Diffusion of hurricane evacuation behavior through a home-workplace social network: A spatially explicit agent-based simulation model

With coastal populations experiencing the growing threat of hurricanes as a consequence of global climate change, models for predicting how household evacuation behavior may diffuse over time and space are needed for emergency management. This study models the effects of social influence on household evacuation behavior in anticipation of a hurricane event. An agent-based model was developed in this study to simulate: 1) a home-workplace social network between households residing in the Florida Keys, 2) the communication of a hurricane evacuation order among socially linked households, and 3) the resulting spatio-temporal diffusion of household evacuation behavior. Data sources informing model implementation include U.S. Census block group data, business databases, and statistics from hurricane evacuation surveys. Simulated model results from the model were validated with empirical traffic records observed at a Florida Keys monitoring station during evacuation from Hurricane Georges in 1998. This model builds upon previous research using agent-based models to simulate hurricane evacuation by incorporating multiple data sources and validating results with empirical traffic patterns. Such an empirically-grounded model facilitates locally relevant exploration of evacuation behavior to support the development of more effective evacuation plans and preparedness for future hurricane events.     

无线传感器网络中移动协助的数据收集策略

利用移动数据收集器(mobile data collector,简称MDC)进行传感器网络中感知数据的收集,可以有效地减少传感器将数据发送到静止基站的传输跳数,节约网络的能量,延长网络寿命.此外,MDC通过循环收集传感器数据或承担数据转发的功能,避免节点间由于多跳传输引起的能量空洞(energy hole)以及节点失效造成的传输链路中断等问题.MDC的移动性也为无线传感器网络的研究带来新的挑战.研究基于移动协助数据收集的无线传感器网络结构,分类总结了近年来提出的一些典型的基于MDC的算法和协议,着重讨论了MDC在网络能量、延迟、路由和传输等方面带来的性能变化.最后,进行了各种算法的比较性总结,针对传感器网络中MDC的研究提出了亟待解决的问题,并展望了其未来的发展方向.     

Termite-hill: Performance optimized swarm intelligence based routing algorithm for wireless sensor networks

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a large collection of sensor nodes with limited power supply, constrained memory capacity, processing capability, and available bandwidth. The main problem in event gathering in wireless sensor networks is the formation of energy-holes or hot spots near the sink. Due to the restricted communication range and high network density, events forwarding in sensor networks is very challenging, and require multi-hop data forwarding. Improving network lifetime and network reliability are the main factors to consider in the research associated with WSN. In static wireless sensor networks, sensors nodes close to the sink node run out of energy much faster than nodes in other parts of the monitored area. The nodes near the sink are more likely to use up their energy because they have to forward all the traffic generated by the nodes farther away to the sink. The uneven energy consumption results in network partitioning and limit the network lifetime. To this end, we propose an on-demand and multipath routing algorithm that utilizes the behavior of real termites on hill building termed Termite-hill which support sink mobility. The main objective of our proposed algorithm is to efficiently relay all the traffic destined for the sink, and also balance the network energy. The performance of our proposed algorithm was tested on static, dynamic and mobile sink scenarios with varying speed, and compared with other state-of-the-art routing algorithms in WSN. The results of our extensive experiments on Routing Modeling Application Simulation Environment (RMASE) demonstrated that our proposed routing algorithm was able to balance the network traffic load, and prolong the network lifetime.     

一种融合时空关联与社会事件的交通流预测方法

交通流预测作为智能交通系统的一个关键问题,是国内外交通领域的研究热点。交通流预测的主要挑战在于交通流数据本身具有复杂的时空关联,且易受各种社会事件的影响。针对这些挑战,提出一种用于交通流预测的深度学习框架。一方面,针对道路网络非欧氏的空间关联以及交通流时序数据的时间关联,设计了一种融合图卷积神经网络和循环神经网络的特征抽取子网络;另一方面,针对社会事件对交通流的潜在影响,设计了一种基于卷积神经网络的社会事件特征抽取子网络。最后,融合时空关联特征抽取子网络和社会事件特征抽取子网络,实现交通流预测模型。为了验证模型的有效性,文中基于真实交通流数据进行了实验。结果表明,所提模型与传统的预测模型相比具有较高的准确度,准确度提高了3%～6%。     

河网中具有时空关系的异常事件在线检测

当网络异常事件发生时,传感器节点间的时空相关性往往非常明显.而现有方法通常将时间和空间数据性质分开考虑,提出一种分散的基于概率图模型的时空异常事件检测算法.该算法首先利用连通支配集算法(CDS)选择部分传感器节点监测,避免监测所有的传感器节点;然后通过马尔可夫链(MC)预测时间异常事件;最后用贝叶斯网络(BN)推测空间异常事件是否出现,结合时空事件来预测异常事件是否会发生.与简单阈值算法和基于贝叶斯网络算法对比,实验结果表明该算法有高检测精度、低延迟率, 能大幅降低通信开销,提高响应速度.     

