Massively multiplayer games allow hundreds of players to play and interact with each other simultaneously. Due to the increasing need to provide a greater degree of interaction to more players, load balancing is critical on the servers that host the game. A common approach is to divide the world into microcells (small regions of the game terrain) and to allocate the microcells dynamically across multiple servers. We describe a visibility--based technique that guides the creation of microcells and their dynamic allocation. This technique is designed to reduce the amount of cross--server communication, in the hope of providing better load balancing than other load--balancing strategies. We hypothesize that reduction in expensive cross-server traffic will reduce the overall load on the system. We employ horizon counts map to create visibility based microcells, in order to emphasize primary occluders in the terrain. In our testing we consider traffic over a given quality of service threshold as the primary metric for minimization. As result of our testing we find that dynamic load balancing produces significant improvement in the frequency of quality of service failures. We find that our visibility-based micro cells do not outperform basic rectangular microcells discussed in earlier research. We also find that cross-server traffic makes up a much smaller portion of overall message load than we had anticipated, reducing the potential overall benefit from cross server message optimisation. / Thesis (Master, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-28 14:15:32.173

Master of Science / Department of Physics / Kristan L. Corwin / We have developed short acetylene-filled photonic microcells (PMCs’) as optical frequency references in the near infrared region for applications in telecommunication, gas sensing, and metrology. The PMC is a 5-10 cm long hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF) in which the high pressure acetylene gas is confined by sealing the ends of HC-PCF. Acetylene provides 50 strong v vrotational-vibrational combination bands within 1510-1540 nm which covers the telecommunication window at 1550 nm. PMC’s are a possible replacement for optical frequency references based on gas-filled vapor cells, like the SRM2517a produced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). While such cells made practical and accurate frequency calibration readily available, and have been built into measurement equipment and lasers, they are relatively bulky compared to the small footprint now achieved by commercially available lasers. Short PMC’s in particular are compact and robust. In fact, a PMC of similar length would occupy a smaller volume because it has a simple design and it is all-fiber based. Here we demonstrate a novel fabrication technique that is appropriate for making short high pressure optical frequency references using photonic bandgap fibers. Consequently, the aforementioned short PMC has some application of NIST SRM 2517a and can be used for moderate accuracy frequency measurements with fractional accuracy of 7.7×10-8. By using a tapering technique to seal the microcells, we were able to achieve high transmission efficiency of 80% and moderate accuracy of 10 MHz (1) in finding the line center. This approaches that of the NIST SRM 2517a 10 MHz (2) accuracy. Using an earlier Q-tipping technique, 37% off-resonant transmission and 5 MHz accuracy were achieved in finding the line center, but a larger etalon-like effect which is approximately 13%, appears on the wings of the optical depth. By using a tapering technique, we were able to decrease the etalon-like effect to less than 1%. In both cases, the microcells could be connectorized, albeit with reduction in off-resonant transmission efficiency, for integration into multi-mode fibers or free-space optical systems. Although contamination is introduced during both fabrication techniques, the P13 PMC line center shift with respect to sub-Doppler center is small according to experimental data. Data show that the PMC line center shift from the sub-Doppler feature for PMC no. 53 with 83% contamination was -15.4 ± 3.3 MHz which is a fractional value of 7.7×10-8 with respect to the value of the P13 line center of 195 THz. Finally, repeatable measurements show that PMCs are stable in terms of total pressure over approximately one year.

