1. technology and computing

2015 International Conference on Information and Communication
Technology Research (ICTRC) Program
9:00-10:30
Monday, May 18, 2015
MO1: Next Generation Wireless
Communications
MO2: Modulation and Coding Techniques
11:00-12:30
Coffee Break
MO3: Signal Processing, Circuits, and Systems I
12:30-13:30
MO4: Signal Processing, Circuits, and Systems
II
Lunch Break
10:30-11:00
13:30-15:00
MO5: Computer Networks
MO6: Data/Network Security
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
TO1: Communication Systems and Devices
TO2: ICT Convergence & Emerging Trends
Coffee Break
TO3: Optical Communication Systems and
Devices
TO4: Wireless Communication and Networks
Lunch Break
TO5: Software Development
TO6: Big Data, & Data Analytics
15:00-15:30
Coffee Break
Coffee Break
15:30-17:00
MO7: Signal Processing for Communications
TP7: Poster-All Tracks
MO8: Intelligent Communication Systems and
Networks
TP8: Poster-All Tracks
Monday, May 18
09:00 - 10:30
MO1: Next Generation Wireless Communications
Room: Sapphire
Chair: Sami Muhaidat (Khalifa University, UAE)
MO1.1 Low Complexity V-BLAST for Massive MIMO with Adaptive
Modulation and Power Control
Khawla Alnajjar (University of Canterbury, New Zealand); Peter J Smith (The
University of Canterbury, New Zealand); Graeme K Woodward (University of
Canterbury, New Zealand)
We consider the performance of a low complexity Vertical Bell Laboratories Layered Space
Time system with a maximum ratio combining receiver (LC-VBLAST) in an uplink massive
multiple-input-multiple- output (MIMO) deployment with single antenna users. This receiver is
known to give a similar error rate performance to zero forcing (ZF) for simple systems while
reducing complexity. In this paper, we show that LC-VBLAST remains similar to ZF for more
complex adaptive modulation systems and in the presence of channel estimation error,
LC-VBLAST can be superior. These results are analytically justified and we derive an exhaustive
search algorithm for power control (PC) to bound the potential gains of PC. Using this bound, we
demonstrate that LC-VBLAST performs well without the need for additional PC.
MO1.2 28/38-GHz Dual-Band Millimeter Wave SIW Array Antenna
with EBGStructures for 5G Applications
Nadeem Ashraf (King Saud University, Saudi Arabia); Osama Haraz (Assiut
University, Egypt); Saleh A Alshebeili (King Saud University, Saudi Arabia);
Muhammad Ashraf (College of Engineering, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia)
The design of linearly polarized dual-band substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) antenna/array
operating at Ka-band is proposed. The single antenna element consists of a SIW cavity with two
longitudinal slots engraved in one of the conducting plane. The longer and shorter slots are resonating
at 28 GHz and 38 GHz respectively. For single antenna element, an impedance bandwidth (S11< -10
dB) of 0.45 GHz and 2.20
GHz is achieved with the maximum gain of 5.2 dBi and 5.9 dBi at 28 GHz and 38 GHz respectively.
To achieve high gain, a horizontally polarized linear array of four elements (1 × 4) is designed.
For the antenna array, a microstrip lines feed network is designed using 3-dB wilkinson power
divider. At 28 GHz and 38 GHz, the impedance bandwidth is 0.32 GHz and 1.9 GHz having maximum
gain of 11.9 dBi and 11.2 dBi, respectively. A low loss/cost substrate, RT/Duroid 5880 is used
in the proposed designs. All simulations have been carried out using CST Microwave Studio.
MO1.3 Single Layer Polarization Independent Reflectarray Antenna
for Future 5G Cellular Applications
Osama Haraz (Assiut University, Egypt); Abdel R. Sebak (Concordia University,
Canada) This paper presents a reflectarray antenna working at 28 GHz with polarization
independent characteristics. The unit cell is composed of three circular rings optimized to
achieve linear phase characteristics with the variation of the unit cell size. The array is composed
of 400 unit cells of variable size arranged in a square shape aperture in order to direct the reflected
wave in a direction normal to the reflectarray surface. The simulation results of the array with CST
software show a directive beam with a low side lobe level, a gain of about 25 dB, and an efficiency
of 58% at 28 GHz, which makes this array suitable for 5-G applications.
MO1.4 High Performance 60 GHz Antenna for Electromagnetic Energy
Harvesting
Khaled Issa (KACST Technology Innovation Center in Radio Frequency and
Photonics & King Saud University, Saudi Arabia)
Harvesting energy from environmental sources has been of particular interest during these last few
years especially from the electromagnetic waves. It has been recently reported that radio frequency
rectennas (receiving antenna+ rectifying circuit), enable to collect microwave radiations and convert
it to DC power [1-4]. The 60-GHz band is one potential solution to provide up to multi-Gb/s wireless
connectivity. The band promise to be widely used for personal area network applications because
it will be 40–100 times faster than today's wireless LAN systems. In this work, we propose a concept
of monolayer antenna at 60
GHz. We target to simultaneously maximize the gain, the efficiency, and the bandwidth. The return
loss S11 of the simulated antenna achieves a bandwidth almost twice of that reported in for patch
antenna . In addition, this proposed structure achieves 10.8 dBi gain, 89.12% of radiation efficiency
and appropriate co- polarization level compared to recently reported results in the literature [5,
6]. Our analysis of the geometric parameters shows clearly the importance of the feed line length,
the ground dimensions, and the number of dipoles. The proposed antenna finds application in V- band
communication systems.
MO2: Modulation and Coding Techniques
Room:
Emerald
Chair: Arafat Al-Dweik (Khalifa University, UAE)
MO2.1 An Improved Space-Time Block Code for Two Transmit
Antennas and Three Time Slots
Sindhu P (Govt. Engineering College, Kozhikode, Calicut University, India);
Abdul
Hameed (Govt. Engineering College Kozhikode,
India)
Space-time block codes offer transmit diversity in Multiple Input Multiple Output wireless
systems. Orthogonal and quasi-orthogonal space-time block codes have been developed for
improving the performance of wireless communication systems. Three time slot-two transmit antenna
systems are of interest in many practical situations in Long Term Evolution-Advanced 4G standard.
Quasi-orthogonal and hybrid designs are available in literature. This paper proposes a new space-time
block code for three time slot-two transmit antenna design problem for implementation in Single
Carrier FDE which is the uplink mode in 4G LTE-Advanced. The encoding along with the frequency
domain decoding is presented with extensive simulation results to back the superiority of the new
space-time block code developed. Our improved code offers lower bit error rate at a code rate of one.
The zero-forcing equalization in frequency domain makes this new code suitable for SC-FDE systems.
MO2.2 Differential On-On Keying: A Robust Non-Coherent Digital
Modulation Scheme
Georges Kaddoum (ETS Engineering School, University of Québec,
Canada); Mohammed F. A. Ahmed (Assiut University, Canada); Tareq Y.
Al-Naffouri (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, USA)
A robust digital modulation scheme, called differential on-on keying (DOOK), is presented in this
paper which outperforms the conventional on-off keying (OOK). In this scheme, a sinusoidal signal is
transmitted during the first half of the bit duration while a replica or an inverted version of the
sinusoidal signal is transmitted during the second half for logic one or logic zero, respectively.
Non-coherent receiver correlates the two halves of the received signal over half bit duration to
construct a decision variable. Bit error performance is analyzed over AWGN and Rayleigh fading
channels and compared to the conventional OOK.
MO2.3 On the Comparison Between Code-Index Modulation and
Spatial Modulation Techniques
Georges Kaddoum (ETS Engineering School, University of Québec, Canada);
Ebrahim Soujeri (University of Quebec, ETS, Lacime Laboratory, Canada)
Recently, two promising modulation techniques have been developed aiming to increase the data rate
and save the energy while being simple to implement. These modulation schemes belong to two
different communication methods, however, they share the common goal of using an index as
an additional parameter to convey information. The first scheme known as spatial modulation
(SM), is a scheme that uses multiple antennas at the transmitter side where just one antenna is
activated at a time and its index is used as means to convey the information. The second is known
as code-index modulation (CIM), a system that uses multiple spreading codes, where a certain code
is selected and its index is used as a mechanism to ferry the data. In this paper, we present these
two modulation techniques and we discuss the associated set of challenges for each scheme.
