Smart Scenario Research Articles

Methodological Approach to the Reengineering of Logistics Business Processes in the Transport Chains with the Implementation of Smart Contracts

The article analysis the methodological justification of the digital transformation of logistics processes in transport chains formed by transport and logistics companies at the national and transnational levels, which own their own infrastructure, when switching to the technology of smart contracts. The research methodology is based on the provisions of the theory of logistics and supply chain management, the theory of process management and the design and technological concept of organizational culture formation. Based on the results of the established principles of transition to smart contract technology, digital transformation of processes, a logical and time structure of the methodology of engineering/reengineering of logistics business processes in transport chains was formed during the transition to smart contract technology, which provides the most complete coverage of methodological problems solved in the process of reengineering, their logical focus, as well as correlation with the time frame. The study presents a methodological tool and results of semantic modeling of logistics processes in transport chains that form the necessary basis for further algorithmization of procedures for fulfilling the contractual conditions of a smart contract. Based on the systematization of approaches to establishing the essential characteristics of smart contracts, their models are established, as well as the necessary conditions for the successful implementation of various smart contract models and possible transition scenarios are identified. The materials of the article are largely the result of close interaction with JSC “Russian Railways” in the course of preparing a methodological justification for the transition to the technology of smart contracts in transport chains, the logical processes in which are implemented using the railway infrastructure of JSC “Russian Railways”.

Domesticating the “Smarter Than You” Home. Gendered Agency Scripts Embedded in Smart Home Discourses

Smart home networked systems promise a mode of comfort, efficiency and convenience that infers the easing of housekeeping chores. They impact on the moral economy of the home in ways we barely understand. Drawing on feminist technology studies and domestication theory, this article investigates how gendered relations are assigned and legitimated in smart home marketing reports and advertisements to enquire whether men and women are invited to participate equally or unequally in smart home technology. This raises questions about how promotional texts might influence and circumscribe domestic adoption. An interpretive content analysis of marketing reports and advertisements explains the pedagogic role of smart scenarios in coaxing and coaching householders to domesticate IoT-operated technology. The concept of “agency script” is employed to explain how smart actions are conveyed and assigned by promotional texts to activate smart home adoption. This enables an enquiry into the values and ideals conveyed in smart home discourses at the commodification stage of domestication and their implications for later stages. We might assume that smart technology democratises the home by fostering gender equality in the organisation of homemaking routines. But a critical study of the narrativization and assignment of smart home agency reveals significant gender disparities.

Towards the development of a smart district: The application of an holistic planning approach

The most important challenge for planners and administrations is to identify optimal strategies for improving city life from a global point of view. Urban Planning models should therefore provide solutions in a coordinated and holistic way and should be flexible and adapted to different contexts and territorial levels. Currently, a global approach to the development of Smart Cities is still missing. In this paper the authors developed a planning methodology based on the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the reciprocal impacts among Smart strategies applied at the district level. The aim is to assess if and to what extent these actions would influence the performance of the district from a global perspective (Economy, Energy, Mobility, Community, Environment) compared to the base case scenario. The methodology has been applied to a sustainable district ideally located in the suburb of Rome and seven Smart scenarios have been modeled and simulated (with Matlab® - Simulink). Absolute results show the differences among the seven scenarios; the application of the normalized and a-dimensional Smart Performance indicators allowed also to identify the best scenario from a holistic perspective.

Risk-based scheduling of smart apartment building under market price uncertainty using robust optimization approach

Nowadays market price uncertainty is one of the important challenging issues in the optimal scheduling of smart apartment building (SAB). So, in this paper, a robust optimization approach (ROA) is proposed for robust scheduling of SAB in the presence of price uncertainty. For modeling the market price uncertainty, upper and lower limits of the market price are considered instead of the forecasted market prices. The proposed sample system includes a SAB that contains ten smart homes (SHs) with different living habits and equipped with different equipment, i.e. combined heat and power (CHP), boiler, battery storage system (BSS), thermal storage system (TSS) and smart appliances. To assess the effectiveness of a home energy management system (HEMS) on the performance of the proposed problem, two different controlling scenarios are studied, namely normal and smart scenarios. It should be mentioned that the proposed model is formulated as mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) which guarantees global optimal solution and carried out with general algebraic modeling system (GAMS) software.

