ACAR: Adaptive Connectivity Aware Routing for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks in City Scenarios

Multi-hop vehicle-to-vehicle communication is useful for supporting many vehicular applications that provide drivers with safety and convenience. Developing multi-hop communication in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) is a challenging problem due to the rapidly changing topology and frequent network disconnections, which cause failure or inefficiency in traditional ad hoc routing protocols. We propose an adaptive connectivity aware routing (ACAR) protocol that addresses these problems by adaptively selecting an optimal route with the best network transmission quality based on statistical and real-time density data that are gathered through an on-the-fly density collection process. The protocol consists of two parts: 1) select an optimal route, consisting of road segments, with the best estimated transmission quality, and 2) in each road segment of the chosen route, select the most efficient multi-hop path that will improve the delivery ratio and throughput. The optimal route is selected using our transmission quality model that takes into account vehicle densities and traffic light periods to estimate the probability of network connectivity and data delivery ratio for transmitting packets. Our simulation results show that the proposed ACAR protocol outperforms existing VANET routing protocols in terms of data delivery ratio, throughput and data packet delay. Since the proposed model is not constrained by network densities, the ACAR protocol is suitable for both daytime and nighttime city VANET scenarios.     

Cooperative and Opportunistic Channel Access for Vehicle to Roadside (V2R) Communications

This paper focuses on vehicle to roadside (V2R) communications in vehicular networks based on the IEEE 802.11 DCF MAC protocol. In vehicular networks, roadside units (RSUs) are typically spaced apart along the road and each vehicle can be connected to an RSU only when the vehicle is within its transmission range. Due to the high relative speed between a moving vehicle and a stationary RSU, the residence time of the vehicle within the coverage of each RSU is very short. Thus it is hard for the system to reach a steady state. With multi-hop forwarding, in which a vehicle may be connected to an RSU through relaying over other vehicles, the connection time of each V2R access may be extended. But this is at the expense of introducing wireless interference among vehicles, which may dramatically degrade the system performance. To tackle these challenges, we propose a new mechanism called Proxy-based Vehicle to RSU access (PVR) for V2R communications. This protocol is designed to exploit cooperative and opportunistic forwarding between any two distant RSUs and to emulate back-to-back transmissions within the coverage of an RSU. As a result, it can shorten the access delay by taking advantage of opportunistic forwarding and mitigate the interference problem during the short residence time within the coverage of an RSU. The simulation results show that PVR achieves excellent performance and outperforms all existing solutions for V2R communications in vehicular networks.     

Distributed algorithms for lifetime maximization in sensor networks via Min–Max spanning subgraphs

We consider the problem of static transmission-power assignment for lifetime maximization of a wireless sensor network with stationary nodes operating in a data-gathering scenario. Using a graph-theoretic approach, we propose two distributed algorithms, MLS and BSpan, that construct spanning trees with minimum maximum (minmax) edge cost. MLS is based on computation of minmax-cost paths from a reference node, while BSpan performs a binary search over the range of power levels and exploits the wireless broadcast advantage. We also present a simple distributed method for pruning a graph to its Relative Neighborhood Graph, which reduces the worst-case message complexity of MLS under natural assumptions on the path-loss. In our network simulations both MLS and BSpan significantly outperform the recently proposed Distributed Min–Max Tree algorithm in terms of number of messages required.     

Constant Modulus Algorithm for Cochannel Signal Separation in Non-Gaussian Impulsive Noise Environments

The separation of cochannel signals is of interest in communication community. Some algorithms based on constant modulus (CM) have been previously developed to separate cochannel signals with the assumption of Gaussian channel noise. The mismatches of noise models between the assumed channel noise and the practical noise may occur. These mismatches will inevitably lead the performance of cochannel signals separation to degrade. In this paper the alpha-stable distribution is employed as noise model to simulate impulsive noise occurring in wireless channel. A constant modulus algorithm is proposed to separate the cochannel signals based on fractional lower-order statistics (FLOS). The convergence of the CM array is analyzed. Numerical simulations are presented to verify the accuracy of the analytical results.     

