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The aim of this work is to find a possible solution to problems related to the selection of the network in heterogeneous scenarios with the demand for several different services at the same time. Currently, reputation-based network selection algorithms do not take into account different types of traffic. SMASH, addresses network selection through a reputation algorithm, network slicing and neural networks and presents a new solution to improve the exploitation of resources by controlling congestion and improving network performance in terms of QoS parameters such as the average throughput, packet loss ratio and packet delay.

The exact and unambiguous knowledge of the dielectric and thermal properties of biological tissues, as well as tissue-mimicking phantoms, is of fundamental importance for the design of all types of microwave systems for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes that have been taking place in recent years. Several research groups around the world have been studying the dielectric and thermal properties of biological tissues for several years and numerous databases have been proposed. This paper presents some preliminary results about a cross study on the dielectric and thermal properties of known solutions, in order to tune the measurement systems for the future analysis on more sophisticated tissue-mimicking mixtures. As an example of the possible set of measurements intended for such a study, two different setups are discussed. First, the impact on dielectric measurements of the system calibration temperature $(23^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ and $80^{\circ}\mathrm{C})$, for a 0.1M NaCl solution, representative of tissues with an high water content, is outlined in the frequency range 0.5–30 GHz. Then, the thermal properties of sunflower oil, representative of tissues with a low water content, are characterized in a temperature range from $35^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ to $45^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$.

The evaluation websites of ICO (Initial coin offering) a way to raise funds for creating a new coin, app, or service launches, represent the main source where investors can find interesting information about their investments on one or more ICOs. In the last years many websites offered the possibility to evaluate ICOs. Among all, we chose 8 significant websites where rating, team, socials, platform, country and many other properties are shown for each ICO. These properties can be very helpful to figure out whether an ICO might be a good opportunity or a scam. Analyzing data found on ICOBench website using APIs, we found the same data for 7 other websites using the scraper. Then, we compared the gathered data in order to be able to define the quality of the evaluation websites regarding completeness and clarity of the shown information, finding several differences in rating parameters and ICO distribution. For this purpose we developed an ad-hoc scraping tool to collect in a common data structure the information shown in each website. Thanks to the data obtained with the tool we made interesting analysis, showing the differences between the ICO parameters of the different websites and defining completeness and clarity of the information.

This article deals with the numerical modeling of the multiphysics investigation of an electric-field-based device for the defluoridation of Ethiopian water to mitigate fluorosis while satisfying the World Health Organization quality requirement for potable water. A tubular reactor with metallic parallel plates, connected to a static voltage source, exerts an electric force on the ion in solution, attracting it to the electrodes. Meanwhile, the ion is drifted by the laminar water flow which, in turn, allows us to separate and collect the F $^{-}$ -rich stream from the potable one. In this system, the electrostatic problem and the mass transport are coupled according to the highly nonlinear modified Poisson–Nernst–Planck–Stokes equations system. Therefore, carefully modeling the dielectric permittivity, the ionic diffusivity, and mobility as function of fluoride concentration and temperature, the set of operating parameters to ensure the highest fluoride removal from Ethiopian thermal water is identified.

This paper goes beyond classic Internet of Things (IoT) and focuses on the concept of Multimedia-based Internet of Things (M-IoT). Smart heterogeneous multimedia things can interact and cooperate with each another and with other things connected to the Internet to facilitate multimedia-based services and applications that are globally available to the users. Nowadays, the access network selection for heterogeneous multimedia devices is not managed taking into account the reputation that a given network has at a given instant. In order to solve these issues ReMIoT, a Reputation-based M-IoT architecture is introduced in this paper and presented alongside a novel solution to improve multimedia content delivery quality. The solution includes three distinct operational stages: (i) multimedia service detection, (ii) network reputation detection, and (iii) M-IoT network selection. The performance of the proposed solution is compared against that of a traffic type-based differentiated reputation algorithm for radio resource allocation (TYDER). This performance was evaluated in terms of QoS parameters such as throughput, packet delay and packet loss ratio.

