0000000001010449

AUTHOR

Vincenzo Conti

Fast Fingerprints Classification Only Using the Directional Image

The classification phase is an important step of an automatic fingerprint identification system, where the goal is to restrict only to a subset of the whole database the search time. The proposed system classifies fingerprint images in four classes using only directional image information. This approach, unlike the literature approaches, uses the acquired fingerprint image without enhancement phases application. The system extracts only directional image and uses three concurrent decisional modules to classify the fingerprint. The proposed system has a high classification speed and a very low computational cost. The experimental results show a classification rate of 87.27%.

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Morphological Enhancement and Triangular Matching for Fingerprint Recognition

Among the principal problems for realizing a robust Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) there are the images quality and matching algorithms. In this paper a fingerprint enhancement algorithm based on morphological filter and a triangular matching are introduced. The enhancement phase is based on tree steps: directional decomposition, morphological filter and composition. For the matching phase a global transformation to overcame the effects of rotation, displacement and deformation between acquired and stored fingerprint is performed using the number of similar triangular, having fingerprint minutiae as vertexes. The performance of the proposed approach has been evaluated on…

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Fast Fuzzy Fusion in Multimodal Biometric Systems

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A Novel Bio-Inspired Approach for High-Performance Management in Service-Oriented Networks

Service-continuity in distributed computing can be enhanced by designing self-organized systems, with a non-fixed structure, able to modify their structure and organization, as well as adaptively react to internal and external environment changes. In this paper, an architecture exploiting a bio-inspired management approach, i.e., the functioning of cell metabolism, for specialized computing environments in Service-Oriented Networks (SONs) is proposed. Similar to the processes acting in metabolic networks, the nodes communicate to each other by means of stimulation or suppression chains giving rise to emergent behaviors to defend against foreign invaders, attacks, and malfunctioning. The mai…

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An extended JADE-S based framework for developing secure Multi-Agent Systems

Agent communities are self-organized virtual spaces consisting of a large number of agents and their dynamic environments. Within a community, agents group together offering special e-services for effective, reliable, and mutual benefits. Usually, an agent community is composed of specialized agents performing one or more tasks in a single domain/sub-domain, or in highly intersecting domains. However, secure Multi- Agent Systems require severe mechanisms in order to prevent malicious attacks. Several limits affect exiting secure agents platform, such as the lack of a strong authentication system, the lack of a flexible distributed mechanism for access control and the lack of a system for st…

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An Embedded Biometric Sensor for Ubiquitous Authentication

Communication networks and distributed technologies move people towards the era of ubiquitous computing. An ubiquitous environment needs many authentication sensors for users recognition, in order to provide a secure infrastructure for both user access to resources and services and information management. Today the security requirements must ensure secure and trusted user information to protect sensitive data resource access and they could be used for user traceability inside the platform. Conventional authentication systems, based on username and password, are in crisis since they are not able to guarantee a suitable security level for several applications. Biometric authentication systems…

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A bio-inspired approach to attack graphs analysis

Computer security has recently become more and more important as the world economy dependency from data has kept growing. The complexity of the systems that need to be kept secure calls for new models capable of abstracting the interdependencies among heterogeneous components that cooperate at providing the desired service. A promising approach is attack graph analysis, however the manual analysis of attack graphs is tedious and error prone. In this paper we propose to apply the metabolic network model to attack graphs analysis, using three interacting bio-inspired algorithms: topological analysis, flux balance analysis, and extreme pathway analysis. A developed framework for graph building…

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A Novel Iris Recognition System based on Micro-Features

In this paper a novel approach for iris recognition system based on iris micro-features is proposed. The proposed system follows the minutiae based approach developed for fingerprint recognition systems. The proposed system uses four iris microfeatures, considered as minutiae, for identification. The individualized characteristics are nucleus, collarette, valleys and radius. Iris recognition is divided in three main phases: image preprocessing, micro-features extraction and matching. The algorithm has been tested on CASIA v1.0 iris image database obtaining an high accuracy. The obtained experimental results have been analyzed and compared with the Daugman based approach.