Two-Tier,Scalable and Highly Resilient Key Predistribution Scheme for Location-Aware Wireless Sensor Network Deployments

We propose a probabilistic key predistribution scheme for wireless sensor networks, where keying materials are distributed to sensor nodes for secure communication. We use a two-tier approach in which there are two types of nodes: regular nodes and agent nodes. Agent nodes are more capable than regular nodes. Our node deployment model is zone-based such that the nodes that may end up with closer positions on ground are grouped together. The keying material of nodes that belong to different zones is non-overlapping. However, it is still possible for nodes that belong to different zones to communicate with each other via agent nodes when needed. We give a comparative analysis of our scheme through simulations and show that our scheme provides good connectivity figures at reasonable communication cost by using minimal flooding in key distribution. Moreover, we show that our scheme is scalable such that no extra overhead in incurred in case of increased number of nodes and sensor field size. Most importantly, simulation results show that our scheme is highly resilient to node captures.     

Identification of a class of two CFOA-based sinusoidal RC oscillators

Using a unified representation for a class of the two current-feedback operational amplifier (CFOA) sinusoidal oscillators, new circuits of this type can be systematically discovered. A catalogue of two circuit structures, each structure realizing 18 oscillator circuits, is presented. Moreover, using the RC:CR transformation, additional 18 oscillator circuits can be obtained from each structure. A third structure realizing additional two oscillator circuits is also presented. Some of the circuits enjoy one or more of the following attractive features: use of grounded capacitors, feasibility of absorbing the parasitic components of the CFOAs, availability of a buffered output voltage and orthogonal tuning of the frequency and the startup condition of oscillation. Moreover, it is shown that the use of the Barkhausen criterion for the determination of the startup condition of oscillation and the frequency of oscillation yields inaccurate results with relatively large errors depending on the selected component values. Furthermore, it is shown that using the roots of the characteristic equation of a specific oscillator structure will result in a startup condition that cannot be adjusted without disturbing the frequency of oscillation.     

A power efficient continuous time ΔΣ modulator with 15 MHz bandwidth and 70 dB dynamic range

A state variable block diagram method is given for the realization of universal biquadratic transfer functions employing second-generation current-controlled conveyors (CCCIIs). Using minimum number of passive components and properly adjusting the bias currents of CCCIIs, the proposed circuits can realize all the tunable frequency standard filter functions: high-pass, band-pass, low-pass, notch-pass, and all-pass by choosing appropriate input branches without changing the passive elements. These presented circuits are in current-mode and voltage-mode separately. The non-ideality analyses of these configurations are given. Additionally, a high-order low-pass filter derived from the proposed voltage-mode biquadratic filter is introduced. PSPICE simulation results are included to verify the theory.     

A Cryo-XPS Study of Triammonium Citrate-KAuCl<Subscript>4</Subscript>-Na<Subscript>2</Subscript>SO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Electroplating Solutions for Pb-Free Solder Packaging

Cyanide-free Au plating baths, containing KAuCl₄, triammonium citrate, and sodium sulfite, have been developed by the authors. The stability of these solutions depends on the order of mixing of the additives. The aim of this study was to employ turbidity measurements and cryogenic x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to identify the role of the additives and the complexes responsible for solution stability or degradation. Electron microscopy was used to characterize any precipitation products generated in the solutions. It was shown that the long-term stability of the solutions is due to the role of citrate and sulfite as complexing agents.     

A channel assignment algorithm via conflict shifting for distributed cognitive networks

Channel assignment is a challenge for distributed cognitive networks due to spectrum mobility and lack of centralized entity. We present a dynamic and efficient algorithm via conflict shifting, referred as Shifting-based Channel Assignment (SCA). In this algorithm, the system was modeled with a conflict graph, and users cannot assign the channels that primary users (legacy users) and neighbors already occupied. In order to eliminate the conflicts between neighbors efficiently, secondary users (unlicensed users) try to transfer them through a straight path to the boundary, where conflicts are easier to solve as there are less neighbors for boundary users. Actions in one shift are executed in slots, and users act in a synchronous and separated manner. As a result, some of the conflicting channels are avoid from directly abandoned, and for this, utility of the entire network can be improved. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can provide similar utility performance while obviously reducing the communication cost than bargaining-base algorithms. In small scale networks with low user mobility (under 20%), it reduces 50% of the communication overhead than the later.     

Flight Model Performance of 640-GHz Superconductor–Insulator–Superconductor Mixers for JEM/SMILES Mission

Performances of 640-GHz Superconductor–Insulator–Superconductor (SIS) mixers developed for the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) mission are described. SMILES, launched in September 2009, is the first mission to observe atmosphere from space using superconducting mixers. Ground test performances of the SIS mixers show very flat gain and noise characteristics in their observation bands in compliance with the specifications required for SMILES.