Dans cette thèse nous évaluons la concentration optique sur cellules photovoltaïques micrométriques et nanométriques sans système de suivi de Soleil. Cette étude a deux objectifs principaux. La première partie est dédiée à l’évaluation de la faisabilité de la concentration optique sur des microcellules à base de Cu(In,Ga)Se2 via un concentrateur luminescent (LSC). Le LSC est bas-coût, concentre la lumière directe et diffuse, et est non imageant, ce qui très avantageux pour la concentration sur microcellules. Néanmoins, la sensibilité extrême aux non-idéalités explique la différence entre les performances théoriques et expérimentales. Un code de simulation est développé pour analyser ce système et ses mécanismes de perte. Un nouveau formalisme basé sur des données statistiques est proposé pour décrire les propriétés du LSC. Le couplage LSC/microcellules est effectué expérimentalement et des pistes d’amélioration explorées. La seconde partie tire profit de la fonction de conversion spectrale des LSC et développe un nouveau concept de nano-antenne photovoltaïque mono-résonant à base d’InP. Des simulations optiques montrent qu’un rendement de conversion de 10.7% peut être atteint avec une épaisseur moyenne d’absorbeur de moins de 20 nm. Les étapes technologiques de fabrication sont identifiées et réalisées en salle blanche. Le fort ratio surface/volume nous a amené à étudier la passivation de l’InP par du polyphosphazène. Des mesures de luminescence montrent que la surface est stabilisée durablement. Les résultats de cette thèse démontrent que le couplage nano-photonique / LSC est prometteur, alliant de très faibles volumes à d’excellentes efficacités optiques. / In this thesis we explore light concentration on nano and micro photovoltaic cells without Sun tracking. This study has two main aims. The first part is dedicated to the evaluation of light concentration feasibility on Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based microcells with luminescent solar concentrator (LSC). LSC is cheap, allows both direct and diffuse light concentration and is non imaging, making it advantageous for microcells concentration. Yet, the extremely high sensitivity to non ideality explains the gap between theoretical and real systems. A simulation code is developed to analyze the system and its loss mechanisms. A new formalism based on statistical data is proposed to describe LSC properties. LSC and microcells coupling is experimentally achieved and improving tracks investigated. The second part takes advantage of the LSC down-shifting effect to propose a new mono-resonant InP-based photovoltaic nano-antenna. Optical modeling on this new device shows that 10.7 % efficiency can be obtained with an absorber averaged thickness lower than 20 nm. Technological process steps to fabricate this device are identified and realized in a clean-room environment. The high ratio surface over volume leads us to study InP passivation through a mono-atomic polyphosphazen film. Luminescent measurements show that passivated InP surface is long-term stabilized. The results of this thesis demonstrate that nano-photonic / LSC coupling is promising, enabling high optical efficiency in extremely low volume.

Efficient handoff algorithms cost-effectively enhance the capacity and Quality of Service (QoS) of cellular systems. This research presents novel approaches for the design of high performance handoff algorithms that exploit attractive features of several existing algorithms, provide adaptation to dynamic cellular environment, and allow systematic tradeoffs among different system characteristics. A comprehensive foundation of handoff and related issues of cellular communications is given. The tools of artificial intelligence utilized in this research, neural networks and fuzzy logic, are introduced. The scope of existing simulation models for macrocellular and microcellular handoff algorithms is enhanced by incorporating several important features. New simulation models suitable for performance evaluation of soft handoff algorithms and overlay handoff algorithms are developed. Four basic approaches for the development of high performance algorithms are proposed and are based on fuzzy logic, neural networks, unified handoff candidate selection, and pattern classification. The fuzzy logic based approach allows an organized tuning of the handoff parameters to provide a balanced tradeoff among different system characteristics. The neural network based approach suggests neural encoding of the fuzzy logic systems to simultaneously achieve the goals of high performance and reduced complexity. The unified candidacy based approach recommends the use of a unified handoff candidate selection criterion to select the best handoff candidate under given constraints. The pattern classification based approach exploits the capability of fuzzy logic and neural networks to obtain an efficient architecture of an adaptive handoff algorithm. New algorithms suitable for microcellular systems, overlay systems, and systems employing soft handoff are described. A basic adaptive algorithm suitable for a microcellular environment is proposed. Adaptation to traffic, interference, and mobility has been superimposed on the basic generic algorithm to develop another microcellular algorithm. An adaptive overlay handoff algorithm that allows a systematic balance among the design parameters of an overlay system is proposed. Important considerations for soft handoff are discussed, and adaptation mechanisms for new soft handoff algorithms are developed. / Ph. D.