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Fingerprint and Smartcards in Embedded Authentication Systems

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An Empirical Set of Metrics for Embedded Systems Testing

Editor’s note: Selecting the right platform for an embedded system is a challenging task, because there are no systematic methodologies for comprehensive evaluation and comparison of competing alternatives. This article partially addresses this problem by formulating a set of relevant metrics and an evaluation methodology. By applying their concepts to the evaluation of two alternative platforms, the Raspberry Pi3 and the Intel Edison boards, the authors demonstrate the utility of their approach and show under which objectives one is preferable over the other. —Axel Jantsch, TU Wien

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A Self-Contained Biometric Sensor for Ubiquitous Autentication

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BioAnalysis: A Framework for Structural and Functional Robustness Analysis of Metabolic Networks

The main objective of this work is to analyze metabolic networks evolution in terms of their robustness and fault tolerance capabilities. In metabolic networks, errors can be seen as random removal of network nodes, while attacks are high-connectivity-degree node deletion aimed at compromising network activity. This paper proposes a software framework, namely BioAnalysis, used to test the robustness and the fault tolerance capabilities of real metabolic networks, when mutations and node deletions affect the network structure. The performed simulations are related to the central metabolic network of the well-known E. coli single-celled bacterium and involve either hub nodes or non-hub nodes,…

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Impact of Wavelet Kernels on Predictive Capability of Radiomic Features: A Case Study on COVID-19 Chest X-ray Images

Radiomic analysis allows for the detection of imaging biomarkers supporting decision-making processes in clinical environments, from diagnosis to prognosis. Frequently, the original set of radiomic features is augmented by considering high-level features, such as wavelet transforms. However, several wavelets families (so called kernels) are able to generate different multi-resolution representations of the original image, and which of them produces more salient images is not yet clear. In this study, an in-depth analysis is performed by comparing different wavelet kernels and by evaluating their impact on predictive capabilities of radiomic models. A dataset composed of 1589 chest X-ray ima…

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Neural Networks and Metabolic Networks: Fault Tolerance and Robustness Features

The main objective of this work is the comparison between metabolic networks and neural networks (ANNs) in terms of their robustness and fault tolerance capabilities. In the context of metabolic networks errors are random removal of network nodes, while attacks are failures in the network caused intentionally. In the contest of neural networks errors are usually defined configurations of input submitted to the network that are affected by noise, while the failures are defined as the removal of some network neurons. This study have proven that ANNs are very robust networks, with respect to the presence of noise in the inputs, and the partial removal of some nodes, until it reached a critical…

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A Mobile Agent Based System for Documents Classification and Retrieval

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Design exploration of aes accelerators on FPGAS and GPUs

The embedded systems are increasingly becoming a key technological component of all kinds of complex tech-nical systems and an exhaustive analysis of the state of the art of all current performance with respect to architectures, design methodologies, test and applications could be very in-teresting. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), based on the well-known algorithm Rijndael, is designed to be easily implemented in hardware and software platforms. General purpose computing on graphics processing unit (GPGPU) is an alternative to recongurable accelerators based on FPGA devices. This paper presents a direct comparison between FPGA and GPU used as accelerators for the AES cipher. The res…

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Fingerprint and Iris based Authentication in Intercooperative Emerging e-Infrastructures

E-infrastructures must support the development of heterogeneous applications for workstation network, for mobile and portable systems and devices. In this context and relating to all collaborative and pervasive computational technology a very important role is played by security and authentication systems, which represent the first step of the whole process. Biometric authentication systems represent a valid alternative to conventional authentication systems providing robust procedures for user authentication. On the other hand, Internet of Things involves a heterogeneous set of interacting devices to enable innovative global and local applications and services for users. In this chapter fi…

