Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) recently enabled a myriad of new applications spanning domains from personal entertainment and industrial inspection, to criminal surveillance and forest monitoring. A combination of sensor collection, wireless communication and path planning between multiple distributed agents is the natural way to support applications. Several small UAVs working collaboratively can rapidly provide extended reach, at low cost, and efficiently stream sensor information to operators on a ground station. A significant amount of previous work has addressed each of these topics independently, but in this dissertation we propose a holistic approach for joint coordination of networking and topology (placement of mobile nodes). Our thesis is that this approach improves user-interactive control of UAVs for live-streaming applications in terms of throughput, delay and reliability. In order to defend these claims, this dissertation begins by experimentally evaluating and modeling the wireless link between two UAVs, under different conditions. Due to limited link range, and the need for wide-area operation, the model is extended to encompass a multi-hop topology. We show that the performance of such networks using COTS devices is typically poor, and solutions must rely on coordination of network protocol and topology, simultaneously. At the network layer, we introduce a novel Time-division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme called Distributed Variable Slot Protocol that relies on adaptive slot-length. We prove its convergence as well as its meliorated performance experimentally validated, namely 50% higher packet delivery. In terms of network topology, we show that without node placement control overall performance of the network is severely penalized, due to natural link asymmetries. We propose a novel protocol, named Dynamic Relay Placement, that is able to do both online link quality model-estimation and in a distributed fashion decide the best location for each network node, increasing throughput by 300%. Finally, we demonstrate the end-to-end system in a multi-vehicle monitoring mission. We show that coordination of multiple UAVs increases the sensor sampling rate up to 7 times in wide areas when compared to a naive approach. This work considers environmental constraints such as wind, as well as the intrinsic limitations of the vehicles such as maximum acceleration.

The limited energy and computing power of small smart devices restricts their ability to support a wide range of applications, especially those needing quick responses. Mobile edge computing offers a potential solution by providing computing resources at the network access points that can be shared by the devices. This enables the devices to offload some of their computational tasks to the access points. To make this work well for multiple devices, we need to judiciously allocate the available communication and computing resources among the devices. The main focus of this thesis is on (near) optimal resource allocation in a K-user offloading system that employs the time division multiple access (TDMA) scheme. In this thesis, we develop effective algorithms for the resource allocation problem that aim to minimize the overall (cost of the) energy that the devices consume in completing their computational tasks within the specified deadlines while respecting the devices' constraints. This problem is tackled for tasks that cannot be divided and hence the system must make a binary decision as to whether or not a task should be offloaded. This implies the need to develop an effective decision-making algorithm to identify a suitable group of devices for offloading. This thesis commences by developing efficient communication resource algorithms that incorporate the impact of integer finite block length in low-latency computational offloading systems with reserved computing resources. In particular, it addresses the challenge of minimizing total energy consumption in a binary offloading scenario involving K users. The approach considers different approximations of the fundamental rate limit in the finite block length regime, departing from the conventional asymptotic rate limits developed by Shannon. Two such alternatives, namely the normal approximation and the SNR-gap approximation, are explored. A decomposition approach is employed, dividing the problem into an inner component that seeks an optimal solution for the communication resource allocation within a defined set of offloading devices, and an outer component aimed at identifying a suitable set of offloading devices. Given the finiteness of the block length and its integer nature, various relaxation techniques are employed to determine an appropriate communication resource allocation. These include incremental and independent roundings, alongside an extended search that utilizes randomization-based methods in both rounding schemes. The findings reveal that incremental randomized rounding, when applied to the normal approximation of the rate limits, enhances system performance in terms of reducing the energy consumption of the offloading users. Furthermore, customized pruned greedy search techniques for selecting the offloading devices efficiently generate good decisions. Indeed, the proposed approach outperforms a number of existing approaches. In the second contribution, we develop efficient algorithms that address the challenge of jointly allocating both computation and communication resources in a binary offloading system. We employ a similar decomposition methodology as in the previous work to perform the decision-making, but this is now done along with joint computation and communication