EHAPAC: A Privacy-Supported Access Control Model for IP-Enabled Wireless Sensor Networks.

The implementation of IP technology in wireless sensor networks has promoted the development of many smart scenarios. To enhance secure access in IP-enabled wireless sensor networks, access control to sensor nodes is a necessary process. However, access control currently faces two challenges, feasibility and preservation of user access privacy. In this paper, we propose eHAPAC, a novel privacy-preserving access control model for IP-enabled wireless sensor networks. The contributions of our paper include three parts. First, this paper integrates the Hidra access control protocol and APAC privacy-preserving model, addressing the issue of privacy-preserving access control in resource-constrained devices. Second, this paper proposes an enhanced Hidra protocol to implement the unlinkability of protocol message exchanges. Third, to solve the problem of third party credibility, this paper improves the group signature-based APAC model and utilizes blockchain technology to manage the storage and publication of public group signature keys. Security analysis and performance evaluation prove that our protocol is secure and effective.

Leveraging MIMO-OFDM radio signals for device-free occupancy inference: system design and experiments

In device-free radio frequency (RF) body occupancy inference systems, RF signals encode information (e.g., body location, posture, activity) about moving targets (not instrumented) that alter the radio propagation in the surroundings of the RF link(s). Such systems are now getting more attention as they enable flexible location-based services for new smart scenarios (e.g., smart spaces, safety and security, assisted living) just using off-the-shelf wireless devices. The goal of this paper is to set the fundamental signal processing methods and tools for performance evaluation of passive occupancy inference problems that leverage on the analysis of physical layer (PHY) channel state information (CSI) obtained from multiple antennas (spatial domain) and carriers (frequency domain) jointly. To this aim, we consider here a multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) radio interface adopted in high-throughput WiFi networks such as IEEE 802.11n,ac. The proposed approach investigates at first relevant CSI features that are more sensitive to body presence; next, it proposes a space-frequency selection method based on principal component analysis (PCA). Considering an experimental case study with WiFi links, we show that the joint space- and frequency-domain processing of the radio signal quality indicators enable both detection and localization of two independent targets (i.e., human bodies) arbitrarily moving in the surroundings of the transmitter/receiver locations. Experiments are conducted using off-the-shelf WiFi devices configured to extract and process CSI over standard PHY preambles: performance analysis sets the best practices for system design and evaluation.

A new approach to retailing for successful competition in the new smart scenario

PurposeThis study develops the idea of smart retailing, exemplified in innovative, technology-enriched retail services as part of service-oriented strategies. In particular, the purpose of this paper is to provide a new integrated framework to understand the emerging retail scenario based on the smart usage of technologies to improve retail service and develop innovation management strategies. This framework will provide a comprehensive understanding the basic forms of smart retailing as the current competitive scenario.Design/methodology/approachAs a viewpoint, this paper employs an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon the actual challenges in retailing, to propose a new perspective, the smart retailing one, to describe the new competitive scenario and formulates an emerging research agenda.FindingsThe present paper contributes to research on innovation and technology management for retailing by examining the key dimensions of smart retailing, which aims to enhancing retail service quality and retailers’ performance.Originality/valueThe paper clearly explains how current retailing is moving to a smart perspective, and how retail management should be adapted to successfully perform in the current service-dominant logic scenario, as consequence of the increasing consumer involvement in service co-production and the rapid growth of digital technologies.

Feasibility Assessment of a Fine-Grained Access Control Model on Resource Constrained Sensors.

Upcoming smart scenarios enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) envision smart objects that provide services that can adapt to user behavior or be managed to achieve greater productivity. In such environments, smart things are inexpensive and, therefore, constrained devices. However, they are also critical components because of the importance of the information that they provide. Given this, strong security is a requirement, but not all security mechanisms in general and access control models in particular are feasible. In this paper, we present the feasibility assessment of an access control model that utilizes a hybrid architecture and a policy language that provides dynamic fine-grained policy enforcement in the sensors, which requires an efficient message exchange protocol called Hidra. This experimental performance assessment includes a prototype implementation, a performance evaluation model, the measurements and related discussions, which demonstrate the feasibility and adequacy of the analyzed access control model.