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Un Sistema ad Agenti Mobili per la Classificazione e il Recupero di Documenti - A Mobile Agent Based System for Documents Classification and Retrieval

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METABOLIC NETWORKS ROBUSTNESS: THEORY, SIMULATIONS AND RESULTS

Metabolic networks are composed of several functional modules, reproducing metabolic pathways and describing the entire cellular metabolism of an organism. In the last decade, an enormous interest has grown for the study of tolerance to errors and attacks in metabolic networks. Studies on their robustness have suggested that metabolic networks are tolerant to errors, but very vulnerable to targeted attacks against highly connected nodes. However, many findings on metabolic networks suggest that the above classification is too simple and imprecise, since hub node attacks can be by-passed if alternative metabolic paths can be exploited. On the contrary, non-hub nodes attacks can affect cell …

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Efficient MLP Digital Implementation on FPGA

The efficiency and the accuracy of a digital feed-forward neural networks must be optimized to obtain both high classification rate and minimum area on chip. In this paper an efficient MLP digital implementation. The key features of the hardware implementation are the virtual neuron based architecture and the use of the sinusoidal activation function for the hidden layer. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions has been evaluated developing different FPGA based neural prototypes for the High Energy Physics domain and the automatic Road Sign Recognition domain. The use of the sinusoidal activation function decreases hardware resource employment of about 32% when compared with the standar…

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An Embedded Fingerprint Recognizer

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Fingerprint Registration Using Specialized Genetic Algorithms

One of the most common problem to realize a robust matching algorithm in an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is the images registration. In this paper a fingerprints registration method based on a specialized genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed. A global transformation between two fingerprint images is performed using genetic data evolutions based on specialized mutation rate and solution refining. An AFIS including the above method has been developed and tested on two different fingerprint databases: NIST 4 ink-on-paper and self optical scanned. The obtained experimental results show that the proposed approach is comparable with literature systems working on medium quality…

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Fast Fingerprints Classification only using the Directional Image

The classification phase is an important step of an automatic fingerprint identification system, where the goal is to restrict only to a subset of the whole database the search time. The proposed system classifies fingerprint images in four classes using only directional image information. This approach, unlike the literature approaches, uses the acquired fingerprint image without enhancement phases application. The system extracts only directional image and uses three concurrent decisional modules to classify the fingerprint. The proposed system has a high classification speed and a very low computational cost. The experimental results show a classification rate of 87.27%.

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A Novel Embedded Fingerprints Authentication System Based on Singularity Points

In this paper a novel embedded fingerprints authentication system based on core and delta singularity points detection is proposed. Typical fingerprint recognition systems use core and delta singularity points for classification tasks. On the other hand, the available optical and photoelectric sensors give high quality fingerprint images with well defined core and delta points, if they are present. In the proposed system, fingerprint matching is based on singularity points position, orientation, and relative distance detection. As result, fingerprint matching involves the comparison between few features leading to a very fast system with recognition rates comparable to the standard minutiae…

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Fingerprint Quality Evaluation in a Novel Embedded Authentication System for Mobile Users

The way people access resources, data and services, is radically changing using modern mobile technologies. In this scenario, biometry is a good solution for security issues even if its performance is influenced by the acquired data quality. In this paper, a novel embedded automatic fingerprint authentication system (AFAS) for mobile users is described. The goal of the proposed system is to improve the performance of a standard embedded AFAS in order to enable its employment in mobile devices architectures. The system is focused on the quality evaluation of the raw acquired fingerprint, identifying areas of poor quality. Using this approach, no image enhancement process is needed after the …

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Fingerprint Traits and RSA Algorithm Fusion Technique

The present work deals with modern computing systems security issues, focusing on biometric based asymmetric keys generation process. Conventional PKI systems are based on private/public keys generated through RSA or similar algorithms. The present solution embeds biometric information on the private/public keys generation process. In addition the corresponding private key depends on physical or behavioural biometric features and it can be generated when it is needed. Starting from fingerprint acquisition, the biometric identifier is extracted, cyphered, and stored in tamper-resistant smart card to overcome the security problems of centralized databases. Biometric information is then used f…