Moreover, in order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, we compare
the energy efficiency, system complexity, and the bit error rate performance of the SM and CIM
schemes.
MO2.4 Hybrid ARQ with Partial Retransmission Using Turbo
Product Codes
Husameldin Mukhtar (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research,
UAE); Arafat Al-Dweik (Khalifa University, UAE); Mohammed Al-Mualla (Khalifa
University of Science, Technology and Research, UAE)
This paper presents a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) scheme based on turbo product codes
(TPC) error correction and self-detection. The TPC inherent error detection is used as an
alternative to the conventional cyclic redundancy check (CRC) process and is utilized to implement
partial retransmission. The proposed HARQ system attempts to identify the location of errors within
the TPC codeword. Consequently, only parts of the codeword which are declared erroneous
are retransmitted. The performance of the proposed TPC-based HARQ is evaluated with hard
and soft decision decoding in additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. Packet combining and
adaptive channel coding are also considered. The obtained results show that the proposed HARQ
scheme provides higher or equivalent throughput when compared to CRC-based HARQ in most test
scenarios.
10:30 - 11:00
Coffee Break
11:00 - 12:30
MO3: Signal Processing, Circuits, and Systems I
Room:
Sapphire
Chair: Nawaf Almoosa (Khalifa University, UAE)
MO3.1 Effect of Fading Channels on the Performance of Distributed
Networks with Cyclic Cooperation
Azam Khalili and Amir Rastegarnia (Malayer University, Iran); Wael M. Bazzi
(American
University in Dubai,
UAE)
We study the effect of fading in the communication channels between nodes on the performance of
the incremental least mean square (ILMS) algorithm. We derive steadystate performance metrics,
including the mean-square deviation (MSD), excess mean-square error (EMSE), and mean-square error
(MSE). We obtain the sufficient conditions to ensure meansquare convergence, and verify our results
through simulations. Simulation results show that our theoretical analysis closely matches the actual
steady state performance.
MO3.2 Sample and Hold Circuits for Low-Frequency Signals in
Analog-to-Digital Converters
Tasnim Nazzal (University of Sharjah,
UAE)
Different sample and hold circuits (S/H) are introduced, analyzed and simulated in this paper. It aims
to illustrate the suitable sample and hold (S/H) circuit technique that is used in low voltage operation.
A modified versions of passive free op-amp sample and hold (S/H) circuit is presented in
order to compensate the induced error. In addition to that, a suitable sample and hold (S/H) circuit
for electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is discussed. These different sample and hold (S/H) circuits were
simulated using 90nm CMOS technology on LT Spice IV. According to the simulation results, the
passive free op-amp sample and hold circuit has a signal to noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) of 54.34
dB. While the differential passive free op-amp sample and hold circuit has 56.31 dB for a 250 Hz-500
mVp-p input sine wave. The sampling rate is 10 KS/sec, and the supply voltage is 1V. The simulation
results show that the differential passive free op-amp sample and hold (S/H) is the best candidate for
low-frequency signals.
MO3.3 Face Detection using Viola and Jones Method and Neural
Network
Mohammad Da'san and Amin Alqudah (Yarmouk University, Jordan); Olivier Debeir
(ULB,
Bruxelles,
Belgium)
Human face detection and recognition is a hot topic and an active area of research. It is common in
several disciplines such as image processing and computer vision, and it is the primary and the first
step to a wide range of applications such as face recognition, personal identification, identity
verification, facial expression extraction, and gender classification [1]. In this paper, a multi stage
model for face detection is integrated based on Viola and Jones algorithms, Gabor Filters, Principle
Component Analysis, and ANN. This model was trained and tested using CMU (Carnegie Mellon
University) data set [2]. The model showed an enhanced performance in terms of face detection rate.
MO3.4 Online Adaptive Seizure Prediction Algorithm for Scalp EEG
Muhammad Imran Khalid, Saeed Aldosari and Saleh A Alshebeili (King Saud
University, Saudi Arabia); Turky Al Otaiby (King ABDULAZIZ CITY for Science and
Technology, Saudi Arabia); Fathi Abdelsamie (King Saud University, Saudi Arabia)
Epilepsy is a brain disorder, which affects around 1% of world population. The life of epilepsy patients
can be improved by predicting seizures before its occurrence. It has been observed that EEG signals
during the pre-seizure state are less chaotic compared to their behavior at normal state.
Therefore, chaoticity measure can be used to develop seizure predictor. In this paper, we propose
seizure prediction algorithm based on Largest Lyapunov Exponent (LLE) to measure the chaoticity of
scalp EEG signals. The proposed algorithm makes use of LLE to define two baselines; one for the
normal state and the other for the pre- state. The distance between the two baselines and the LLEs
of an Electroencephalography (EEG) signal of unknown state is computed for signal classification. The
two baselines are updated through a simple mechanism. The performance of proposed algorithm has
been evaluated using MIT database.
MO4: Signal Processing, Circuits, and Systems II
Room: Emerald
Chair: Luis Weruaga (Khalifa University of Science, Technology &amp; Research,
UAE)
MO4.1 Superresolution Algorithm for Satellite Still Images
Abdullah Al-Shabili, Bilal Taha and Hussain Al-Ahmad (Khalifa University,
UAE)
This paper presents a new algorithm for improving the resolution of satellite images. The
improvement aims at obtaining a high resolution image from a single low resolution image. The new
algorithm utilizes interpolation and two dimensional filter specifically designed for a particular
image by means of maximizing the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR). The performance of the
algorithm is evaluated by using the PSNR. During the assessment process the processed images are
compared with a ground truth images. In practice; ground truth images do not exist, however, they
are used for comparison purposes. The new algorithm provides better performance compared to the
use of cross shaped 2D filters.
MO4.2 An Optimum VLSI Design Of A 16-BIT ALU
Mary Lourde Regeena (BPDC, Dubai & BPDC, UAE); Navnith Ravindran (BITS
Pilani, Dubai Campus, UAE)
The key parameters for the performance measure of any VLSI design are logic delay, power
consumption and area. This paper describes the VLSI design of a 16 Bit ALU and optimized in terms
of Speed, Power Consumption and Chip Area. Different logic families are used in the design for different
logic modules. The choice of logic families for each module is determined by considering speed and
power consumption as the important parameters offered by each logic family. The adder circuit
being the most important module used by the arithmetic operations of an ALU, detailed analysis of
the variety of adder circuit configurations are carried out and the best suited configuration for the ALU
i.e. Carry Skip Adder configuration is used to design the optimum ALU. Finally a 16 bit Arithmetic
Logic unit is designed using mixed logic families such as CMOS for basic logic function, pseudo-NMOS
for AND logic and Pass Transistor logic for multiplexers in order to optimize the overall performance
of the design. Schematic editor DSCH is used to validate the design at gate level implementation and
IC Layout editor Microwind is used to implement the chip level design.
MO4.3 Column-Wise ROIC Design for Uncooled Microbolometer Array
Syed Irtaza Haider, Sohaib Majzoub, Mohammed Alturaigi and Mohamed Ramy
Abdel- Rahman (King Saud University, Saudi Arabia)
In this paper, we present the design of a column-wise readout integrated circuit (ROIC) along with
thermal modeling of uncooled thermal sensor array. Two major noise sources, namely fixed pattern
noise due to process variation and self-heating due to electrical biasing of microbolometer detectors,
are addressed in this work. Fully differential approach is used at the input stage in order to reject the
common mode noise during the pulse biasing and readout of the microbolometer detectors. A row of
blind microbolometers is used as a reference for ROIC. The focal plane array consists of 127x92
uncooled microbolometer detectors. Resistance variability of ±10% is considered due to process
variation.
