Consensus in inventory games

This paper studies design, convergence, stability and optimality of a distributed consensus protocol for n-player repeated non cooperative games under incomplete information. Information available to each player concerning the other players' strategies evolves in time. At each stage (time period), the players select myopically their best binary strategy on the basis of a payoff, defined on a single stage, monotonically decreasing with the number of active players. The game is specialized to an inventory application, where fixed costs are shared among all retailers, interested in reordering or not from a common warehouse. As information evolves in time, the number of active players changes t…

Learning Research Methods and Processes via Sharing Experience in a BLOG

The goal is to increase knowledge about different research methods that have been employed in the information technology field by supporting the information exchange, collaboration, and cooperation between researchers. Well-designed, well-told stories can help others learn from past situations to respond more effectively in future situation. A blog is presented where PhD students and researchers are invited to collaborate by providing their stories, reading and commenting existing stories. This infrastructure allows researchers and PhD students to write the contents posing questions and finding answers on the relationship between research process and research results.

Distributed Consensus in Noncooperative Inventory Games

This paper deals with repeated nonsymmetric congestion games in which the players cannot observe their payoffs at each stage. Examples of applications come from sharing facilities by multiple users. We show that these games present a unique Pareto optimal Nash equilibrium that dominates all other Nash equilibria and consequently it is also the social optimum among all equilibria, as it minimizes the sum of all the players’ costs. We assume that the players adopt a best response strategy. At each stage, they construct their belief concerning others probable behavior, and then, simultaneously make a decision by optimizing their payoff based on their beliefs. Within this context, we provide a …

AQM Stability in Multiple Bottleneck Networks

In this paper, we highlight that multiple bottlenecks can affect the performance of active queue management controllers, which are usually configured on a single bottleneck basis, as if each controller were the only element regulating the TCP traffic along its path. To see this, we consider a network scenario where RED is configured at each router, according to previously developed control theoretic techniques. These configuration rules assure stability in a single bottleneck scenario. Yet, we show that instability may arise when two link become congested. We justify this result through a multiple bottleneck model and give guidelines for new cooperative AQM controllers.

Reduced Complexity Models in the Identifi cation of Dynamical Networks: links with sparsi cation problems.

In many applicative scenarios it is important to derive information about the topology and the internal connections of more dynamical systems interacting together. Examples can be found in fields as diverse as Economics, Neuroscience and Biochemistry. The paper deals with the problem of deriving a descriptive model of a network, collecting the node outputs as time series with no use of a priori insight on the topology. We cast the problem as the optimization of a cost function operating a trade-off between accuracy and complexity in the final model. We address the problem of reducing the complexity by fixing a certain degree of sparsity, and trying to find the solution that ``better'' satis…

Achieving Fair Bandwidth Distribution in WiFi Networks: A Game Theoretical Approach

International audience; Achieving fair bandwidth distribution among uplink and downlink ows in IEEE 802.11 infrastructure networks is a complex issue, due to the well-known features of the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) which regulates the access to the shared medium. Indeed, the dynamic adaptation of the contention windows causes phenomena of short-term unfairness, while the use of homogeneous contention parameters among the contending nodes makes the aggregated downlink bandwidth equal to the uplink bandwidth of a single node. We propose a dynamic tuning of the contention parameters used by the nodes, based on simple network monitoring functionalities and rational strategies. Spe…

Enabling independent navigation for visually impaired people through a wearable vision-based feedback system

This work introduces a wearable system to provide situational awareness for blind and visually impaired people. The system includes a camera, an embedded computer and a haptic device to provide feedback when an obstacle is detected. The system uses techniques from computer vision and motion planning to (1) identify walkable space; (2) plan step-by-step a safe motion trajectory in the space, and (3) recognize and locate certain types of objects, for example the location of an empty chair. These descriptions are communicated to the person wearing the device through vibrations. We present results from user studies with low- and high-level tasks, including walking through a maze without collisi…

Robust control of uncertain multi-inventory systems via linear matrix inequality

We consider a continuous time linear multi inventory system with unknown demands bounded within ellipsoids and controls bounded within ellipsoids or polytopes. We address the problem of "-stabilizing the inventory since this implies some reduction of the inventory costs. The main results are certain conditions under which "-stabilizability is possible through a saturated linear state feedback control. All the results are based on a Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs) approach and on some recent techniques for the modeling and analysis of polytopic systems with saturations.

Quantized Dissensus in switching networks with nodes death and duplication* *Research supported by MURST-PRIN “Robust Techniques for uncertain systems control” and by MURST-PRIN 2007ZMZK5T “Decisional model for the design and the management of logistics networks characterized by high interoperability and information integration”

Abstract In this paper we discuss agents exchanging quantized flows to diverge one from the others according to a dissensus protocol. A Quantized Gossip algorithm is considered. Evolutions of the states during switching intervals and at switching instants and their property are described and analyzed. The modeling of switching systems describing networks where death and duplication processes occur is described. Some properties of the topology reached by the network when different rules of duplication and inheritance are implemented.

Identification for a general class of LPV Models

Abstract In this paper we consider the problem of identifying discrete-time Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) models of non-linear or time-varying systems. LPV models are considered for their connection with the industrial practice of gain-scheduling. We assume that inputs, outputs and the scheduling parameters are measured, and a form of the functional dependence of the coefficients on the parameters is known. We show how the identification problem can be reduced to a linear regression so that a Least Mean Square identification algorithm can be reformulated. Conditions on the persistency of excitation in terms of the inputs and parameter trajectories are given to ensure the consistency of the…

Noncooperative dynamic games for inventory applications: A consensus approach

We focus on a finite horizon noncooperative dynamic game where the stage cost of a single player associated to a decision is a monotonically nonincreasing function of the total number of players making the same decision. For the single-stage version of the game, we characterize Nash equilibria and derive a consensus protocol that makes the players converge to the unique Pareto optimal Nash equilibrium. Such an equilibrium guarantees the interests of the players and is also social optimal in the set of Nash equilibria. For the multi-stage version of the game, we present an algorithm that converges to Nash equilibria, unfortunately not necessarily Pareto optimal. The algorithm returns a seque…