Expressive Policy-Based Access Control for Resource-Constrained Devices

Upcoming smart scenarios enabled by the Internet of Things envision smart objects that expose services that can adapt to user behavior or be managed with the goal of achieving higher productivity, often in multi-stakeholder applications. In such environments, smart things are cheap sensors (and actuators) and, therefore, constrained devices. However, they are also critical components because of the importance of the provided information. Therefore, strong security is a must. Nevertheless, existing feasible approaches do not cope well with the principle of least privilege; they lack both expressiveness and the ability to update the policy to be enforced in the sensors. In this paper, we propose an access control model that comprises a policy language that provides dynamic fine-grained policy enforcement in the sensors based on local context conditions. This dynamic policy cycle requires a secure, efficient, and traceable message exchange protocol. For that purpose, a security protocol called Hidra is also proposed. A security and performance evaluation demonstrates the feasibility and adequacy of the proposed protocol and access control model.

Robust thermal and electrical management of smart home using information gap decision theory

After restructuring in the electricity industry, some concepts such as smart home and renewable energy sources improved extensively. This paper proposes information gap decision theory (IGDT) technique for robust energy management of smart home in summer season in the presence of market price fluctuation. Therefore, the proposed model is practical in a realistic model. The IGDT method contains the robustness and opportunity functions. The harmful aspect of price uncertainty is modeled by robustness function and the beneficial aspect of price uncertainty is modeled by opportunity function. The proposed IGDT-based performance optimization problem of low-energy smart home is formulated as mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) and solved by General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) optimization software. Two scenarios as normal and smart scenarios are used to investigate the proposed model.

3LConOnt: a three-level ontology for context modelling in context-aware computing

Context-aware computing is the ability of Services and applications to adapt and react to context changes. Context modelling is a core feature of context-aware computing. Although a lot of research has been made in the field of context modelling, most of the context-aware computing proposals prefer to design their own customized context model instead of reusing an existing one. The main reason for this behaviour is that current context models present some problems concerning reusability, extensibility and adaptation. To contribute solving these issues, in this paper we present 3LConOnt, a three-level context ontology that can be easily reused, extended and adapted for specific or generic purposes. The proposed context model consolidates the context knowledge already available from a modular perspective yielding a clear schema of knowledge reutilization. To do so, we gathered context knowledge pieces from different ontologies to be integrated into standardized and well-defined levels of abstraction and modules. The proposal has been validated considering: (1) reusability, extensibility and adaptation by instantiating different smart scenarios; (2) consistency and reasoning by triggering queries to the proposed model based on some competence questions; and (3) reusability in existing ontologies by importing the needed module or level of the model. Additionally, we also illustrate its usability in context-aware Services by modelling a context-aware framework architecture for supporting the whole context life cycle: acquisition, modelling, reasoning and distribution.

Foggy clouds and cloudy fogs: a real need for coordinated management of fog-to-cloud computing systems

The recent advances in cloud services technology are fueling a plethora of information technology innovation, including networking, storage, and computing. Today, various flavors have evolved of IoT, cloud computing, and so-called fog computing, a concept referring to capabilities of edge devices and users’ clients to compute, store, and exchange data among each other and with the cloud. Although the rapid pace of this evolution was not easily foreseeable, today each piece of it facilitates and enables the deployment of what we commonly refer to as a smart scenario, including smart cities, smart transportation, and smart homes. As most current cloud, fog, and network services run simultaneously in each scenario, we observe that we are at the dawn of what may be the next big step in the cloud computing and networking evolution, whereby services might be executed at the network edge, both in parallel and in a coordinated fashion, as well as supported by the unstoppable technology evolution. As edge devices become richer in functionality and smarter, embedding capacities such as storage or processing, as well as new functionalities, such as decision making, data collection, forwarding, and sharing, a real need is emerging for coordinated management of fog-to-cloud (F2C) computing systems. This article introduces a layered F2C architecture, its benefits and strengths, as well as the arising open and research challenges, making the case for the real need for their coordinated management. Our architecture, the illustrative use case presented, and a comparative performance analysis, albeit conceptual, all clearly show the way forward toward a new IoT scenario with a set of existing and unforeseen services provided on highly distributed and dynamic compute, storage, and networking resources, bringing together heterogeneous and commodity edge devices, emerging fogs, as well as conventional clouds. Introduction: The Scenario

A Proof-of-Concept for Semantically Interoperable Federation of IoT Experimentation Facilities.