resource allocation. For the inner resource allocation problem, we divide the problem into two components: determining the allocation of computation resources and the optimal allocation of communication resources for the given allocation of computation resources. The allocation of the computation resources implicitly determines a suitable order for data transmission, which facilitates the subsequent optimal allocation of the communication resources. In this thesis, we introduce two heuristic approaches for allocating the computation resources. These approaches sequentially maximize the allowable transmission time for the devices in sequence, starting from the largest leading to a reduction in total offloading energy. We demonstrate that the proposed heuristics substantially lower the computational burden associated with solving the joint computation--communication resource allocation problem while maintaining a low total energy. In particular, its use results in substantially lower energy consumption than other simple heuristics. Additionally, the heuristics narrow the energy gap in comparison to a fictitious scenario in which each task has access to the whole computation resource without the need for sharing. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The low-energy characteristics of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) pose a great design challenge for MAC protocol design. The cluster-based scheme is a promising solution. Recent studies have proposed different cluster-based MAC protocols. We propose an intra-cluster communication bit-map-assisted (BMA) MAC protocol. BMA is intended for event-driven applications. The scheduling of BMA can change dynamically according to the unpredictable variations of sensor networks. In terms of energy efficiency, BMA reduces energy consumption due to idle listening and collisions. In this study, we develop two different analytic energy models for BMA, conventional TDMA and energy efficient TDMA (E-TDMA) when used as intra-cluster MAC schemes. Simulation experiments are constructed to validate the analytic models. Both analytic and simulation results show that in terms of energy efficiency, BMA performance heavily depends on the sensor node traffic offer load, the number of sensor nodes within a cluster, the data packet size and, in some cases, the number of sessions per round. BMA is superior for the cases of low and medium traffic loads, relatively few sensor nodes per cluster, and relatively large data packet sizes. In addition, BMA outperforms the TDMA-based MAC schemes in terms of average packet latency.

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This thesis provides the reader with an overview of the many elements that are involved in geosynchronous satellite point-to-multipoint Internet Protocol (IP)-based multimedia communications design and also takes a deep dive into the analysis of a real-life scenario, using the TDM / MF-SCPC and TDM / MF-TDMA media access techniques. This thesis starts with a discussion of satellite network topologies utilized within point-to-multipoint satellite communications followed by an overview of the satellite communications channel. A discussion on the intelligent and proper selection of modulation and coding follows. Descriptions and characteristics of the satellite access technologies chosen to be analyzed are next followed by a detailed description of Forward Error Correction (FEC) techniques and a discussion on network-wide tradeoffs so selecting different options. The thesis then presents the results of a real-life scenario, investigating both TDM / MF-SCPC and TDM / MF-TDMA media access technique options, pointing out the tradeoffs brought to the forefront earlier in the study. The major takeaway is that there does not exist a one-size-fits-all solution that works for each and every scenario. / Master of Science

Les réseaux sans fil multi-sauts ad hoc et les réseaux de capteurs présentent une solution prometteuse pour assurer une connectivité quasi-permanente dans l'Internet du Futur. Cette connectivité, néanmoins, nécessite la conception d'un protocole d'accès au canal radio fiable, ce qui défi les caractéristiques hostiles et instables des réseaux ad hoc et des réseaux de capteurs. Cet environnement, en effet, est caractérisé par la rareté des ressources radio disponibles, la perte de la bande passante due aux collisions et aux interférences. La nécessité de garantir une meilleure qualité de service aux couches applicatives a promu la conception des protocoles MAC basés sur la technique d'accès TDMA. Essayant de contourner la contrainte d’une fine synchronisation horloge imposée par ce type de protocoles, les recherches se sont orientées vers une conception de protocoles MAC basés sur la technique TDMA dont la taille de la trame est fixe. Cependant, cette conception présente deux principaux inconvénients: d'une part elle procure une inflexibilité quant à la variation de la topologie du réseau suite aux mouvements des nœuds. D'une autre part, elle soulève un problème de dimensionnement : si la taille de la trame est surdimensionnée par rapport au nombre de nœuds présents dans le réseau, des slots non alloués apparaissent induisant la perte de la bande passante. Toutefois, si la taille de la trame est sous-dimensionnée, un risque de famine surgit. Les protocoles MAC basés sur la technique TDMA à taille de trame dynamique présentent une alternative, qui réussit à augmenter le débit au détriment d’une non-équité entre les nœuds dans le réseau. Outre l'utilisation optimale et équitable de la bande passante disponible, la réduction de la consommation d'énergie constitue un autre défi majeur pour les réseaux ad hoc et les réseaux de capteurs. Dans ce