adopting and developing OER, academics, developers, and students often opt for different software or system software based on the usability and preferences of the system. Higher education institutions (HEIs), such as the University of South Africa (UNISA), are still conscious of the IT policy in terms of the appropriation of prescribed information and communication technology (ICT). However, this institution advocates for the adoption and development of OER, and social injustices when appropriating shadow IT are not yet addressed. To investigate the challenges and injustices encountered by academics in the utilization of shadow IT when creating OER, this study opted for a qualitative research approach. The data source was academics responsible for tuition and research. For data triangulation purposes, documents such as ICT policy, tuition policy, and comprehensive open distance e-learning (CODeL) policy were considered. To propose a model, this study utilized various concepts from different theories such as "structure", which refers to the rules and resources that actors rely on in their practice and form the systems' pattern; the "used technology", which describes how user groups utilize existing technology; and the negative impacts of shadow IT (cost, risk, inconsistency, and control). The study established that, while creating OER, academics rely primarily on shadow IT which has negative impacts in an organization. This is an indication of academic stakeholders continuing to break the shadow IT roles, consciously or unsuspectingly, by being innovative while complying with the institutional mandate of open access in education. In addition to the suggestion of a shadow IT injustices model as the main contribution, this study further proposed that the institutional social capital needs to articulate social injustices associated with shadow IT to protect academics during the creation of OER. This implies that future research may examine the shadow IT injustices among all other twenty-six public universities in South Africa.

Graphic association learning: Multimodal feature extraction and fusion of image and text using artificial intelligence techniques

With the advancement of technology in recent years, the application of artificial intelligence in real life has become more extensive. Graphic recognition is a hot spot in the current research of related technologies. It involves machines extracting key information from pictures and combining it with natural language processing for in-depth understanding. Existing methods still have obvious deficiencies in fine-grained recognition and deep understanding of contextual context. Addressing these issues to achieve high-quality image-text recognition is crucial for various application scenarios, such as accessibility technologies, content creation, and virtual assistants. To tackle this challenge, a novel approach is proposed that combines the Mask R-CNN, DCGAN, and ALBERT models. Specifically, the Mask R-CNN specializes in high-precision image recognition and segmentation, the DCGAN captures and generates nuanced features from images, and the ALBERT model is responsible for deep natural language processing and semantic understanding of this visual information. Experimental results clearly validate the superiority of this method. Compared to traditional image-text recognition techniques, the recognition accuracy is improved from 85.3% to 92.5%, and performance in contextual and situational understanding is enhanced. The advancement of this technology has far-reaching implications for research in machine vision and natural language processing and open new possibilities for practical applications.

Inclusion of Namibian rural communities in green energy access and use: Requirements elicitation or community-based-co-design?

ABSTRACT Energy exclusion is prevalent throughout Africa, leading to a myriad of energy access projects, technologies, interventions and approaches being explored to address a phenomenon affecting over half the continent's predominantly rural population. This is exhibited in a recent EU-funded energy access project involving partners, researchers and communities working across many African countries employing various approaches. In this paper, we unfold the employment of two divergent approaches, requirements elicitation and community-based co-design, in an attempt to determine and advance green energy inclusion and innovative use in a low-income, off-grid rural Namibian community. Thereafter, we reflect on the use of each approach, highlighting the need for an elevated and provocative approach that enables innovative and unorthodox energy inclusion permitting energy access and productive use in rural African communities.

Secure access technology for industrial internet of things

Secure access technology for industrial internet of things

Ergodic Rate Analysis of Simultaneous Transmitting and Reflecting Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface-Assisted Rate-Splitting Multiple Access Systems Based on Discrete Phase Shifts.