Non-linear protocols for optimal distributed consensus in networks of dynamic agents

We consider stationary consensus protocols for networks of dynamic agents with fixed topologies. At each time instant, each agent knows only its and its neighbors'' state, but must reach consensus on a group decision value that is function of all the agents'' initial state. We show that the agents can reach consensus if the value of such a function is time-invariant when computed over the agents'' state trajectories. We use this basic result to introduce a non-linear protocol design rule allowing consensus on a quite general set of values. Such a set includes, e.g., any generalized mean of order p of the agents'' initial states. As a second contribution we show that our protocol design is t…

Optimal Resource Allocation in Multi-Hop Networks: Contention vs. Scheduling

CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance) is actually the most used method in ad-hoc networks for transmitting on a contending medium, even if it shows poor performance in presence of hidden nodes. To increase performance, we propose an algorithm that combines CSMA and TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) approaches. The adopted solution consists of grouping contending nodes in non-interfering subsets and granting a different numbers of time slots to different groups, while using the CSMA to manage medium access among nodes belonging to the same subset. An optimization procedure to assign the time slots to each subset of nodes and to find an equilibrium between contention …

Set Membership (In) Validation of nonlinear positive models for biological systems

The complexity of biology needs quantitative tools in order to support and validate biologists intuition and traditional qualitative descriptions. In this paper, Nonlinear Positive models with constraints for biological systems are validated/invalidated in a worst-case deterministic setting. These models are usefull for the analysis of the DNA and RNA evolution and for the description of the population dynamics of viruses and bacteria. The conditional central estimate and the Uncertainty Intervals are determined in order to validate/invalidate the model. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure has been illustrated by means of simulation experiments.

Reduced complexity models in the identification of dynamical networks: Links with sparsification problems

In many applicative scenarios it is important to derive information about the topology and the internal connections of more dynamical systems interacting together. Examples can be found in fields as diverse as Economics, Neuroscience and Biochemistry. The paper deals with the problem of deriving a descriptive model of a network, collecting the node outputs as time series with no use of a priori insight on the topology. We cast the problem as the optimization of a cost function operating a trade-off between accuracy and complexity in the final model. We address the problem of reducing the complexity by fixing a certain degree of sparsity, and trying to find the solution that “better” satisfi…

Multiple UAV cooperative path planning via neuro-dynamic programming

In this paper, a team of n unmanned air-vehicles (UAVs) in cooperative path planning is given the task of reaching the assigned target while i) avoiding threat zones ii) synchronizing minimum time arrivals on the target, and iii) ensuring arrivals coming from different directions. We highlight three main contributions. First we develop a novel hybrid model and suit it to the problem at hand. Second, we design consensus protocols for the management of information. Third, we synthesize local predictive controllers through a distributed, scalable and suboptimal neuro-dynamic programming (NDP) algorithm.

Complex Dynamics in a Harmonically Excited Lennard-Jones Oscillator: Microcantilever-Sample Interaction in Scanning Probe Microscopes1

In this paper we model the microcantilever-sample interaction in an atomic force microscope (AFM) via a Lennard-Jones potential and consider the dynamical behavior of a harmonically forced system. Using nonlinear analysis techniques on attracting limit sets, we numerically verify the presence of chaotic invariant sets. The chaotic behavior appears to be generated via a cascade of period doubling, whose occurrence has been studied as a function of the system parameters. As expected, the chaotic attractors are obtained for values of parameters predicted by Melnikov theory. Moreover, the numerical analysis can be fruitfully employed to analyze the region of the parameter space where no theoret…

Blogging as a research and educational tool: a three years experience

Abstract Blogging can be also used to share knowledge in research and education. We have been using many blogs with the following purposes. One goal has been to raise awareness about research methods in the information technology field by supporting information exchange, collaboration, and cooperation between researchers. We have been using a common blog for 3 years to share inter- and intra disciplinary knowledge among us. We have also collected stories and interviewed colleagues and friends. An other goal is the use of blogs during our teaching experience as an instrument to support the exchange of knowledge with students. A comparison of the use of blogging is presented with positive and…

Relations between structure and estimators in networks of dynamical systems

The article main focus is on the identification of a graphical model from time series data associated with different interconnected entities. The time series are modeled as realizations of stochastic processes (representing nodes of a graph) linked together via transfer functions (representing the edges of the graph). Both the cases of non-causal and causal links are considered. By using only the measurements of the node outputs and without assuming any prior knowledge of the network topology, a method is provided to estimate the graph connectivity. In particular, it is proven that the method determines links to be present only between a node and its “kins”, where kins of a node consist of …

Challenging aspects in Consensus protocols for networks

Results on consensus protocols for networks are presented. The basic tools and the main contribution available in the literature are considered, together with some of the related challenging aspects: estimation in networks and how to deal with disturbances is considered. Motivated by applications to sensor, peer-to- peer, and ad hoc networks, many papers have considered the problem of estimation in a consensus fashion. Here, the unknown but bounded (UBB) noise affecting the network is addressed in details. Because of the presence of UBB disturbances convergence to equilibria with all equal components is, in general, not possible. The solution of the epsiv-consensus problem, where the states…

In.Line: A Navigation Game for Visually Impaired People

Part 3: Serious Games; International audience; In.line is a novel game based on a navigation system, called ARIANNA (pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception, [1]), primarily designed for visually impaired people permitting to navigate and find some points of interests in an indoor and outdoor environment by following a path painted or stuck on the floor. The aim of the game is twofold: (1) let the users learn and familiarize with the system, (2) improve blind people spatial skills to let them learn and acquire an allocentric spatial representation. The impact stands in the possibility of enhancing the social inclusion of a large part of the society that is …

Identification and validation of quasispecies models for biological systems

An identification procedure for biological systems cast as quasi-species models is proposed. Their identification is a challenging problem because of the bilinear dependence on the parameters and their physical constraints. The proposed solution is within the framework of set-membership identification. %The bilinear dependence on parameters of the model and their physical constraints make the present issue challenging. We determine an estimate of the model parameters together with their interval of variability (Uncertainty Intervals), taking into account all the physical constraints. Invalidation/validation is performed on the basis of the predictive capability of the estimated models. The …

Approximate-Dynamic Programming for Multi-Retailers Inventory Control

Approximation of the Feasible Parameter Set in worst-case identification of Hammerstein models

The estimation of the Feasible Parameter Set (FPS) for Hammerstein models in a worst-case setting is considered. A bounding procedure is determined both for polytopic and ellipsoidic uncertainties. It consists in the projection of the FPS of the extended parameter vector onto suitable subspaces and in the solution of convex optimization problems which provide Uncertainties Intervals of the model parameters. The bounds obtained are tighter than in the previous approaches. hes.

