Virtual Operating System Research Articles

A co-simulation approach to onboard support of marine operation: a Palfinger crane path planning case

Marine cranes are one of the most important industrial equipment in the maritime field. The base of a marine crane is dynamically moving as the motion of the ship’s six degrees of freedom that is affected by offshore environmental loads. There is a coupling between the crane and the ship, which means the crane operation and the ship motion affect each other. In this paper, co-simulation technology is employed to construct the virtual marine operation system which is composed of diverse Functional Mock-Up Units (FMUs) exported using the Functional Mock-Up Interface (FMI) standard and System Structure and Parameterization (SSP) standard to define the structure and parameters based on the co-simulation platform Vico. A path planning case for the Palfinger crane is implemented using the A* algorithm. The physical three-dimensional working space of the crane is discretized into a finite number of nodes in joint space. The cost is defined by the variable of the ship motion to optimize the marine operation. The obtained discrete nodes are smoothed to get the velocity of the actuators as control signals. Simulation of the crane operation is carried out in the virtual operating system following the planned path.

Integrating Virtual Reality and Robotic Operation System (ROS) for AGV Navigation

The use of AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) is rapidly expanding in various applications and industries, meeting the growing demand for automated material handling systems. However, AGV control and navigation remain a challenge. To address this issue, robotics simulators such as ROS (Robot Operating System) have become widely used, reducing the cost and time of checking robot performance. Furthermore, the integration of virtual reality technology into the robotics field has facilitated the study of various robot behaviors in realistic environments, replicating the robot’s real-life size and dimensions. In this study, the TurtleBot2i and RAZBOT AGV robot platforms were integrated into the 3D Unity environment and controlled using ROS. Using Unity as a simulator for the robot’s working environment offers several benefits, including high-quality graphics and a detailed examination of the robot’s behavior. The results of the study demonstrate the accurate simulation and control of the AGV platforms in both ROS and Unity environments.

Design of a Virtual Multi-Interaction Operation System for Hand–Eye Coordination of Grape Harvesting Robots

In harvesting operations, simulation verification of hand–eye coordination in a virtual canopy is critical for harvesting robot research. More realistic scenarios, vision-based driving motion, and cross-platform interaction information are needed to achieve such simulations, which are very challenging. Current simulations are more focused on path planning operations for consistency scenarios, which are far from satisfying the requirements. To this end, a new approach of visual servo multi-interaction simulation in real scenarios is proposed. In this study, a dual-arm grape harvesting robot in the laboratory is used as an example. To overcome these challenges, a multi-software federation is first proposed to establish their communication and cross-software sending of image information, coordinate information, and control commands. Then, the fruit recognition and positioning algorithm, forward and inverse kinematic model and simulation model are embedded in OpenCV and MATLAB, respectively, to drive the simulation run of the robot in V-REP, thus realizing the multi-interaction simulation of hand–eye coordination in virtual trellis vineyard. Finally, the simulation is verified, and the results show that the average running time of a string-picking simulation system is 6.5 s, and the success rate of accurate picking point grasping reached 83.3%. A complex closed loop of “scene-image recognition-grasping” is formed by data processing and transmission of various information. It can effectively realize the continuous hand–eye coordination multi-interaction simulation of the harvesting robot under the virtual environment.

Robust and lightweight symmetric key exchange algorithm for next-generation IoE

The Internet of Everything (IoE) is a multi-domain environment where millions of people and smart devices are connected and communicate with each other. IoE demands security services in terms of data or entity authentication, data confidentiality, data integrity, data or services availability, and non-repudiation. There are multiple security protocols that work with secret keys to provide security services. The key exchange or key distribution between two parties over the insecure network is the main challenge. Researchers introduced several state-of-the-art symmetric or asymmetric key exchange algorithms such as RSA, ECC, DH, ECDH, and Curve25519. Asymmetric algorithms are considered heavyweight in terms of computation and communication costs while symmetric key exchange algorithms are considered lightweight. Symmetric key exchange algorithms do not provide authentication services. As a result, the algorithms are exposed to a man-in-the-middle attack. In this research paper, we propose a lightweight and robust symmetric key exchange algorithm for smart devices which have short computational processing power. Furthermore, we implement our proposed algorithm on the Linux-based Ubuntu virtual operating systems by using system programming in C/C++. In addition, we prove the robustness of our proposed algorithm with the help of informal and formal security analysis through the AVISPA tool. Finally, we compare our proposed algorithm with existing algorithms in terms of computation cost, communication overhead, and security features. The comparison results with existing state-of-the-art key exchange algorithms show that our proposed key exchange algorithm is more suitable for smart devices.