In this paper, we combine simultaneous transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable intelligent surface (STAR-RIS) with rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) technology and investigate the ergodic rate performance of an STAR-assisted RSMA system. Considering the discrete phase shifts of the STAR-RIS in practice, the downlink performance of STAR-RIS-assisted RSMA with discrete phase shifts is compared to that with continuous phase shifts. Firstly, the cumulative distribution function of signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of users is analyzed. Then, the total ergodic rate of the system and its approximate closed-form solution are, respectively, derived based on the cumulative distribution function of users. The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis, showing good agreement between the derived theoretical ergodic rate and the corresponding simulations. Although the system performance with discrete phase shifts is inferior to that with continuous phase shifts due to quantization errors, the performance of the continuous phase shift system is well approximated when the quantization bit of the phase shift system reaches 3 in the simulations. Additionally, the impact of the number of STAR-RIS elements on the system's performance is analyzed.

Integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks via IAB technology: System-level design and evaluation

As the telecommunications industry embarks on the transition to Sixth-Generation (6G) networks, this paper examines the integration of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), and in particular satellite backhauling, in the context of Fifth-Generation (5G) systems. The Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) technology, conceived as a wireless terrestrial backhauling system in the Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN), has been identified as a possible enabler for the integration of satellite nodes. Despite the work already done in this direction, the combination of IAB architectures with satellite nodes operating in both the access and backhaul side requires further evaluations on feasibility and limitations for networks integrating Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites. To this end, this work contributes providing insights on background technologies, as well as a detailed analysis of the issues and challenges arising from such integration and a definition of use cases to support narrow-band and broadband services. Furthermore, the design and implementation of a simulation tool is proposed for a performance evaluation in terms of registration time, link capacity, single-hop and end-to-end delay. Results show that the integration turns out to be feasible, even if with strong constraints coming from the satellite system rather than the IAB usage itself. Indeed, the earth-satellite link in LEO systems has a significant impact on the packet delivery time due to the discontinuous coverage. In case of GEO satellite instead, a non-terrestrial backhaul link could limit the performance of the whole system, especially at lower elevation angles.

Exploring Blind and Low-Vision Youth’s Digital Access Needs in School: Towards Accessible Instructional Technologies

Blind and low-vision (BLV) youth have been excluded from technology-mediated learning in school for two decades due to the systemic inaccessibility of K-12 instructional technologies. Accessibility guidelines that address BLV youth’s needs would help schools address this systemic inequity. But such guidelines do not yet exist nor does the robust knowledgebase required to write them. Herein, I report three key findings from a mixed methods user study of BLV youth’s lived experiences learning with access technologies (AT) and instructional technologies in U.S. schools. First, these youth participants are using a broader range of AT than youth in previous studies. Second, the youth in this study frequently developed their AT literacy outside of school and most did not begin developing AT literacy in earnest until they were teens. Third, the youth defined accessible instructional technologies as those that are (1) easy to learn to use and (2) easy to use to learn and they used an inquiry process to evaluate accessibility. Building on the findings, I offer six preliminary design guidelines for accessible instructional technologies. Finally, I urge other scholars to study BLV youth’s digital access needs so that standards setting bodies eventually have sufficient data to write youth accessibility guidelines.

Synergizing intelligent signal processing with wavelength-division multiplexing for enhanced efficiency and speed in photonic network communications

Abstract The explosive growth of worldwide mobile data traffic seeks innovations in communication technology to cater to the mounting need for rapid connectivity, high-capacity connections. The mainstreaming of 5G technologies for communication is a dramatic step towards meeting the aforementioned goals, with the ability for reshaping IoT (Internet of things), D2D (device-to-Device) communications, and the smart grids. This work conveys an in-depth study of the fundamental innovations that underlie 5G, including full-duplex distribution, huge multiple-input-multiple-output, ultra-dense connections, the phenomenon of beamforming and millimeter-wave approaches. A special emphasis is focused on the integration of photonic technologies, or microwave photonics, which serves as a critical multidisciplinary study topic. Optical fibers, with their tremendous bandwidth and capacity, have been determined as the best medium for backhaul and fronthaul amenities, outpacing conventional copper cables to accommodate tiny cells and next-generation networks. The synergy between optical and wireless access technologies is analyzed with the emphasis on the central role of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) for improving network efficiency and speed. The investigation additionally explores the possibility of intelligent signal processing methods combined with WDM to optimize photonic network communications. The mingling of these technologies anticipates producing unrivaled levels of performance, rupturing the path for an additional intelligent, interconnected era.