Distributed consensus protocols for coordinating buyers

In this paper, we introduce a distributed consensus protocol for coordinating orders of a network of buyers also called agents/decision makers. Each buyer chooses a different threshold strategy, defining its intention to place an order only if at least other l buyers will do the same. We prove that consensus is reached asymptotically globally and coordination is the same that if the decision making process would be centralized, namely, any decision maker (DM) has access to the thresholds of all other DMs and chooses to order or not. The proposed distributed protocol has the advantage that buyers do not have to communicate their threshold strategy in advance, and consensus is reached without…

About the Stability of Active Queue Management Mechanism

In this paper, we discuss the influence of multiple bottlenecks on the stability of Active Queue Management (AQM) controllers, usually configured on a single bottleneck basis. To see this, we consider a network scenario where RED is configured at each router according to previously developed control theoretic techniques. These configuration rules assure stability in a single bottleneck scenario. Yet, we show that instability may arise when two links become congested. We justify this result through a multiple bottleneck model.

Modeling Energy Demand Aggregators for Residential Consumers

International audience; Energy demand aggregators are new actors in the energy scenario: they gather a group of energy consumers and implement a demand- response paradigm. When the energy provider needs to reduce the current energy demand on the grid, it can pay the energy demand aggregator to reduce the load by turning off some of its consumers loads or postponing their activation. Currently this operation involves only greedy energy consumers like industrial plants. In this paper we want to study the potential of aggregating a large number of small energy consumers like home users as it may happen in smart grids. In particular we want to address the feasibility of such approach by conside…

AQM Generalized Nyquist stability in multiple bottlenecks networks

The influence of multiple bottlenecks on the stability of Active Queue Management (AQM) controllers, usually configured on a single bottleneck basis is discussed. We consider a network scenario where RED is configured at each router according to previously developed control theoretic techniques. These configuration rules assure stability in a single bottleneck scenario. We show that instability may arise when two links become congested. We justify this result through a multiple bottleneck model using the Generalized Nyquist stability criterion.

Dissensus, death and division

The modeling of switching systems describing networks where death and duplication processes occur is described. A dissensus protocol, complementary to consensus protocol, is introduced and the convergence or divergence of the agents' state evolution is studied. We discuss some properties of the topology reached by the network when different rules of duplication and inheritance are implemented.

Demo

We present an innovative smartphone-centric tracking system for indoor and outdoor environments, based on the joint utilization of dead-reckoning and computer vision (CV) techniques. The system is explicitly designed for visually impaired people (although it could be easily generalized to other users) and it is built under the assumption that special reference signals, such as painted lines, colored tapes or tactile pavings are deployed in the environment for guiding visually impaired users along pre-defined paths. Thanks to highly optimized software, we are able to execute the CV and sensor-fusion algorithms in run-time on low power hardware such as a normal smartphone, precisely tracking …

Cooperative Inventory control

In multi-retailer inventory control the possibility of sharing setup costs motivates communication and coordination among the retailers. We solve the problem of finding suboptimal distributed reordering policies that minimize setup, ordering, storage, and shortage costs incurred by the retailers over a finite horizon. Neuro-dynamic programming (NDP) reduces the computational complexity of the solution algorithm from exponential to polynomial on the number of retailers.

MECHANISM DESIGN FOR OPTIMAL CONSENSUS PROBLEMS

We consider stationary consensus protocols for networks of dynamic agents with fixed and switching topologies. At each time instant, each agent knows only its and its neighbors’ state, but must reach consensus on a group decision value that is function of all the agents’ initial state.We show that our protocol design is the solution of individual optimizations performed by the agents. This notion suggests a game theoretic interpretation of consensus problems as mechanism design problems. Under this perspective a supervisor entails the agents to reach a consensus by imposing individual objectives. We prove that such objectives can be chosen so that rational agents have a unique optimal proto…

AQM generalized nyquist stability in multiple bottleneck networks

Abstract The influence of multiple bottlenecks on the stability of Active Queue Management (AQM) controllers, usually configured on a single bottleneck basis is discussed. We consider a network scenario where RED is configured at each router according to previously developed control theoretic techniques. These configuration rules assure stability in a single bottleneck scenario. We show that instability may arise when two links become congested. We justify this result through a multiple bottleneck model using the Generalized Nyquist stability criterion.

PARAMETER BOUNDED ESTIMATION FOR QUASISPECIES MODELS OF MOLECULAR EVOLUTION

Abstract The Quasispecies models identification for Evolutionary Dynamics is considered in a worst-case deterministic setting. These models analyze the DNA and RNA evolution or describe the population dynamics of viruses and bacteria. In this paper we identify the Fitness and the Replication Probability parameters of a genetic sequences, subject to a set of stringent constraints to have physical meaning and to guarantee positiveness. The conditional central estimate and the Uncertainty Intervals are determined. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure has been illustrated by means of simulation experiments while tests on real data are under concern.

