María Teresa Signes Pont

Flexible Framework for Real-Time Embedded Systems Based on Mobile Cloud Computing Paradigm

The development of applications as well as the services for mobile systems faces a varied range of devices with very heterogeneous capabilities whose response times are difficult to predict. The research described in this work aims to respond to this issue by developing a computational model that formalizes the problem and that defines adjusting computing methods. The described proposal combines imprecise computing strategies with cloud computing paradigms in order to provide flexible implementation frameworks for embedded or mobile devices. As a result, the imprecise computation scheduling method on the workload of the embedded system is the solution to move computing to the cloud according to the priority and response time of the tasks to be executed and hereby be able to meet productivity and quality of desired services. A technique to estimate network delays and to schedule more accurately tasks is illustrated in this paper. An application example in which this technique is experimented in running contexts with heterogeneous work loading for checking the validity of the proposed model is described.

Management of social networks in the educational process

Social networks are complementary to educational websites to reach all aspects of learning.Disclosure through social networks is faster and wider than through educational websites.Community Manager in educational context is proved to be useful. The research developed in this work consists in proposing a set of techniques for management of social networks and their integration into the educational process. The proposals made are based on assumptions that have been proven with simple examples in a real scenario of university teaching.The results show that social networks have more capacity to spread information than educational web platforms. Moreover, educational social networks are developed in a context of freedom of expression intrinsically linked to Internet freedom. In that context, users can write opinions or comments which are not liked by the staff of schools. However, this feature can be exploited to enrich the educational process and improve the quality of their achievement.The network has covered needs and created new ones. So, the figure of the Community Manager is proposed as agent in educational context for monitoring network and aims to channel the opinions and to provide a rapid response to an academic problem.

Calculation scheme based on a weighted primitive: application to image processing transforms

This paper presents a method to improve the calculation of functions which specially demand a great amount of computing resources. The method is based on the choice of a weighted primitive which enables the calculation of function values under the scope of a recursive operation. When tackling the design level, the method shows suitable for developing a processor which achieves a satisfying trade-off between time delay, area costs, and stability. The method is particularly suitable for the mathematical transforms used in signal processing applications. A generic calculation scheme is developed for the discrete fast Fourier transform (DFT) and then applied to other integral transforms such as the discrete Hartley transform (DHT), the discrete cosine transform (DCT), and the discrete sine transform (DST). Some comparisons with other well-known proposals are also provided.This paper presents a method to improve the calculation of functions which specially demand a great amount of computing resources. The method is based on the choice of a weighted primitive which enables the calculation of function values under the scope of a recursive operation. When tackling the design level, the method shows suitable for developing a processor which achieves a satisfying trade-off between time delay, area costs, and stability. The method is particularly suitable for the mathematical transforms used in signal processing applications. A generic calculation scheme is developed for the discrete fast Fourier transform (DFT) and then applied to other integral transforms such as the discrete Hartley transform (DHT), the discrete cosine transform (DCT), and the discrete sine transform (DST). Some comparisons with other well-known proposals are also provided.

Collaborative Working Architecture for IoT-Based Applications

The new sensing applications need enhanced computing capabilities to handle the requirements of complex and huge data processing. The Internet of Things (IoT) concept brings processing and communication features to devices. In addition, the Cloud Computing paradigm provides resources and infrastructures for performing the computations and outsourcing the work from the IoT devices. This scenario opens new opportunities for designing advanced IoT-based applications, however, there is still much research to be done to properly gear all the systems for working together. This work proposes a collaborative model and an architecture to take advantage of the available computing resources. The resulting architecture involves a novel network design with different levels which combines sensing and processing capabilities based on the Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) paradigm. An experiment is included to demonstrate that this approach can be used in diverse real applications. The results show the flexibility of the architecture to perform complex computational tasks of advanced applications.

Resilience modeling by means of a set of recursive functions

This paper presents a computational framework to approach the resilience properties of the systems in many different domains. The proposal models elementary behaviors of the systems by means of a set of recursive functions defined by a few parameters. The parameter values determine wide intervals that characterize the behavioral patterns. The proposal provides a theoretical model of resilience related to the capability of a system to maintain its own pattern by displaying only minor changes when the parameter values of the model vary inside the intervals. This model lays out two powerful design principles for resilience issues, which are the parameterized form of the function and its recursive calculation. The model has been successfully applied to the study of well known system archetypes.

Algebraic Model of an Arithmetic Unit for TTE-Computable Normalized Rational Numbers

A formal specification of an arithmetic unit for computable normalized rational numbers is proposed. This specification, developed under the scope of the paradigm known as algebraic models of processors, exploits the connection between the signed digit representation for rational numbers in Type-2 Theory of Effectivity and online arithmetic in Computer Arithmetic. The proposal aims for specification formalization and calculation reliability together with implementation feasibility.

Parametric architecture for function calculation improvement

This paper presents a new approach to the problem caused by the exploding needs of computing resources in function calculation. The proposal argues for increasing the computing power at the primitive processing level in order to reduce the number of computing levels required to carry out the calculations. This trade-off is developed within the limits of function evaluation by substituting the usual primitives, namely sum and multiplication, by a unique weighted primitive that can be tuned for different values of the weighting parameters. All function points are carried out by successive iterations of the primitive. A parametric architecture implements the design. The case of combined trigonometric functions involved in the calculation of the Hough transform (HT) is analyzed under this scope. It provides memory and hard-ware resource saving as well as speed improvements, according to the experiments carried out with the HT.

