Eric P. Kasten

Composing adaptive software

Interest in adaptive computing systems has increased dramatically in the past few years, and a variety of techniques now allow software to adapt dynamically to its environment. Compositional adaptation enables software to modify its structure and behavior dynamically in response to change in its execution environment. A review of current technology compares how, when, and where recomposition occurs.

The remote environmental assessment laboratory's acoustic library: An archive for studying soundscape ecology

Abstract Acoustic signals constitute a source of information that can be used to measure the spatial and temporal distributions of vocal organisms in ecosystems. Measuring and tracking those species that produce sounds can reveal important information about the environment. Acoustic signals have been used for many years to census vocal organisms. Moreover, acoustics can be used to compute indexes for measuring biodiversity and the level of anthropogenic disturbance. We developed the software and system that automate the process of cataloging acoustic sensor observations into the Remote Environmental Assessment Laboratory (REAL) digital library that can be accessed through a website ( http://lib.real.msu.edu ). The REAL digital library enables access and analysis of collected acoustic sensor observations. We report on current library status and the mechanisms that enable the selection, extraction and analysis of acoustic data to support investigations on automating species census as well as measuring diversity and disturbance. We implemented numeric and symbolic search mechanisms and unsupervised learning techniques to ease retrieval of acoustic information, including recordings and processed data, pertinent to visitor goals.

Ensemble extraction for classification and detection of bird species

Advances in technology have enabled new approaches for sensing the environment and collecting data about the world. Once collected, sensor readings can be assembled into data streams and transmitted over computer networks for storage and processing at observatories or to evoke an immediate response from an autonomic computer system. However, such automated collection of sensor data produces an immense quantity of data that is time consuming to organize, search and distill into meaningful information. In this paper, we explore the design and use of distributed pipelines for automated processing of sensor data streams. In particular, we focus on the detection and extraction of meaningful sequences, called ensembles, from acoustic data streamed from natural areas. Our goal is automated detection and classification of various species of birds.

Architecture and operation of an adaptable communication substrate

This paper describes the internal architecture and operation of an adaptable communication component called the MetaSocket. MetaSockets are created using Adaptive Java, a reflective extension to Java that enables a components internal architecture and behavior to be adapted at run time in response to external stimuli. This paper describes how adaptive behavior is implemented in MetaSockets, as well as how MetaSockets interact with other adaptive components, such as decision makers and event mediators. Results of experiments on a mobile computing testbed demonstrate how MetaSockets respond to dynamic wireless channel conditions in order to improve the quality of interactive audio streams delivered to iPAQ handheld computers.

Perimorph: run-time composition and state management for adaptive systems

We address a key issue that arises in run-time recomposition of software: the transfer of nontransient state between old components and their replacements. We focus on the concept of collateral change, which refers to the set of recomposition actions that must be applied atomically for continued correct execution of the system. We describe Perimorph, a system that supports compositional adaptation of both functional and nonfunctional concerns by explicitly addressing collateral change. The operation of Perimorph is demonstrated through the implementation and testing of a 2D/3D digital elevation mapping application that supports recomposition and handoff among networked devices with varying capabilities.

MESO: Supporting Online Decision Making in Autonomic Computing Systems

Autonomic computing systems must be able to detect and respond to errant behavior or changing conditions with little or no human intervention. Clearly, decision making is a critical issue in such systems, which must learn how and when to invoke corrective actions based on past experience. This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of MESO, a pattern classifier designed to support online, incremental learning and decision making in autonomic systems. A novel feature of MESO is its use of small agglomerative clusters, called sensitivity spheres, that aggregate similar training samples. Sensitivity spheres are partitioned into sets during the construction of a memory-efficient hierarchical data structure. This structure facilitates data compression, which is important to many autonomic systems. Results are presented demonstrating that MESO achieves high accuracy while enabling rapid incremental training and classification. A case study is described in which MESO enables a mobile computing application to learn, by imitation, user preferences for balancing wireless network packet loss and bandwidth consumption. Once trained, the application can autonomously adjust error control parameters as needed while the user roams about a wireless cell

Design and implementation of multicast operations for ATM-based high performance computing

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the efficient implementation of multicast operations for cluster-based parallel computing on asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks. Both software- and hardware-based multicast operations have been implemented and studied on a three-switch ATM network testbed. Performance measurements are presented that illustrate how software approaches can best take advantage of switch-based network architectures, and what additional advantage can be gained from using underlying hardware support.<<ETX>>

Automated Ensemble Extraction and Analysis of Acoustic Data Streams

This paper addresses the design and use of distributed pipelines for automated processing of sensor data streams. In particular, we focus on the detection and extraction of meaningful sequences, called ensembles, from acoustic data streamed from natural areas. Our goal is automated detection and identification of various species of birds. Although this target application is relatively specific, the process employed is general and can be extended to other problem domains such as security systems and military reconnaissance.

Real-time results without real-time systems

The data acquisition system at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, is based on commodity PC components running an unmodified Linux kernel. A commercial PCI-VME bus bridge connects the readout processors of this system to digitization hardware. While Linux is not a real-time system, this paper shows how we have structured the readout software to meet the requirements of the NSCL without the use of real-time or embedded components.

MetaSockets: design and operation of runtime reconfigurable communication services

This paper describes the internal architecture and operation of an adaptable communication component called the MetaSocket. MetaSockets are created using Adaptive Java, a reflective extension to Java that enables a components internal architecture and behavior to be adapted at runtime in response to external stimuli. This paper describes how adaptive behavior is implemented in MetaSockets, as well as how MetaSockets interact with other adaptive components, such as decision makers and event mediators. Results of experiments on a mobile computing testbed demonstrate how MetaSockets respond to dynamic wireless channel conditions in order to improve the quality of interactive audio streams delivered to iPAQ handheld computers. Copyright