Design of contract net protocol-based distributed image processing system

Mapping adaptive fuzzy Kohonen clustering network onto distributed image processing system

This study examined the intensity of a collaborative communication process in a computer supported and distributed social collaborative design-build project. It focused on how different design-build professional’s concept knowledge can be saved, retrieved, and reused from their local computer system. It also centered on how these concepts can be shared in a virtual distributed social communication environment to enhancement the effect of the multi-professions collaboration. Extensive prior research has revealed that the communication process is the most important collaboration study problem. The design-build stakeholders jointly form a shared understanding through a process of defining the problem, exploring the space of solutions and searching for information. Much research has concluded that a shared understanding is a critical element in successful, collaborative design. This paper describes a distributed computation (agent-based) approach for identifying shared understanding in design-build communication process by analyzing communication data. By mining the relationship between collaborative participants of a shared understanding, specifically a common interest of document reference and a similar voice, a shared design-build concept knowledge and relationship of the design can emerge. Communication support tools built around shared understanding would be more effective in directing and alerting the design-build team to relevant information. The result of this paper was that not only the design data itself emphasized the value of communication but also the hidden relationships among data which generated shared understanding. We constructed the distributed social communication data model to support user to save, retrieve, and analyze among the communication process in a design-build project. We also implemented an exhaustive recommender data mining model as the clustering engine to exposing the hidden relationships among communication data. This communication data relationship also can be regarded as a user’s familiarity index with the design concept, which can be shared with others in the design-build collaborative team. Two real world design-build projects were used to test, validate, modify, and confirm the function of distributed social collaborative design-build system, implemented by this paper. In conclusion, the distributed collaborative system turned out to be highly collaborative in respect of design concept and was utilized intensely in organizing the design-build process.

Many scientific projects such as SETI@home are leveraging on enormous numbers of distributed internet-based idle desktop computers to execute their jobs in a Desktop Grid (DG) computing environment. These idle desktop computers (volunteers) are volatile, i.e., they are free to join and leave the DG systems. Besides, the volunteers might also have different resources which are heterogeneous in characteristics and capabilities. Due to the above facts, volunteers in a DG system have different levels of reliability and availability which makes scheduling of jobs more challenging. Thus, this paper presents a grouping method which assigns these heterogeneous volatile volunteers into different levels of reliability groups, according to their availability score. In order to derive the availability score model for the grouping purposes, this study uses statistical analysis of real trace data which are taken from SETI@home project. By having the proper grouping, better assignment of jobs can be achieved in a DG system. Simulation runs of the approach shows that it is feasible to volunteers are able to be grouped using the scoring model.