The role of the Access Point in Wi-Fi networks with selfish nodes

In Wi-Fi networks, mobile nodes compete for accessing the shared channel by means of a random access protocol called Distributed Coordination Function (DCF), which is long term fair. But recent drivers allow users to configure protocol parameters differently from their standard values in order to break the protocol fairness and obtain a larger share of the available bandwidth at the expense of other users. This motivates a game theoretical analysis of DCF. Previous studies have already modeled access to a shared wireless channel in terms of non-cooperative games among the nodes, but they have mainly considered ad hoc mode operation. In this paper we consider the role of the Access Point (AP…

HLPV Identication in wireless ad hoc networks

Hybrid systems are dynamical systems consisting of components with con- tinuous and discrete behavior and thus they have required a new hybrid systems and control theory that has been developed in the past years and is still an active research topic. Motivated by a practical example, the tra c ow in wireless ad hoc network model, we derive Hybrid LPV modeling and identi cation techniques. Finally we show simulation results of o line identi cation and possible future algorithms.

A Navigation and Augmented Reality System for Visually Impaired People

In recent years, we have assisted with an impressive advance in augmented reality systems and computer vision algorithms, based on image processing and artificial intelligence. Thanks to these technologies, mainstream smartphones are able to estimate their own motion in 3D space with high accuracy. In this paper, we exploit such technologies to support the autonomous mobility of people with visual disabilities, identifying pre-defined virtual paths and providing context information, reducing the distance between the digital and real worlds. In particular, we present ARIANNA+, an extension of ARIANNA, a system explicitly designed for visually impaired people for indoor and outdoor localizati…

Sensor Fusion Localization and Navigation for Visually Impaired People

In this paper, we present an innovative cyber physical system for indoor and outdoor localization and navigation, based on the joint utilization of dead-reckoning and computer vision techniques on a smartphone-centric tracking system. The system is explicitly designed for visually impaired people, but it can be easily generalized to other users, and it is built under the assumption that special reference signals, such as colored tapes, painted lines, or tactile paving, are deployed in the environment for guiding visually impaired users along pre-defined paths. Differently from previous works on localization, which are focused only on the utilization of inertial sensors integrated into the s…

Identification of linear parameter varying models

We consider identification of a certain class of discrete-time nonlinear systems known as linear parameter varying system. We assume that inputs, outputs and the scheduling parameters are directly measured, and a form of the functional dependence of the system coefficients on the parameters is known. We show how this identification problem can be reduced to a linear regression, and provide compact formulae for the corresponding least mean square and recursive least-squares algorithms. We derive conditions on persistency of excitation in terms of the inputs and scheduling parameter trajectories when the functional dependence is of polynomial type. These conditions have a natural polynomial i…

Adaptive quadratic regularization for baseline wandering removal in wearable ECG devices

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the most important physiological signals to monitor the health status of a patient. Technological advances allow the size and weight of ECG acquisition devices to be strongly reduced so that wearable systems are now available, even though the computational power and memory capacity is generally limited. An ECG signal is affected by several artifacts, among which the baseline wandering (BW), i.e., a slowly varying variation of its trend, represents a major disturbance. Several algorithms for BW removal have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we propose new methods to face the problem that require low computational and memory resources and th…

LPV Model Identification For The Stall And Surge Control of a Jet Engine

Abstract The problem of identifying discrete-time Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) models of non-linear or time-varying systems for gain scheduling control is considered assuming that inputs, outputs and the scheduling parameters are measured, and a form of the functional dependence of the coefficients on the parameters is known. The identification procedure is applied to the controlled model of compressors for jet engines. The model is controlled in order to avoid rotating stall and surge. Aim of the present paper is to identify the LPV model based on the nonlinear model of compressors in order to design a robust gain scheduling predictive controller.

OLS Identification of network topologies

Abstract In many applications, it is important to derive information about the topology and the internal connections of more dynamical systems interacting together. Examples can be found in fields as diverse as Economics, Neuroscience and Biochemistry. The paper deals with the problem of deriving a descriptive model of a network, collecting the node outputs as time series with no use of a priori insight on the topology. We cast the problem as the optimization of a cost function where a set of parameters are used to operate a trade-off between accuracy and complexity in the final model. The problem of reducing the complexity is addressed by fixing a certain degree of sparsity and finding the…

Dealing with uncertainty in consensus protocol

Recent results on Consensus protocols for networks are presented. The basic tools and the main contribution available in the literature are considered, together with some of the related challenging aspects: estimation in networks and how to deal with disturbances is considered. Motivated by applications to sensor, peer-to-peer, and ad hoc networks, many papers have considered the problem of estimation in a consensus fashion. Here, the Unknown But Bounded (UBB) noise affecting the network is addressed in details. Because of the presence of UBB disturbances convergence to equilibria with all equal components is, in general, not possible. The solution of the $\epsilon$-consensus problem, where…

Dealing with uncertainty in consensus protocols

Recent results on consensus protocols for networks are presented. The basic tools and the main contribution available in the literature are considered, together with some of the related challenging aspects: estimation in networks and how to deal with disturbances is considered. Motivated by applications to sensor, peer-to-peer, and ad hoc networks, many papers have considered the problem of estimation in a consensus fashion. Here, the Unknown But Bounded (UBB) noise affecting the network is addressed in details. Because of the presence of UBB disturbances convergence to equilibria with all equal components is, in general, not possible. The solution of the e-consensus problem, where the stat…

Enhancing tracking performance in a smartphone-based navigation system for visually impaired people

In this paper we show how to enhance the tracking performance of Arianna, a low-cost augmented reality system designed to meet the needs of people with problems of orientation, people with sight impairment and blind people. For augmented reality system we mean the design of: i) a set of paths and tags to be deployed in the environment, realized in various ways depending on the context (decorative elements easily identifiable, colorful stripes, QR code, RFID, etc.); ii) an instrument of mediation between the reality and the user (typically a smartphone) to access the information disseminated in the environment by means of a camera and provide a vibration feedback signal to the users for foll…

HL7v3 CDA Rel.2 Patient Summary and Chronic Care Model: Localization experience and GP/HS Integration Project

The localization experience for the Patient Summary, based on the Health Level Seven Version 3 (HL7v3) Clinical Document Architecture, Release 2 (CDA Rel.2), is presented. An overview of the Chronic Care Model (CCM) is introduced with particular attention to the clinical information systems, in order to organize patient and population clinical data by sharing information among healthcare providers in management of chronic diseases. We propose, as case study, a project for the integration of various services for General Practitioners (GP) and Hospital Specialists (HS), accessing the Electronic Health Record (EHR), implementing the Patient Summary and managing the exchange of Chronic Care med…