Design and Evaluation of Visual-and-Force-Assisted Virtual Operation System for Underwater Teleoperation Training

Design and Evaluation of Visual-and-Force-Assisted Virtual Operation System for Underwater Teleoperation Training

Corrigendum: Data and model hybrid-driven virtual reality robot operating system

In the published article, there was an error in the Funding statement. In the original version, no fund was added. The correct Funding statement appears below.FUNDINGThis work was supposed by the National Key Research and Development Program of China under Grant 2020YFB1708503.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.

Application of blockchain technology in virtual power plant considering distributed photovoltaic generation

Since 2014, Shanghai has built the virtual power plant operation system which includes commercial buildings, energy storage system, distributed photovoltaic and any other resources. However, there are also some problems during the construction of virtual power plant. On the one hand, the characteristics of distributed energy resources are different, so it is difficult to achieve optimal scheduling; On the other hand, data trusted sharing and intelligent transaction are imperfect, so it is difficult to realize an efficient transaction mechanism based on user trust. Therefore, it is necessary to use blockchain technology to promote the collaborative interaction ability of "source network load storage" resources and to optimize the intelligent transaction. In order to verify the demand response function of virtual power plant based on blockchain technology, this paper constructs an integrated monitoring platform based on the micro-grid in State Grid Shanghai Electrical Power Research Institude. The platform takes the distributed photovoltaic, charging pile, energy storage, air conditioning and any other adjustable loads as trading users. It can analyze and evaluate the power supply and power demand of micro-grid through way of power forecasting and load forecasting; When there is a major gap between power supply and power demand, the platform will automatically organize the various trading users to participate in the transaction through the smart contract technology of blockchain; Formulate the scheduling of adjustable load according to the transaction results; Write the settlement rules into the smart contract to realize the automation of transaction in virtual power plant. Smart contract can not only improve the credibility of transaction data certificate of virtual power plant, but also simplify the transaction process of massive load resources. In addition, it can reduce the transaction delay and improve the internal management efficiency of virtual power plant. The whole business process is stored on the chain and all data are obtained on the chain to ensure the safety of data during the transaction process. Generally the platform can improve the degree of automation through smart contract and can promote trusted transactions through the whole process data saving in the blockchain. The platform can be applied in other virtual power plants composed by distributed resources. It also can improve the development of new energy industry and the construction of power trading market in Shanghai.

Data and model hybrid-driven virtual reality robot operating system

To realize efficient remote human-computer interaction of robots, a robot remote operating system based on virtual reality and digital twin is proposed. The system builds a digital twin model based on the Unity 3D engine to establish a connection with the robot entity, assisting the online remote programming and real-time manipulation of the robot unit. The system uses HTC VIVE to build a virtual reality framework. To actualize the mutual drive between the real space and the virtual space, a mathematical model of the robot is constructed through the forward and inverse kinematics of the robot. Through the combination of eye-tracking-based eye movement interaction and the unique controller interaction of virtual reality system, a multi-sensory multi-input collaborative interaction method is accomplished. The method realizes the robot joints driving of users using multiple interaction methods simultaneously, simplifies the robot programming and control procedure, and optimizes the operation experience. Tests demonstrate that the system is capable of effectively providing monitoring, teleoperation and programming services for remote interaction of robots.

The Construction of Language Laboratory Based on VOI Technology

VOI (Virtual Operating System Infrastructure), a cloud desktop technology, is popular in educational area recently, especially in colleges, because of its many advantages. It widely used in the laboratory which main equipment are computers, such as computer rooms and language laboratory. Language lab equipped computers acts as an important actor for language teaching in many colleges. Constructing a laboratory with high ratio of quality and value is the focus of many laboratory researchers. The study explores the requirement of teaching and learning for labs, surveys market and several other colleges, and designs how to construct NWAFU language labs based on VOI, compared with other prevalent technologies on market, from requirement, cost, deployment and management aspects. The study provides a reference for other type laboratory’s construction and gives some suggestions to a decision maker.

The Case for a Cost-Effective General-Purpose Computer Cluster for Small Colleges

The computational capabilities of commercial CPUs and GPUs reached a plateau but soft-ware applications are usually memory-intense tasks and they commonly need/utilize most recent hardware developments. Computer clusters are an expensive solution, although reliable and versatile, with a limited market share for small colleges.
 Small schools would typically rely on cloud-based systems because they are more afford-able (less expensive), manageable (no need to worry about the maintenance), and easier to implement (the burden is shifted into the datacenter). Here we provide arguments in favor of an on-campus hardware solution, which, while providing benefits for students, does not present the financial burden associated with larger and more powerful computer clus-ters. We think that instructors of engineering/computer science faculties might find this a viable and workable solution to improve the computing environment of their school without incurring the high cost of a ready-made solution. 
 At the basis of this proposal is the acquisition of inexpensive refurbished hardware and of a type1 VMware hypervisor with a free licensing, as well as of a custom-made web plat-form to control the deployed hypervisors. VMware is a global leader in cloud infrastruc-ture and software-based solutions. In particular, the adoption of a customized "Elastic Sky X integrated" as hypervisor together with Virtual Operating Systems installed in the very same datastore, would constitute an interesting and working proof-of-concept achieving a computer cluster at a fraction of the market cost.