MO4.4 Incremental Augmented Affine Projection Algorithm for
Collaborative Processing of Complex Signals
Azam Khalili and Amir Rastegarnia (Malayer University, Iran); Wael M. Bazzi
(American
University in Dubai,
UAE)
In this paper we propose a distributed and adaptive algorithm for collaborative processing of the
complex signals. The proposed algorithm, which will be referred to as the incremental augmented affine
projection algorithm (IncAAPA), not only utilizes the full second order statistical information in
complex domain but also exploits the spatial diversity which is provided by the distribution of the
nodes in the field. Moreover, since nodes are equipped with affine projection learning rules, they are
able to track the variations in statistical information. To derive the IncAAPA algorithm, we firstly
formulate the estimation problem as a constrained optimization problem. Then we provide a solution
for the problem which is amenable to distributed implementation. The proposed algorithm
outperforms the noncooperative solution in terms of convergence rate and steady-state error. We
present some simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
12:30 - 13:30
Lunch Break
13:30 - 15:00
MO5: Computer Networks
Room:
Sapphire
Chair: Fatma Taher (Khalifa University, UAE)
MO5.1 Queuing Theory Algorithm to find the minimumal number of
VMs to satisfy SLO response time
Fatima Mohammed Alqaydi (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and
Research, UAE); Khaled Salah (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and
Research (KUSTAR), UAE); Jamal Zemerly (Khalifa University, UAE)
This paper presents a queuing algorithm to find the minimal number of VMs to satisfy Service Level
Object (SLO) response time. Based on queuing theory the model is built to minimize waiting time for
servers and using minimal number of resources with its maximum capacity. Using minimal number of
resources reduces cost for both clients and service providers. Clients pays for the usable resources and
the service providers provide minimum needed resources.
MO5.2 An Evaluation of Authorship Attribution Using Random Forests
Mahmoud Khonji (KUSTAR, UAE); Youssef Iraqi (Khalifa University, UAE); Andrew
Jones
(Edith Cowan University,
AU)
Electronic text (e-text) stylometry aims at identifying the writing style of authors of electronic texts,
such as electronic documents, blog posts, tweets, etc. Identifying such styles is quite attractive for
identifying authors of disputed e-text, identifying their profile attributes (e.g. gender, age group,
etc), or even enhancing services such as search engines and recommender systems. In this paper, we
present the first evaluation of Random Forests in the problem domain of Authorship Attribution.
Additionally, we have taken advantage of Random Forests' robustness against noisy features by
extracting a diverse set of features from evaluated e-texts. Interestingly, the resultant model
achieved the highest classification accuracy in all problems, except one where it misclassified only a
single instance.
MO5.3 A Native Arabic eLearning Mobile application to Transpose
Arabic Text to Illustrations
AbdelGhani Karkar and Jihad Mohamad Aljaam (Qatar University,
Qatar)
Mobile eLearning are capable to avail children in improving learning capabilities, self-consciousness
living, and profession growth. They can inspire the perfection of eLearning with the diverse subservient
smart handled devices. Most available software applications that are attainable by children are
done without taking in consideration their needs and specific deficiency. We have investigated
Arabic mobile educational system that presents illustrations automatically to characterize content of
Arabic stories for children. In order to generate these illustrations, different phases have been
implemented which comprise: the processing of natural Arabic language, extraction of word-to-word
relationship, accessing expanded multi-domain educational ontology, word-to-word based relationship
extraction, querying different online search-engines. The fundamental destination of our proposed work
is to improve children educational skills which include observation, comprehension, realization, and
deduction.
MO5.4 A Multi-variate Weighted Interpolation Technique with Local
Polling for Bayer CFA Demosaicking
Kinyua Wachira and Elijah Mwangi (University of Nairobi,
Kenya)
Gradient-based Spatial demosaicking techniques have gained prominence in literature for their
superior reconstruction capabilities. This paper presents a novel algorithm in this class with
several key contributions. It introduces variables operating at various lattice levels of the Color
Filter Array (CFA) data. It also employs a Square-On-Point (SoP) neighborhood, a corrective term and
localized polling to reduce reconstruction errors thus improving image perception. The proposed
algorithm is compared to other contemporary methods and an appreciable improvement in
performance has been noted through Matlab simulation. To provide a robust analysis, two performance
metrics(CPSNR and SSIM) are used over two distinct image sets.
MO6: Data/Network Security
Room: Emerald
Chair: Khaled Salah (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR),
UAE)
MO6.1 Parsing Modern Standard Arabic using Treebank Resources
Mostafa Al-Emran (Al Buraimi University College & The British University in
Dubai, Oman); Sarween Zaza (The British University, UAE); Khaled F.
Shaalan (The British University in Dubai & Cairo University, UAE)
A Treebank is a linguistic resource that is composed of a large collection of manually annotated
and verified syntactically analyzed sentences. Statistical Natural Language Processing (NLP)
approaches have been successful in using these annotations for developing basic NLP tasks
such as tokenization, diacritization, part-of-speech tagging, parsing, among others. In this paper,
we address the problem of exploiting treebank resources for statistical parsing of Modern
Standard Arabic (MSA) sentences. Statistical parsing is significant for NLP tasks that use
parsed text as an input such as Information Retrieval, and Machine Translation. We conducted
an experiment on 2000 sentences from the Pen Arabic Treebank (PATB) and the parsing performance
obtained in terms of Precision, Recall, and F-measure was 82.4%, 86.6%, 84.4%, respectively.
MO6.2 Vision and Inertial-Based Image Mapping for Capsule
Endoscopy Yasmeen Abu-Kheil (Khalifa University, UAE); Gastone Ciuti and
Marco Mura (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy); Jorge Dias (Khalifa University,
UAE); Paolo Dario (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy); Lakmal Seneviratne
(KURI, UAE)
Capsule endoscopy is a non-invasive procedure for gastrointestinal diagnosis. It does not require
sedation and it is comfortable and well tolerated by patient. However, the problem with such
procedure is that a huge number of images is collected, which require time to investigate and
diagnose; furthermore, the capsule movement is not controlled leading, in some cases, to inaccurate
diagnosis. In this context, a mapping of the lumen is required to guarantee a higher reliability of
the inspection, enabling the medical doctor to evaluate all the parts of the lumen for a better
diagnosis. In this paper, we propose a method for mapping images from a capsule-based endoscope:
the technique uses visual and inertial-based data fusion to obtain a 3D map of the lumen from 2D
capsule images, also paving the way for the implementation of a path planning and autonomous
locomotion and inspection.
MO6.3 A Game Theoretic approach to Vulnerability Patching
Gabriele Gianini (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy); Marco Cremonini
(University of Milan, Italy); Andrea Rainini, Guido Lena Cota and Leopold
Ghemmogne Fossi (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy)
Patching vulnerabilities is one of the key activities in security management. For most commercial
systems however the number of relevant vulnerabilities is very high; as a consequence only a
subset of them can be actually fixed: due to bounded resources, choosing them according to
some optimal criterium is a critical challenge for the security manager. One has also to take into
account, though, that even delivering attacks on vulnerabilities requires a non-negligible effort:
also a potential attacker will always be constrained by bounded resources. Choosing which
vulnerabilities to attack according to some optimality criterium is also a difficult challenge for a
hacker. Here we argue that if both types of players are rational, wishing to maximize their ROI and
aware of the two sides of the problem, their respective strategies can be discussed more naturally
within a Game Theory (GT) framework. We develop the fact that the above described attack/defense
scenario can be mapped onto a variant of GT models known as Search Games: we call this variant
Enhanced Vulnerability Patching game. Under the hypothesis of rationality of the players, GT
provides a prediction for their behavior in terms of a probability distribution over the possible
choices: this result can help in supporting a semi-automatic choice of patch management with
constrained resources. In this work we model and solve few prototypical instances of this class of
games and outline the path towards more realistic and accurate GT models.
MO6.4 Topic Identification of Arabic Noisy Texts Based on KNN
Kheireddine Abainia, Siham Ouamour and Halim Sayoud (USTHB,
Algeria)
This paper deals with the problem of topic identification of Arabic noisy texts, which is an
important research field, regarding the growing amount of shared textual information in the world.
The dataset used in this survey is constructed by collecting several corrupted Arabic texts from
different discussion forums related to six different topics. The proposed algorithms use the k-nearest
neighbor classifier based on the Tf-Idf to identify the texts topics. Furthermore, two training schemes
are proposed for the creation of the reference profiles. Moreover, several distance measures are
proposed and employed to compute the similarity between texts/topics. Results show that the
proposed distance measures are quite interesting in topic identification.