Opinion Dissemination Computational Model

The dissemination of opinions is a very important phenomenon in modern societies because it shapes politics, policies and then guides the evolution of societies in the future. The scheme is very simple: an opinion is transmitted by a leader to other people in his (her) neighborhood. People can be convinced or not and so, in turn, they convey their updated opinion (or their previous one) to their neighbors. This paper presents a computational framework based on a set binary local rules that have the capability to model the transmission of opinion between neighbors. Several neighborhood types are considered, such as 4- and 8-neighbours and knight (chess) neighbors. Different behavioral patterns are analyzed in relation to rule type, neighborhood type, and leader type.

A Computational Approach of the French Flag Model to Connect Growth and Specification in Developmental Biology

The study of the mechanisms that link the global system behavior to the interaction of its parts is an important issue to the field of complex systems. This occurs in many natural systems in biology, ecology and physics. Nature-inspired computation tries to capture and exploit natural solutions in order to solve real problems in many different fields such as telecommunication networks, architecture and urban spaces design, sociology or economy planning. The main purpose of the present research is the creation of a computational path connecting a set of low-level interactions with high-level emerging behaviors. The low-level interactions are modeled by very simple neighbor binary rules. The upper level highlights a regular pattern formation. This framework has been applied to approach the pattern formation in the vertebrate limb development under the scope of the French Flag model. We have developed a four-level theoretical framework. The lowest level defines a set of neighbor binary rules. The second level comes from the iterative application of these rules on sequences of binary values. The resulting sequences are interpreted as arithmetic function values, in binary or decimal representation. The third level highlights a set of computational primitives that have the capability to build directly the function values. Any function can be carried out by means of a particular combination of these primitives, denoted seed behavior. In the fourth level, the emergent behavioral effect is highlighted as a scaling process of the seed behavior. Some functions that have been defined by the four-level framework have been successfully applied to model the French Flag model (progressive specification, intercalary specification and early specification) which is a well-known approach to the pattern formation in the vertebrate limb development. Our empirical research highlights it is possible to develop a computational model which connects very simple rules to complex behavioral patterns. The way consists of a hierarchical organization of computing embedded steps. Our model provides a numerical and geometrical counterpart to the French Flag model and therefore proves its capability to be a formal basis to the case of vertebrate limb development. These encouraging results suggest as a future work the improvement in this model. The composition of functions must be explored as well as new combinations of building primitives in order to identify more emergent effects. More, the relevance of quantitative emergent effects must be highlighted in future applications to natural cases. It is expected that the development of these operations will help addressing new issues such as truncation and graft in vertebrate limbs.Background/IntroductionThe study of the mechanisms that link the global system behavior to the interaction of its parts is an important issue to the field of complex systems. This occurs in many natural systems in biology, ecology and physics. Nature-inspired computation tries to capture and exploit natural solutions in order to solve real problems in many different fields such as telecommunication networks, architecture and urban spaces design, sociology or economy planning. The main purpose of the present research is the creation of a computational path connecting a set of low-level interactions with high-level emerging behaviors. The low-level interactions are modeled by very simple neighbor binary rules. The upper level highlights a regular pattern formation. This framework has been applied to approach the pattern formation in the vertebrate limb development under the scope of the French Flag model.MethodsWe have developed a four-level theoretical framework. The lowest level defines a set of neighbor binary rules. The second level comes from the iterative application of these rules on sequences of binary values. The resulting sequences are interpreted as arithmetic function values, in binary or decimal representation. The third level highlights a set of computational primitives that have the capability to build directly the function values. Any function can be carried out by means of a particular combination of these primitives, denoted seed behavior. In the fourth level, the emergent behavioral effect is highlighted as a scaling process of the seed behavior.ResultsSome functions that have been defined by the four-level framework have been successfully applied to model the French Flag model (progressive specification, intercalary specification and early specification) which is a well-known approach to the pattern formation in the vertebrate limb development.ConclusionsOur empirical research highlights it is possible to develop a computational model which connects very simple rules to complex behavioral patterns. The way consists of a hierarchical organization of computing embedded steps. Our model provides a numerical and geometrical counterpart to the French Flag model and therefore proves its capability to be a formal basis to the case of vertebrate limb development. These encouraging results suggest as a future work the improvement in this model. The composition of functions must be explored as well as new combinations of building primitives in order to identify more emergent effects. More, the relevance of quantitative emergent effects must be highlighted in future applications to natural cases. It is expected that the development of these operations will help addressing new issues such as truncation and graft in vertebrate limbs.

A Belief System's Organization Based on a Computational Model of the Dynamic Context: First Approximation

In this article we present a model of organization of a belief system based on a set of binary recursive functions that characterize the dynamic context that modifies the beliefs. The initial beliefs are modeled by a set of two-bit words that grow, update, and generate other beliefs as the different experiences of the dynamic context appear. Reason is presented as an emergent effect of the experience on the beliefs. The system presents a layered structure that allows a functional organization of the belief system. Our approach seems suitable to model different ways of thinking and to apply to different realistic scenarios such as ideologies.