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A User-Friendly Interface for Fingerprint Recognition Systems Based on Natural Language Processing

Biometric recognition systems represent a valid solution to the safety problem of internet accessibility, even if they do not always provide an environment easily comprehensible by users and operators with a mid-level of competence. This gap can be partially filled if, instead of using the conventional access routines to the authentication system, the user could simply write to the system through the interface and using high level sentences and requests be able to use its own natural language to reach the intended goal. On the other hand, biometrics features are widely used for recognition and identification all over the world, generating large databases. In this paper a user-friendly inter…

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An Advanced Technique for User Identification Using Partial Fingerprint

User identification is a very interesting and complex task. Invasive biometrics is based on traits uniqueness and immutability over time. In forensic field, fingerprints have always been considered an essential element for personal recognition. The traditional issue is focused on full fingerprint images matching. In this paper an advanced technique for personal recognition based on partial fingerprint is proposed. This system is based on fingerprint local analysis and micro-features, endpoints and bifurcations, extraction. The proposed approach starts from minutiae extraction from a partial fingerprint image and ends with the final matching score between fingerprint pairs. The computation o…

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An Enhanced Autentication System for the JADES-S Platform

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An Intelligent Sensor for Fingerprint Recognition

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Introducing Pseudo-Singularity Points for Efficient Fingerprints Classification and Recognition

Fingerprint classification and matching are two key issues in automatic fingerprint recognition. Generally, fingerprint recognition is based on a set of relevant local characteristics, such as ridge ending and bifurcation (minutiae). Fingerprint classification is based on fingerprint global features, such as core and delta singularity points. Unfortunately, singularity points are not always present in a fingerprint image: the acquisition process is not ideal, so that the fingerprint is broken, or the fingerprint belongs to the arch class. In the above cases, pseudo-singularity-points will be detected and extracted to make possible fingerprint classification and matching. As result, fingerpr…

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Fingerprint classification based on deep learning approaches: Experimental findings and comparisons

Biometric classification plays a key role in fingerprint characterization, especially in the identification process. In fact, reducing the number of comparisons in biometric recognition systems is essential when dealing with large-scale databases. The classification of fingerprints aims to achieve this target by splitting fingerprints into different categories. The general approach of fingerprint classification requires pre-processing techniques that are usually computationally expensive. Deep Learning is emerging as the leading field that has been successfully applied to many areas, such as image processing. This work shows the performance of pre-trained Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs…

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An Enhanced Autentication System for JADE-S Platform

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A multimodal retina-iris biometric system using the Levenshtein distance for spatial feature comparison

Abstract The recent developments of information technologies, and the consequent need for access to distributed services and resources, require robust and reliable authentication systems. Biometric systems can guarantee high levels of security and multimodal techniques, which combine two or more biometric traits, warranting constraints that are more stringent during the access phases. This work proposes a novel multimodal biometric system based on iris and retina combination in the spatial domain. The proposed solution follows the alignment and recognition approach commonly adopted in computational linguistics and bioinformatics; in particular, features are extracted separately for iris and…

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Multi-modal biometric authentication systems

The main goal of a biometric system is to discriminate automatically subjects in a reliable and dependable way, accordingly to a specific target application. The discrimination is based on one or more types of information derived from physical or behavioural traits, such as fingerprint, face, iris, voice, hand, or signature. Applications of biometrics range from homeland security and border control to e-commerce and e-banking, including secure networking and authentication. Traditionally, biometric systems working on a single biometric feature, have many limitations, such as, trouble with data sensors, where captured sensor data are often affected by noise, distinctiveness ability, because …

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A Novel Technique for Fingerprint Classification based on Fuzzy C-Means and Naive Bayes Classifier