The traditional way of increasing capacity in a wirelesscommunication system has been cell splitting and fixedchannel-allocation based on prediction tools. However, theplanning complexity increases rapidly with the number of cellsand the method is not suitable for the large temporal andspatial traffic variations expected in the future. A lot ofresearch has therefore been performed regarding adaptivechannel allocation, where a channel can be used anywhere aslong as the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) is acceptable. Acommon opinion is that these solutions must be decentralizedsince a centralized one would be overly complex. In this thesis, we study the locally centralizedbunch conceptfor radio resource management (RRM) in aManhattan environment and show that it can give a very highcapacity both for outdoor users and for indoor users covered byoutdoor base stations. We show how measurement limitations anderrors affect the performance and wepropose methods to handlethese problems, e.g. averaging of measured values, robustchannel selection algorithms, and increased SIR margins. Wealso study the computational and signaling complexities andshow that they can be reduced by splitting large bunches, usingsparse matrix calculations, and by using a simplified admissionalgorithm. However, a reduction of the complexity often means areduction of the system capacity. The measurements needed for RRM can also be used to find amobile terminal's geographical position. We propose and studysome simple yet accurate methods for this purpose. We alsostudy if position information can enhance RRM as is oftensuggested in the literature. In the studied scenario, thisinformation seems to be of limited use. One possible use is toestimate the mobile user's speed, to assist handover decisions.Another use is to find the location of user hotspots in anarea, which is beneficial for system planning. Our results show that the bunch concept is a promisingcandidate for radio resource management in future wirelesssystems. We believe that the complexity is manageable and themain price we have to pay for high capacity is frequentreallocation of connections. <b>Keywords:</b>bunch concept, radio resource management,network-assisted resource management, base station selection,dynamic channel allocation, DCA, channel selection,least-interfered, interference avoidance, interferenceaveraging, handover, power control, path-loss measurements,signal strength, link-gain matrix, TD-CDMA, UTRA TDD, Manhattanscenario, microcells, mobile positioning, position accuracy,trilateration, triangulation, speed estimation

<p>The traditional way of increasing capacity in a wirelesscommunication system has been cell splitting and fixedchannel-allocation based on prediction tools. However, theplanning complexity increases rapidly with the number of cellsand the method is not suitable for the large temporal andspatial traffic variations expected in the future. A lot ofresearch has therefore been performed regarding adaptivechannel allocation, where a channel can be used anywhere aslong as the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) is acceptable. Acommon opinion is that these solutions must be decentralizedsince a centralized one would be overly complex.</p><p>In this thesis, we study the locally centralized<i>bunch concept</i>for radio resource management (RRM) in aManhattan environment and show that it can give a very highcapacity both for outdoor users and for indoor users covered byoutdoor base stations. We show how measurement limitations anderrors affect the performance and wepropose methods to handlethese problems, e.g. averaging of measured values, robustchannel selection algorithms, and increased SIR margins. Wealso study the computational and signaling complexities andshow that they can be reduced by splitting large bunches, usingsparse matrix calculations, and by using a simplified admissionalgorithm. However, a reduction of the complexity often means areduction of the system capacity.</p><p>The measurements needed for RRM can also be used to find amobile terminal's geographical position. We propose and studysome simple yet accurate methods for this purpose. We alsostudy if position information can enhance RRM as is oftensuggested in the literature. In the studied scenario, thisinformation seems to be of limited use. One possible use is toestimate the mobile user's speed, to assist handover decisions.Another use is to find the location of user hotspots in anarea, which is beneficial for system planning.</p><p>Our results show that the bunch concept is a promisingcandidate for radio resource management in future wirelesssystems. We believe that the complexity is manageable and themain price we have to pay for high capacity is frequentreallocation of connections.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>bunch concept, radio resource management,network-assisted resource management, base station selection,dynamic channel allocation, DCA, channel selection,least-interfered, interference avoidance, interferenceaveraging, handover, power control, path-loss measurements,signal strength, link-gain matrix, TD-CDMA, UTRA TDD, Manhattanscenario, microcells, mobile positioning, position accuracy,trilateration, triangulation, speed estimation</p>

