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Context-awareness in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) relies mainly on the position of objects and humans. The provision of this positional information becomes challenging in the harsh environmental conditions where WSNs are commonly deployed. With an antagonistic philosophy of design, fingerprinting and ranging have emerged as the key technologies underpinning wireless localization in harsh environments. Fingerprinting primarily focuses on accurate estimation at the expense of exhaustive calibration. Ranging mainly pursues an easy-to-deploy solution at the expense of moderate performance. In this paper, we present a resilient framework for sustained localization based on accurate fingerprinting in critical areas and light ranging in noncritical spaces. Such framework is conceived from the Bayesian perspective that facilitates the specification of recursive algorithms for real-time operation. In comparison to conventional implementations, we assessed the proposed framework in an indoor scenario with measurements gathered by commercial devices. The presented techniques noticeably outperform current approaches, enabling a flexible adaptation to the fluctuating conditions of harsh environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of heterogeneous distributed sensor networks requires new solutions that can address the problem of automatically fusing the information coming from different sources in an efficient and effective manner. In the literature it is possible to find different types of data fusion and information fusion techniques in use today, but it is still a challenge to obtain systems that allow the automation or semiautomation of information processing and fusion. In this paper, we present a multiagent system that based on the organizational theory proposes a new model to automatically process and fuse information in heterogeneous distributed sensor networks. The proposed architecture is applied to a case study for indoor location where information is taken from different heterogeneous sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a prototype for adapting workplaces for disabled people. The effective integration of people with disabilities in the workplace is a huge challenge to society, and it presents an opportunity to make use of new technologies. The project, called AZTECA, aims to develop new tools that contribute to the employment of groups of people with visual, hearing, or motor disabilities in office environments. These different tools for the disabled people have been modelled with intelligent agents that use Web services. These agents are implemented and deployed within the PANGEA platform so PANGEA conforms the skeleton of the system and allows to develop an integral system. The main target of prototype presented in this work is the people detection using ZigBee technology and the personalization of the workplace according to the user's disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early detection and monitoring of kidney disease continues being an important problem in medicine. The diagnosis and treatment of patients with this disease usually require expensive medical equipment that is difficult to install. Patients or medical centers may not always be able to afford such equipment. This work proposes the creation of a wireless sensor network for medical environments; it will assist medical professionals in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with renal symptomatology. This work will focus on the analysis of symptoms that accompany this disease and the design of a system which will help determine types of kidney diseases. The proposed system will incorporate new hardware mechanisms and an intelligent system. It will be designed through a multi-agent architecture based on virtual organizations. This architecture will include a new model of agents, specifically designed to be incorporated into computationally limited devices. This hardware will be characterized by its low cost and ease of use. A case study has been carried out in order to validate the proposed architecture. In order to validate the proposed architecture, we designed a case study that aims to provide a technological tool for medical professionals and makes it possible to determine any diseases related to diuresis. The initial results are promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]