travail, deux contributions nommées OSTR et S-OSTR, sont conçues pour améliorer le débit, l'équité et la réduction de la consommation d'énergie dans l'environnement des réseaux ad hoc et des réseaux de capteurs. L'idée motrice d'OSTR consiste à augmenter la taille de la trame TDMA dynamiquement de manière à aboutir à une taille de trame réduite. Dans ce but, OSTR met en place une augmentation à la demande de la taille de la trame. Cette augmentation est établie slot par slot. OSTR se base sur une réutilisation spatiale des times slots ; i.e. un même slot peut être utilisé au même moment par plusieurs nœuds dans le réseau. Afin de prévenir les collisions dues à la coexistence de plusieurs tailles de trames au même temps dans le réseau, OSTR déploie une solution coopérative qui consiste à fixer un rendez-vous au moment duquel la taille de la trame est augmentée simultanément par tous les nœuds dans le réseau. S-OSTR constitue une adaptation du protocole OSTR à l'environnement des réseaux de capteurs. S-OSTR vise à augmenter la durée de vie du réseau. Il déploie ainsi une période d'activité dynamique qui consiste en une trame TDMA augmentant slot-par-slot. S-OSTR effectue également un ordonnancement des activités des nœuds afin de prolonger la période d'inactivité, et par suite prolonger la durée de vie du réseau. Nos deux contributions se basent sur une nouvelle technique d'augmentation dynamique de la taille de la trame TDMA qui consiste à augmenter la taille slot-par-slot. Cette technique permet d'atteindre une taille réduite, et par conséquent d’améliorer l'utilisation de la bande passante et de minimiser la consommation de l'énergie dans le réseau. L'analyse des performances d'OSTR et de S-OSTR souligne leurs potentiels pour s'adapter aux exigences des applications en termes de QoS, pour assurer un accès équitable au canal radio, pour réduire la consommation de l'énergie et pour s'adapter aux différents changements de la topologie du réseau / Wireless multi-hop ad hoc and sensor networks provide a promising solution to ensure ubiquitous connectivity for the Future Internet. Good network connectivity requires designing a reliable Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol, which is a challenging task in the ad hoc and sensor environments. The broadcast and shared nature of the wireless channel renders the bandwidth resources limited and expose the transmissions to relatively high collisions and loss rates. The necessity to provide guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) to the upper layers triggered the design of conflict-free MAC protocols. The TDMA synchronization constraint is basically behind the rush of MAC protocol design based on a fixed frame size. This design shows inflexibility towards network variations and creates a network dimensioning issue that leads to a famine risk in case the network is under-dimensioned, and to a waste of resources, otherwise. Moreover, the alternative dynamic protocols provide more adaptive solutions to network topology variations at the expense of a fair access to the channel. Alongside with the efficient channel usage and the fair medium access, reducing the energy consumption represents another challenge for ad hoc and sensor networks. Solutions like node activity scheduling tend to increase the network lifetime while fulfilling the application requirements in terms of throughput and delay, for instance. Our contributions, named OSTR and S-OSTR, address the shortcomings of the medium access control protocol design in the challenging environment of wireless multi-hop ad hoc and sensor networks, respectively. For OSTR the idea consists in adopting a dynamic TDMA frame size that increases slot-by-slot according to the nodes arrival/departure to/from the network, and aiming to achieve a minimum frame size. For this end, OSTR couples three major attributes: (1) performing slot-by-slot frame size increase, (2) providing a spatial reuse scheme that favors the reuse of the same slot if possible, (3) and ensuring an on-demand frame size increase only according to the node requirements in terms of throughput. To tackle different frame sizes co-existence in the network, OSTR brings a cooperative solution that consists in fixing an appointment, a date when the frame size in the network is increased. Concerning S-OSTR, it is an amendment of OSTR for wireless sensor networks. It brings the idea of a dynamic active period, since it deploys a dynamic frame size that is built slot-by-slot according to nodes arrival to the network. S-OSTR enforces the slot-by-slot frame size increase by a node activity scheduling to prolong the inactivity period in the network, and hence prolong the overall network lifetime for wireless sensor networks. Our contributions are both based on the new dynamic TDMA frame size increase that consists in increasing the frame size slot-by-slot aiming to achieve a shorter frame size, and hence improve the channel utilization, and reduce the energy consumption. The performance analysis of OSTR and S-OSTR shows that they present good potentials to support QoS requirements, to provide energy-efficiency, to ensure fair medium access, to accommodate network topology changes and finally, to enhance robustness against scalability. The impact of this new TDMA frame size increase technique on the medium access control protocol performance is highlighted through multiple simulations of OSTR and S-OSTR. Multiple comparative studies are also handled to point out the effectiveness of this new technique and the soundness of our contributions

