Now showing 1 - 10 of 72
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Intelligent agile agents: active enablers for ambient intellgence

2004-04-24, O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.), O'Grady, Michael J., Keegan, Stephen, O'Kane, Donal, Tynan, Richard, Marsh, David

This paper advocates the use of mobile intentional agents as a key enabler in the delivery of ambient intelligence. Ambient computing as an ideal demands levels of functional attainment that have hithertofar not been realised. Ambient applications demand that the computing application be subsumed into the everyday context in an unobtrusive manner with interaction modalities such that they are natural, simple and appropriate to both the individual user and their associated context.

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Embedding intelligent decision making within complex dynamic environments

2007-03, O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.), O'Grady, Michael J., Tynan, Richard, Muldoon, Conor, Kolar, H.R., Ruzzelli, Antonio G., Diamond, Dermot, Sweeney, Eoin

Decision-making is a complex and demanding process often constrained in a number of possibly conflicting dimensions including quality, responsiveness and cost. This paper considers in situ decision making whereby decisions are effected based upon inferences made from both locally sensed data and data aggregated from a sensor network. Such sensing devices that comprise a sensor network are often computationally challenged and present an additional constraint upon the reasoning process. This paper describes a hybrid reasoning approach to deliver in situ decision making which combines stream based computing with multi-agent system techniques. This approach is illustrated and exercised through an environmental demonstrator project entitled SmartBay which seeks to deliver in situ real time environmental monitoring.

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The cyber sensor network

2018-08-15, O'Grady, Michael J., Murdoch, Olga, Carr, Dominic, Collier, Rem W, O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.)

Access to information has never been easier thanks to the WWW; though not as well developed, sensor web technologies are, nonetheless, increasingly making data concerning a wide range of physical phenomena available to all. Potential opportunities for research in many application domains abound. Translating this potential into meaningful research is problematic as information sources, including but not limited to those on the WWW, are characterized by diversity and heterogeneity in a multiplicity of dimensions, resulting in an unwieldy and complex data capture process. To address this problem, the concept of a Cyber Sensor Network is proposed as a construct for providing a domain-Agnostic interface to diverse cyber and physical information sources. A methodology to implement such a network is described.

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Practical Problem-Based Learning in Computing Education

2012-07, O'Grady, Michael J.

Computer Science (CS) is a relatively new disciple and how best to introduce it to new students remains an open question. Likewise, the identification of appropriate instructional strategies for the diverse topics that constitute the average curriculum remains open to debate. One approach considered by a number of practitioners in CS education involves Problem Based Learning (PBL), a radical departure from the conventional lecturing format. PBL has been adopted in other domains with success, but whether these positive experiences will be replicated in CS remains to be seen. In this paper, a systematic review of PBL initiatives in undergraduate and postgraduate CS is presented from a Computing Education Research (CER) perspective. This includes analyses of a range of practical didactic issues, including the degree to which PBL has been systematically evaluated, practical problem description in the literature, as well as a survey of topics for which a PBL approach has been adopted.

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Diversity & interoperability : wireless technologies in ambient assisted living

2010-04-22, O'Grady, Michael J., Dragone, Mauro, Tynan, Richard, Ruzzelli, Antonio G., Walsh, Michael, O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.)

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) demands the seamless integration of a range of technologies such that the particular needs of the elderly may be met. Given the heterogeneity of the elderly population, in their needs and circumstances amongst others, this is a significant challenge. In essence, it demands that a disparate suite of technologies be deployed, integrated, managed and interacted with in a seamless and intuitive fashion. In this paper, how this heterogeneity may be managed is discussed. In particular, the use of ontologies and middleware are proposed as potential solutions to this heterogeneity problem.