[pt] Neste trabalho, um - software - foi desenvolvido para prover predições do sinal em ambientes exteriores e interiores. O programa inclui dois diferentes modelos de propagação. Para situações urbanas com antenas baixas (Microcélulas) e para situações urbanas onde o receptor pode ser posicionado numa área - indoor - e o transmissor numa área urbana ( - outdoor -). O procedimento automatizado combina técnicas de várias diferentes disciplinas, incluindo computação gráfica e teoria eletromagnética assintótica, para reduzir o tempo de computação sem comprometer a precisão. Usando técnicas de computação gráfica, o tempo necessário para o lançamento de raios através da geometria urbana é grandemente reduzido. Os dados teóricos foram testados e validados por comparação com dados experimentais. Para modelar os diferentes mecanismos de propagação, a aproximação eletromagnética usada foi a OG/UTD. / [en] In this work, a software tool has been developed that provides accurate, sitespecific radio signal predictions for outdoor to indoor/outdoor locations. The program includes two different propagation models. For urban calculations with low antennas (Microcells) and for urban situations where receiver can be located at indoor area and transmitter antennas can be located at Urban area (outdoor). The software combines techniques from several different disciplines, including computer graphics and asymptotic electromagnetic theory, to reduce the calculation time without compromising accuracy. Using computer graphics techniques, the time necessary for shooting the rays through the urban geometry is greatly reduced. The calculation engine used has been tested and validated by comparison with measured data. In order to model the diferent propagation mechanisms, the eletromagnetic approach considered has been the GO/UTD combination.

Submitted by Carolina Neves (carolinapon@uefs.br) on 2016-08-09T01:01:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Karine_Souza_de_Almeida_Dissertacao_Final.pdf: 13569698 bytes, checksum: 81752dfa3be4ee9493654f5c61524c5a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-09T01:01:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Karine_Souza_de_Almeida_Dissertacao_Final.pdf: 13569698 bytes, checksum: 81752dfa3be4ee9493654f5c61524c5a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-24 / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia - FAPEB / By using the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), it is possible to transmit by a channel a more robust signal and less susceptible to interferences. When such technique, based on orthogonal subcarriers, is combined with the use of propagation models, which are relevant tools for simulating the signal behavior in respect to environmental parameters and antenna configurations, it is feasible to have an evaluation about the performance of these systems, improving their project phase. Therefore, this work presents the use of OFDM technique applied to two propagation models: a two-ray geometric model and a microcellular model adapted to the Paulista Avenue, S?o Paulo, SP, having as objective the analysis of a mobile communication system through Bit Error Rate (BER). In the developed application using the MAtrix LABoratory (MATLAB) software, the mobile communication system based on OFDM admits several scenarios during the simulation, so that scenarios are related to positioning of the antennas, heights, type of modulation, size of the bit sequence to be sent, and others. The adopted OFDM architecture has been the IFFT/FFT and based on it, the system performs the transmission and reception of a bit set through a channel with interference by using different digital modulations, making appropriate comparisons. / Atrav?s da utiliza??o da t?cnica de Multiplexa??o por Divis?o de Frequ?ncias Ortogonais (OFDM, do ingl?s, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), ? poss?vel transmitir por um canal um sinal mais robusto e menos propenso a interfer?ncias. Quando tal t?cnica, baseada na utiliza??o de subportadoras ortogonais, ? aliada ao uso de modelos de propaga??o, que s?o ferramentas relevantes para a simula??o do comportamento do sinal em rela??o aos par?metros do ambiente e as configura??es das antenas, ? poss?vel ter uma avalia??o a respeito do desempenho desses sistemas, melhorando a fase de projeto dos mesmos. Sendo assim, este trabalho apresenta o uso da t?cnica OFDM aplicada a dois modelos de propaga??o: um modelo geom?trico de dois raios e um modelo microcelular adaptado para a Avenida Paulista, S?o Paulo, SP, possuindo como objetivo a an?lise de um sistema de comunica??o m?vel atrav?s do c?lculo da Taxa de Erro de Bit (BER, do ingl?s, Bit Error Rate). Na aplica??o desenvolvida utilizando o software MATLAB (MATrix LABoratory), o sistema de comunica??o m?vel baseado em OFDM assume diversos cen?rios durante as simula??es, de forma que esses cen?rios s?o relacionados ao posicionamento das antenas, alturas, tipo de modula??o, tamanho da sequ?ncia de bits a ser enviada, entre outras. A arquitetura OFDM adotada foi a IFFT/FFT e baseado nela, o sistema realiza a transmiss?o e a recep??o de um conjunto de bits por um canal com interfer?ncias utilizando diferentes modula??es digitais, fazendo as devidas compara??es.