The Internet-of-Things (IoT) is unanimously identified as one of the main pillars of future smart scenarios. The potential of IoT technologies and deployments has been already demonstrated in a number of different application areas, including transport, energy, safety and healthcare. However, despite the growing number of IoT deployments, the majority of IoT applications tend to be self-contained, thereby forming application silos. A lightweight data centric integration and combination of these silos presents several challenges that still need to be addressed. Indeed, the ability to combine and synthesize data streams and services from diverse IoT platforms and testbeds, holds the promise to increase the potentiality of smart applications in terms of size, scope and targeted business context. In this article, a proof-of-concept implementation that federates two different IoT experimentation facilities by means of semantic-based technologies will be described. The specification and design of the implemented system and information models will be described together with the practical details of the developments carried out and its integration with the existing IoT platforms supporting the aforementioned testbeds. Overall, the system described in this paper demonstrates that it is possible to open new horizons in the development of IoT applications and experiments at a global scale, that transcend the (silo) boundaries of individual deployments, based on the semantic interconnection and interoperability of diverse IoT platforms and testbeds.

DPHK: real-time distributed predicted data collecting based on activity pattern knowledge mined from trajectories in smart environments

In this paper, we have proposed and designed DPHK (data prediction based on HMM according to activity pattern knowledge mined from trajectories), a real-time distributed predicted data collection system to solve the congestion and data loss caused by too many connections to sink node in indoor smart environment scenarios (like Smart Home, Smart Wireless Healthcare and so on). DPHK predicts and sends predicted data at one time instead of sending the triggered data of these sensor nodes which people is going to pass in several times. Firstly, our system learns the knowledge of transition probability among sensor nodes from the historical binary motion data through data mining. Secondly, it stores the corresponding knowledge in each sensor node based on a special storage mechanism. Thirdly, each sensor node applies HMM (hidden Markov model) algorithm to predict the sensor node locations people will arrive at according to the receivedmessage. At last, these sensor nodes send their triggered data and the predicted data to the sink node. The significances of DPHK are as follows: (a) the procedure of DPHK is distributed; (b) it effectively reduces the connection between sensor nodes and sink node. The time complexities of the proposed algorithms are analyzed and the performance is evaluated by some designed experiments in a smart environment.

Prokiwii: A Projected Portable Interface for Enriching Object Scenarios with Kinect and Wii Remote

In this paper we present an intuitive interaction technique for everyday objects. We propose a system that allows the user to interact with everyday objects, and use them to make smart scenarios. We enrich the objects with a portable projected interface that is supported by 3D accelerometer in order to build novel user object interaction scenarios. Moreover, we present double crossing as an interaction technique for manipulating finger interface. We conducted experiment to test the applicability of the proposed system with different applications. Our results showed that the proposed system has a lot of potentials to enrich different domains of applications like object data storage, education Montessori cubes and smart shopping goods.

Simulation and analysis of node throughput using smart antenna in wireless mesh networks

Smart antenna technology is introduced to wireless mesh networks. Smart antennas based wider-range access medium access control (MAC) protocol (SWAMP) is used as MAC protocol for IEEE 802.11 mesh networks in this study. The calculation method of node throughput in chain and arbitrary topology is proposed under nodes fairness guarantee. Network scale and interference among nodes are key factors that influence node throughput. Node distribution pattern near the gateway also affects the node throughput. Experiment based on network simulator-2 (NS-2) simulation platform compares node throughput between smart antenna scenario and omni-antenna scenario. As smart antenna technology reduces the bottle collision domain, node throughput increases observably.

Pathfinding by the trunk neural crest: the smart cell scenario.

Pathfinding by the trunk neural crest: the smart cell scenario.