Fingerprint classification is a key issue in automatic fingerprint identification systems. One of the main goals is to reduce the item search time within the fingerprint database without affecting the accuracy rate. In this paper, a novel technique, based on topological information, for efficient fingerprint classification is described. The proposed system is composed of two independent modules: the former module, based on Fuzzy C-Means, extracts the best set of training images, the latter module, based on Fuzzy C-Means and Naive Bayes classifier, assigns a class to each processed fingerprint using only directional image information. The proposed approach does not require any image enhancem…

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BIAM: a new bio-inspired analysis methodology for digital ecosystems based on a scale-free architecture

Today we live in a world of digital objects and digital technology; industry and humanities as well as technologies are truly in the midst of a digital environment driven by ICT and cyber informatics. A digital ecosystem can be defined as a digital environment populated by interacting and competing digital species. Digital species have autonomous, proactive and adaptive behaviors, regulated by peer-to-peer interactions without central control point. An interconnecting architecture with few highly connected nodes (hubs) and many low connected nodes has a scale- free architecture. A new bio-inspired analysis methodology (BIAM) environment, an investigation strategy for information flow, fault…

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Reti metaboliche: studio e simulazione delle variazioni dei parametri strutturali al variare della temperatura

In questo lavoro, si sono analizzate le correlazioni tra la temperatura e i parametri strutturali delle reti metaboliche. L’obiettivo che si è posto, è stato quello di determinare con quali leggi matematiche variano i parametri strutturali delle reti metaboliche, rispetto alla temperatura, e alla forte pressione dei vincoli selettivi a cui essi sono sottoposti. Al fine di comprendere meglio l’analisi di questo obiettivo, dal punto di vista analitico, si sono mostrate l’equazioni che regolano i parametri strutturali delle reti e si sono mostrati i grafici che descrivono gli andamenti dei vari parametri strutturali delle reti metaboliche al variare della temperatura. Successivamente, dopo ave…

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A New Directional Morphological Filter in a Automated Fingerprint Identification System

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Semi-automated and interactive segmentation of contrast-enhancing masses on breast DCE-MRI using spatial fuzzy clustering

Abstract Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the most sensitive imaging modality for breast cancer detection and is increasingly playing a key role in lesion characterization. In this context, accurate and reliable quantification of the shape and extent of breast cancer is crucial in clinical research environments. Since conventional lesion delineation procedures are still mostly manual, automated segmentation approaches can improve this time-consuming and operator-dependent task by annotating the regions of interest in a reproducible manner. In this work, a semi-automated and interactive approach based on the spatial Fuzzy C-Means (sFCM) algorithm is proposed, used to segme…

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Design and Implementation of an Efficient Fingerprint Features Extractor

Biometric recognition systems are rapidly evolving technologies and their use in embedded devices for accessing and managing data and resources is a very challenging issue. Usually, they are composed of three main modules: Acquisition, Features Extraction and Matching. In this paper the hardware design and implementation of an efficient fingerprint features extractor for embedded devices is described. The proposed architecture, designed for different acquisition sensors, is composed of four blocks: Image Pre-processor, Macro-Features Extractor, Micro- Features Extractor and Master Controller. The Image Pre- processor block increases the quality level of the input raw image and performs an a…

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Robustness Analysis of DCE-MRI-Derived Radiomic Features in Breast Masses: Assessing Quantization Levels and Segmentation Agreement

Featured Application The use of highly robust radiomic features is fundamental to reduce intrinsic dependencies and to provide reliable predictive models. This work presents a study on breast tumor DCE-MRI considering the radiomic feature robustness against the quantization settings and segmentation methods. Machine learning models based on radiomic features allow us to obtain biomarkers that are capable of modeling the disease and that are able to support the clinical routine. Recent studies have shown that it is fundamental that the computed features are robust and reproducible. Although several initiatives to standardize the definition and extraction process of biomarkers are ongoing, th…

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A Self-Contained Biometric Sensor for Ubiquitous Authentication