LPV models: Identification for gain scheduling control

In this paper the use of discrete-time Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) models for the gain scheduling control and identification methods for non-linear or time-varying system is considered. We report an overview on the existing literature on LPV systems for gain scheduling control and identification. Moreover, assuming that inputs, outputs and the scheduling parameters are measured, and a form of the functional dependence of the coefficients on the parameters is known, we show how the identification problem can be reduced to a linear regression so that a Least Mean Square and Recursive Least Square identification algorithm can be reformulated. Our methodology is applied for the identificatio…

Distributed Consensus in Networks of Dynamic Agents

Stationary and distributed consensus protocols for a network of n dynamic agents under local information is considered. Consensus must be reached on a group decision value returned by a function of the agents' initial state values. As a main contribution we show that the agents can reach consensus if the value of such a function computed over the agents' state trajectories is time invariant. We use this basic result to introduce a protocol design rule allowing consensus on a quite general set of values. Such a set includes, e.g., any generalized mean of order p of the agents' initial states. We demonstrate that the asymptotical consensus is reached via a Lyapunov approach. Finally we perfor…

Privacy-Preserving Overgrid: Secure Data Collection for the Smart Grid

In this paper, we present a privacy-preserving scheme for Overgrid, a fully distributed peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture designed to automatically control and implement distributed Demand Response (DR) schemes in a community of smart buildings with energy generation and storage capabilities. To monitor the power consumption of the buildings, while respecting the privacy of the users, we extend our previous Overgrid algorithms to provide privacy preserving data aggregation (PP-Overgrid). This new technique combines a distributed data aggregation scheme with the Secure Multi-Party Computation paradigm. First, we use the energy profiles of hundreds of buildings, classifying the amount of &ldquo

Lazy consensus for network with unknown but bounded noise

Existence and Optimality of Nash Equilibria in Inventory Games

Abstract This paper studies the stability and optimality of a distributed consensus protocol for n -player repeated non cooperative games under incomplete information. At each stage, the players choose binary strategies and incur in a payoff monotonically decreasing with the number of active players. The game is specialized to an inventory application, where fixed costs are shared among all retailers, interested in whether reordering or not from a common warehouse. The authors focus on Pareto optimality as a measure of coordination of reordering strategies, proving that there exists a unique Pareto optimal Nash equilibrium that verifies certain stability conditions.

Enabling Primary and Specialist Care Interoperability Through HL7 CDA Release 2 and the Chronic Care Model: An Italian Case Study

Interoperability is the key to enable clinical information systems for General Practitioners (GP) and Hospital Specialists (HS) in order to exchange and manage the Chronic Care Models (CCM) medical records, Patient Summary (PS), and Electronic Prescription (e-Prescription) documents while accessing the electronic health record. We present a localization experience for PS and e-prescription, based on the Health Level Seven Version 3 Clinical Document Architecture Release 2, developed for Italian healthcare. We describe also an experience on the implementation of CCM for sharing patient clinical data among healthcare providers in the management of diagnostic and therapeutic pathways for chron…

Smart plugs: A low cost solution for programmable control of domestic loads

International audience; Balancing energy demand and production is becoming a more and more challenging task for energy utilities. This is due to a number of different reasons among which the larger penetration of renewable energies which are more difficult to predict and the meagre availability of financial resources to upgrade the existing power grid. While the traditional solution is to dynamically adapt energy production to follow the time-varying demand, a new trend is to drive the demand itself by means of Direct Load Control (DLC). In this paper we consider a scenario where DLC functionalities are deployed at a large set of small deferrable energy loads, like appliances of residential…

About the stability of active queue management mechanisms

In this paper, we discuss the influence of multiple bottlenecks on the stability of active queue management (AQM) controllers, usually configured on a single bottleneck basis. To see this, we consider a network scenario where RED is configured at each router according to previously developed control theoretic techniques. These configuration rules assure stability in a single bottleneck scenario. Yet, we show that instability may arise when two links become congested. We justify this result through a multiple bottleneck model.

Identification of Replicator Mutator models

The complexity of biology literally calls for quantitative tools in order to support and validate biologists intuition and traditional qualitative descriptions. In this paper, the Replicator-Mutator models for Evolutionary Dynamics are validated/invalidated in a worst-case deterministic setting. These models analyze the DNA and RNA evolution or describe the population dynamics of viruses and bacteria. We identify the Fitness and the Replication Probability parameters of a genetic sequences, subject to a set of stringent constraints to have physical meaning and to guarantee positiveness. The conditional central estimate is determined in order to validate/invalidate the model. The effectivene…

Decentralized Synchronization for Zigbee wireless sensor networks in Multi-Hop Topology

Abstract The most effective solution for energy saving in low-rate wireless sensor networks is maintaining each node in a doze state as long as possible. In order to guarantee network connectivity, the intervals at which the network sensors are turned on and off have to be coordinated. We analyze the Zigbee MAC performance in sensor networks deployed in multi-hop topologies. For this networks, critical inefficiencies can arise due to transmissions performed by hidden nodes. We evaluate the impact of different synchronization schemes on the network performance, both in terms of network capacity and in terms of energy consumption. We show how the synchronization function can be opportunistica…

A game theoretic approach to MAC design for infrastructure networks

Wireless network operation intrinsically assumes different forms of cooperation among the network nodes, such as sharing a common wireless medium without interfering, relaying frames belonging to other nodes, controlling the transmission power for optimizing spectrum reuse, coding cooperatively multiple frames for improving information redundancy, and so on. For this reason, Game Theory has been extensively employed to model wireless networks. In particular, we propose a game-theoretic approach for defining a generalized medium access protocol for slotted contention-based channels. Contention-based channels are largely adopted in data networks, e.g. in WiFi and WiMax networks and in some em…

