Report on the 10th International Conference on Autonomous Infrastructure,Management, and Security (AIMS 2016)

This article is a report of the IFIP AIMS 2016, which was held at Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany from June 20 to June 23, 2016. AIMS 2016 focused on the theme “Management and Security in the Age of Hyperconnectivity”. The AIMS conference positions itself in the network management community as an educational venue for young researchers and Ph.D. students. The AIMS program included keynotes, technical sessions and Ph.D. Workshop sessions, but also hands-on labs and an educational panel for training young academics. The highlights on each of the parts of the AIMS 2016 program are summarized in this article.     

Retrieval of aerosol type and optical thickness over the Mediterranean from SeaWiFS images using an automatic neural classification method

We present an automatic classification method based on topological neural network algorithms to retrieve aerosol optical properties from multi-spectral ocean-color satellite imagery. The first step of the method consisted in an unsupervised classification of a large set of clear-sky top of the atmosphere reflectance spectra measured by the sensor. We used the so-called Kohonen map which aggregates similar spectra into a reduced set of pertinent groups. The second step consisted in labeling these groups by clustering them with synthetic TOA reflectance spectra whose optical properties (i.e., aerosol type or optical thickness) are known. These synthetic spectra have been computed using a radiative transfer model. In the present study, we dealt with five aerosol types (maritime, coastal, tropospheric, oceanic and mineral) and several aerosol optical thickness values ranging from 0.05 to 0.8. These simulated spectra were then projected onto the Kohonen map to label each group of the map. The last step consisted in applying this method to the SeaWiFS imagery of the Mediterranean region for the years 1999 and 2000. The Kohonen map was “educated” from pixels randomly extracted during the year 1999 in this region. We accounted for the viewing geometry of the sensor by clustering the simulated spectra into ten groups of similar geometries, as defined by both scattering and sun zenith angles. The analysis of SeaWiFS images was performed pixel-by-pixel by selecting the suitable labeling (in terms of viewing geometry), then by identifying the closest spectrum in the Kohonen map, which finally gives the aerosol optical properties. This method led to accurate and coherent results, as shown by the comparison with in situ aerosol measurements provided by the AERONET station at Lampedusa and by the study of two aerosol events over the Mediterranean. One of the major advantages of this method is that it enables us to automatically identify the aerosol type and to retrieve the aerosol optical properties with a better accuracy than classical methods such as those used by SeaWifs. It gives accurate results for optical thickness values larger than 0.35 and is able to retrieve dust aerosols such as African dust aerosol (absorbing aerosol). These should ensure a more precise inversion of ocean-color imagery where the knowledge of atmospheric optical parameters is essential. Moreover the method is able to give probabilities for the estimate values of aerosol properties.     

Gene sorting in differential evolution with cross-generation mutation

Gene sorting is proposed in this paper as a method of ordering trial vector’s component in dif- ferential evolution (DE). This method tends to significantly increase the convergence speed of DE with just a little modification on the original algorithm. In the meantime, a new concept of cross-generation mutation is introduced in order to perform the evolution process serially rather than parallelly. When combined with gene sorting, this method will further increase the convergence speed. A benchmar...     

Sea Surface Salinity Retrieval for the SMOS Mission Using Neural Networks

During the in-flight phase, using neural networks to retrieve the sea surface salinity from the observed Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity brightness temperatures (TBs) is an empirical approach that offers the possibility of being independent from any theoretical emissivity model. Due to the large variety of incidence angles, several networks are needed, as well as a preprocessing phase to adapt the observed TBs to the inputs of the networks. When using the first Stokes parameter as an input, the retrieved salinity has a good accuracy (with an error of around 0.6 psu). Furthermore, the solutions for improving these performances are discussed.     

Management of mobile ad hoc networks: information model and probe‐based architecture

The increasing need for mobility in networks and computing leads to the deployment of wireless networks without fixed infrastructure, called ad hoc networks. These networks raise new challenges towards monitoring and managing them to provide optimal performance. We propose in this paper a management framework to assess the operational state and the behaviour of mobile ad hoc networks. After presenting the management requirements, we define an information model to manage these networks. Simulations provide an overview of how this model can be used. Finally, we describe a probe‐based architecture with an implementation prototype, to use and populate the information model in a realistic environment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hierarchical clustering of self-organizing maps for cloud classification

This paper presents a new method for segmenting multispectral satellite images. The proposed method is unsupervised and consists of two steps. During the first step the pixels of a learning set are summarized by a set of codebook vectors using a Probabilistic Self-Organizing Map (PSOM, Statistique et méthodes neuronales, Dunod, Paris, 1997). In a second step the codebook vectors of the map are clustered using Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC, Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996). Each pixel takes the label of its nearest codebook vector. A practical application to Meteosat images illustrates the relevance of our approach.     

On the Efficiency of a VR Hand Gesture-Based Interface for 3D Object Manipulations in Conceptual Design

In the early stages of 3D design, sketches are used to quickly conceptualize ideas and gain insight into problems and possible solutions. Computer-aided design tools are widely used for 3D modeling and design, but their required precision and 2D mouse and screen-based interface inhibit the flow of ideas. A study was conducted to explore the efficiency of hand tracking and virtual reality (VR) for 3D object manipulations in conceptual design. Based on existing research on conceptual design and hand gestures, an intuitive hand-based interaction model is proposed. An experiment on basic 3D manipulation shows that participants using a simple VR and hand-tracking interface prototype have similar performance to those using a traditional mouse and screen interface. For the improvement of gestural conceptual design interfaces, the relevant issues are identified.     

Skeletal Optimization of Cytotoxic Lipidic Dialkynylcarbinols

In line with a recent study of the pharmacological potential of bioinspired synthetic acetylenic lipids, after identification of the terminal dialkynylcarbinol (DAC) and butadiynyl alkynylcarbinol (BAC) moieties as functional antitumor pharmacophoric units, this work specifically addresses the issue of carbon backbone length. A systematic variation of the aliphatic chain length was thus carried out in both the DAC and BAC series. The critical impact of the length of the lipidic skeleton was first confirmed in the racemic series, with the highest cytotoxic activity observed for C₁₇ to C₁₈ backbones. Enantiomerically enriched samples were prepared by asymmetric synthesis of the optimal C₁₈ DAC and C₁₇ BAC derivatives. Samples with upgraded enantiomeric purity were alternatively produced by enzymatic kinetic resolution. Eutomers possessing the S configuration displayed cytotoxicity IC₅₀ values as low as 15 nm against HCT116 cancer cells, the highest level of activity reached to date in this series.