面向交通流量预测的时空超关系图卷积网络

交通流量预测是智能交通系统中的重要研究课题,然而,交通对象（如站点、传感器）之间存在的复杂局部时空关系使得这项研究颇具挑战。尽管以往的一些研究将流量预测问题转化为一个时空图预测问题从而取得了较大的进展,但是它们忽略了交通对象们跨时空维度的直接关联性。目前仍缺乏一种全面建模局部时空关系的方法。针对这一问题,首先提出一种新颖的时空超图建模方案,通过构造一种时空超关系来全面地建模复杂的局部时空关系;然后提出一种时空超关系图卷积网络（STHGCN）预测模型来捕获这些关系用于交通流量预测。在四个公开交通数据集上进行了大量对比实验,结果表明,相比ASTGCN、时空同步图卷积网络（STSGCN）等时空预测模型,STHGCN在均方根误差（RMSE）、平均绝对误差（MAE）、平均绝对百分比误差（MAPE）这三个评价指标上均取得了更优的结果,不同模型运行时间的对比结果也表明,STHGCN有着更高的推理速度。     

Occam's Razor Applied to Network Topology Inference

We present a method for inferring the topology of a sensor network given nondiscriminating observations of activity in the monitored region. This is accomplished based on no prior knowledge of the relative locations of the sensors and weak assumptions regarding environmental conditions. Our approach employs a two-level reasoning system made up of a stochastic expectation maximization algorithm and a higher level search strategy employing the principle of Occam's Razor to look for the simplest solution explaining the data. The result of the algorithm is a Markov model describing the behavior of agents in the system and the underlying traffic patterns. Numerical simulations and experimental assessment conducted on a real sensor network suggest that the technique could have promising real-world applications in the area of sensor network self-configuration.     

Self-calibration of a vision-based sensor network

When a network of vision-based sensors is emplaced in an environment for applications such as surveillance or monitoring the spatial relationships between the sensing units must be inferred or computed for self-calibration purposes. In this paper we describe a technique to solve one aspect of this self-calibration problem: automatically determining the topology and connectivity information of a network of cameras based on a statistical analysis of observed motion in the environment. While the technique can use labels from reliable cameras systems, the algorithm is powerful enough to function using ambiguous tracking data. The method requires no prior knowledge of the relative locations of the cameras and operates under very weak environmental assumptions. Our approach stochastically samples plausible agent trajectories based on a delay model that allows for transitions to and from sources and sinks in the environment. The technique demonstrates considerable robustness both to sensor error and non-trivial patterns of agent motion. The output of the method is a Markov model describing the behavior of agents in the system and the underlying traffic patterns. The concept is demonstrated with simulation data for systems containing up to 10 agents and verified with experiments conducted on a six camera sensor network.     

时空轨迹序列模式挖掘方法综述

在全球定位、移动通信技术迅速发展的背景下涌现出了海量的时空轨迹数据,这些数据是对移动对象在时空环境下的移动模式和行为特征的真实写照,蕴含了丰富的信息,这些信息对于城市规划、交通管理、服务推荐、位置预测等领域具有重要的应用价值,而时空轨迹数据在这些领域的应用通常需要通过对时空轨迹数据进行序列模式挖掘才能得以实现。时空轨迹序列模式挖掘旨在从时空轨迹数据集中找出频繁出现的序列模式,例如： 位置模式（频繁轨迹、热点区域）、活动周期模式、语义行为模式,从而挖掘时空数据中隐藏的信息。总结近年来时空轨迹序列模式挖掘的研究进展,先介绍时空轨迹序列的数据特点及应用,再描述时空轨迹模式的挖掘过程：从基于时空轨迹序列来挖掘位置模式、周期模式、语义模式这三个方面来介绍该领域的研究情况,最后阐述现有时空轨迹序列模式挖掘方法存在的问题,并展望时空轨迹序列模式挖掘方法未来的发展趋势。     

SenCar: An Energy-Efficient Data Gathering Mechanism for Large-Scale Multihop Sensor Networks

In this paper, we propose a new data gathering mechanism for large-scale multihop sensor networks. A mobile data observer, called SenCar, which could be a mobile robot or a vehicle equipped with a powerful transceiver and battery, works like a mobile base station in the network. SenCar starts the data gathering tour periodically from the static data processing center, traverses the entire sensor network, gathers the data from sensors while moving, returns to the starting point, and, finally, uploads data to the data processing center. Unlike SenCar, sensors in the network are static and can be made very simple and inexpensive. They upload sensed data to SenCar when SenCar moves close to them. Since sensors can only communicate with others within a very limited range, packets from some sensors may need multihop relays to reach SenCar. We first show that the moving path of SenCar can greatly affect network lifetime. We then present heuristic algorithms for planning the moving path/circle of SenCar and balancing traffic load in the network. We show that, by driving SenCar along a better path and balancing the traffic load from sensors to SenCar, network lifetime can be prolonged significantly. Our moving planning algorithm can be used in both connected networks and disconnected networks. In addition, SenCar can avoid obstacles while moving. Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed data gathering mechanism can prolong network lifetime significantly compared to a network that has only a static observer or a network in which the mobile observer can only move along straight lines.     