Dear SCPE Reader, We present a selection of papers which are extensions of papers presented at the 7-th International Symposium on Parallel and Distributed Computing, 1–5 July 2008, in Krakow, Poland. The motivation for publishing the selection in the SCPE Journal was, on the one hand, to present the flavour of the research reported at the conference and on the other hand to present some of the most relevant topics currently focused on the research on parallel and distributed computing in general. The selection contains only 6 papers out of about 60 presented at the conference, and thus, is far from covering all relevant topics represented at the ISPDC 2008. This is because not all of the invited authors were patient enough to accept a fairly long paper publishing process. Nevertheless, we hope that the presented papers will bring you closer to the research covered by the ISPDC conferences and will encourage you to participate in future ISPDC editions. The first paper ``The Impact of Workload Variability on Load Balancing Algorithms'' is by Marta Beltran and Antonio Guzman from King Juan Carlos University in Spain. It concerns an important topic of load balancing in cluster systems, namely adaptativity of the load balancing algorithms to changes of the workload in the system. Adequate accounting for additional load in the hosting system is of great relevance for correct optimization effects. The paper presents a thorough formal analysis of the workload variability metrics and their influence on the quality of load balancing algorithms. Four basic activities appearing in load balancing algorithms are identified, and based on them some algorithmic solutions are proposed to correctly deal with workload variability in system load balancing. The problem of dynamic load balancing algorithms robustness has been discussed. Two different robustness metrics sensitive to the applied type of opimization: local task-oriented or a global one enable selecting task remote execution or migration as load balancing operations. The proposed approach is illustrated with experiments. The second paper ``Model-Driven Engineering and Formal Validation of High-Performance Embedded Systems'' is by Abdoulaye Gamatie, Eric Rutten, Huafeng Yu, Pierre Boulet, Jean-Luc Dekeyser, from University of Lille and INRIA in France. The paper is concerned with a very advanced methodology of designing correct parallel embedded systems for intensive data-parallel computing. In their previous research, the authors of the paper designed the GASPARD embedded system design framework. It is based on the hardware/software co-design approach through model-driven engineering. The framework is based on an UML-like model specification language in which hardware and software elements are modelled using a component approach with special mechanisms for repetitive structures. This paper tries to combine the modelling framework of GASPARD with the mechanisms of synchronous languages to achieve design verifiability provided for such languages. The paper shows how GASPARD models can be translated into synchronous models based on data flow equations in order to formally check their correctness. The proposed approach is illustrated with an example of a video processing system. The third paper ``Relations Between Several Parallel Computational Models'' is by Stephan Bruda and Yuanqiao Zhang from Bishop’s University in Canada. The paper is concerned with theoretical aspects of shared memory systems described by the parallel random access machine PRAM model and aims in studying performance properties of different types of PRAM systems. The attention is focussed on analysing the computational power of two more sophisticated PRAM models (Combining CRCW and Broadcast Selective Reduction), which include data reduction in case of concurrent writes. The paper shows that these two models have equivalent computational power, which is a new result comparing the existing literature. The performance of both models applied to reconfigurable multiple bus machines was studied as a possible architectural solution for current VLSI processor implementations. It was shown that in such systems under reasonable assumptions concurrent-write does not enhance performance comparing the exclusive-write model. Another result important for the VLSI technology is that the Combining CRCW PRAM model (in which data of concurrent writes are arthmetically or logically combined before write) and the exclusive-write on directed reconfigurable busses perform in equivalent way under strong real-time requirements. The fourth paper ``Experiences with Mesh-Like Computations Using Prediction Binary Trees'' is by Gennaro Cordasco, Biagio Cosenza, Rosario de Chiara, Ugo Erra and Vittorio Scarano from the University ``degli Studi'' of Salerno and the University ``degli Studi della Biasilicata'' of Potenza in Italy. The paper concerns optimization methods for mesh-like computations in clusters of processors. The computations are perfomed assuming a phase-like program execution control using a tiling approach which reduces inter-processor communication. A temporal coherence is also assumed, which means that task sizes provide similar execution times in consecutive phases. Temporary coherent computations are structured in a Prediction Binary Tree, in which leaves represent computing tiles to be mapped to processors. A phase-by-phase semi-static load balancing is introduced to the scheduling algorithm. The scheduling algorithm is equipped with a predictor, which estimates the computation time of next phase tiles based on previous execution times and modifies the tiles to achieve balanced execution in phases. For this, two heuristics are used to leverage on data locality in processors. The proposed approach is illustrated by the example of interactive rendering with Parallel Ray Tracing algorithm. The fifth paper ``The Influence of the IBM pSeries Servers Virtualization Mechanism on Dynamic Resource Allocation in AIX 5L'' is by Maciej Mlynski from ASpartner Limited in Poland. The paper concerns a very up-to-date problem of system virtualization and presents the results of research carried on IBM pSeries servers. IBM is strongly developing the virtualization technique especially on IBM pSeries servers enabling an improved and flexible sharing of system resources between applications. The paper investigates novel facilities for dynamic resource management such as micro-partitioning and partition load manager. They enable dynamic creation of workload logical partitions of system resources and their dynamic mangement. It includes run-time resource re-alocation between logical partitions including setting of sharing specifications as well as run-time adding/removing/setting parameters of resources in the system. It remains an open question how to properly tune parameters of the operating system using the provided virtualization facilities to obtain the best efficiency for a given application program. The paper presents the results of experiments which study the effects of tuning the disk subsystem parameters under the IBM AIX 5L operating system with the use of the provided virtualization facilities on the resulting application execution performance. The results show that even small deterioration in the resource pool status requires an immediate adaptation of the operating system parameters to maintain the required performance. The sixth paper ``HeteroPBLAS: A Set of Parallel Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms Optimized for Heterogeneous Computational Clusters'' is by Ravi Reddy, Alexey Lastovetsky and Pedro Alonso from University College Dublin in Ireland and Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain. The paper concerns the methodology for parallelization of linear algebra computations for execution in heterogeneous cluster environments. The design of the HeteroPBLAS library (Parallel Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms) for heterogeneous computational clusters is presented. The main contribution of the paper is the automation of the parallelization and optimization of the PBLAS, which is done by means of a special user interface and the underlying set of functions. An important element is here a performance model that is based on program code instrumentation, which determines parameters of the application and the executive heterogeneous platform relevant for execution performance of parallel code. The parameter values specified for or returned by execution of the performance model functions are next used for generation and optimal mapping of the parallel code of the library subroutines. The proposed approach is illustrated by experimental results of execution of optimized HeteroPBLAS programs on homogeneous and heterogeneous computing clusters. Marek Tudruj

