Ubiquitous Network Society Research Articles

ICT: Providing Sustainable Economic and Social Development in a Ubiquitous Network Society

The development of the traditional infrastructure of any country would facilitate and enhance information society. However, inadequate infrastructural development, poor economic and social access, slow adoption of new technology and limited technical know-how are some dilemma plaguing ICT application and implementation in the Nigeria context. This paper therefore, is poised toward addressing these issues and proffering recommendations with the aim of supporting government efforts, increasing the efficiency of social service delivery and raising economic efficiency and cost reduction in ICT related mechanism. It is hoped that ICT applications and usage would lead to systemic growth, economic development, and the provision of socio-economic sustainability in Nigeria.

Challenges and Possibilities for the Household Medicine Lease (HML) System Viewed in light of CRM — HML-based Everyday Self-medication in Ubiquitous Network Society

Challenges and Possibilities for the Household Medicine Lease (HML) System Viewed in light of CRM — HML-based Everyday Self-medication in Ubiquitous Network Society

Putting authentication in the palm of your hand

In a ubiquitous network society, individuals can easily access their information anytime and anywhere. The problem – and risk – is that others can also easily access the same information anytime, anywhere. For this reason personal identification technology, which can distinguish between registered legitimate users and imposters, has been generating increasing levels of interest.

モバイル通信による情報サービス : ユビキタスネットワーク社会におけるリモートアクセスの多様化( モバイル)

モバイル通信による情報サービス : ユビキタスネットワーク社会におけるリモートアクセスの多様化( モバイル)

Identification of Human using Palm-Vein Images: A new trend in biometrics

In the ubiquitous network society people faced with the risk that others can easily access their information anytime and anywhere. Because of this risk, personal identification technology, which can distinguish between registered legitimate users and imposters, is now generating interest Traditional personal verification methods rely heavily on the use of passwords, personal identification numbers (PINs), magnetic cards, keys, smart cards, etc. No matter which method is employed, each of these offers only limited security. To solve these problems, biometric authentication technology, which identifies people by their unique biological information, is attracting attention

User tailored cloud-learning system using SNS and learning resources

Computing technology has improved recently in various ways, and computing services are expected to be a promising medium for use of information and computing resources in our emerging ubiquitous network society and cloud computing environments. Learning system is necessary to make the learning process more efficient for users. Ubiquitous based learning (U-learning) is a state-of-the-art mechanism in the education area, applying many types of multimedia resources and network technology today. However, U-learning is not enough to provide information and learning course process to users about sharing the learning resources and collaborating between user and teacher. In this paper, we propose a learning system in cloud computing environment that allows sharing the learning multimedia resources with users and collaboration on discussion processes about learning contents using SNS. It also provides user oriented learning processes through each learning unit.

A human-centric framework for context-aware flowable services in cloud computing environments

Services are expected to be a promising way for people to use information and computing resources in our emerging ubiquitous network society and cloud computing environments. In this study, we propose a metaphoric concept called a flowable service. It is defined as a logical stream that organizes and provides circumjacent services in such a way that they are perceived by individuals to be naturally embedded in their surrounding environments. We present our view on how some of these problems, such as the flexibility, portability and interoperability of services, can be solved using flowable services in order to provide a seamless integration of diverse services in the most intuitive “flowable” way possible, thus achieving maximum satisfaction for both service providers and consumers while decreasing the delivery cost of the services. Recognizing the importance of the awareness of each individual’s context for a smooth and accurate provision of services, we further propose a human-centric framework for context-aware flowable services, which harnesses the users’ contexts to enable a pro-active support of human activities in a flexible and natural way. Owing to context-awareness, this framework can find and integrate circumjacent services that are considered needed by each individual and can create an ambient service environment that is tailored to his/her specific needs, proclivities and characteristics.