15:00 - 15:30
Coffee Break
15:30 - 17:00
MO7: Signal Processing for Communications
Room: Sapphire
Chair: Harish Bhaskar (Khalifa University of Science Technology and Research, UAE)
MO7.1 Logo embedding in Grayscale Images Using Turbo Product
Codes
Sara Ahmed Al Maeeni (Khalifa University, UAE); Fatma Kalbat (Khalifa University
of
Science, Technology and Research, UAE); Hussain Al-Ahmad (Khalifa University,
UAE)
In this paper, we investigate the robustness achieved by hard-input hard-output (HIHO) turbo
product code (TPC) in grayscale image watermarking. The TPC scheme is based on the concatenation
of a BCH product code. The general concept of the TPC is to construct two or more simple codes in
order to achieve remarkable error performance. Unlike many proposed algorithms in the literature,
HIHO-TPC require a manageable complexity encoding and decoding algorithms. Firstly, the logo is
encoded using TPC and then inserted in the image. Different grayscale images are investigated and
evaluated in terms of robustness to different photometric attacks by using Stirmark software
package. Experimental results show that the proposed blind watermarking algorithm has a strong
ability of extracting the embedded logo in different attacks such as JPEG Compression, cropping, and
3x3 median filtering.
MO7.2 CAMbulance: A Live Video Streaming System For
Ambulance Services
Andrea Corradini (Kolding School of Design, Denmark); Constantin Alexandru
Gheorghiasa (Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, Denmark)
The personnel at the Danish emergency call center are highly trained to assess the precise need
for assistance. When an emergency call is evaluated as urgent, the staff at the call center make sure
that at least an ambulance is sent immediately. When deemed necessary, the call center may
also decide to dispatch an emergency car to ensure that specialized treatment can commence
already before the ambulance arrives at and during transit to the hospital. If the ambulance
personnel can manage the patient with their own competences, they can call off the supplemental
unit, thus making it again available for the next emergency. In some cases though, the ambulance
paramedics are not able to assess exactly the medical situation so that the emergency car drives all
the way to the location despite it might later turn out that this was not necessary. In order to address
those latter situations, we propose AmbuCam, a video streaming solution that facilitates dialogues
between ambulance paramedics and the doctor on the emergency car, thus ultimately optimizing the
allocation of resources to handle emergencies.
MO7.3 Time to Digital Conversion Zero Crossing DPLL (TDC-ZCDPLL)
Qassim MH Nasir (University Of Sharjah, UAE); Kahtan Mezher (Khalifa
University, UAE)
The objective of this work is to introduce and analyze the performance of the newly proposed second
order Time to Digital Conversion (TDC) based Zero Crossing Digital Phase Locked Loop (TDC-ZCDPLL).
The introduction of the TDC as Phase Detector (PD) widens the lock range of a ZCDPLL and improves
the loop's operation linearity and stability. The second order digital filter tap coefficients affect the loop
convergence and stability behaviour, so careful selection of those gains should be taken into
consideration. The proposed loop has wider lock range, faster acquisition time.The TDC-ZCDPLL lock
range does not depend on the input frequency which is a major advantage compared to the
conventional ZCDPLL which has this dependency. This will give the TDC-ZCDPLL a preference when
used in frequency synthesizers systems or in frequency hopping spread spectrum communications
(FHSS).
MO7.4 Initialization for time delay digital tanlock loop
Omar Al-Kharji Al-Ali (Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, UAE); Nader
Anani (Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK., United Kingdom); Mahmoud
Al-Qutayri (Khalifa University, UAE); Saleh Al-Araji (Khalifa University of Science,
Technology and Research, UAE)
This paper presents an improved second-order time delay digital tanlock loop (TDTL) system. It uses
an initialization technique to enhance some of the main performance parameters of the original TDTL
loop and hence overcome some of the inherent loop limitations. A one-bit Sigma-Delta modulator
is used to initialize the DCO (digital controlled oscillator) for coarse tuning mode in order to enhance
the noise immunity of the TDTL loop. An evaluation of the improved architecture using Simulink/Matlab,
under noise- free as well as noisy conditions, demonstrated marked improvements in performance
compared to the original TDTL.
MO8: Intelligent Communication Systems and Networks
Room: Emerald
Chair: Peng-Yong Kong (Khalifa University of Science, Technology &amp; Research,
UAE)
MO8.1 Online Nonstationary Time Series Prediction using Sparse
Coding with Dictionary Update
Mohamed Waleed Fakhr (Arab Academy for Science and Technology & AAST,
Egypt) online nonstationary time series prediction requires continuous model parameter update
to be able to track the changing characteristics of the data. Recent approaches such as sequential
parameter adaptation and varying coefficient models require re-estimation of the prediction model
parameter with every new available data. An online dictionary-based prediction approach is
proposed in this paper where new data is added to the dictionary while maintaining the dictionary
size by using 4 different methods. The dictionary based prediction employs a sparse coding model
where an L1-norm convex optimization problem is solved for each new time series vector, while no
training phase is required. The validity of the proposed approach is tested on 4 nonstationary time
series data sets reported in the literature. Results show that the proposed online prediction
approach reaches comparable results with more complex techniques which require continuous
parameter adaptation
MO8.2 An HMM-Based Spectrum Access Algorithm for
Cognitive Radio Systems
Menatalla Shehab El Din, Mohamed El-Tarhuni and Khaled Assaleh
(American University of Sharjah, UAE); Serkan Kiranyaz (Tampere
University of Technology, Finland)
In this paper, we propose an improved spectrum access algorithm for cognitive radio
applications using a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for learning the primary user channel usage
pattern. The proposed scheme maximizes the channel utilization without causing significant
interference to the primary user. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm
provides about 3 times improvement in channel utilization compared to the system
proposed in [1], with a slight degradation in collision probability. It is also observed that
the proposed scheme performance is robust to variations in the primary user behavior.
MO8.3 Resource Allocation in a Heterogeneous Wireless Network
Using Fuzzy Logic
Mehrdad Taki and Milad Heshmati (University of
Isfahan, Iran)
a new scheduling and link adaptation scheme is designed for a heterogeneous wireless network
where a) different links are using the shared media with various throughput requirement
based on their applications, b) links have different characteristics, c) various bit error
rate constraints are to be considered at the receivers, d) based on the available power
supplies different average transmission power constraints are to be met. A fuzzy based scheme
with a low complexity is presented which may be implemented in a wide range of networks
where channel's specifications are not available and network structure may be unknown. It is
shown that the proposed fuzzy based scheme gives a close performance to analytical approach,
however, with substantially lower CSI load and computational cost.
MO8.4 Differential Distributed Space-Time Coding for
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Networks
Sara Ahmed Al Maeeni (Khalifa University, UAE); Vasileios M. Kapinas
(Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece); Sami Muhaidat (Khalifa
University, UAE); George K. Karagiannidis (Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Greece); Saleh Al-Araji (Khalifa University of Science,
Technology and Research, UAE)
Differential distributed space-time coding has been proved to be suitable for wireless relay
networks, since it can provide spatial diversity without the need for channel state
information at the transmitter or receiver side. However, it suffers from significant error floor
at high Doppler frequencies. For this reason, multiple-symbol differential detection (MSDD) has
been proposed in the past, where the detection process involves a larger window size of the
received symbols. As a result, it can substantially improve the error performance, even in
fast-fading channel conditions with high Doppler frequencies due to rapid time variations.
Differential detection for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) networks has been studied only for single
Rayleigh channel in the past. However, experimental and theoretical studies report that
double Rayleigh can be considered as an appropriate fading channel model for V2V networks.
In this paper, we assess the error performance of a differential distributed space-time coding
scheme operating in a V2V network, using MSDD technique with lower complexity. Simulation
results confirm that the bit error rate (BER) performance of such a system can be improved
significantly using MSDD under different severity scenarios.
Tuesday, May 19
09:00 - 10:30
TO1: Communication Systems and Devices
Room: Sapphire
Chair: Shihab Jimaa (Khalifa University, UAE)
TO1.1 Automation of FTTH Network Design with different
types of network elements
Kaltham Al Romaithi (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and
Research, UAE); Kin Fai Poon and Anis Ouali (Khalifa University, UAE);
Peng-Yong Kong (Khalifa University of Science, Technology & Research,
UAE)
With the increase in popularity of bandwidth intensive applications, the telecommunication
companies have been driven to find alternatives for the existing VDSL infrastructure to meet
the requirements of the subscribers. Fiber To The Home (FTTH) networks, based on the Giga
Passive Optical Network (GPON) topology, have been proven to be a cost effective solution for
a large scale deployment. In this paper, a one-level problem of a typical FTTH network with
different types of network elements is presented. A mathematical model using the Binary
Integer Programming (BIP) approach is detailed. The model with all the required constraints
is solved by an open source solver. Results are provided at the end of the paper demonstrating
the feasibility of such approach.