A comparison of the Internet multicast routing protocols

Loosely coupled applications composed of a potentially very large number (from tens of thousands to even billions) of tasks are commonly used in high-throughput computing and many-task computing paradigms. To efficiently execute large-scale computations which can exceed the capability in a single type of computing resources within expected time, we should be able to effectively integrate resources from heterogeneous distributed computing (HDC) systems such as clusters, grids, and clouds. In this paper, we quantitatively analyze the performance of three different real scientific applications consisting of many tasks on top of HDC systems based on a partnership of distributed computing clusters, grids, and clouds to understand the application and resource characteristics, and show practical issues that normal scientific users can face during the course of leveraging these systems. Our experimental study shows that the performance of a loosely coupled application can be significantly affected by the characteristics of a HDC system, along with hardware specification of a node, and their impacts on the performance can vary widely depending on the resource usage pattern of each application. We then devise a preference-based scheduling algorithm that can reflect characteristics and resource usage patterns of various loosely coupled applications running on top of HDC systems from our experimental study. Our preference-based scheduling algorithm can allocate the resources from different HDC systems to loosely coupled applications based on the preferences of the applications for the HDC systems. We evaluate the overall system performance over various preference types, using trace-based simulations, which can be determined based on different factors such as CPU specifications and application throughputs. Our simulation results demonstrate the importance of understanding the application and resource characteristics on effective scheduling of loosely coupled applications on the HDC systems.

The development of a geared motor plus a clutch system is known as a human-friendly actuator, and many studies on clutch actuation systems have been conducted. Such system has high backdrivability and torque limitation, which are major advantages compared with a unit geared motor. These studies are divided into two groups. An input motor is velocity-controlled as a constant velocity source and it is regulated to generate output torque as a torque source. This study falls under the latter group. A control plant of the latter group has two operational modes, which has caused by the intrinsic clutch characteristics. To avoid switching operational modes and to achieve robustness against disturbances, an observer-based control technique using acceleration control has been proposed. However, forward- and back-drivable characteristics of the system have not been discussed yet. These characteristics are important for control of physical human-robot interaction, and therefore, in this study, transfer functions of the characteristics of the proposed system are derived and experimental evaluation of the system is conducted.

The manufacturing processes in a product are different according to the characteristics of the product and the information within the process is also varied. To implement the flexible MES, the Data Acquisition System (DAS) considering the characteristics of manufacturing system is needed. In this paper, we introduced the design of the equipment information acquisition system that can process the information of shop floor in real-time and adaptive to the changes of shop floor. The proposed system is the bridge between the shop floor and the Manufacturing Execution System (MES). It provides the MES the shop floor information between the work order and the results of work performance. The proposed system provides a data parser module to process equipment status in a flexible manner and a data mapper module to couple the equipment status to a manufacturing process and a SOA-based data integration module to link the processed shop floor information to upper system such as MES and ERP. The system is highly configurable system and easy to maintain even if new equipment or manufacturing process is inserted or re-arranged

A novel variable refrigerant flow system with solar regeneration-based desiccant-assisted ventilation