Clock synchronization in a wireless sensor network (WSN) is essential as it provides a consistent and a coherent time frame for all the nodes across the network. Typically, clock synchronization is achieved by message passing using carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) for media access. The nodes try to synchronize with each other, by sending synchronization request messages. If many nodes try to send messages simultaneously, contention-based schemes cannot efficiently avoid collisions which results in message losses and affects the synchronization accuracy. Since the nodes in a WSN have limited energy, it is required that the energy consumed by the clock synchronization protocols is as minimum as possible. This can be achieved by reducing the duration for which the clock synchronization protocols execute. Synchronous clock synchronization protocols in WSNs execute the clock synchronization process at each node, roughly during the same real-time interval, called synchronization phase. The duration when there is no synchronization activity is called the synchronization interval. Synchronization phases are divided into synchronization rounds. The energy consumed by these protocols depends on the duration of the synchronization phase and how frequently the synchronization phase is executed. Hence, to minimize the energy consumption by each node, the duration of synchronization phase should be as small as possible. Due to different drift rates of the clocks, the synchronization phases at different nodes drift apart and special techniques are required to keep them in sync. An existing protocol, called improved weighted-average based clock synchronization (IWICS) uses a pullback technique to achieve this. If a message from (i + 1)th synchronization round is received by a node still executing the ith synchronization round, the receiving node reduces its next synchronization interval to ensure greater overlap in the synchronization rounds. The reduction in overlap is a gradual and continuous phenomenon, and so, it can be detected and dealt with continuously. In this thesis, first, we make use of TDMA-based MAC protocols, instead of CSMA, to deal with the problem of message losses. We discuss the challenges of using TDMA-based MAC protocols for clock synchronization and how to overcome these challenges. Second, The IWICS protocol calculates the virtual drift rate which we use to modify the duration of the synchronization interval so that there is more overlap between the synchronization phases of neighbouring nodes. We refer to this technique as drift rate correction. Finally, we propose a different pullback technique where the pullback detection is carried out in each of the synchronization phase as opposed to the old pullback mechanism where it would be detected only when an out-of-round synchronization message is received. The proposed pullback technique when applied to the current synchronization interval ensures that the synchronization phases, that follow the current synchronization interval, are better synchronized with each other. As a result of this, we are able to reduce the duration of synchronization phases further. The IWICS protocol with all these modifications incorporated is termed as the TIWICS (TDMA-based IWICS) protocol. Simulation and experimental results confirm that the TIWICS protocol performs better in comparison to the existing protocols.

Pour assurer les communications dans un réseau de capteurs sans fil, les capteurs utilisent un modèle simplifié de protocoles en couches inspiré du modèle OSI. Ce modèle comporte cinq couches, chaque couche devant assurer des fonctionnalités indépendantes et particulières. Nous nous intéressons à deux couches qui sont impliquées directement dans les décisions assurant les communications, la couche Liaison de données dans laquelle le protocole MAC assure la coordination des communications entre voisins directs, et la couche Réseau dans laquelle le protocole de routage est responsable de trouver une route entre un émetteur et un récepteur. Chacune des deux couches vise à améliorer certaines métriques, comme la latence, mais les décisions incohérentes venant de différents protocoles peuvent ne pas le permettre. Par conséquent, les décisions spatiales du protocole de routage et les décisions temporelles du protocole MAC doivent être corrélées pour optimiser la latence des communications. Les protocoles cross-layer résolvent ce problème soit en assurant des communications entre des protocoles des deux couches, soit en combinant les deux couches en une nouvelle couche. Dans ce contexte, cette thèse étudie les protocoles cross-layer existants entre MAC et routage et propose de nouvelles approches ayant comme but de minimiser la latence des communications. Dans un premier temps, nous avons proposé un protocole de routage qui utilise des informations du protocole MAC qu’est un TDMA pour trouver un chemin entre le noeud qui capte les données et la station de base tout en minimisant la latence des communications [1]. Ensuite, nous nous sommes intéressés au cas inverse, i.e. des approches MAC qui utilisent des informations de routage pour établir des ordonnancements TDMA de communication pour les nœuds du réseau, ces ordonnancements visant toujours à optimiser la latence des communications [2, 3, 5].Enfin, dans [4], nous avons proposé une approche qui combine un protocole MAC et un protocole de routage en un seul protocole. / Traditionally, in Wireless Sensor Networks, protocols are designed independently in the layered protocol stack, and metrics involved in several layers can be affected. Communication latency is one metric example, impacted by both the routing protocol in the network layer and the MAC protocol in the data link layer. Cross-layer protocols are known to be more efficient when exploiting the dependencies between these layers.In this context, and aiming to minimize the communication latency, we propose different cross-layer approaches concerning routing trees and TDMA schedules. First, we propose a routing approach using information of the TDMA schedule. Then, we propose different TDMA scheduling approaches which use information of the routing tree. Finally, we propose an approach that combines MAC and routing to produce a routing tree and a TDMA schedule simultaneously. Extensive simulations have shown better results of our contributions compared to the state of the art in terms of latency. Other metrics such as the energy consumption, the duty cycle of the nodes and the number of hops in the routing paths were also considered during the evaluation of our contributions.