Model Identification of a Network as Compressing Sensing

In many applications, it is important to derive information about the topology and the internal connections of dynamical systems interacting together. Examples can be found in fields as diverse as Economics, Neuroscience and Biochemistry. The paper deals with the problem of deriving a descriptive model of a network, collecting the node outputs as time series with no use of a priori insight on the topology, and unveiling an unknown structure as the estimate of a "sparse Wiener filter". A geometric interpretation of the problem in a pre-Hilbert space for wide-sense stochastic processes is provided. We cast the problem as the optimization of a cost function where a set of parameters are used t…

MAC Design for WiFi Infrastructure Networks: A Game-Theoretic Approach

In WiFi networks, mobile nodes compete for accessing a shared channel by means of a random access protocol called Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). Although this protocol is in principle fair, since all the stations have the same probability to transmit on the channel, it has been shown that unfair behaviors may emerge in actual networking scenarios because of non-standard configurations of the nodes. Due to the proliferation of open source drivers and programmable cards, enabling an easy customization of the channel access policies, we propose a game-theoretic analysis of random access schemes. Assuming that each node is rational and implements a best response strategy, we show that…

Identification of Distributed Systems with Logical Interaction Structure

This paper focuses on the structure identification problem for a class of networked systems, where the interaction among components or agents is described through logical maps. In particular, agents are heterogeneous cooperating systems, i.e. they may have different individual dynamics and different interaction rules depending on input events. While we assume that the individual agents' dynamics are known, each agent has partial knowledge of the logical map encoding the interaction of another agent with its neighbors. Based on the so-called algebraic normal form for binary functions, we present a technique by which the network structure described by a logical function can be dynamically est…

Identification of linear parameter varying models

We consider the problem of identifying discrete-time linear parameter varying models of nonlinear or time-varying systems. We assume that inputs, outputs and the scheduling parameters are measured, and a form of the functional dependence of the coefficients on the parameters. We show how the identification problem can be reduced to a linear regression, and we give conditions on persistency of excitation in terms of the inputs and parameter trajectories.

Active queue management stability in multiple bottleneck networks

In this paper, we show that the active queue management (AQM) controllers, usually configured on a single bottleneck basis, may not prevent instability in the presence of multiple bottlenecks. We justify this result through a multiple bottleneck model.

LPV model identification for gain scheduling control: An application to rotating stall and surge control problem

Abstract We approach the problem of identifying a nonlinear plant by parameterizing its dynamics as a linear parameter varying (LPV) model. The system under consideration is the Moore–Greitzer model which captures surge and stall phenomena in compressors. The control task is formulated as a problem of output regulation at various set points (stable and unstable) of the system under inputs and states constraints. We assume that inputs, outputs and scheduling parameters are measurable. It is worth pointing out that the adopted technique allows for identification of an LPV model's coefficients without the requirements of slow variations amongst set points. An example of combined identification…

Performance analysis of selfish access strategies on WiFi infrastructure networks

In this paper we propose a game-theoretic approach for characterizing WiFi network performance in presence of intelligent nodes employing cognitive functionalities. We assume that a cognitive WiFi node is aware of its application requirements and is able to dynamically estimate the network status, in order to dynamically change its access strategy by tuning the contention window settings. We prove that, for infrastructure networks with bidirectional traffic and homogeneous application requirements, selfish access strategies are able to reach equilibrium conditions, which are also Pareto optimal. Indeed, we show that the station strategies converge toward values which maximize a per-node uti…

An Indoor and Outdoor Navigation System for Visually Impaired People

In this paper, we present a system that allows visually impaired people to autonomously navigate in an unknown indoor and outdoor environment. The system, explicitly designed for low vision people, can be generalized to other users in an easy way. We assume that special landmarks are posed for helping the users in the localization of pre-defined paths. Our novel approach exploits the use of both the inertial sensors and the camera integrated into the smartphone as sensors. Such a navigation system can also provide direction estimates to the tracking system to the users. The success of out approach is proved both through experimental tests performed in controlled indoor environments and in r…

Approximation of Feasible Parameter Set in worst case identification of block-oriented nonlinear models

Abstract The estimation of the Feasible Parameter Set for block-oriented nonlinear models in a worst case setting is considered. A bounding procedure is determined both for polytopic and ellipsoidie sets, consisting in the projection of the FPS ⊂ R MN of the extended parameter vector onto suitable M or N-dimensional subspaces and in the solution of convex optimization problems which provide the extreme points of the Parameter Uncertainties Intervals of the model parameteres. Bounds obtained are tighter then in the previous approaches.

Consensus for networks with unknown but bounded disturbances

We consider stationary consensus protocols for networks of dynamic agents. The measure of the neighbors' states is affected by unknown but bounded disturbances. Here the main contribution is the formulation and solution of what we call the $\epsilon$-consensus problem, where the states are required to converge in a target set of radius $\epsilon$ asymptotically or in finite time. We introduce as a solution a dead-zone policy that we denote as the lazy rule.

Application of model quality evaluation to systems biology

Application of model quality evaluation to the quasispecies models is presented. These models are useful for the analysis of the DNA and RNA evolution and for the description of the population dynamics of viruses and bacteria. An estimate of the parameters together with their interval of variability is computed and the quality evaluation is tested on the basis of the model prediction error capability.

Large Scale Control of Deferrable Domestic Loads in Smart Grids

International audience; In this paper, we investigate a realistic and low-cost deployment of large scale direct control of inelastic home appliances whose energy demand cannot be shaped, but simply deferred. The idea is to exploit 1) some simple actuators to be placed on the electric plugs for connecting or disconnecting appliances with heterogeneous control interfaces, including non-smart appliances, and 2) the Internet connections of customers for transporting the activation requests from the actuators to a centralized controller. Our solution requires no interaction with home users: in particular, it does not require them to express their energy demand in advance. A queuing theory model …

Resource sharing optimality in WiFi infrastructure networks

In WiFi networks, mobile nodes compete for accessing a shared channel by means of a random access protocol called Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). Although this protocol is in principle fair, since all the stations have the same probability to transmit on the channel, it has been shown that unfair behaviors may emerge in actual networking scenarios. Assuming that a contending node can dynamically change its strategy, by tuning its contention parameters to non-standard values on the basis of channel observations, we prove that, for infrastructure networks with bidirectional traffic and homogeneous application requirements, selfish access strategies are able to reach equilibrium condi…