带执行器节点的无线传感器网络的分簇算法

带执行器节点的无线传感器网络(WSAN)是指在无线传感器网络中加入执行器,传感器用于检测物理环境信息,执行器收集和处理这些检测数据,并作出适当的执行任务。传感器和执行器的协作是WSAN研究的一个重要内容,就此提出了一个动态分簇算法,根据事件发生的实际情况,仅仅对该事件区域分簇,每个簇包括一个执行器节点以及传送数据到该执行器节点的传感器节点。通过这种分簇,可以决定传感器与哪个执行器通信以及路由方式。     

Graph deep learning model for network-based predictive hotspot mapping of sparse spatio-temporal events

The predictive hotspot mapping of sparse spatio-temporal events (e.g., crime and traffic accidents) aims to forecast areas or locations with higher average risk of event occurrence, which is important to offer insight for preventative strategies. Although a network-based structure can better capture the micro-level variation of spatio-temporal events, existing deep learning methods of sparse events forecasting are either based on area or grid units due to the data sparsity in both space and time, and the complex network topology. To overcome these challenges, this paper develops the first deep learning (DL) model for network-based predictive mapping of sparse spatio-temporal events. Leveraging a graph-based representation of the network-structured data, a gated localised diffusion network (GLDNet) is introduced, which integrating a gated network to model the temporal propagation and a novel localised diffusion network to model the spatial propagation confined by the network topology. To deal with the sparsity issue, we reformulate the research problem as an imbalance regression task and employ a weighted loss function to train the DL model. The framework is validated on a crime forecasting case of South Chicago, USA, which outperforms the state-of-the-art benchmark by 12% and 25% in terms of the mean hit rate at 10% and 20% coverage level, respectively.     

The sensory ego-sphere: a mediating interface between sensors and cognition

The Sensory Ego-Sphere (SES) is an interface for a robot that serves to mediate information between sensors and cognition. The SES can be visualized as a sphere centered on the coordinate frame of the robot, spatially indexed by polar and azimuthal angles. Internally, the SES is a graph with a fixed number of edges that partitions surrounding space and contains localized sensor information from the robot. This paper describes the SES and gives the results of implementing the SES on multiple robots, both humanoid and mobile, to support essential functions such as a localized short-term memory, spatio-temporal sensory-motor event detection, attentional processing, data sharing, and ego-centric navigation. This research was supported in part by DARPA-IPTO grant DASG60-99-1-0005, and NASA-JSC grants NAG9-1428, NAG9-1446 and NAG9-1515.     

Leveraging e-transportation in real-time traffic evacuation management

As part of intelligent transportation systems, Internet-connected sensors and cameras have become ubiquitous along roads and highways, enabling many novel e-transportation applications. In this research, we leverage this emerging technology to improve the surface transportation aspect of homeland security, by enhancing its support for evacuation in case of terrorist attacks or other unpredictable disasters. In particular, we extend our existing work on developing a Smart Traffic Evacuation Management System (STEMS), by proposing more efficient evacuation algorithms that dynamically generate evacuation plans for both single and multiple incidents scenarios, based on real-time traffic information obtained from sensor data available through the Web.     

Efficient Data Reporting in Intelligent Transportation Systems

Recently, intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) have emerged. These systems can improve traditional transportation systems and provide traffic information to travelers. In the area of transportation, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can replace the existing wired sensors and expensive traffic monitoring systems to mitigate the time and costs of installing such systems. However, accurate and on-time traffic information delivery is a major challenge, considering the energy constraints of sensor nodes. In this paper, we propose a two-tier architecture that includes a network of mobile objects (vehicles) in the upper layer and a hierarchical WSN in the bottom layer. Using this approach, a portion of loads on the low-power static sensor nodes can be transferred to mobile objects, such as powerful mobile devices. Moreover, to provide accurate and timely traffic information, a QoS-aware link cost function has been proposed and used for data transmission between the static sensor nodes. In addition, due to the mobility of the objects and the probability of losing packets in the mobile object tier, a reliable data forwarding mechanism has been proposed for this tier. In this mechanism, data packets are forwarded to the neighbors, which enhance the probability of the packets’ being received. The performance evaluation results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture and data reporting mechanism for use in ITS applications.     

