Hsu-Yang Kung

A Synchronization Infrastructure For Multicast Multimedia At The Presentation Layer

In order to have computers successfully become consumer electronics products, an infrastructure of multicast multimedia networking presentation architecture that allows low-end computer, e.g., a set-top-box or a diskless networking PC, having isochronous multimedia presentations is urgently required. The paper describes a feasible multicast multimedia presentation network architecture and the corresponding presentation control mechanisms. The network architecture is based on a lower layer multicast communication network, e.g. MBONE, and provides the corresponding management of multicast multimedia presentations which include multimedia resource management, admission management, multicast communication management, and multimedia presentation management. Based on the proposed network architecture, we present the corresponding media transmission methods, presentation control schemes, and synchronization control schemes for multicast multimedia presentations in detail.

Designing intelligent disaster prediction models and systems for debris-flow disasters in Taiwan

Effective disaster prediction relies on using correct disaster decision model to predict the disaster occurrence accurately. This study proposes three effective debris-flow prediction models and an inference engine to predict and decide the debris-flow occurrence in Taiwan. The proposed prediction models are based on linear regression, multivariate analysis, and back-propagation networks. To create a practical simulation environment, the decision database is the pre-analyzed 181 potential debris-flows in Taiwan. According to the simulation results, the prediction model based on back-propagation networks predicted the debris flow most accurately. Moreover, a Real-timeMobileDebrisFlowDisasterForecastSystem (RM(DF)^2) was implemented as a three-tier architecture consisting of mobile appliances, intelligent situation-aware agents and decision support servers based on the wireless/mobile Internet communications. The RM(DF)^2 system provides real-time communication between the disaster area and the rescue-control center, and effectively prevents and manages debris-flow disasters.

Intelligent and situation-aware pervasive system to support debris-flow disaster prediction and alerting in Taiwan

Effective information transmission through robust communications is critical to prevent and alert for natural disasters. However, disasters always destroy the wired communication environment. Moreover, effective information needs to reveal the real situations of the disaster, e.g., the accurate position and the real-time image/video of accident events. An accurate disaster prediction model is useful to reduce casualties and prevent disasters from occurring. An effective disaster prediction is based on the accurate disaster decision model, which can be achieved through the situation-aware information communications between the disaster area and the rescue-control center. This study proposes and designs an Intelligent and Situation-Aware Pervasive System (ISPS), which successfully alert people the occurrence of debris-flow disasters. ISPS is a three-tier architecture consisting of mobile appliances, intelligent situation-aware agents (ISA) and a decision support server based on the wireless/mobile Internet communications. Furthermore, the Location-aware Routing Prediction Method (LRPM) was developed to decrease the transmission traffic and latency of pictures pushing the maps of the disaster to mobile clients. Based on the database of the pre-analyzed 181 potential debris flows in Taiwan, accurate debris flow prediction models were built to prevent debris flow using case-based reasoning (CBR) in the decision support server.

An intelligent slope disaster prediction and monitoring system based on WSN and ANP

Taiwan generally has large-scale landslides and torrential rainfall during the typhoon season. As Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and mobile communication technologies advance rapidly, state-of-the-art technologies are adopted to build a model to reliably predict and monitor disasters, as well as accumulate environmental variation-related information. By integrating WSN and Analytic Network Process (ANP), this study evaluates the weight of disaster factors that adopt the consistency index of pair comparisons on hillslopes. The weight estimation and classification of disaster factors are based on the K-means model to build the hillslope prediction model. The Portrait-based Disaster Alerting System (PDAS) is designed and implemented using the proposed disaster prediction model. The PDAS adopts Web-GIS to visualize the environmental information. Evaluation results of the system indicate that the proposed prediction model achieves more accurate disaster determination than the conventional method.

Context-Aware emergency remedy system based on pervasive computing

This study proposed a Context-Aware emergeNcy rEmedy system (CANE), based on the operations of a real hospital, to provide complete and convenient functions for emergency processes and medical consultants using mobile communication networks. The CANE system combines emergency medical services with GIS/GPS technology, mobile multimedia communications and context-aware controls. The CANE system largely focuses on allowing the EMT personnel to arrive at the accident location in the shortest possible time and give first aid the proposed dispatching procedure and the GPS/GIS location-aware service. When an ambulance is on the way to the specified hospital, the EMT can deliver the patient’s symptoms, including the data of the medical equipment and the audios/videos of the patient, to the hospital doctor via the personal communication network, e.g., GPRS. Based on real-time multimedia information, a physician can recommend to EMT the most suitable treatment for the patient on the way to the hospital.