Performance evaluation of windows virtual machines on a Linux host

Virtualization has experienced a dramatic expansion recently and today is ubiquitous in modern IT industry since it provides numerous benefits to companies and individual users. It increases efficiency, flexibility and scalability of IT equipment by enabling different software-based environments on a single physical hardware. Each virtual machine is a separate instance that is completely independent and separated from the computer hardware and it runs on emulated hardware. Emulated hardware is managed by virtualization tool that provides lower resources when compared to physical hardware. This paper presents a performance evaluation of three different virtual machines run by three recent versions of Windows operating system, namely Windows 7TM Professional, Windows 8.1TM Professional and Windows 10TM Professional, on a host computer system run by Linux Ubuntu. Performance measurement results show that Window 7 is the most suitable virtual operating system since it obtains the best performance when run on a Linux host.

Analysis of Server Virtualization Service Performance Using Citrix Xenserver

Virtualization technology is a technology that allows making things into a virtual form. Server virtualization itself is a software technology that can enable physical servers to run many operating systems on a physical server. In this study, the service performance testing of Citrix Xenserver was conducted to determine the service performance of this server virtualization. The research method in this study used action research by testing the CPU load and Memory Usage, Benchmark, Network Traffic, and then the response of users by using the technology acceptance model approach. The results obtained from this study were that Citrix XenServer is able to run a virtual operating system well and also get a good user response which can be seen from the questionnaire data.

Performance analysis of Proxmox VE firewall for network security in cloud computing server implementation

Virtualization server uses the hypervisor technology in its implementation. Hypervisor is one of the virtualization techniques. Where this technique runs several operating systems together in one host. Cloud computing is a combination of the use of internet-based computer technology. The Open source Proxmox VE (Virtual Environment) is a virtual machine operating system. Where virtual machines are built from the Debian Linux operating system, with the modified RHEL kernel. A firewall is a system designed to prevent attacks on the network. Firewalls can be software or hardware that filters network traffic. Proxmox VE Firewall provides a way to protect network infrastructure. In Proxmox VE firewall allows setting rules for all hosts in a cluster or for virtual machines. In this study, the performance of the firewall from the server virtualization using ProxmoxVE will be examined. This study is intended to determine the performance of the firewall default from Proxmox VE. Firewall testing is done by creating filtering rules in the Proxmox VE cloud server. The results of this study will provide an analysis of the performance of the Proxmox VE firewall that runs on cloud servers. The analysis presents that iptables firewall rules can be applied to cloud servers.

Low-Code as Enabler of Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Industry

Currently, enterprises have to make quick and resilient responses to changing market requirements. In light of this, low-code development platforms provide the technology mechanisms to facilitate and automate the development of software applications to support current enterprise needs and promote digital transformation. Based on a theory-building research methodology through the literature and other information sources review, the main contribution of this paper is the current characterisation of the emerging low-code domain following the foundations of the computer-aided software engineering field. A context analysis, focused on the current status of research related to the low-code development platforms, is performed. Moreover, benchmarking among the existing low-code development platforms addressed to manufacturing industry is analysed to identify the current lacking features. As an illustrative example of the emerging low-code paradigm and respond to the identified uncovered features, the virtual factory open operating system (vf-OS) platform is described as an open multi-sided low-code framework able to manage the overall network of a collaborative manufacturing and logistics environment that enables humans, applications, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to seamlessly communicate and interoperate in the interconnected environment, promoting resilient digital transformation.

Semantic Data Management for a Virtual Factory Collaborative Environment

Recent developments in the area of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) and Internet of Things (IoT) are among the drivers for the emergence of the Industry 4.0 concept, setting new requirements for the architecture, technology, and design approaches of modern industrial systems. Industry 4.0 assumes a higher level of intelligence, and thus autonomy of the systems and subsystems, and a larger focus on the analysis of gathered data for further utilization. The Virtual Factory Open Operating System (vf-OS) project is intended to respond to some of these key challenges, in particular for the smart factory application domain. Complementarily, data and knowledge storage and processing are also in the scope of vf-OS. This article introduces the semantic management component of vf-OS, which aims to analyze the interrelations among stored entities, as well as to define the closeness among them to generate meaningful suggestions, which can be later used by other subsystems or operators in a user-friendly way. The semantic managing system makes use of non relational approaches, namely a graph database, which enables data to be represented as graphs for further semantic querying. The developed prototype and an illustrative application case are also presented.

