Telemetry Tools Research Articles

Mitigating Alert Fatigue in Cloud Monitoring Systems: A Machine Learning Perspective

Next generation networks will be largely based on monitoring and telemetry tools that are essential for maintaining optimal performance, ensuring security, managing costs, and performing fault detection and resolution. An integral part of the overall monitoring strategy is alerting, which provides administrators with the necessary information to proactively or reactively manage and optimize network services. However, when monitoring systems generate an excessive number of alerts, many of which may not be actionable or may not represent critical issues, the phenomenon of alert fatigue occurs. Alert fatigue refers to a situation where the volume and the speed of the continuous influx of alerts becomes so overwhelming that the network administrators become desensitized and do not respond to them. To this end, and inspired by recent trends in network automation, where human intervention tends to be minimized, we introduce an alert fatigue mitigation mechanism in monitoring focusing on cloud computing infrastructures. In particular, a composite machine learning methodology is proposed in order to select which alerts will be hidden and which ones will be presented to the administrators. Additionally, to personalize the results, the proposed approach considers the level of users’ experience along with the alert features to further optimize the accuracy of the alert filtering mechanism. The research has been conducted in a realistic environment of a leading monitoring enterprise, Netdata, which provided two datasets for testing our approach. Furthermore, the attained results of the filtering mechanism were evaluated by expert engineers of the company that verified the output of the proposed framework. Specifically, the outcomes confirm that our proposed methodology mitigates the alert fatigue problem with an accuracy that surpass 90% in most cases.

Automated and repeated aerial observations of GPS‐collared animals using UAVs and open‐source electronics

AbstractTelemetry has enabled ecologists to link animal movement trajectories and environmental features at a fine spatiotemporal resolution; however, the effects of social interactions on individual choice within large mobile groups remain largely unknown. Estimating the effect of social interaction in the wild remains challenging because existing long‐term tracking tools such as GPS collars focus on the movements of a single individual and cannot observe the behavior of other individuals within the group. The progression of socially informed movement models requires measuring simultaneous trajectories of many individuals at once, as well as the instantaneous social cues to which individuals may be responding. The availability of low‐flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and low‐cost open‐source electronics presents a promising opportunity to collect fine‐scale data on social interactions in order to advance our understanding of collective behavior. Here, we present a tracking system that enables the repeated localization and observation of a collared individual and its near neighbors using nadir video footage collected from a commercial UAV. We make use of open‐source electronics combined with the UAV's in‐built functionality that allows it to follow a stream of GPS locations to create an automated system that can follow a specific individual without user control. We demonstrate the tracking systems' performance by studying the group movements of a herd of Exmoor ponies (Equus ferus caballus), and as a proof of concept, we examine the position of the focal individual (collared animal) in relation to the center of the video frame. We also collect information about the focal individual's nearest neighbors. The automated animal observation tool is effective at consistently keeping the focal individual close to the center of the video frame, offering a new dimension to existing remote telemetry tools. For instance, the repeated observation of the same individual in different physiological states, seasons, and demographic groups potentially opens new avenues in collective movement ecology research. By making our design, software, and firmware freely available, we aim to encourage continuous improvements to collective behavior research and to facilitate replicable approaches across other species and ecosystems.

Experimental Diagnostics of the Emotional State of Individuals Using External Stimuli and a Model of Neurocognitive Brain Activity.

In this paper, we study ways and methods to diagnose the emotional state of individuals using external audiovisual stimuli and heart telemetry tools. We apply a mathematical model of neurocognitive brain activity developed specifically for this study to interpret the experimental scheme and its results. This experimental technique is based on monitoring and analyzing the dynamics of heart rate variability (HRV), taking into account the particular context and events occurring around the subject of the study. In addition, we provide a brief description of the theory of information images/representations used for the paradigm and interpretation of the experiment. For this study, we viewed the human mind as a one-dimensional potential hole with finite walls of different sizes and an internal potential barrier modeling the border between consciousness and subconsciousness. We also provided the foundations of the mathematical apparatus for this particular view. This experiment allowed us to identify the characteristic markers of influencing external stimuli, which form a foundation for diagnosing the emotional state of an individual.