Regularized LMS methods for baseline wandering removal in wearable ECG devices

The acquisition of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals by means of light and reduced size devices can be usefully exploited in several health-care applications, e.g., in remote monitoring of patients. ECG signals, however, are affected by several artifacts due to noise and other disturbances. One of the major ECG degradation is represented by the baseline wandering (BW), a slowly varying change of the signal trend. Several BW removal algorithms have been proposed into the literature, even though their complexity often hinders their implementation into wearable devices characterized by limited computational and memory resources. In this study, we formalize the BW removal problem as a mean-square…

A STUDY ON RESEARCH METHODS IN INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS

Distributed consensus for switched networks with unknown but bounded noise

Unidirectional probabilistic direct control for deferrable loads

International audience; The idea of harnessing the inherent flexibility in demand of many types of electric loads has been largely discussed in the last years for coping with the need to maintain the energy demand-supply balance. In particular, the fine tuning of the operation conditions of different thermostatic loads (such as air-conditioning, refrigerators, etc.) has appeared as the most natural solution for load control with minimal user discomfort. In this paper we focus on an alternative approach: deploying simple open-loop control strategies for deferrable loads with minimal communication overhead. The idea is to send a multicast control message to a group of users, on the basis of t…

Utility-based resource allocations in multi-hop wireless networks

It is well known that CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access) protocols exhibit very poor performance in case of multi-hop transmissions, because of inter-link interference due to imperfect carrier sensing. Since ad-hoc networks based on multihop packet deliveries are becoming more and more common in different application and networking scenarios, different medium access control extensions are currently considered for improving the channel utilization efficiency. In this paper, we propose a simple approach based on preallocating temporal slots in which different sets of nodes are allowed to contend for the channel access, which can significantly improve CSMA performance with limited signaling …

Unidirectional Direct Load Control through Smart Plugs

International audience; Balancing energy demand and production is be-coming a more and more challenging task for energy utilities also because of the larger penetration of renewable energies which are more difficult to predict and control. While the traditional solution is to dynamically adapt energy production to follow time-varying demand, a new trend is to drive demand itself. Most of the ongoing actions in this direction involve greedy energy consumers, like industrial plants, supermarkets or large buildings. Pervasive communication technologies may allow in the near future to push further the granularity of such approach, by having the energy utility interacting with residen-tial appli…

The stall and surge control problem for jet engines: LPV Model Identification and Gain Scheduling Predictive Control.

Scalable and Privacy-Preserving Admission Control for Smart Grids

International audience; Energy demand and production need to be constantly matched in the power grid. The traditional paradigm to continuously adapt the production to the demand is challenged by the increasing penetration of more variable and less predictable energy sources, like solar photovoltaics and wind power. An alternative approach is the so called direct control of some inherently flexible electric loads to shape the demand. Direct control of deferrable loads presents analogies with flow admission control in telecommunication networks: a request for network resources (bandwidth or energy) can be delayed on the basis of the current network status in order to guarantee some performanc…

Robust control in uncertain multi-inventory systems and consensus problems

Abstract We consider a continuous time linear multi–inventory system with unknown demands bounded within ellipsoids and controls bounded within polytopes. We address the problem of ∈-stabilizing the inventory since this implies some reduction of the inventory costs. The main results are certain conditions under which ∈-stabilizability is possible through a saturated linear state feedback control. The idea of this approach is similar to the consensus problem solution for a network of continuous time dynamic agents, where each agent evolves according to a first order dynamics has bounded control and it is subject to unknown but bounded disturbances. In this context, we derive conditions under…

Quantized Dissensus in Networks of Agents subject to Death and Duplication

Dissensus is a modeling framework for networks of dynamic agents in competition for scarce resources. Originally inspired by biological cells behaviors, it fits also marketing, finance and many other application areas. Competition is often unstable in the sense that strong agents, those having access to large resources, gain more and more resources at the expense of weak agents. Thus, strong agents duplicate when reaching a critical amount of resources, whereas weak agents die when loosing all their resources. To capture all these phenomena we introduce systems with a discrete time gossip and unstable state dynamics interrupted by discrete events affecting the network topology. Invariancy o…

HL7v3 CDA Rel.2 prescription: Localization experience and GP Integration Project

The localization experience for the e-prescription, based on the Health Level Seven Version 3 (HL7v3) Clinical Document Architecture, Release 2 (CDA Rel.2), is presented. As application, we propose a project of General Practitioners Integration with the EHR (Electronic Health Record), implementing the e-prescription, patient summary and other CDA Rel.2 documents. The integration is made possible with HL7v3, the most widely used standard for healthcare information interoperability. The project is in line with the state of the art in the normative referring context for the Italian Healthcare, both at national and regional level (Tuscany Region). Final remarks are drawn, also referring to the …

NARX Models of an Industrial Power Plant Gas Turbine

This brief reports the experience with the identification of a nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous inputs (NARX) model for the PGT10B1 power plant gas turbine manufactured by General Electric-Nuovo Pignone. Two operating conditions of the turbine are considered: isolated mode and nonisolated mode. The NARX model parameters are estimated iteratively with a Gram-Schmidt procedure, exploiting both forward and stepwise regression. Many indexes have been evaluated and compared in order to perform subset selection in the functional basis set and determine the structure of the nonlinear model. Various input signals (from narrow to broadband) for identification and validation have been consider…

Set Membership (In)Validation of Quasispecies models for Molecular Evolution

Medium access in WiFi networks: strategies of selfish nodes

This article provides a game theoretical analysis of the WiFi MAC protocol to understand the risks or the advantages offered by possible modifications of MAC functionalities implemented at the driver level.