Efficient power-consumption-based load-sharing topology control protocol for harsh environments in wireless sensor networks

Energy conservation and network performance are critical issues in wireless sensor networks. The authors present a novel efficient communication topology control protocol, called quorum-based load-sharing control protocol (QLSCP). QLSCP is a quorum-based communication protocol, which chooses appropriate communication nodes, adjusts the service loads of critical nodes and performs adaptive sleep management. QLSCP is suitable for harsh environments without a central control server calculating the locations of sensors, using the factor of the remaining power to build the system topology. The proposed protocol divides the topology operation into topology formation, adjustment and execution phases. The topology formation phase builds the backbone of an enhanced tree. In the topology adjustment phase, the enhanced tree is adjusted by an optimal balance of critical nodes in the backbone. In the topology execution phase, the efficient surplus-energy consuming (ESC) mechanism is proposed to efficiently exhaust the energy of each node. The ESC mechanism is designed to efficiently exhaust the latest remaining electronic power of sensor nodes. Simulation results of QLSCP demonstrate that it efficiently achieves to prolong system lifetime in harsh environments.

Efficient movement detection for human actions using triaxial accelerometer

Real-time sampling with high speed using a triaxial accelerometer is the fundamental purpose of using consumer devices over all-gesture operation. A welldesigned fall-down detection system uses a triaxial accelerometer influenced on gravitation to calculate an included angle between surfaces and axis of accelerometer and the accelerometer is spread on fixed position and pose of body. A triaxial accelerometer is difficult to employ to detect fall-down without postural orientation under an undetermined body position. This work presents a novel fall detection system based on unrestricted position, called Fall-Down Detection based on Unrestricted Position (FDUP), to provide an unrestricted measure for solving the undetermined position problem. The FDUP system provides an algorithm for unrestricted fall detection, which includes thresholds for acceleration and angle variation. Five volunteers were invited to simulate fall-down over 400 times to collect statistics, and to build the fall-down acceleration threshold. Analytical results show the feasibility of implementing a fall-down detection mechanism based on undetermined position.

Efficient multimedia distribution architecture using anycast

This study proposes the anycast-based multimedia distribution architectures with application-level context-aware capability to specify the most suitable server for various application domains. The following three architectures, namely the identical, heterogeneous, and semi-heterogeneous candidate architectures, are specified for different application purposes. (i) The identical candidate architecture, in which multiple servers provide clients with the same contents, is highly reliable and suitable for real-time streaming applications. (ii) The heterogeneous candidate architecture, in which different servers provide clients with different contents, provides better service diversity than the identical candidate architecture, and is suitable for non-sequential content service. (iii) The semi-heterogeneous candidate architecture, comprising one main server and multiple proxy servers, in which the main server stores the completed contents and proxy servers store some portions of information sessions, has the best system performance, and works well under high network traffic loads. To obtain quick and smooth multimedia distribution, the server selection criteria should consider not only the nearest server, but also the network traffic loads and the popularity of requested content, i.e., context-aware considerations. The proposed architectures based on the characteristics of IPv6 anycast and context-aware operations attempt to find the most suitable server/proxy. Finally, the system performance of each of the three proposed architectures is analyzed and evaluated, and compared with the non-anycast architecture. Simulation results also indicate that the semi-heterogeneous architecture is adaptive in face of changing conditions.

Load Sharing Topology Control Protocol for Harsh Environments in Wireless Sensor Networks

Energy conservation and network performance are the critical issues in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This study designed and developed a novel communication efficient topology control protocol, which calls Load Sharing Topology Control Protocol (LS-TCP). LS-TCP is a well-designed protocol, including selecting suitable communication nodes, adjusting service loads of critical nodes, and adaptively sleeping management. LS-TCP is suitable for harsh environments without sensor identifications (ID) and locations. The proposed protocol principally divides the topology operation into topology formation phase and topology adjustment phases. In the topology formation phase, a enhance tree are set up. In the topology adjustment phase, enhance tree is adjusted with an optimal balance of critical nodes in backbone. Simulation results are performed using LS-TCP, which efficiently achieve much longer system life time in harsh environments.

Information Management and Applications of Intelligent Transportation System

1Department of Information Management and Finance, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan 2Department of Computing, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK 3Department of Management Information Systems, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, 1 Shuefu Road, Neipu, Pingtung 912, Taiwan 4Telecommunication Laboratories, Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd., 99 Dianyan Road, Yangmei District, Taoyuan 326, Taiwan 5Department of Communication and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan 6School of Computing and Information Systems, Athabasca University, 1 University Drive, Athabasca, AB, Canada T9S 3A3