5th-Generation (5G) applications require high data rates and Quality of Service (QoS) levels. Mobile devices can access the Internet exploiting several technologies, as for example Long Term Evolution (LTE) or Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). In this context, the heterogeneous network (HetNet) paradigm has been introduced to allow the coexistence of devices and services with different characteristics assuring a high QoS level to users with-out modifying resource distribution and management. Several access network selection methods have been proposed showing the limitation of not considering both the type of traffic for the service requested by users and the characteristics of devices. To overcome this limitation, a new HetNet selection method based on additive logarithmic weighting (ALW) algorithm is presented in this paper, combining information related to the received signal power, network load, and mobility of users.

Augmented Reality applications represent the current emerging trend of broadcast services whereby users require the same data content. Broadcast applications in smart environments ask for low-latency data transmission, low-energy communication, and location- and customer-based group creation procedures. The standardization efforts done from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to make the 5th generation (5G) a reality have involved also the existing Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology leading to the 5G New Radio (5G-NR) standard. One of the main innovation is the definition of three different Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) tables to allow a differentiation according to the class of devices, grouped into five different categories based on their basic characteristics. 5G broadcast/multicast is one of the topics that is under discussion at 3GPP for 5G phase II (release 17). In this paper, authors focused on a 5G-ready LTE system, referring to real broadcast mobile urban scenarios where users are interested in Augmented Reality (AR) applications. The authors analyzed the Subgrouping Optimal Aggregate Data Rate (SubOptADR) algorithm whereby broadcast destinations are grouped into different subgroups depending on the perceived user equipment (UE) channel quality in order to maximize the Aggregate Data Rate (ADR), which is the sum of data rate values obtained by all the broadcast members. The capabilities of the algorithm are evaluated comparing LTE and 5G-NR networks, focusing on different user classes and type of devices. The paper details three envisaged AR application scenarios, describing the subgrouping optimization algorithm in 5G-NR and showing how group-oriented communications can improve spectrum efficiency in the broadcast of AR services.

This paper aims to present the ideas behind a research project that has been recently financed by the European Regional Development Fund POR FESR Sardegna 2014-2020 under the call “Cluster top-down actions" program of the Sardinian Region. This project proposes the implementation of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) model in the distribution network based on the integration among the power system, the control system and communication system. The VPP is obtained by clustering distributed energy resources thanks to Internet of Things technologies and Cloud systems to develop a system of aggregation, coordination and optimization of distributed energy resources able to monitor and the power absorbed by electrical users and provide dispatching/flexibility services to the electricity distributor.

The combined effect of large scale adoption of mobile communications, recent advent of Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) promoted by Internet of Things (IoT) and unprecedented diversification of the next generation networked applications offers new opportunities for further advancements of wireless communications. In this work, an innovative solution and a low-power network communication technology are proposed to be employed in conjunction in a real-world scenario in a smart city environment. The paper introduces the energy-efficient multi-hop communication solution (e2McH) which performs energy-efficient communications in multi-hop manner over LPWAN, employing narrowband technologies. Experimental testing involving deployment of the proposed solution over two licensed industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) bands shows how e2McH can be used to cover successfully an area with a radius of roughly 14 km.

The significant increment in the number of users that need broadband multimedia system, relative radio resources, and the evolution of the devices has encouraged to search for different methods to manage heterogeneous wireless networks. One solution to this problem is to make traffic balancing on heterogeneous networks, so that none of the available networks for a given user will be saturated avoiding performance decay. This paper proposes a novel Multiplicative Exponential Weighting (MEW) approach that manages the access network selection. MEW combines several inputs such as power of the received signal, throughput, packet delay, cost-per-user, the requested type of traffic, and type of device. The obtained results have shown an improvement of 15% in average PSNR, and 20% in terms of delay and throughput, compared to the algorithms presented in the literature.

In Smart Grids the flow of electricity and information is strictly interrelated with the management and control of the electricity supply system. ICT is not only an extension or a modernization of the power system equipment, but a fundamental requirement for supporting the distribution network monitoring, operation and control. To enable monitoring and control of the Smart Grid and accommodate the large realtime data flow between controlled equipment and the distribution management system it is necessary the deployment of advanced sensors and measurement systems along with the communication network infrastructure. In this paper two different strategies for power network monitoring and control are compared: an LTE-based centralized management approach and a 5G-based distributed management approach. The two types of communications systems are compared considering their performances during fault management in a Smart Grid scenario.