HaniMob 2021 Workshop Report: The 1st ACM SIGSPATIAL Workshop on Animal Movement Ecology and Human Mobility

Movement ecology is a relatively new discipline in the field of ecology that studies the spatio-temporal patterns and processes at the basis of animal movement [8]. Ecologists track animal movement using telemetry tools (such as for example bio-logging GPS tags), and then combine resulting trajectories with contextual data on environment, such as those collected through remote sensing. Combined data are then used to build statistical models that describe the determinants of animal movement, such as environmental constraints (e.g. snow layer, habitat fragmentation, human disturbance) or the inner status of individuals (e.g. memory, orientation capacity). Movement is also the focus of a different field of research, i.e. human mobility, which is studied in a set of disciplines, from GIScience, to computer science, physics, geography and transportation science [4]. In analogy with movement ecology, human mobility benefited from the recent development of sensors capable of capturing human movement in real time and at detailed spatial and temporal scales (e.g. GPS trackers).

ON THE QUESTION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES IN AUTOMATED GAS SUPPLY SYSTEMS

The topical issues of development of automated control systems of gas control stations (GCS) and ways of reliable and economical functioning of the gas supply system in modern conditions have been considered in the article. The implementation of European innovative technologies, which are associated with using the modern equipment, telemetry tools to transmit the equipment operation parameters to the dispatcher control panel are the one of the ways to increase the safety and efficiency of GCS performance. The characteristic of the modern complex of telemetry, the raising of efficiency, reliability and safe operation of the gas supply systems due to the possibility of monitoring, technological control and management from the central dispatcher control room are given. The complex of telemetry helps to prevent emergency situations at facilities and to ensure control over unauthorized entry into the GCS premises by unauthorized persons. The article discusses the use of the automated system of operative-dispatching management (ASODM). It is a multi-level automated system that ensures the reliable functioning of the gas supply system at all levels of the hierarchy. It has been shown that the result of the creation of the ASODM are equipping of the control object with microprocessor control and management devices, the integration of various automation tools into a single information management system. It has been proven that the development of ASODM of GCS on the basis of local control and management modules using traditional approaches to creation of automation systems and using the cellular telephone communication as data transmission channels based on GSM-technologies are most rational. The digital control device, which is made on the technological platform of the programmable logic integrated circuit (PLIC), is the main element of the local control and management module. Digital control device (PLIC controller) is a relatively inexpensive and reliable equipment in an automated local GCS control system. The method of data transmission via GSM / GPRS wireless communication channel is considered. The use of GSM-modems and GPRS technology allows to remove restrictions on the distance of data transmission, as well as allows to fully automate the process of transmission and processing of information. The use of GSM / GPRS-technologies in the vehicles of the emergency dispatch service is also shown. The dispatcher can fully monitor the movement of the car with registration on the map of the city where the car is located.

Experimental Assessment of Automatic Optical Metro Edge Computing Network for Beyond 5G Applications and Network Service Composition

The upcoming 5G and beyond 5G heterogeneous applications with different quality of service (QoS) will impose strict latency, bandwidth, and flexibility requirements on optical metro access networks. Conventional cloud computing is gradually unable to fulfill the application requirements, especially on latency due to the distance causing propagation and networking delay. Therefore, the edge computing that distributed in metro access networks is promising to serve the applications with the requirements of ultra-low latency. As the resources of edge computing nodes are restricted and light compared with cloud data centers (DC), it is significant to manage across multiple edge computing nodes to enable joint allocation of the distributed resources. To address this issue, the optical metro network infrastructure should be flexible on the data plane and able to interact with the control and orchestration plane to automatically adapt to the communication requirements of multiple edge computing nodes. Related works have been focused on the simulation and numerical study. In this paper, an experimental testbed of a flexible optical metro access network including hardware and software components is built, and the performance is validated with real server traffic. The presented network system is based on the field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and hardware adapted open source network management and telemetry tools. Different from the commercial electrical switches, FPGA is fully programmable making it able to flexibly forward and monitor the traffic, in the meantime, to dynamically control the optical devices according to the feedback from the control plane. By exploiting dynamic software defined networking (SDN) control and network service orchestration, the proposed network is able to establish capacity adapted network slices for edge computing connections. Successful telemetry-assisted dynamic network service chain (NSC) generation, automatic bandwidth resources assignment, and QoS protection are demonstrated.