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has the vision to interconnect everything of the physical world and the virtual world. Advanced automated and adaptive connectivity of objects, systems, and services is expected to be achieved under the IoT context, especially in the industrial environment. Industry 4.0 with the goal of intelligent and self-adaptable manufacturing is driven by the IoT. The Object Layer, where real-time and reliable information acquisition from the physical objects carried out, is the basic enabler in the 3-layer industrial IoT system. Such acquisition system features deterministic access, reliable communication with failure resistance mechanism, latency-aware real-time response, deployable structure/protocol, and adaptive performance on various QoS demands. This thesis proposes a reliable RFID communication system for acquisition in the industrial environment. A discrete gateway structure and a contention-free communication protocol are designed to fulfill the unique system requirements. Such gateway structure offers a flexible configuration of readers and RF technologies. It enables a full duplex communication between the objects and the gateway. The designed MF-TDMA protocol can enhance the failure resistance and emergency report mechanism thanks to the separation of control link and data link in the gateway. Specifically, an optional ARQ mechanism, an independent/uniform synchronization and control method, and a slot allocation optimization algorithm are designed besides time-division and frequency-division multiplexing. Protocol implementations for different industrial situations illustrate the system ability for supporting the demands of various QoS. Finally, a 2.4-GHz/UWB hybrid positioning platform is explored based on the introduced RFID system. Taking advantage of the UWB technology, the positioning platform can achieve positioning accuracy from meter level to centimeter level. Hybrid tag prototype and specific communication process based on the MF-TDMA protocol are designed. An SDR UWB reader network, capable of evaluating multiple algorithms, is built to realize accurate positioning with an improved algorithm proposed. / <p>QC 20161109</p>

There is an emerging class of applications that require long-term tracking and monitoring of mobile entities for characterising their contexts and behaviours using data from wireless sensors. Examples include monitoring animals in their natural habitat over the annual cycle; tracking shipping containers and their handling during transit; and monitoring air quality using sensors attached to bicycles used in public sharing schemes. All applications within this class require the acquisition of sensor data tagged with spatio-temporal information and uploaded wirelessly. Currently there is no solution targeting the entire class of applications, only point solutions focused on specific scenarios. This thesis presents a complete solution (firmware and hardware) for applications within this class that consists of attaching mobile sensor nodes to the entities for tracking and monitoring their behaviour, and deploying an infrastructure of base-stations for collecting the data wirelessly. The proposed solution is more energy efficient compared to the existing solutions that target specific scenarios, offering a longer deployment lifetime with a reduced size and weight of the devices. This is achieved mainly by using the VB-TDMA low-power data upload protocol proposed in this thesis. The mobile sensor nodes, consisting of the GPS and radio modules among others, and the base-stations are powered by batteries, and the optimisation of their energy usage is of primary concern. The presence of the GPS module, in particular its acquisition of accurate time, is used by the VB-TDMA protocol to synchronise the communication between nodes at no additional energy costs, resulting in an energy-efficient data upload protocol for sparse networks of mobile nodes, that can potentially be out of range of base-stations for extended periods of time. The VB-TDMA and an asynchronous data upload protocol were implemented on the custom-designed Prospeckz-5-based wireless sensor nodes. The protocols’ performances were simulated in the SpeckSim simulator and validated in real-world deployments of tracking and monitoring thirty-two Retuerta wild horses in the Doñana National Park in Spain, and a herd of domesticated horses in Edinburgh. The chosen test scenario of long-term wildlife tracking and monitoring is representative for the targeted class of applications. The VB-TDMA protocol showed a significantly lower power consumption than other comparable MAC protocols, effectively doubling the battery lifetime. The main contributions of the thesis are the development of the VB-TDMA data upload protocol and its performance evaluation, along with the development of simulation models for performance analysis of wireless sensor networks, validated using data from the two real-world deployments.