This paper describes a real-life behavior framework in simulation game based on Probabilistic State Machine (PSM) with Gaussian random distribution. According to the dynamic environment information, NPC can generate behavior planning autonomously associated with defined FSM. After planning process, we illuminate Gaussian probabilistic function for real-life action simulation in time and spatial domains. The expected value of distribution is estimated during behavior planning process and variance is determined by NPC personality in order to realize real life behavior simulation. We experiment the framework and Gaussian PSM on a restaurant simulation game. Furthermore we give some suggestions…

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Image Segmentation Techniques for Healthcare Systems

The present special issue of the Journal of Healthcare Engineering collects articles written by researchers scattered around the world who belong to the academic and industrial environments. The papers of this special issue have been selected by a rigorous peer-reviewing process with the support of at least two reviewers per paper, along with the opinion written in the final decision by a component of the editorial staff. Different methods on biomedical image segmentation dedicated to healthcare systems have been developed regarding, for example, the fields of machine learning, deformable models, fuzzy models, and so on. Such methods have been applied on different biomedical image modalitie…

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A real-time network architecture for biometric data delivery in Ambient Intelligence

Ambient Intelligent applications involve the deployment of sensors and hardware devices into an intelligent environment surrounding people, meeting users’ requirements and anticipating their needs (Ambi- ent Intelligence-AmI). Biometrics plays a key role in surveillance and security applications. Fingerprint, iris and voice/speech traits can be acquired by contact, contact-less, and at-a-distance sensors embedded in the environment. Biometric traits transmission and delivery is very critical and it needs real-time transmission net- work with guaranteed performance and QoS. Wireless networks become suitable for AmI if they are able to satisfy real-time communication and security system requi…

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Fingerprint in User Authentication Process and Agent Ownership

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Fingerprints and Smartcards in Embedded Authentication Systems

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Smart Wireless Sensor Networks and Biometric Authentication for Real Time Traffic Light Junctions Management

The main challenge of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) is to deal with ‘real-time’ information to improve vehicular traffic management. Road data can be processed and used for dynamic traffic light management in order to reduce waiting times in queues. This paper proposes an innovative distributed architecture based on a wireless sensor network (WSN) with a network coordinator providing remote and ubiquitous authentication module for managing unexpected events. The architecture is completed by a dynamic module for street priority management depending on traffic rate. Many experimental trials have been carried out considering three different levels of traffic intensity to prove the e…

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Biometric Authentication Technologies

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A Bio-Inspired Cognitive Agent for Autonomous Urban Vehicles Routing Optimization

Autonomous urban vehicle prototypes are expected to be efficient even in not explicitly planned circumstances and dynamic environments. The development of autonomous vehicles for urban driving needs real-time information from vehicles and road network to optimize traffic flows. In traffic agent-based models, each vehicle is an agent, while the road network is the environment. Cognitive agents are able to reason on the perceived data, to evaluate the information obtained by reasoning, and to learn and respond, preserving their self-sufficiency, independency, self-determination, and self-reliance. In this paper, a bio-inspired cognitive agent for autonomous urban vehicles routing optimization…

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An Embedded Module for Iris Micro-Characteristics Extraction

In this paper a new approach, based on iris micro-characteristics, has been used to make possible an embedded biometric extractor. This recognition approach is based on ophthalmologic studies that have proven the existence of different micro-characteristics as well as fingerprint minutiae. These micro-characteristics are permanent and immutable and they can be used to create strong and robust identification systems.Biometric recognition systems are critical components of our everyday lives. Since such electronic products evolve to software intensive systems, where software, becoming larger, more complex and prevalent, introduces many problems in the development phases. The development of em…

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New Acoustic Test Chambers at the University of Palermo