TO1.2 Dielectric Resonator Nanoantenna at Optical Frequencies
Waleed Tariq Sethi, Hamsakutty Vettikalladi and Habib Fathallah (King Saud
University, Saudi Arabia)
To fulfill the growing demands of high data rate communication, researchers are now
focusing their concentration on the higher frequency bands lying in the THz region of the
electromagnetic spectrum. With the advent of nano-components fabrication technology,
researchers and scientists are now able to fabricate optical antennas at a nano-scale, in
order to establishing a wireless communication link at THz frequencies, and find solutions to
the general design problems associated with higher frequency antennas. Drawing inspiration
from antennas at microwaves and radio-frequency technologies, optical antennas capture
and couple free available electromagnetic radiation in the visible and infrared wavelengths in
the same way as radio electric antennas do at the corresponding wavelengths. Many
parameters and properties of optical antennas are similar to their microwaves and radio
frequency antenna counterparts, yet they have the advantage of small size and resonant
properties of metal nanostructures. In this paper, authors review some of the state of the art
optical antennas, their fabrication techniques and propose a novel dielectric nano antenna
design. Comparing to the traditional radio-frequency antennas, an equilateral triangular
dielectric resonator nano-antenna (ETDRNA) has been designed and simulated at 193.5 THz
standard optical frequency. The proposed antenna is a planar structure having a multilayer
geometry consisting of 'Ag' partial ground plane, a top and bottom 'SiO2' substrate and a 'Si'
equilateral triangular as a dielectric fed by a 'Ag' nanostrip transmission line. The simulated
antenna achieves an impedance bandwidth of 2.58% (192.3-197.3 THz) and an end-fire
directivity of 8.6 dBi, at a center frequency of 193.5 THz, covering all of the standard optical
transmission window at C-band. Numerical demonstrations prove the efficiency of the
nano-antenna at the frequencies of interest, making it a viable candidate for electromagnetic
communication in optical applications and nanonetworks.
TO1.3 Design and Implementation of a Vehicle to Vehicle
Communication System Using Li-Fi Technology
Mohammed Bait-Suwailam, Raya Al Hajri, Zainab Al-Lawati, Zahra Al-Abri and
Noof Al
Abdulsalam (Sultan Qaboos University,
Oman)
In this paper, we present initial designs and results of a small- scale prototype of a vehicle to
vehicle communication system using light fidelity (Li-Fi) technology, a new technology that was
developed in the last few years, which still needs more investigations on its sustainability for
outdoor vehicular networks. Vehicle to vehicle communication is the most effective solution that
has been used in order to reduce vehicles' accidents. The proposed use of Li-Fi technology in this
paper comprises mainly light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs as means of connectivity by sending data
through light spectrum as an optical wireless medium for signal propagation. In fact, the usage of
LED eliminates the need of complex wireless networks and protocols. Several case studies mimicking
the vehicle to vehicle communication are explored in this work. Both numerical simulations using
Proteous package and experimental results are also presented, which agree quite well.
TO2: ICT Convergence & Emerging Trends
Room: Emerald
Chair: Hadi Otrok (Khalifa University of Science, Technology &amp; Research
(KUSTAR), UAE)
TO2.1 A New Watermarking Algorithm for Scanned Colored PDF Files
Using DWT and Hash Function
Abdulqader Nael Mahmoud, Hamza Al Maharmeh and Hussain Al-Ahmad
(Khalifa
Universit
y, UAE)
This paper discusses a technique used to insert a watermark into scanned colored PDF files. The
watermarking aims to protect the copyright ownership and authenticate the PDF documents. A
logo has been used as a robust watermark for copyright. The logo will be embedded in the green
channel of the file. This watermark can be successfully extracted and it can survive against
different attacks. Any manipulations in the PDF file will cause the second fragile watermark to
change and indicate forgery. The algorithm was successfully tested on different colored PDF files.
TO2.2 Mesh LBP Features For 3D Constrained Local Model
Marwa Chendeb (Khalifa University of Science, Technology & Research, United
Arab
Emirates,
UAE);
Naoufel
Werghi
(Khalifa
University, UAE)
We propose automatic facial landmarks detection in 3D mesh manifold. The method is based
on 3D Constrained Local Model (CLM) which learns both global variations in 3D face scan and local
ones around every vertex landmark. Different from the other approaches of CLM, our contribution
is a full 3D mesh. The framework exploits the intrinsic 3D features around the mesh vertices by
utilizing histogram-based mesh Local Binary Patterns (mesh-LBP). The experiments are conducted
on publicly available 3D face scans Bosphorus database.
TO2.3 An Efficient Power Management Unit for µWatt
Thermoelectric Generators
Mohammad Alhawari (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research,
UAE); Dima Kilani and Baker Mohammad (Khalifa University, UAE); Hani Saleh
(Khalifa University of Sciente, Technology & Research, UAE); Mohammed
Elnaggar (Khalifa University, UAE)
This paper presents an efficient power management unit (PMU) that supports µWatt load range for
TEG- based applications. The PMU consists of an inductor-based DC-DC converter that boosts
a small TEG voltage and followed by two switched capacitor-based buck converters which are
used to drive a µWatt- SoC. The PMU generates a regulated 1.1V and 0.6V output voltages. Pulse
frequency modulation scheme is utilized to regulate the output voltages. SPICE simulation results
in 65nm CMOS technology show that the maximum end-to-end efficiency of the PMU is 68% at an
output power of 62µWatt. The PMU occupies an area of less than 0.9mm2. The switched capacitor
circuit enables the usage of dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) that helps the PMU to operate in
ultra-low power modes.
TO2.4 Seizure Detection with Common Spatial Pattern and Support
Vector
Machines
Turky Al Otaiby (King ABDULAZIZ CITY for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia);
Fathi
Abdelsamie and Saleh A Alshebeili (King Saud University, Saudi Arabia);
Khaled
Aljibreen and Emaan Alkhanen (KACST, Saudi
Arabia)
This paper extends the use of the Common Spatial Pattern (CSP) algorithm for epileptic
Electroencephalography (EEG) seizure detection. The CSP algorithm is applied on EEG signal
derivative, which contains reinforced details of the signal. The main idea of the proposed approach is
to apply a differentiator on the multi-channel EEG signal, and hence the signal is segmented
into overlapping segments. Each segment is projected on a CSP projection matrix to extract the
training and testing features. In selecting the training period, a leave-one-hour-out cross validation
strategy is adopted. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier is then trained with the training features
to classify inter-ictal and ictal segments. Two variants of the CSP are presented and tested in this
paper; the original CSP and the Diagonal Loading CSP.
10:30 - 11:00
Coffee Break
11:00 - 12:30
TO3: Optical Communication Systems and Devices
Room:
Sapphire
Chair: Nazar Ali (Khaifa University, UAE)
TO3.1 Modal dispersion and impacts of mode filtering on visible light
communications over standard fibers
Bakari Silima (University of Essex, United
Kingdom)
A theoretical study was conducted to investigate the contributions of an individual fiber mode in
mode- filtering techniques for enhancing bandwidth-distance product. The study used standard single
mode fiber (SMF) for visible light communication over fiber (ViLiCOF). In the worst fiber dispersion
at 405nm and at
637nm wavelengths, the standard SMF supports 10 and 4 linearly polarized modes respectively. Their
performances after mode filtering took place were compared and the results reveal that;
without accounting attenuation caused by Rayleigh scattering and Urbach tail effects, the small
discrepancies between modal group indices of fundamental and slowest modes are very sensitive to
the fiber bandwidth- distance product. In addition, the results of this study support the previous
idea of mode filtering techniques as the methods for enhancing fiber bandwidth product; however,
the evidence from this study suggests that fiber mode with the largest modal group indices should be
targeted as their presence contributes the maximum modal delay. Furthermore, the results show
the possibility of extending bandwidth of standard SMF to include visible light spectrum.
TO3.2 Performance Investigation of CMA and RLS based
Equalization for Next generation Long Reach Passive Optical
Networks
Ziyad Almatroudi (Zain SA & KSU, Saudi Arabia); Amr Ragheb, Abdelouhab Bentrcia
and
Habib Fathallah (King Saud University, Saudi
Arabia)
Digital coherent receivers (DCR) exploiting advanced digital signal processing (DSP) have shown major
impact, in terms of increasing receiver sensitivity and spectral efficiency, on optical communication
for long haul transmission. Recently coherent receivers started to be employed in metro/access
networks. In this paper, we investigate the performance of DCR in next generation long reach passive
optical networks (NG-LRPON). Constant modulus algorithm (CMA) and recursive least squares (RLS)
equalizers are used to blindly mitigate fiber chromatic dispersion (CD) and polarization mode dispersion
(PMD) for different signal speeds and modulation schemes. For low signal speed, our simulation
results show that CMA achieves same steady state as RLS however with low complexity. For high
baud rate signals such as 5 and 10Gbaud, RLS achieves 50% faster convergence rate in terms of number
of symbols.
