Joint Presentation Real-Time Locating System for Boarding Support and Rescue: A Case Study Multi-Agent System for Controlling the Unloading of Illegal Traffic of Merchandise and People Dante I. Tapia, Javier Bajo, Juan M. Corchado, Óscar García, Ricardo S. Alonso, Raúl Montero

Contents Introduction Problem Description Research Areas The n-Core Platform Case Studies Conclusions and Future Work

INTRODUCTION

Introduction Piracy and illegal trade problems –Using technology to provide solutions to these problems Research Areas: –Ambient Intelligence –Multi-Agent Systems –Wireless Sensor Networks –Real-Time Locating Systems Two different scenarios: –Boarding support and rescue in piracy scenarios –Control of unloading of illegal traffic of merchandise and people

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

Problem Description Piracy and illegal traffic problems –Human lives: civilians, soldiers or even pirates –Economic costs: reduction of commerce, military and ransom costs –Social problems: drug, slavery, illegal immigration –Political problems: terrorism, illegal arms trade Technology can give solutions to these problems –Should help users to perform surveillance and rescue tasks without distracting them –Should increase the knowledge about the environment by users –Should have a steep learning curve –Non-invasive, context-aware, efficient, inexpensive

SCENARIO 1 Real-Time Locating System for Boarding Support and Rescue: A Case Study

SCENARIO 2 Multi-Agent System for Controlling the Unloading of Illegal Traffic of Merchandise and People

RESEARCH AREAS

Ambient Intelligence Proposes new ways of interaction between people and technology, making it suited to the needs of individuals and the environment that surrounds them Main characteristics of an AmI-based system: –Ubiquitous computing, communication and information Embedded devices in daily life objects (even on military applications) –Context-aware environment –Intelligence Learns and adapts to the users’ necessities –Non-invasive and natural Human-System interaction It is useless to develop the most powerful system if the user is unable to use it!

Multi-Agent Systems Agent: –A computational system situated in an environment and that is able to act autonomously in this environment to achieve its design goals (Wooldridge, 2002). –Anything with the ability to perceive its environment through sensors and respond in the same environment through actuators, assuming that each agent may perceive its own actions and learn from the experience (Russell, et al., 1995). Multi-agent system (MAS): –Any system composed of multiple autonomous agents with incomplete capabilities to solve a global problem, where there is no global control system, the data is decentralized and the computing is asynchronous Are adequate to develop AmI-based systems and applications!

Wireless Sensor Networks Provide automatic and real-time information about the users and the environment (context information) Expand the users’ capabilities –Interaction with the environment (sensors and actuators) Different wireless sensor technologies –RFID, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee –ZigBee allows more than 65,000 low-power nodes in the same mesh network Context information must be managed by reasoning mechanisms to learn from past and adapt their behavior One of the most interesting applications for WSNs is Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS) –A growing market nowadays Gathering context information is a key aspect in AmI-based systems

Real-Time Locating Systems Determine the position of mobile elements in an environment Two basic elements: –Sensors: placed at fixed points and used as references –Tags: carried by the users and objects to be located Outdoor locating is currently widely used: GPS Problems when working in indoor environments Indoor locating needs still more development –Low-cost and efficient infrastructures –Accuracy is a problem that requires novel solutions The most important factors in the locating process are: the environment, the sensors used and the techniques applied Tracking the real-time position of people/assets can make the difference in a piracy scenario!

THE N-CORE PLATFORM

The n-Core Platform Hardware /ZigBeeHardware /ZigBee Application Programming Interface (API) ApplicationsApplications Locating Engine Automation Engine A powerful hardware and software platform to develop, integrate and deploy easily and quickly, a wide variety of applications over Wireless Sensor Networks based on the IEEE /ZigBee international standard

The n-Core Platform Sirius A Multiple ports to connect to sensors and actuatorsMultiple ports to connect to sensors and actuators USB, UART, GPIO, ADC, I2C, PWM, IRQUSB, UART, GPIO, ADC, I2C, PWM, IRQ Sirius B Designed to be carried by people and assetsDesigned to be carried by people and assets Reduced size and power consumptionReduced size and power consumption Sirius D Designed to support the network infrastructureDesigned to support the network infrastructure Acts forwarding packets through the networkActs forwarding packets through the network All n-Core Sirius devices are based on IEEE / ZigBee international standard

The n-Core Platform Locating Engine Estimate of the position of mobile devices by using the same network infrastructure both indoors and outdoors. Automation Engine Control and monitoring of any sensor or actuator connected to the system.

CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDY 1 Real-Time Locating System for Boarding Support and Rescue: A Case Study

CASE STUDY 2 Multi-Agent System for Controlling the Unloading of Illegal Traffic of Merchandise and People

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK

Conclusions Piracy and illegal traffic imply human, economic, social and political costs It is necessary to apply non-invasive, context-aware, efficient, inexpensive technology to minimize these costs Systems based on AmI, MAS, WSN and RTLS can give support to military and civil authorities to deal with these problems

Future Work Get ideas from specialized users Find technological partners –R&D projects Analysis and design process Develop and deploy prototypes to test performance and get feedback Adapt these systems to other scenarios/areas –Industrial, healthcare, education, farming

Joint Presentation Real-Time Locating System for Boarding Support and Rescue: A Case Study Multi-Agent System for Controlling the Unloading of Illegal Traffic of Merchandise and People Dante I. Tapia, Javier Bajo, Juan M. Corchado, Óscar García, Ricardo S. Alonso, Raúl Montero