Acoustic test chambers at the University of Palermo have been completed after a design optimization of existent building structures. A unique building houses five reverberation chambers, differently coupled each other in order to achieve a large flexibility on testing procedures, and offices for the staff. Main measurements offered to national and international standards include determination of sound power, sound insulation and sound absorption. Reverberation chambers present peculiar geometries in order to achieve the desidered sound fields. Chambers structure and layout within the whole building, housing all the acoustic facilities, has been designed in order to achieve strong sound insu…

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Embedded access points for trusted data and resources access in HPC systems

Biometric authentication systems represent a valid alternative to the conventional username-password based approach for user authentication. However, authentication systems composed of a biometric reader, a smartcard reader, and a networked workstation which perform user authentication via software algorithms have been found to be vulnerable in two areas: firstly in their communication channels between readers and workstation (communication attacks) and secondly through their processing algorithms and/or matching results overriding (replay attacks, confidentiality and integrity threats related to the stored information of the networked workstation). In this paper, a full hardware access poi…

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An Intelligent Sensor for Fingerprint Recognition

In this paper an intelligent sensor for fingerprint recognition is proposed. The sensor has the objective to overcome some limits of the fingerprint recognition software systems, as elaboration time and security issues related to fingerprint transmission between sensor and processing unit. Intelligent sensor has been prototyped using the Hamster Secugen sensor for image acquisition and the Celoxica RC1000 board, employing a Xilinx VirtexE2000 FPGA, for image processing and analysis. Resources used, elaboration time as well the recognition rates in both verification and identification modes are reported in the paper. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first implementation for a full h…

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An Embedded Processor for Metabolic Networks Optimization

In recent years biological processes modelling and simulation have become two key issues in analyzing complex cellular systems. The computational requirements suggest to investigate alternative solutions to the common supercomputers and clusters in order to optimize and overcome computational bottleneck. The goal of this work is the design and the realization of an embedded processor for metabolic networks optimization in order to examine their behaviour and robustness under malfunctions of one or more nodes. The embedded processor has been prototyped on the Celoxica RC203E board, equipped with programmable FPGA technologies. A case studied outlining the E. Coli bacteria metabolic network i…

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A Novel Iris Recognition System based on Microfeature

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Multi-Platform Agent Systems with Dynamic Reputation Policy Management

Open, distributed multi-platform agent systems require new management approaches for resources and data secure access. In this paper a Jade-S based multi-platform agent system implementing dynamic reputation policy management is proposed. The implemented extension deals with biometrics, X-Security, DES cryptography and agent reputation. With more details, the proposed reputation management system helps to assess the agent's behavior and reliability, in order to select trusted agents. This is made possible by the knowledge that agents are able to acquire, over time, and that allows them to choose the best solution using own intelligence in total autonomy.

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A neural multi-agent based system for smart html pages retrieval

A neural based multi-agent system for smart HTML page retrieval is presented. The system is based on the EalphaNet architecture, a neural network capable of learning the activation function of its hidden units and having good generalization capabilities. System goal is to retrieve documents satisfying a query and dealing with a specific topic. The system has been developed using the basic features supplied by the Jade platform for agent creation, coordination and control. The system is composed of four agents: the trainer agent, the neural classifier mobile agent, the interface agent, and the librarian agent. The sub-symbolic knowledge of the neural classifier mobile agent is automatically …

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A Frequency-based Approach for Features Fusion in Fingerprint and Iris Multimodal Biometric Identification Systems

The basic aim of a biometric identification system is to discriminate automatically between subjects in a reliable and dependable way, according to a specific-target application. Multimodal biometric identification systems aim to fuse two or more physical or behavioral traits to provide optimal False Acceptance Rate (FAR) and False Rejection Rate (FRR), thus improving system accuracy and dependability. In this paper, an innovative multimodal biometric identification system based on iris and fingerprint traits is proposed. The paper is a state-of-the-art advancement of multibiometrics, offering an innovative perspective on features fusion. In greater detail, a frequency-based approach result…

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Fuzzy Fusion in Multimodal Biometric Systems