Informational and analytical system for monitoring migration of migratory birds in Northern Kazakhstan

Nesting and stopping sites between nesting and wintering periods are of great importance for birds. The disappearance of these places as a result of human activity, the destruction of wetlands for use in agriculture does not allow birds to feed during the flight, which causes the death of birds during migration. The article is devoted to observations of migration of migratory birds of Northern Kazakhstan. The purpose of these observations is to track the population of birds, places of mass accumulation of migratory birds, wintering places. Modern satellite telemetry tools are used to monitor the route of movement and the time of stay of birds in certain local zones. Computer processing of data, stored on the server, allows to map the route, analyze, model and predict the behavior of birds during migration.

Future Directions in Research on Bryde's Whales

One of the lesser known species of baleen whales, the Bryde’s whale, also known as Eden’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni and B. edeni brydei), although hunted as part of a North Pacific Japanese research programme , was not heavily exploited by commercial whaling and remains a data deficient species. Their taxonomic status is not fully resolved and they are often mistaken for other species leading to uncertainty about their true distribution, behavior and conservation status. Some populations are critically endangered, whilst others are small but have high genetic diversity suggesting wider connectivity. The species’ unpredictable coastal and offshore global distribution throughout warm-temperate waters has led to populations with unknown genetic variation, and facing different threats. Few areas are well-studied, but each study reveals often contrasting movement patterns, foraging strategies and vocal repertoires; there are considerable knowledge gaps for Bryde’s whales. There are few Bryde’s populations with abundance estimates but they typically number in the mid- to high-hundreds of individuals, with other populations small, <100 mature individuals, and exposed to high levels of anthropogenic impacts. Future research should focus on understanding the diversity within and between populations. Here, we suggest an integrative, comparative approach towards future work on Bryde’s whales, including acoustic monitoring, trophic interactions, telemetry tools, understanding their novel behaviors, and resolving their species status. This will inform conservation management of this unusual species of whale vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts.

Locomotor activity patterns of muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) assessed using tri-axial acceleration sensing acoustic transmitters

The trade-off between remaining stationary and being active has consequences for the survival and growth of fishes. Recent advancements in telemetry tools have enabled researchers to assess activity patterns of free-swimming fishes using tri-axial acceleration- sensing acoustic transmitters. This study describes the summer activity patterns of muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) in an 8 km reach of the Rideau River, Ontario between 1 June and 20 August 2010. Acceleration measurements indicated that muskellunge tended to remain inactive for much of the time. The effect of time of day (i.e., diel patterns), water temper- ature, and fish size were also examined. Activity was lowest at dawn, increased throughout the day, peaked at dusk,anddeclinedatnight.Activityalsodeclinedabove temperatures of 25 °C and was lower for larger muskel- lunge. A comparison of fish captured with rod and reel versus boat electrofisher failed to reveal a significant difference in behaviour. The results of this study illus- trate the utility of accelerometer transmitters for study- ing the behavioural ecology of free-swimming fishes. The results also confirm that muskellunge are generally sedentary during the summer period, but do exhibit reasonably pronounced diel activity patterns.

Adaptive water distribution networks with dynamically reconfigurable topology

This paper presents a novel concept of adaptive water distribution networks with dynamically reconfigurable topology for optimal pressure control, leakage management and improved system resilience. The implementation of District Meter Areas (DMAs) has greatly assisted water utilities in reducing leakage. DMAs segregate water networks into small areas, the flow in and out of each area is monitored and thresholds are derived from the minimum night flow to trigger the leak localization. A major drawback of the DMA approach is the reduced redundancy in network connectivity which has a severe impact on network resilience, incident management and water quality deterioration. The presented approach for adaptively reconfigurable networks integrates the benefits of DMAs for managing leakage with the advantages of large-scale looped networks for increased redundancy in connectivity, reliability and resilience. Self-powered multi-function network controllers are designed and integrated with novel telemetry tools for high-speed time-synchronized monitoring of the dynamic hydraulic conditions. A computationally efficient and robust optimization method based on sequential convex programming is developed and applied for the dynamic topology reconfiguration and pressure control of water distribution networks. An investigation is carried out using an operational network to evaluate the implementation and benefits of the proposed method.