How far can child surveillance go?: Assessing the parental perceptions of an RFID child monitoring system in Japan

There have recently been increasing numbers of studies on ubiquitous computing to build pervasive communication infrastructures. In Japan, a national strategy to become a ubiquitous network society in which anyone can easily access and use a network any time, anywhere and from any appliance, has been promoted for the sake of social security. A child monitoring system using radio frequency identification (RFID) is one example of a security system accepted by Japanese parents since 2004; the system informs parents of the exact time their child enters and leaves the school gate. Along with the technical development of RFID, the government and ubiquitous computing industries are suggesting various advanced monitoring systems to promote a ubiquitous network society. However, tagging people with an RFID always raises the controversy about the trade-off between security and privacy. In this article, by investigating parental perceptions of advanced child monitoring systems as an example, we aim to suggest an appropriate way to introduce ubiquitous security systems to the public. The findings indicate not only the need to consider the technical and regulatory frameworks, but also that relationships with actual users are essential for building ubiquitous security systems.

Ubiquitous Services: Enhancing Cyber-Physical Coupling with Smart Enablers

Ubiquitous computing and communication are the key technology for achieving economic growth, sustainable development, safe and secure community towards a ubiquitous network society. Although the technology alone cannot solve the emerging problems, it is important to deploy services everywhere and reach real people with sensor enabled smart phones or devices. Using these devices and wireless sensor networks, we have been creating various types of ubiquitous services which support our everyday life. In this paper, we describe ubiquitous services based on a HOT-SPA model and discuss challenges in creating new ubiquitous services with smart enablers such as smart phones, wireless sensor nodes, social media, and cloud services. We first classify various types of ubiquitous service and introduce the HOT-SPA model which is aimed at modeling ubiquitous services. Several ubiquitous services, such as DIY smart object services, Twitthings, Airy Notes, and SensingCloud, are described. We then address the challenges in creating advanced ubiquitous services by enhancing coupling between a cyber and a physical space.

Challenges and Possibilities for the Household Medicine Lease System Viewed in Light of CRM —HML-Based Everyday Self-Medication in Ubiquitous Network Society

Challenges and Possibilities for the Household Medicine Lease System Viewed in Light of CRM —HML-Based Everyday Self-Medication in Ubiquitous Network Society

Design, fabrication and characterization of a Schottky diode on an AlGaAs/GaAs HEMT structure for on-chip RF power detection

A Schottky diode was designed and fabricated on an n-AlGaAs/GaAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure for RF power detection. The processing steps used in the fabrication were the conventional steps used in standard GaAs processing. Current–voltage measurements showed that the devices had rectifying properties with a barrier height of 0.5289–0.5468 eV. The fabricated Schottky diodes detected RF signals well and their cut-off frequencies up to 20 GHz were estimated in direct injection experiments. To achieve a high cut-off frequency, a smaller Schottky contact area is required. The feasibility of direct integration with the planar dipole antenna via a coplanar waveguide transmission line without insertion of matching circuits was discussed. A higher cut-off frequency can also be achieved by reducing the length of the coplanar waveguide transmission line. These preliminary results represent a breakthrough as regards direct on-chip integration technology, towards the realization of a ubiquitous network society.

Surveillance and Privacy in the Ubiquitous Network Society

Developments in IT will bring us closer to a ‘Ubiquitous Network Society’. Ubiquitous networking will become a part of our physical world, linking locations, objects and people. This new technological reality will fundamentally alter our notions of privacy, autonomy and public domain. In this article Bart Schermer describes how developments in IT will enable new surveillance applications; what possible risks these new surveillance applications entail; how the notion of privacy will be influenced by these technologies; and how we can protect ourselves in the future. The author argues that the transformation of the public domain as a result of surveillance will ultimately render the idea of privacy as a ‘physical reality’ obsolete. Therefore, we need new mechanisms that help ensure privacy and personal autonomy. In these mechanisms notions of trust and transparency should feature more prominently than they do now.