Multimodal authentication systems represent an emerging trend for information security. These systems could replace conventional mono-modal biometric methods using two or more features for robust biometric authentication tasks. They employ unique combinations of measurable physical characteristics: fingerprint, facial features, iris of the eye, voice print, hand geometry, vein patterns, and so on. Since these traits are hardly imitable by other persons, the aim of these multibiometric systems is to achieve a high reliability to determine or verify person's identity. In this paper a multimodal biometric system using two different fingerprints is proposed. The matching module integrates fuzzy…

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Fuzzy Fusion in Multimodal Biometric Systems

Multimodal authentication systems represent an emerging trend for information security. These systems could replace conventional mono-modal biometric methods using two or more features for robust biometric authentication tasks. They employ unique combinations of measurable physical characteristics: fingerprint, facial features, iris of the eye, voice print, hand geometry, vein patterns, and so on. Since these traits are hardly imitable by other persons, the aim of these multibiometric systems is to achieve a high reliability to determine or verify person's identity. In this paper a multimodal biometric system using two different fingerprints is proposed. The matching module integrates fuzzy…

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A Concurrent Neural Classifier for HTML Documents Retrieval

A neural based multi-agent system for automatic HTML pages retrieval is presented. The system is based on the EαNet architecture, a neural network having good generalization capabilities and able to learn the activation function of its hidden units. The starting hypothesis is that the HTML pages are stored in networked repositories. The system goal is to retrieve documents satisfying a user query and belonging to a given class (i.e. documents containing the word “football” and talking about “Sports”). The system is composed by three interacting agents: the EαNet Neural Classifier Mobile Agent, the Query Agent, and the Locator Agent. The whole system was successfully implemented exploiting t…

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Biometric sensors rapid prototyping on field-programmable gate arrays

AbstractBiometric user authentication in large-scale distributed systems involves passive scanners and networked workstations and databases for user data acquisition, processing, and encryption. Unfortunately, traditional biometric authentication systems are prone to several attacks, such as Replay Attacks, Communication Attacks, and Database Attacks. Embedded biometric sensors overcome security limits of conventional software recognition systems, hiding its common attack points. The availability of mature reconfigurable hardware technology, such as field-programmable gate arrays, allows the developers to design and prototype the whole embedded biometric sensors. In this work, two strong an…

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Bio-inspired security analysis for IoT scenarios

Computer security has recently become more and more important as the world economy dependency from data has kept growing. The complexity of the systems that need to be kept secure calls for new models capable of abstracting the interdependencies among heterogeneous components that cooperate at providing the desired service. A promising approach is attack graph analysis, however, the manual analysis of attack graphs is tedious and error prone. In this paper we propose to apply the metabolic network model to attack graph analysis, using three interacting bio-inspired algorithms: topological analysis, flux balance analysis, and extreme pathway analysis. A developed framework for graph building…

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A Multimodal Technique for an Embedded Fingerprint Recognizer in Mobile Payment Systems

The development and the diffusion of distributed systems, directly connected to recent communication technologies, move people towards the era of mobile and ubiquitous systems. Distributed systems make merchant-customer relationships closer and more flexible, using reliable e-commerce technologies. These systems and environments need many distributed access points, for the creation and management of secure identities and for the secure recognition of users. Traditionally, these access points can be made possible by a software system with a main central server. This work proposes the study and implementation of a multimodal technique, based on biometric information, for identity management a…

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Energy Efficiency Evaluation of Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration in Field Programmable Gate Arrays: An Experimental Case Study

Both computational performances and energy efficiency are required for the development of any mobile or embedded information processing system. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the latest evolution of these systems, paving the way for advancements in ubiquitous computing. In a context in which a large amount of data is often analyzed and processed, it is mandatory to adapt node logic and processing capabilities with respect to the available energy resources. This paper investigates under which conditions a partially reconfigurable hardware accelerator can provide energy saving in complex processing tasks. The paper also presents a useful analysis of how the dynamic partial reconfiguration te…

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