In this paper, an ultrasonic target identification system based on Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (PMUTs) is proposed to improve the productivity efficiency of industrial production. The proposed system can accurately identify targets of different shapes. Two pieces of 3 × 3 PMUTs arrays with a resonant frequency of 115 kHz are used as the transmitter and receiver of the PMUTs-based ultrasonic sensor. The sensor is small in size and has high instability. In addition, the PMUTs based ultrasonic sensors have lower environmental requirements than vision sensors and are less expensive than laser sensors. Therefore, the sensors are suitable for large-scale use in industry. The characteristics of the proposed system are investigated in the shape experiments on the square, circle, frame, and ring targets. The four kinds of targets are acrylic plates with a thickness of 5mm. The experimental results show that the system can accurately identify the shapes of the four targets through the grid-based scheme. Besides, the identification process is automatically completed by the 3D mobile platform. The proposed system has demonstrated a cost-effective method to identify targets of different shapes, which can more efficiently guide the robotic manipulator’s grasping and other behaviors.

The most promising ways to remove small spacecraft from orbit are considered. Design parameters of various variants of construction of the system of small spacecraft removal from orbits are chosen taking into account limitations. The efficiency of these variants is evaluated. Examples of implementation of the developed method of selection of design parameters for small spacecraft "AIST" and "AIST-2D" are given. The composition and operation scheme of the variant chosen as a result of efficiency evaluation of the "AIST" de-orbiting system are considered, and the principles of operation of the main system components are described. With the use of the proposed system, the prototype of the "AIST" small spacecraft can be removed from orbit in 96 days while the period of ballistic existence without the proposed system would be about 26 years, in case of the "AIST-2D" small spacecraft - in one day with the period of ballistic existence without the proposed system of 11 years.

This paper proposes a u-Healthcare system that can perceive emergency situations in chronic hypertension patients and initiate emergency action. The proposed system considers patient mobility and integrates a medical recommendations knowledge base and communication protocols between system agents in an RFID and Cell phone architecture. A comparison and analysis of the proposed system and the operational characteristics of an implemented system is provided. The proposed system can supply information to assist patients in normal health management as well as emergency situations.

Mental care has become crucial with the rapid growth of economy and technology. However, recent movements, such as green technologies, place more emphasis on environmental issues than on mental care. Therefore, this study presents an emerging technology called orange computing for mental care applications. Orange computing refers to health, happiness, and physiopsychological care computing, which focuses on designing algorithms and systems for enhancing body and mind balance. The representative color of orange computing originates from a harmonic fusion of passion, love, happiness, and warmth. A case study on a human-machine interactive and assistive system for emotion care was conducted in this study to demonstrate the concept of orange computing. The system can detect emotional states of users by analyzing their facial expressions, emotional speech, and laughter in a ubiquitous environment. In addition, the system can provide corresponding feedback to users according to the results. Experimental results show that the system can achieve an accurate audiovisual recognition rate of 81.8% on average, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of the system. Compared with traditional questionnaire-based approaches, the proposed system can offer real-time analysis of emotional status more efficiently.

Desktop grid aims to harvest a number of idle desktop computers owned by individuals on the edge of internet. Now days, Desktop grids are gaining increasing popularity because of the advances in the technology and availability of high computing power from the desktops. Volunteer nodes in a Desktop Grid encounter two types of failures: volatility failure and interference failure. Volatile failures are due to periodic maintenance, machine breakdown, system crash or shutdown etc that make node inaccessible to the Desktop Grid user. Interference failures are due to volunteer autonomic nature that the node owner can withdraw participation from public execution due to the need to execute the private jobs. This makes the node inaccessible to the Desktop Grid user and may cause partial or entire loss of the public job execution. Volunteer interferences cause slowdown in the execution of the jobs. In this paper the author present a job scheduling algorithm that analyze the nature of volunteer interference failures for effective scheduling of jobs.

This paper focuses on the design and construction of an optimization charging system for Li–Po batteries by means of tracked solar panels. Thus, the implementation of a complete energy management system applied to a robotic exploration vehicle is put forward. The proposed system was tested on the VANTER robotic platform — an autonomous unmanned exploration vehicle specialized in recognition. The interest of this robotic system lies in the design concept, based on a smart host microcontroller. On this basis, our proposal makes a twofold significant contribution. On the one hand, it presents the construction of a solar tracking mechanism aimed at increasing the rover’s power regardless of its mobility. On the other hand, it proposes an alternative design of power system performance based on a pack of two batteries. The aim is completing the process of charging a battery independently while the other battery provides all the energy consumed by the robotic vehicle.