A Study on Ultra Low-Latency Mobile Networks

Traffic demand for real-time services as well as non real-time services has recently been increasing, due to the rapid improvement in transmission bit-rate within communication networks. In the future ubiquitous network society, in addition to traffic demand for user-to-user real-time communications services, traffic of real-time applications is set to explode due to new communications traffic for machine-to-machine communications. This paper proposes "ultra low-latency mobile networks," where the target value for unidirectional end-to-end latency per IP packet is 10 ms, in order to establish a new communications infrastructure capable of providing next-generation real-time services. This paper introduces a model of such ultra low-latency mobile networks and the results of a feasibility study are also presented. The simulation study shows the potential to realize a mobile network with ultra low-latency of less than 10 ms for IP packets and a low IP packet error rate of < 0.1% through simulations. A test-bed developed to measure actual latency is also introduced in this paper as well as measurement results using this test-bed. The measurement results also confirm the possibility indicated by the simulation studies.

Impacts of ubiquitous technology advances on energy consumption in Japan

AbstractWe created a mathematical model of the Japanese economy using a macro‐economic modeling framework called a computable general equilibrium model. We used the model to estimate the impacts of the ubiquitous network technology advances on CO2 emissions in Japan. Four scenarios of the ubiquitous network society in Japan in 2010 were selected. The four scenarios correspond to four different levels of ubiquitous society advancement. In each scenario, we estimated electricity consumption by electronics products, the effects of ubiquitous network application systems on improving energy efficiency, and the industrial structural changes induced by the expansion of the ubiquitous network application services market. Our results indicate that advanced ubiquitous technologies would potentially reduce the CO2 emissions of the Japanese economy by 2.8%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 161(3): 22–30, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20419

Recent Progress and Surface-Related Key Issues in III-V Semiconductor Nanoelectronics

Recent trends toward a “ubiquitous network society” have opened up new horizons for III-V nanoelectronics based on nanostructures which will have much wider application areas than they do today. In this paper, recent progresses and issues of III-V nanoelectronics are reviewed, focusing on achievements by the author’s group. As for nanostructure fabrication, a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches, instead of the traditional top-down approach applied to multi-layer epitaxial wafers is required to form high-density nanostructure networks. As such, a selective molecular beam epitaxy growth of nanowire networks is presented and discussed. Large-scale integration of quantum nanodevices requires a new combination of system architecture and hardware architecture, such as the hexagonal (BDD) quantum logic circuit approach. The remaining key issue is the removal of surface states and Fermi level pinning from surfaces of nanostructures. Use of a silicon interface control layer (Si ICL) is shown to be promising for this purpose.

TOWARD ULTRA-LOW POWER III-V QUANTUM LARGE SCALE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS FOR UBIQUITOUS NETWORK ERA

In an attempt to realize tiny "knowledge vehicles" called intelligent quantum (IQ) chips for use in the coming ubiquitous network society, this paper presents the present status and future prospects of ultra-small-size and ultra-low-power III-V quantum logic large scale integrated circuits based on a novel hexagonal binary-decision diagram (BDD) quantum circuit architecture. Here, quantum transport in path switching node devices formed on III-V semiconductor-based hexagonal nanowire networks is controlled by nanometer scale Schottky wrap gates (WPGs) to realize arbitrary combinational logic function. Feasibility of the approach is shown through fabrication of basic node devices and various small-scale circuits, and approaches for higher density integration and larger scale circuits are discussed.

Land of the rising nodes [ad hoc networking

Government, industry and academia are joining their research efforts to make Japan a force to be reckoned with in ad hoc wireless networking. In January 2001, in an attempt to become the world&apos;s most advanced IT nation by 2005, the government of Japan compiled the e-Japan strategy. A new document, the u-Japan initiative, followed in June 2004, with a stated goal of creating a ubiquitous network society in which anyone, anything, anywhere and at any time should be able to connect easily to networks by 2010. Comprehensive policy packages to promote research and business relating to both the e &amp; u strategies are currently in progress. This decisive move towards a ubiquitously connected society has triggered a great deal of interest in ad hoc wireless networking. The article describes the projects on which Japan&apos;s industry, academia and government have been concentrating their research efforts.