Spatial neighborhood based anomaly detection in sensor datasets

Success of anomaly detection, similar to other spatial data mining techniques, relies on neighborhood definition. In this paper, we argue that the anomalous behavior of spatial objects in a neighborhood can be truly captured when both (a) spatial autocorrelation (similar behavior of nearby objects due to proximity) and (b) spatial heterogeneity (distinct behavior of nearby objects due to difference in the underlying processes in the region) are taken into consideration for the neighborhood definition. Our approach begins by generating micro neighborhoods around spatial objects encompassing all the information about a spatial object. We selectively merge these based on spatial relationships accounting for autocorrelation and inferential relationships accounting for heterogeneity, forming macro neighborhoods. In such neighborhoods, we then identify (i) spatio-temporal outliers, where individual sensor readings are anomalous, (ii) spatial outliers, where the entire sensor is an anomaly, and (iii) spatio-temporally coalesced outliers, where a group of spatio-temporal outliers in the macro neighborhood are separated by a small time lag indicating the traversal of the anomaly. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in neighborhood formation and anomaly detection with experimental results in (i) water monitoring and (ii) highway traffic monitoring sensor datasets. We also compare the results of our approach with an existing approach for spatial anomaly detection.     

无线传感器网络移动簇头节能传输协议

无线传感器网络具有资源的有限性和传感器采集数据的特点,许多在传统网络中运作良好的通信协议,在一些由固定节点和移动节点组成的无线传感器网络中不能很好地管理网络和处理传感器数据。该文提出一种移动簇头的节能通信协议,使用自组织传感器簇来处理和散发数据。通过与LEACH协议的对比,证明该协议具有更好的节能性和更长的网络寿命,更适用于无线传感器网络。     

Leveraging e-transportation in real-time traffic evacuation management

As part of intelligent transportation systems, Internet-connected sensors and cameras have become ubiquitous along roads and highways, enabling many novel e-transportation applications. In this research, we leverage this emerging technology to improve the surface transportation aspect of homeland security, by enhancing its support for evacuation in case of terrorist attacks or other unpredictable disasters. In particular, we extend our existing work on developing a Smart Traffic Evacuation Management System (STEMS), by proposing more efficient evacuation algorithms that dynamically generate evacuation plans for both single and multiple incidents scenarios, based on real-time traffic information obtained from sensor data available through the Web.     

Developing an integrated platform to enable hardware-in-the-loop for synchronous VR,traffic simulation and sensor interactions

Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) is a testing paradigm where physical sensors (e.g., monitoring sensors such as cameras and proximity sensors, and alarm sensors such as screaming traffic cones) are connected to a virtual test system that simulates reality (e.g., virtual work zone with simulated dangerous situations). This paradigm is well-suited for conducting user studies for work zone safety because virtual test systems can be implemented using virtual reality (VR), which allows for safe and realistic testing of a sensing system without putting workers in danger along with avoiding high upfront costs needed to generate physical research testbeds. However, when recreating physical work zones in VR, researchers face various challenges while representing traffic patterns in VR, such as the lack of bi-directional communication between traffic simulation platforms and user behaviors in VR, hardware compatibility and integration issues, and customization inflexibility during implementation. Researchers, who need to develop such platforms for research studies that involve high-risk exposure to participants, are in need of evaluating the options available for bringing together the components of such platforms. This study provides an overview of alternative ways to integrate components of platforms that enable hardware-in-the-loop for synchronous VR, traffic simulation, and sensor interactions to position researchers to make decisions based on the pros and cons of each alternative. This paper also presents the implementation of such an integrated platform that allows a two-way interface between traffic simulation and VR environments for work zone safety analysis. Outcomes of this work will lay out the steps in implementing the integrated and immersive platform to be used in work zone safety studies based on the guidance presented.     

Memento: Localized Time-Warping for Spatio-Temporal Selection

Interaction techniques for temporal data are often focused on affecting the spatial aspects of the data, for instance through the use of transfer functions, camera navigation or clipping planes. However, the temporal aspect of the data interaction is often neglected. The temporal component is either visualized as individual time steps, an animation or a static summary over the temporal domain. When dealing with streaming data, these techniques are unable to cope with the task of re-viewing an interesting local spatio-temporal event, while continuing to observe the rest of the feed. We propose a novel technique that allows users to interactively specify areas of interest in the spatio-temporal domain. By employing a time-warp function, we are able to slow down time, freeze time or even travel back in time, around spatio-temporal events of interest. The combination of such a (pre-defined) time-warp function and brushing directly in the data to select regions of interest allows for a detailed review of temporally and spatially localized events, while maintaining an overview of the global spatio-temporal data. We demonstrate the utility of our technique with several usage scenarios.