TO3.3 Performance Investigation of under/over-Sampling for
Arbitrary DP-MQAM Optical Transmitter
Amr Ragheb, Habib Fathallah and Saleh A Alshebeili (King Saud University,
Saudi Arabia); Hussein E. Seleem (King Saud University & College of
Engineering, Saudi Arabia)
In this paper, we experimentally investigate the effect of state-of-the-art digital to analog converter
(DAC) circuit, on the performance of high speed optical transmitter. We particularly consider two
operating regimes, we refers as over- and under-sampling conditions. It is well known that a
sampling rate of
64GSa/s limits the maximum baud rate to 32Gbaud with a sampling rate of 2 sample/symbol as a
standard oversampling. However, in a number of applications including test, characterization, and
measurement of advanced communication systems, it is needed to test the capacity to use the
hardware well above its normal operation regime. One important, yet attractive testing, is to examine
the behavior of an overall communication system or its subsystems in case of 2-fold criterion is not
respected. In these cases, the optical transmitter is constrained to generate and transmit optical
symbols at a baud rate that is much higher than the half of the hardware limited sampling rate. In
our case, we generate variable baud rates higher than 32Gbaud using an always fixed sampling rate
64GSa/s (i.e. limited by hardware). We hence constrain our symbols to be generated by less than 2
samples/symbol we refer as under sampling regime. Our experimental results show that in under
sampling regime, we obtain a variable baud rate ranging from 32 up to 56Gbaud using a sampling
ratio starting by 2 and decreasing down to 1.14 respectively. In addition we show, how these high
and variable baud rates, have been achieved at the expense of much larger spectral bandwidth,
important signal distortions especially for the highest frequency band, and a net decrease in the
modulation order from 128 down to 4. We also investigate the performance of the generated
signals in terms of bit error rate (BER) and error vector magnitude (EVM) and illustrate how the
performance dramatically degrades as the sampling rate decreases. Furthermore, we digitally
pre- emphasize the DP-MQAM Optical transmitter in order to pre-compensate for devices imperfections.
This relaxes the signal processing at the receiver side at a maximum expense of 1dB penalty for
32Gbaud speed.
TO3.4 Experimental Investigation of the Laser Phase Noise Effect on
Next
Generation High Order MQAM Optical Transmission
Amr Ragheb and Habib Fathallah (King Saud University, Saudi
Arabia)
Next generation 400Gbps and 1Tbps per wavelength optical transmission system will require the
use of high spectral efficiency optical modulation schemes. Rather than wireless communication
system, laser phase noise (PN) has a major impact on the performance of optical systems due
to high speed of communication and high order modulations recently proposed/demonstrated
in these communication systems. In this paper, we prototype a reference optical transmitter, that
digitally emulates the effect of the laser phase noise. This experiment enables us to generate laser
linewidths ranging from a kilohertz up to hundreds of megahertz. Moreover, this enables us to
measure the performance of the generated high order MQAM modulated signals in case inexpensive
low quality or alternatively expensive high quality laser is exploited. In our experimental
performance investigation, we have addressed state-of-the-art symbol rates of 14, 16, and 25Gbaud
and modulation orders ranging from QPSK up to 16QAM. In order to mitigate the phase noise effect
a directed decision (DD) phase tracker is employed at the receiver side. Our simulation and
experiment show that our transmitter makes successful emulation of the PN and our tracking
algorithm makes appropriate tracking of 16QAM for a laser linewidth of 1MHz. However, when
inexpensive lower quality 10 MHz laser is used, the recovery capacity of the algorithm becomes
limited to QPSK.
TO4: Wireless Communication and Networks
Room:
Emerald
Chair: Raed Shubair (Khalifa University, UAE)
TO4.1 On Fairness in LTE Downlink MAC Scheduling Algorithms
Ismael Al-Shiab and Rana Ahmed (American University of Sharjah,
UAE)
A downlink MAC scheduler aims to improve the radio resources utilization in the Long Term Evolution
(LTE) network. The MAC scheduler is responsible for sharing the available radio Resource Blocks
(RBs) among different User Equipment (UEs) in time and frequency domains. Several downlink
MAC schedulers have been proposed and implemented; however, providing fairness in terms of
granting resources to different UEs with different QoS requirements remains a challenge. This paper
presents the results of a comparative simulation study with respect to a fairness criterion for three
well-known downlink schedulers.
TO4.2 A Fault-Tolerant, Energy-Efficient Routing Protocol for Wireless
Sensor Networks
Rana Ahmed (American University of Sharjah,
UAE)
Multi-hop Wireless Sensors Networks (WSNs) consisting of several nodes and links are vulnerable
to frequent node/ link failures. Energy saving at a node is another major consideration in WSN.
Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) is a popular protocol commonly applied to WSNs; however, there is
no provision of fault-tolerance and energy efficiency. In this paper, a new fault-tolerant routing
and energy-efficient protocol, that modifies the conventional DSR protocol, is proposed. The protocol
tries to find two routing paths (if they exist) from the source to the destination node, considering the
present energy levels at intermediate nodes in the path. Simulation results show that the proposed
protocol also achieves better packet delivery ratio and network throughput as compared to
conventional DSR.
TO4.3 Exact Expression for General Average BER Over Nakagami-m
Fading
Channels
Taimour Aldalgamouni and Amer M Magableh (Jordan University of Science
and
Technology, Jordan); Nemah Jafreh (Tafila Technical University,
Jordan)
In this paper, we derive exact closed form expression for the average bit error rate of coherent
modulation schemes over Nakagami-m fading channels. The derived expression is presented in terms
of the Miejer's G- function which is a built in function in commercial mathematical software
packages. The derived expression is valid for any real value of the fading parameter m. Numerical
results are presented and compared to simulation results to show the exactness of the derived
expression.
TO4.4 Throughput Optimized Error-Free Transmission Using Optimum
Combination of AMC and ARQ based on Imperfect CSI
Mehrdad Taki, Reza Mahin Zaeem and Milad Heshmati (University of Isfahan, Iran)
A new scheme for error-free transmission is presented which uses optimized combination of adaptive
modulation and coding (AMC) and automatic repeat request (ARQ). Using conventional error
correction codes with finite length, a limited value of packet error rate (PER) is inevitable. More
powerful codes with more extra parity bits results in lower PER, however, at the cost of more transmit
power per bit which is limited by average power constraint. Remained erroneous packets may be
detected by error detection codes and be substituted by retransmission request in ARQ. However,
when error correction capability is weak, throughput decreases due to increase of required
retransmissions. In this article a method for optimum combination of error correction codes in AMC
and error detection codes in ARQ is provided. In practice, due to estimation error and time variant
channels, noisy and outdated channel state information (imperfect CSI) is available which restricts
providing exact instantaneous PER constraint. To satisfy instantaneous PER constraint based on
imperfect CSI, a novel technique is designed in this paper. Numerical evaluations indicate the
efficiency of the proposed design.
12:30 - 13:30
Lunch Break
13:30 - 15:00
TO5: Software Development
Room: Sapphire
Chair: Youssef Iraqi (Khalifa University,
UAE)
TO5.1 The Proportionate APL-I algorithm
Felix Albu (Valahia University of Targoviste,
Romania)
A proportionate affine projection like (PAPL-I) adaptive filtering algorithm is proposed that
incorporates the proportionate feature to affine projection like (APL-I) algorithm. Simulation results
show that the proposed PAPL-I algorithm provides improved steady state performance than the
APL-I and affine projection algorithms (APA) in case of an acoustic echo cancellation application
with a very sparse echo path. In addition, the PAPL-I algorithm also offers improved performance
over the APL-I algorithm for adaptive feedback cancellation for hearing aids systems.