A decentralized solution for the constrained minimum cost flow

In this paper we propose a decentralized solution to the problem of network stabilization, under flow constraints ensuring steady—state flow optimality. We propose a stabilizing strategy for network flow control with capacity constraints which drives the buffer levels arbitrarily close to a desired reference. This is a decentralized strategy optimizing the flow via the minimization of a quadratic cost of the control. A second problem characterized by non-fully connected networks is also considered, for which an exact network equilibrium is not possible. Here, the strategy, in the absence of constraints leads to a least square decentralized problem, but, unfortunately, in the presence of con…

Coloring-based resource allocations in ad-hoc wireless networks

It is well known that CSMA/CA protocols exhibit very poor performance in case of multi-hop transmissions, because of inter-link interference due to imperfect carrier sensing. We propose to control such an interference by preallocating temporal slots in which different sets of network nodes are allowed to contend for the channel access. The approach is based on distributed coloring algorithms with limited signaling overhead that can be customized as a function of the network topology and traffic load.

Lazy consensus for networks with unknown but bounded disturbances

We consider stationary consensus protocols for networks of dynamic agents. The measure of the neighbors' state is affected by Unknown But Bounded disturbances. Here the main contribution is the formulation and solution of what we call the isin-consensus problem, where the states are required to converge in a tube of ray isin asymptotically or in finite time.

A Cognitive Tuning of Contention Windows in WiFi Infrastructure Networks

In WiFi networks, mobile nodes compete for accessing a shared channel by means of a random access protocol called Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). Although this protocol is in principle fair, since it should guarantee that all the stations have the same probability to transmit on the channel, it has been shown that unfair behaviors may emerge in actual networking scenarios. These phenomena are due to different reasons, including non-standard configurations of the nodes, critical network topologies, and short-term performance observations. In this paper we propose a game-theoretic approach for defining an enhanced DCF scheme suitable for WiFi intelligent nodes employing cognitive fun…

Supporting Autonomous Navigation of Visually Impaired People for Experiencing Cultural Heritage

In this chapter, we present a system for indoor and outdoor localization and navigation to allow the low vision users in experiencing cultural heritage in autonomy. The system is based on the joint utilization of dead-reckoning and computer vision techniques on a smartphone-centric tracking system. The system is explicitly designed for visually impaired people, but it can be easily generalized to other users, and it is built under the assumption that special reference signals, such as colored tapes, painted lines, or tactile paving, are deployed in the environment for guiding visually impaired users along pre-defined paths. Differently from previous works on localization, which are focused …

Consensus in Noncooperative Dynamic Games: a Multi-Retailer Inventory Application

We focus on Nash equilibria and Pareto optimal Nash equilibria for a finite horizon noncooperative dynamic game with a special structure of the stage cost. We study the existence of these solutions by proving that the game is a potential game. For the single-stage version of the game, we characterize the aforementioned solutions and derive a consensus protocol that makes the players converge to the unique Pareto optimal Nash equilibrium. Such an equilibrium guarantees the interests of the players and is also social optimal in the set of Nash equilibria. For the multistage version of the game, we present an algorithm that converges to Nash equilibria, unfortunately, not necessarily Pareto op…

Teletraffic Engineering for Direct Load Control in Smart Grids

International audience; The traditional paradigm for power grid operation is to continuously adapt energy production to demand. This paradigm is challenged by the increasing penetration of renewable sources, that are more variable and less predictable. An alternative approach is the direct load control of some inherently flexible electric loads to shape the demand. Direct control of deferrable loads presents analogies with flow admission control in telecommunication networks: a request for network resources (bandwidth or energy) can be delayed on the basis of the current network status in order to guarantee some performance metrics. In this paper we go beyond such an analogy, showing that u…

ARIANNA: a smartphone-based navigation system with human in the loop

In this paper we present a low cost navigation system, called ARIANNA, primarily designed for visually impaired people. ARIANNA (pAth Recognition for Indoor Assisted NavigatioN with Augmented perception) permits to find some points of interests in an indoor environment by following a path painted or sticked on the floor. The path is detected by the camera of the smartphone which also generates a vibration signal providing a feedback to the user for correcting his/her direction. Some special landmarks can be deployed along the path for coding additional information detectable by the camera. In order to study the practical feasibility of the ARIANNA system for human users that want to follow …

Quantized Dissensus in switching networks with nodes death and duplication

On Discovering Low Order Models in Biochemical Reaction Kinetics

We develop a method by which a large number of differential equations representing biochemical reaction kinetics may be represented by a smaller number of differential equations. The basis of our technique is a conjecture that the high dimension equations of biochemical kinetics, which involve reaction terms of specific forms, are actually implementing a low dimension system whose behavior requires right hand sides that can not be biochemically implemented. For systems that satisfy this conjecture, we develop a simple approximation scheme based on multilinear algebra that extracts the low dimensional system from simulations of the high dimension system. We demonstrate this technique on a st…

Medium access in WiFi networks: strategies of selfish nodes [Applications Corner]

This article provides a game theoretical analysis of the WiFi MAC protocol to understand the risks or the advantages offered by possible modifications of MAC functionalities implemented at the driver level.

The linear saturated decentralized strategy for constrained flow control is asymptotically optimal

We present an algorithm for constrained network flow control in the presence of an unknown demand. Our algorithm is decentralized in the sense that it is implemented by a team of agents, each controlling just the flow on a single arc of the network based only on the buffer levels at the nodes at the extremes of the arc, while ignoring the actions of other agents and the network topology. We prove that our algorithm is also stabilizing and steady-state optimal. Specifically, we show that it asymptotically produces the minimum-norm flow. We finally generalize our algorithm to networks with a linear dynamics and we prove that certain least-square optimality properties still hold.

SM identification of approximating models forH∞ robust control

Set Membership (SM) W, identification of mixed parametric and nonparametric models is investigated, aimed to estimate a low order approximating model and an identification error, giving a measure of the unmodeled dynamics in a form well suited for H, control methodologies. In particular, the problem of estimating the parameters of the parametric part and the H, bound on the modeling error is solved using frequency domain data, supposing lbo bounded measurement errors and exponentially stable unmodeled dynamics. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure is tested on some numerical examples, showing the advantages of the proposed methods over the existing nonparametric H, identification app…

www.researcherblog.blogspot.com