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MERLIN: A synergetic integration of MAC and Routing Protocol for Distributed Sensor Networks

2006-09-28, Ruzzelli, Antonio G., O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.), O'Grady, Michael J., Tynan, Richard

Notoriously, energy-efficient MAC protocols cause high latency of packets. Such delays may well increase when a routing protocol is applied. Therefore, quantifying the endto- end delay and energy consumption when low duty cycle MAC and routing protocols are jointly used, is of particular interest. In this paper, we present a comprehensive evaluation of the MERLIN (MAC and Efficient Routing integrated with support for localization) protocol. MERLIN integrates MAC and routing features into a single architecture. In contrast to many sensor network protocols, it employs a multicast upstream and multicast downstream approach to relaying packets to and from the gateway. Simultaneous reception and transmission errors are notified by using asynchronous burst ACK and negative burst ACK. A division of the network into timezones, together with an appropriate scheduling policy, enables the routing of packets to the closest gateway. An evaluation of MERLIN has been conducted through simulation, against both the SMAC and the ESR routing protocols,which is an improved version of the DSR algorithm. The results illustrate how both SMAC and ESR, jointly used in low duty cycle scenarios, can cause an impractical and very high end-to-end delays. MERLIN, as an integrated approach, notably reduces the latency, resulting in nodes that can operate in a very low duty cycle. Consequently, an extension of the operative lifetime of the sensor network is achieved.

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The application of cluster analysis in geophysical data interpretation

2010-03, Song, Yu-Chen, Meng, Hai-Dong, O'Grady, Michael J., O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.)

A clustering algorithm which is based on density and adaptive density-reachable is developed and presented for arbitrary data point distributions in some real world applications, especially in geophysical data interpretation. Through comparisons of the new algorithm and other algorithms, it is shown that the new algorithm can reduce the dependency of domain knowledge and the sensitivity of abnormal data points, that it can improve the effectiveness of clustering results in which data are distributed in different shapes and different density, and that it can get a better clustering efficiency. The application of the new clustering algorithm demonstrates that data mining techniques can be used in geophysical data interpretation and can get meaningful and useful results, and that the new clustering algorithm can be used in other real world applications.

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Towards evolutionary ambient assisted living systems

2010-03, O'Grady, Michael J., Muldoon, Conor, Dragone, Mauro, Tynan, Richard, O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.)

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is advocated as technological solutions that will enable the elderly population maintain their independence for a longer time than would otherwise be the case. Though the facts motivating the need for AAL are indisputable, the inherently heterogeneous nature and requirements of the elderly population raise significant difficulties. One particular challenge is that of designing AAL systems that can evolve to meet the requirements of individuals as their needs and circumstances change. This demands the availability of an adaptive, open, scalable software platform that incorporates a select combination of autonomic and intelligent techniques. Given that the first generation of AAL systems will be deployed in the near future, it is incumbent on designers to factor this need for evolution and adaptivity in their designs and implementations. Thus this paper explores AAL from a number of prospective and considers an agent-based middleware approach to realising an architecture for evolutionary AAL.

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Towards pervasive intelligence : reflections on the evolution of the Agent Factory framework

2009, Muldoon, Conor, O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.), Collier, Rem, O'Grady, Michael J.

Agent Factory is a cohesive framework for the development and deployment of multi-agent systems. Since its inception in the mid 1990s, Agent Factory has gone through a metamorphosis process, whereby several new extensions, revisions, and enhancements have been made. This chapter provides a discussion of the incremental developments in Agent Factory and provides motivations as to why such changes were necessary. Agent Factory distinguishes itself from other intentional agent platforms in several ways. It provides a practical and efficient approach to the development of intentional agent-oriented applications. This is combined with a methodology, integrated development environment support, and a suite of tools that aid the agent fabrication process. A detailed comparison to related work is provided. We include a tutorial on how to use the framework.

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OutCare : supporting dementia patients in outdoor scenarios.

2010-09, Wan, Jie, Byrne, Caroline, O'Hare, G. M. P. (Greg M. P.), O'Grady, Michael J.

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is a profound vision of computing power that is invisibly embedded into the fabric of everyday life. It is accessible through intelligent interfaces which are so natural that they can be used unconsciously. The increasing maturity, performance and miniaturization of processors, networking technologies and wireless sensor networks enable a move towards pervasive computing, ubiquitous connectivity and adaptive software. The Intelligent Agent paradigm has proven itself to be a promising branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI), complementing the pervasive trend of network engineering. One of the possible usages of AmI is Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) which attempts to utilize appropriate technologies to support citizens in living in their preferred environment independently, for a longer period of time than may otherwise be the case. This paper proposes an AAL solution for Alzheimer’s patients based on the intelligent agent platform, exploring the practical delivery of intelligent environments that are sensitive and responsive to the patients, supporting them in performing daily activities and tasks in a natural, unobtrusive way.