Ranko Popovic

Web laboratory for computer network

Current technologies give us the ability to enhance and replace developmental classes with computer‐based resources, often called Web laboratories. Web laboratories have become a very useful support for practical aspects of teaching methods. This article presents a Web‐based laboratory, which makes learning of base principles of computer network possible.

A comparison and security analysis of the cloud computing software platforms

The first part of this paper describes most promising open-source cloud computing software platforms — Eucalyptus, OpenNebula and OpenQRM. With these platforms, it is possible to manage Infrastructure-as-a-Service operations. Non-commercial projects are analyzed, because they represent inexpensive but significant alternative to private and commercial software. The second part of the paper presents a suggestion of a new better security solution for cloud platform.

mTester-Mobile learning system

In the 21st century, education represents a key factor of economic and social development of a community. The majority of traditional methods intended for education are no longer suitable for it, since they are unable to meet the students’ needs. Mobile learning represents a new educational channel, which allows access from any place at any time. In this paper, an overview of various forms of education is provided, concepts of mobile learning are discussed, educational mobile applications are analyzed, and the design and the prototype of a mobile application intended for learning, called mTester, is described. Finally, the paper presents a case study of mobile learning use, conducted at the Business School of Applied Studies in Blace, Serbia. The first results show an improvement in the realization of courses and in the students’ final grades.

Smart Grid and nanotechnologies: a solution for clean and sustainable energy

Environmental sustainability remains a big trend; topics such as climate change and global warming are generating a lot of discussion. Growing world energy demand from fossil fuels plays a key role in the upward trend in CO 2 emissions and is the main source of human- induced climate changes. While energy systems around the world remain at vastly different stages of development, all countries share a common problem: they are far away from achieving sustainable energy systems. As levels of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases continue to rise in the atmosphere, with historical maximums reached lately, sustainability in energy generation and energy efficiency principles is becoming ever more important. In this paper, we describe the effects that development of new technologies, such as Smart Grid and nanotechnology will likely have on reducing carbon emissions. We discuss the main requirements and features of Smart Grids to integrate energy efficiency, the enabler technologies, and expected benefits they will bring. As findings in this review paper document, recent progress suggests that Smart Grid can become an integral part of future clean energy solutions, while nanotechnology will likely become indispensable for the Smart Grid to fully evolve in the near future.

Integration of simulators in virtual 3D computer science classroom

In this paper we describe a virtual 3D lab created using Open Wonderland to enable simultaneous execution of different computer science simulator modules in a collaborative, immersive workspace. Simulators were divided into functional modules that can be reused and combined for different teaching topics based on statistics of their usage. We discuss some important issues in our platform setup, describe our learning environment and logging module we developed in order to track system usage. Preliminary usability testing confirms the efficiency of this approach.

The survey of commercially available sensor platforms from energy efficiency aspect

Sensor networks contain a large number of nodes which form the network. Sensors are very small devices with very limited resources. They are autonomous, capable for collecting and processing data and transmitting them in wireless mode through radio transmitters on short distances. Resources for processing, storing data, communication and energy are very limited. In this paper we will first explain the structure of wireless sensors and then we will give the survey of commercially available sensor platforms for realization of these sensor networks with paying special attention to energy consumption.

Internationalized approach to wireless networks simulation

In this work we describe how a wireless sensor network simulator was integrated into a 3D environment for use in multi-lingual teaching environment. It has been known that simulators are very useful as supplement to a physical equipment in the classroom; the idea in creating internationalized environment was to help Libyan students studying in Serbia overcome the language barrier and organize virtual sessions according to their learning profiles and cultural habits, which is not possible in a traditional classroom setup.

3D virtual laboratory for Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper we describe how a wireless sensor network simulator was integrated into a 3D environment for use in educational environment. Simulators are very useful aid in teaching process, especially in the area of Wireless Sensor Networks. This paper also presents opportunities in engineering education, in particular in the area of wireless networks, through the usage of virtual laboratories.

Virtual Educational System and communication

The lack of fully integrated real and virtual classrooms or labs which provide interactivity between participants has recently become an important issue. We also noticed that a specific pedagogical approach based on the feedback from participants in the educational process has not yet been described in the literature. These are two important motivations for dealing with this problem. In this paper we present Virtual Educational System, through integrated real and virtual labs (VirLabs). System enables interactivity between students which work contemporarily on the same project. Virtual Network Computing (VNC) system and protocol has been used as a platform independent system. We are working on research a completely new communication protocol, which depends on the behaviour of the proposed educational system.

Energy efficient security architecture for wireless sensor networks

One of the primary goals in designing a smart home environment is to minimize energy consumption by efficient management of home appliances. Smart homes often employ wireless sensor networks (WSN) to monitor physical parameters (like light, temperature, or presence of users at home). There is a growing concern about protection of data acquired by easily accessible wireless sensors; on the other hand, smart home networking trend stresses the importance of further protecting the communication of acquired data. Public-key cryptography methods have been long considered as energy inefficient to be applied in constraint environments such as sensor networks. In this paper we revisit public-key data protection in WSN and design a fault tolerant security architecture based on the use of elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), whose primary goal is to maximize lifetime of sensor nodes. We propose the use of Java enabled, heterogeneous and clustered WSN platform and discuss its advantages over existing solutions, which commonly imply heavy optimization of security code and procedures.