TO5.2 Formal Validation of QRS Wave within ECG
Hussam Al-Hamadi (Khalifa University for Science, Technology and Research,
UAE); Amjad Gawanmeh and Mahmoud Al-Qutayri (Khalifa University, UAE)
Electrical sensors are used to detect and record the electrical activity of the heart over a period of
time, this operation is referred to as Electrocardiography (ECG) in medical science. Hence ECG is
composed of a set of signal waves that repeats themselves and are usually useful in medical diagnosis,
where certain ECG patterns and the occupancy of specific waves, such as the QRS wave, may indicate
certain heart problems. In this paper, we extend our previous results where we provided a high level
model for ECG wave, with a more concrete model for QRS waves at several levels of abstraction in
order to validate the specification of the QRS waves and several properties related to its behavior.
We use formal method since medical applications still suffer from design and understanding problems
when implemented in ICT context despite the use of thorough test through simulation techniques
which may lead to ambiguities and incompleteness in the developed methods for using ECG
specifications in medical diagnosis. We used the Event-B formal method to successfully formalize
the QRS wave in the ECG of the heart system at several levels of abstraction, and then defined
and validated several properties that are related to its wavelet shape and behavior.
TO5.3 Impact of iPad technology on learning in high school
education: An analysis of critical factors that influence efficient
learning process
Manju Vishnu Sankar (Institute of Applied Technology,
UAE)
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the technologically most forward countries in the world. In
UAE, federal educational institutes are completely replacing the traditional teaching and learning
system with iPad based teaching and learning system. The focus of this paper is to analyze the critical
factors that influence the efficient iPad based learning process in the UAE based high school
classrooms. Number of hypotheses focusing on the domain research area is formulated for this
purpose. The paper intends to support the assumed hypothesis through scientific means of testing
and also statistical methods. Scientific means is the most widely used research methodology used
in educational field. The various factors that have influence on the student learning process are
students' cognitive skills and his/her self interest in exploring and using technology for learning
purpose; ability and willingness of students to learn to use and adapt to new apps; ability and interest
of teachers to comfortably adapt and deliver education in the new environment. The major factor
that has not much been researched is the effect of classroom strength and the students' cognitive
skills that has a direct impact in their learning process, since the target users belong to a age
group category that demands most attention in these areas. Hypothesis path model and observations
are implemented for this study and the results obtained are verified using independent sample
t-tests and paired sample t-tests. The results derived present some useful ways to strengthen iPad
implementations, accelerate better teaching and improve the students' learning process in high school
category students.
TO5.4 Scalable Detection of Web Malware on Smart phones
Sachin Shetty (Tennessee State University, USA); Husam Adas (Tenessee
State
University, USA); Waled Tayib (Tennessee State University,
USA)
Recently, the smartphone industry has seen tremendous growth due to the widespread adoption of
devices based on Google's Android and Apple's IOS platforms. The worldwide market penetration of
Android based smartphone has attracted attention of malware developers. This paper presents a
scalable classifier to detect web malware on Android smartphones. Limited computational a nd
energy resources on smartphones make it infeasible to deploy rich featured security mechanisms.
We extracted network and URL inspection features from over million million mobile URLs. A
scalable classier is applied to the measured features and implemented on MapReduce/Hadoop based
cloud computing platform. Performance evaluation of the system has shown that 99.8% accuracy is
achieved with a response time of 139 ms.
TO6: Big Data, & Data Analytics
Room: Emerald
Chair: Jamal Zemerly (Khalifa University, UAE)
TO6.1 Hardware Accelerators for Information Retrieval and Data
Mining
Valery Sklyarov (University of Aveiro/IEETA, Portugal); Iouliia Skliarova
(University of Aveiro & IEETA, Portugal); João Silva (University of Aveiro/IT,
Portugal); Alexander Sudnitson and Artjom Rjabov (Tallinn University of
Technology, Estonia)
Many algorithms in informatics require a set of objects, with similar properties to be grouped (clustered)
on the basis of some predefined criteria. The proposed technique involves hierarchical merging
in which software, responsible for solving the entire problem, is enhanced with highly parallel networks
in hardware accelerators. Additional improvements are achieved with the aid of support methods that
are sort and verification of object intersections that may be also autonomously used for other
types of information processing and database management. It is shown and experimentally proved
that the proposed solutions are efficient. They can be used in such areas as health care, statistical data
manipulation and so on.
TO6.2 A Harmonic Parameter Estimation Method Based on Particle
Swarm
Optimizer with Natural Selection
Ya Chen (South China University of Technology, P.R. China); Mengshi Li (South
China
University of Technology & The University of Liverpool, P.R.
China)
This paper presents a novel harmonic estimation method, based on Particle Swarm Optimizer with
Natural Selection (PSONS), which is an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) with the natural selection
mechanism. The proposed method utilizes PSONS to estimate the phases of the harmonics and a
standard least-square (LS) method to estimate the amplitudes alternately and recursively to minimize
the value of the predefined fitness function which aims to search for the best phases and amplitudes.
Simulation studies have been carried out to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. The results
demonstrates that PSONS achieves high accuracy in harmonic estimation and outperforms the
conventional PSO and GA in estimation accuracy and the conventional PSO in convergence speed.
TO6.3 Decentralized Multi-agent POMDPs Framework for
Humans-Robots
Teamwork Coordination in Search and Rescue
Hend Al Tair (Khalifa University for Science, Technology and Research, UAE);
Tarek
Taha, Mahmoud Al-Qutayri and Jorge Dias (Khalifa University,
UAE)
Despite the fact that robots have reached a high level of autonomy in recent years, the need for
human presence in certain situations is still essential, especially in search and rescue operations. The
human extends the robots capabilities beyond of what they are capable of with current
technologies. While current robotic devices are able to navigate, locate, and map search and rescue
areas, some interventions require high degree of dexterity and information exchange that implies
cooperation between the agents intervening in the area - human and/or robots. This paper
presents a framework for modelling the coordination between human responders and robots in
search and rescue scenarios using Decentralised Multi-agent Partially Observable Markov Decision
Processes (Dec-MPOMDP). In this framework the human is treated as an intelligent agent with separate
observations and actions that are communicated with the remaining team (human and robots) to reach
the level of synergy required to accomplish joined tasks.
TO6.4 Interface Development for a Gaze-Controlled Reading Support
Application
Jim Morey, John Gammack and Erik Thornquist (Zayed University,
UAE)
This paper describes development of an application to support the digital reading of academic texts
by non-native speakers, in particular Emirati University students. Text interaction is unobtrusively
controlled by gaze, tracked at word level, offering user-directed support d and reporting data useful
for reading assessment at individual and aggregate levels. After briefly outlining some specific reading
difficulties we describe specific technical requirements and features, the application design process,
and results from iterative evaluation of prototypes with target user representatives.
15:00 - 15:30
Coffee Break
15:30 - 17:00
TP7: Posters All Tracks
Room: Sapphire
Chair: Shakti Singh (Khalifa University of Science Technology and Research,
UAE)
TP7.1 Knowledge Acquisition in Process Intelligence
Paolo Ceravolo (University of Milan, Italy); Francesco Zavatarelli (Università degli
Studi di Milano, Italy)
In this work we introduce a process intelligence (PI) methodology, based on analytical metrics
collection, which has been used in the KITE.it process management framework and can support the
evolution of analytics from descriptive to prescriptive and from prescriptive to predictive. We start
with the description of the Resource Description Framework (RDF) that is a standard data
representation that can help our modelling and information collection. Then we describe how the
methodology uses an iterative three-step process: first, in the querying phase the descriptive
knowledge is collected, then the iterative prescriptive and predictive knowledge phases allow us to
evaluate business rules and objectives, extract unexpected business patterns, and screen
exceptions. The procedure is iterative since this novel knowledge gives inputs to the initial step.
We also spotlight how it is important in our analysis to rely on the notion of Extended Analysis and
Extended Behaviour.
TP7.2 L1-Regularized Least Squares Sparse Extreme Learning Machine
for
Classification
Mohamed Waleed Fakhr (Arab Academy for Science and Technology & AAST,
Egypt); El- Nasser Youssef (Arab Academy for Science & Technology & Maritime
Transport &
College of Engineering and Technology, Egypt); Mohamed El-Mahallawy (Arab
Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport, Egypt)
Extreme Learning Machines (ELM) is a class of supervised learning models that have three basic
steps: A random projection of the input space followed by some nonlinear operation and finally a
linear output layer of weights. The basic ELM uses pseudo matrix inverse to estimate the output
layer weights which usually leads to over fitting. Recent research suggested the use of L2-norm
regularization to enhance the sparsity of the output layer. This paper proposes the use of the L1-norm
LASSO formulation, since the L1-norm promotes sparsity in the solution of the output layer
weights and it has been shown to produce the sparsest solutions in many applications. Extensive
comparison between the basic ELM, the L1-norm and the L2-norm is conducted over a number of
classification tasks, with significant improvement in sparseness using the proposed approach with
better performance than that reported in the literature.