An Architecture Model for a Distributed Virtualization System

The Thesis is about an architecture model for a Distributed Virtualization System, which could expand a virtual execution environment from a single physical machine to several nodes of a cluster. With current virtualization technologies, computing power and resource usage of Virtual Machines (or Containers) are limited to the physical machine where they run. To deliver high levels of performance and scalability, cloud applications are usually partitioned in several Virtual Machines (or Containers) located on different nodes of a virtualization cluster. Developers often use that processing model because the same instance of the operating system is not available on each node where their components run. The proposed architecture model is suitable for new trends in software development because it is inherently distributed. It combines and integrates Virtualization and Distributed Operating Systems technologies with the benefits of both worlds, providing the same isolated instance of a Virtual Operating System on each cluster node. Although it requires the introduction of changes in existing operating systems, thousands of legacy applications would not require modifications to obtain their benefits. A Distributed Virtualization System is suitable to deliver high-performance cloud services with provider-class features, such as high-availability, replication, migration, and load balancing. Furthermore, it is able to concurrently run several isolated instances of different guest Virtual Operating Systems, allocating a subset of nodes for each instance and sharing nodes between them. Currently, a prototype is running on a cluster of commodity hardware provided with two kinds of Virtual Operating Systems tailored for internet services (web server) as a proof of concept.

Highly-Secure Backdoors: Internet of Traitorous Things (IoTT)

Highly-Secure Backdoors: Internet of Traitorous Things (IoTT)

Digital Evidence Acquisition System on IAAS Cloud Computing Model using Live Forensic Method

Cloud Computing is a technological development that has been warmly discussed in recent years and has seen significant increases in usage, especially on the IAAS Cloud Computing model. The high rate of development of IAAS Cloud Computing model is in line with the high number of crimes involving IAAS Cloud Computing model on server virtualization. When a computer crime occurs and a digital forensic investigation will be carried out to uncover the case, it raises issues related to the acquisition of digital evidence. Because the acquisition model in general, it is done only to one operating system, while in virtualization there is more than one operating system, so the acquisition technique in general cannot be used because it takes only one operating system involved crime, and cannot acquire the whole data server related privacy data in other virtual operating systems. Therefore, research to make the acquisition system of server virtualization is needed. The focus in this research is to make system acquisition in server virtualization Proxmox using the live forensic method to produce a system that can acquire virtualization without disrupting the overall data server and in accordance with the principle of digital forensics. The resulting acquisition system can be a reference for investigators to investigate the IAAS Cloud Computing model on Proxmox virtualization and facilitate the investigator's work in the use of the system because the investigator simply chooses which virtual operating system to acquire, after which the system will work on its own the acquisition.

Performance Comparison of Docker and LXD with ApacheBench

Container is a popular approach in computer virtualization. If virtual machine separated operating system resources, container will receive same core resources with main operating system. Because of that, container size is smaller than virtual machine. Docker and LXD are part of a popular container vendor. Even though it has a different way to working, docker and LXD both have advantages. Docker only allows computer application to run in single thread mode, so it canprotect hardware resources from process overload. LXD allows application to run in multi thread mode, so the application can run normally like installed in normally operating system. This paper tried to compare the performance of docker and LXD. Web server application installed on the docker and LXD container, then we do a stress test using ApacheBench. ApacheBench send a large number of request package to test the container performance. Better container condition can handle more number of request package.

Trustworthy Industrial IoT Gateways for Interoperability Platforms and Ecosystems

The industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is having a significant impact in the manufacturing industry, especially in the context of horizontal integration of operational systems in factories as part of information systems in supply chains. Manufacturing companies can use this technology to create data streams along the supply chain that monitor and control manufacturing and logistic processes, to in the end make these data streams interoperable with other software systems and to enable smart interactions among supply chain processes. However, the provision of these data streams may expose manufacturing operational systems to cyber-attacks. Therefore, cybersecurity is a critical aspect to design trustworthy gateways, which are system components that implement interoperability mechanisms between operational systems and information systems. Gateways must provide security mechanisms at different system layers to minimize threats. This paper presents the Device Drivers security architecture: trustworthy gateways between operational technology and information technology used in the virtual factory open operating system (vf-OS) platform, which is a multisided platform orientated to manufacturing and logistics companies to enable collaboration among supply chains in all sectors. The main contribution of this paper is the evaluation of fallback mechanisms to improve resilience. In situations when the system may be under attack, the proposed mechanisms provide means to quickly recover component availability, by applying alternative security measures to minimize the threat at the same time. Other significant contributions are: a description of the threat model for Device Drivers, a presentation of the security countermeasures implemented in the vf-OS system, the mapping of the vf-OS response objectives to the different characteristics of a trustworthy system: security, privacy, reliability, safety, and resilience and how the proposed countermeasures complement this response.