The demand for video services in mobile networks is rapidly increasing. In fact, is expected that video transmissions will account for more than 69% of mobile data traffic by 2018[1]. Along these lines, the challenging requirements of such multimedia applications and, at the same time, the centralized organization typical of current cellular technologies motivate the investigation of enhanced advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for supporting the driver experience in terms of safety driving comfort. In this context, in this paper we focus our attention of a new realistic scenario, in which all users share video contents from the surrounding environment with the aim to create a global 3D video content useful for ADAS systems. Once that such video content is created, we assume that the LTE eNodeB may come in help for making it available through streaming transmissions towards all vehicles in that area with the use of Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS). Obtained results, show that multicast transmissions based on subgrouping techniques are able to overcome the legacy solutions where conservative and opportunistic schemes are used.

The paper proposes a sensorization plan for monitoring a relevant architectural case study at the University of Cagliari, in order to verify indoor thermo-hygrometric conditions and define a set of interventions which should be compatible with building preservation issue and oriented at improving its energy performance. The research aims at understanding how to organize and structure the compliance of the building, in order to anticipate users' needs and how the centrality of these requirements can influence the definition of new retrofit models. Firstly, the proposed workflow has been tested on a pilot building with the same use: the eLUX lab, e.g. the Smart Campus Demonstrator at the University of Brescia and then, an adaptation of the developed cognitive concept has been applied to the “Mandolesi Pavilion”, an icon building at the University of Cagliari Campus. This adaptation and the main features transferred to from the experience in Brescia to Cagliari are here presented. The research is ongoing and first results are discussed.

This work focuses on the heat transfer dynamics in agricultural soils when exposed to microwave (MW) fields, in order to disinfect them and to eliminate dangerous organisms without using pesticides. The work managed with the design of a horn antenna, with fixed feeding power, to be used to irradiate the superficial layer of soils for a fixed depth. The soil was approximated using a transmission line model, i.e. a lumped electrical model. By this model, after having evaluated the relevant physical parameters, e.g. the dielectric constant (as a function of the soil water content), it was possible to evaluate the power absorption for the irradiated ground and, finally, the increase in temperature and its profile as a function of the irradiation time. Since the latter information is strictly connected to the heat transfer process occurring in the system, it is demonstrated the feasibility of the methodology here proposed to achieve difficult conditions for microbial and pathogens life and so an effective disinfection of the treated farmland.

We present here the design and analysis of a microwave resonant cavity to evaluate the effect of RF electromagnetic field on enzyme reactions. The cavity has been first designed using CST. Then, its behaviour in the actual use has been evaluated using the COMSOL multiphysics.

Technology scaling enables the Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide increasing computing power while remain low power consumption. Together with the high flexibility for application design and deployment, FPGAs have become popular even in safety- and mission-critical applications. Meanwhile, Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components are often used in system design to reduce time-to-market and development cost. In this paper, we are proposing a new method for the analysis and mitigation of Single Event Upsets (SEUs) on SRAM-based FPGAs. The method is based on an analytical analyzer algorithm able to accurately estimate the application error rate; furthermore, the same developed algorithm is able to implement mitigation rules. We present the radiation experiment results for analysis and mitigation of Single Event Upsets (SEUs) in an ARM-based SoC implemented on Xilinx Virtex-V FPGA demonstrating the feasibility of the analysis tool and the effectiveness of the mitigation method.

Predicting soft errors on SRAM-based FPGAs without a wasteful time-consuming or a high-cost has always been a very difficult goal. Among the available methods, we proposed an updated version of analytical approach to predict Single Event Effects (SEEs) based on the analysis of the circuit the FPGA implements. In this paper, we provide an experimental validation of this approach, by comparing the results it provides with a fault injection campaign. We adopted our analytical method for computing the error-rate of a design implemented on SRAM-based FPGA. Furthermore, we compared the obtained soft-error figure with the one measured by fault injection. Experimental analysis demonstrated the analytical method closely match the effective soft-error rates becoming a viable solution for the soft-error estimation at early design phases.

In absolute gravity measurements, a laser interferometer tracks the motion of a free falling retroreflector. The value of the local acceleration due to gravity is obtained by timing the traveling interference fringes. This paper presents the accuracy assessment of digital fringe processing for the extraction of gravity value from the digitized data.