A confluence of new technology and the right to water: experience and potential from South Africa’s constitution and commons

South Africa's groundbreaking constitution explicitly confers a right of access to sufficient water (section 27). But the country is officially `water-stressed' and around 10 % of the population still has no access to on-site or off-site piped or tap water. It is evident that a disconnect exists between this right and the reality for many; however the reasons for the continuation of such discrepancies are not always clear. While barriers to sufficient water are myriad, one significant factor contributing to insufficient and unpredictable access to water is the high percentage of broken water pumps. Previous studies have reported that between 20 and 50 % of all hand operated water pumps installed on the African continent are broken, or out of use. Monitoring and maintenance of pumps, which in South Africa is the responsibility of local municipalities is often ineffective, in part due to the distances between municipal centres and rural communities and the consequent costs of site visits, as well as breakdowns within the local bureaucratic system. The emergence of new telemetry tools that can remotely monitor water applications constitutes a novel and cost-efficient alternative to undertaking regular sites visits. Sustainable, appropriate, low-cost telemetry systems are emerging that could be used to monitor the operational performance of water pumps, or a wide range of other field parameters, and to communicate this information swiftly and cheaply to water service providers, using SMS messages. Data on the performance of water pumps could also be made available to the public online. This is an example of how ICT can be used for water resources management and environmental regulation, as well as in the governance of socio-economic rights: helping to optimize water allocation by improving communication and strengthening accountability.

The Benefits of Real-Time Downhole Pressure and Tension Data With Wired Composite Tubing

Abstract Continuous composite coiled tubing with embedded electric conductors can provide uninterrupted flow of data from downhole tools. This capability makes monitoring borehole stability throughout the entire drilling process possible, even when conventional mud-pulse telemetry tools are not operating and cannot provide information in real-time. An operator faces many borehole stability problems: stuck pipe, pack-off events, lost circulation, kicks, leak-off tests, and formation integrity tests, all of which can result in periods of non-circulation. However, an operator no longer has to rely solely on surface gauges to provide downhole information to deal with these problems because downhole readings are now available. The benefits of downhole pressure and tension data throughout these problematic and routine activities provide valuable information on events during the most critical operating procedures. Consequently, corrective actions can be taken to prevent or cure borehole stability problems almost as soon as they develop. In addition, downhole data can help reduce drilling time. The borehole is under constant scrutiny. Drilling, tripping, non-circulating, and circulating operations can be optimized while avoiding other potential problems. For example:Swab and surge pressures can be monitored constantly while tripping without circulating;Ledges and tight spots can be identified before they cause severe damage;Time for leak-off tests (LOT) and formation integrity tests (FIT) can be minimized;Early indications of borehole ballooning can be identified before ballooning becomes a major borehole stability issue; and,Hole cleaning intervals can be optimized, reducing drilling time. This paper covers a series of examples where continuous, uninterrupted data transmission was used to anticipate and prevent borehole stability problems and optimize the drilling procedure. Introduction The embedding of copper electrical conductors in Advanced Composite Coil Tubing (ACCT) allows a stream of high speed, high density data to be transmitted in real-time between the downhole components and the surface system. This uninterrupted communication enables the operator to receive all of the data, all of the time, regardless of the operating activities underway. In pipe-conveyed drilling, the real-time application of the "pressure while drilling" (PWD) data has been well documented. It is a very useful tool when used in conjunction with all the other drilling parameters to measure and anticipate drilling problems(1- 3). However, the extent to which mud-pulse telemetry data can be used during all operating activities is limited. The real-time application of PWD data has been hindered because of the constraints placed on the amount of data that can be pulsed to the surface. Ironically, one of the times when PWD data is most useful occurs when it cannot be pulsed up. This could be due to low flow rates or the pumps having to be switched off to avoid damaging the borehole or getting stuck. Surface gauges then have to be relied upon for downhole measurements. With the ability to have "real-time data all the time," pump-off data that could not be seen until the end of the run can now be seen immediately.