TP7.3 Evaluation Of The Quality Of E-Government Services: Quality
Trend Analysis
Saqib Ali (Sultan Qaboos Uinversity, Oman); Taisira AlBalushi (Sultan
Qaboos
University,
Oman)
The immense improvement in information and communications technologies (ICT) has motivated
service providers to offer services through electronic channels. Governments also realize the
widespread, cost- effective and strategic roles that ICT plays in order to serve citizens and other
businesses. With the development of a greater number and variety of e-services, citizens have
higher expectations and demands and they only quest for those government e-services that are
high in quality (i.e. as far as performance, security, availability, etc. are concerned). Although
some studies have proposed some quality models, standards and frameworks that organizations
can adopt to meet the expectations of citizens, they vary in terms of their domain of use, their
maturity in providing the services, the number of factors they consider, their importance and their
validity. One of the concern of the E-governments are to prioritize and invest in those quality factors
that are of greater interest to citizens. This study presents a quality trend analysis for the evaluation
of the quality of e-government services.
TP7.4 Inverse Approximation of Linear receivers for Massive MIMO
Khawla Alnajjar (University of Canterbury, New
Zealand)
To overcome computation complexity due to inverse calculation that occurs when using linear
receivers such as zero forcing (ZF) in massive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO), we propose a
simple approximation method which depends on the maximum element of the diagonal matrix
multiplied by a scaling factor that controls its tuning. This method solves other inverse method
problems when the system load increases. We illustrate the simulation results in the absence of any
imperfections and correlated channels.
TP7.5 Software Defined Radio Implementing GPS Parallel Frequency
Space Search Acquisition Algorithm in Real Time Environment
Rana Ramadan (Alahliyya Amman University, Jordan); Ali Aboud (Al-Ahliyya
Amman
University, Jordan); Taher AlSharabati (Al Ahliyya Amman,
Jordan)
In this paper, a parallel frequency space search acquisition algorithm for a GPS receiver is
implemented using software defined radio (SDR) technology. The proposed algorithm is implemented
and tested using National Instruments MyRio real time software processor platform. The results of
the proposed algorithm are confirmed and compared with the parallel code phase search algorithm
using different implementation platforms. The parallel frequency search implementation is highly
recommended for real time and high speed seamless applications in product development and
industry platforms where low cost, low complexity with reliable performance is of dire need. The
novelty of this approach stands as no published literature has demonstrated parallel frequency
search algorithm as an SDR platform using National Instruments Labview on MyRio real time
processor environment. In this research, parallel frequency space acquisition of GPS signals on an NI
myRio device is implemented. The parallel frequency acquisition is selected because of its moderate
code acquisition complexity and its better resource management compared to parallel code
phase algorithm, which is considered a large resource consumer. The re- configurability and the
re- programmability of this technology makes it versatile and attractive to be implemented across
research and product development platforms.
TP7.6 Hybrid RSS-DOA Technique for Enhanced WSN Localization in a
Correlated Environment
Mohamed Ibrahim AlHajri (Khalifa Universitry, UAE); Abdulrahman Goian, Muna
Darweesh, Rashid AlMemari and Raed Shubair (Khalifa University, UAE); Luis Weruaga
(Khalifa University of Science, Technology & Research, UAE); Ahmed Kulaib (Khalifa
University, UAE)
This paper proposes a modified hybrid method for WSN localization that combines Received Signal
Strength (RSS) and Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimation based on MUSIC (Multiple Signal Classification)
using circular antenna array with smoothing capability. Simulation results proves the enhanced
performance obtained using the proposed hybrid method. This takes the form of successful detection of a
mixture of correlated and uncorrelated signals at a higher accuracy and lower Root Mean Square Error
(RMSE) in comparison with conventional method.
TP7.7 A Spectrum-Efficient Routing Protocol for Multi-hop 802.11
Networks
Mohammed Ba-Hutair and Mohamed Saad (University of Sharjah, UAE)
Finding the optimal path in multi-hop wireless networks has gained considerable interest in the recent
literature. Standard routing methods such as Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV) and
Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) are based on link-level abstraction of the network without fully considering
the impact of the physical layer. Recent studies have introduced spectrum-efficient routing algorithms that
take into consideration the physical layer characteristics of the wireless network. These studies, however,
focused on algorithmic development and theoretical optimality analysis based on generic network
settings. This paper closes the gap between algorithm development and protocol implementation by
developing a full spectrum-efficient routing protocol implementation for real-world IEEE 802.11 multi-hop
networks. Our ns-2 simulation results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed protocol an its superiority
over existing routing protocols.
TP7.8 A Hybrid Representation Model for Service Contracts
Gloria Elena Jaramillo (Universitè de Pau et Pays de l'Adour, France); Marco Anisetti and
Claudio A Ardagna (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy)
The lack of control on personal data/processes and trust in their management by a third party is a wellknown problem that limits the success of the cloud computing paradigm. Organizations and final users are
increasingly reluctant to move their assets (i.e., services, business data, and personal information) to the
cloud, and to participate in interorganizational service provisioning. In this paper, we discuss the role of
contracts as the key elements representing the agreements between service clients and providers. We
then present a hybrid approach for machine-readable contract representation, which is ground on
Description Logic and SWRL language. We also describe a methodology to map contract clauses written in
plain English on our representation. We finally present a case study on a real contract specification.
TP7.9 A Cluster Based Routing Approach in LTE Ad-hoc Networks
Alper Karahan and Adnan Kavak (Kocaeli University, Turkey); Sedat Atmaca (University
of Kocaeli, Turkey)
In this work, a new routing algorithm which allows smart terminals to join the ad-hoc network at random
times in order to carry out data transmission using Long Term Evolution (LTE) infra-structure has been
developed and simulated using OPNET Modeler. The routing scheme has been realized by clustering the
terminals according to some predefined physical layer parameters and by utilizing Carrier Sense Multiple
Access (CSMA) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) schemes. After determining the cluster members
and cluster head, time slot allocation process is carried out per cluster head and data gathered from the
cluster members are relayed to the server. The results show that the proposed algorithm utilizes less
control packets during the path discovery than the widely used Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector
(AODV)[6][7]. Besides, it has less route discovery time than AODV for all network loads.
TP7.10 Entropy Analysis to Study the Effects of Mobile Phone Radiation
on Brain C K Smitha (College of Engineering, Vadakara, Kozhikode, Kerala & Kannur
University, Kerala, India); N K Narayanan (Kannur University, India)
The concern about the adverse effects of mobile phone radiation on the nervous system has increased due
to the drastic increase of mobile phone usage. In this paper the mean value of permutation entropy of EEG
data set of 21channels with and without phone is used as feature. ANOVA test is used to compare the
features at different conditions. The test is significant only for 5 channels out of 21channels. The variation
in feature parameter with respect to parameter at rest is greater in almost all of the channels while using
phone-2 (CDMA). Asymetry index (coefficient of variance) of left and right channels are compared to check
the left right symmetry while using phone. The ratio of asymetry index with phone to assymetry index at
rest lies within the range, so there is no change in symmetry of the brain due to mobile phone radiation
TP7.11 8x8 Patch Antenna Array with Polarization and Space Diversity for
Future 5G Cellular Applications
Osama Haraz (Assiut University, Egypt); Muhammad Ashraf (College of Engineering,
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia); Saleh A Alshebeili (King Saud University, Saudi
Arabia)
This paper introduces the design of 8x8 patch antenna array with polarization and space diversity for the
future fifth generation (5G) of cellular networks. The antenna element is a rectangular patch with a single
spatial feed and designed to have dual linear polarization. The proposed 8x8 array also has dualorthogonal polarization and therefore built-in polarization diversity. The polarization isolation between the
two channels is good at boresight. The proposed array has a maximum realized gain of about 21 dBi at 28
GHz.
TP7.12 Design Tradeoffs of Few-Mode Step Index Fiber for Next
Generation Mode Division Multiplexing Optical Networks
Saleh Chebaane (Electronics and Micro-Electronics Laboratory, Tunisia); Hussein E.
Seleem (King Saud University & College of Engineering, Saudi Arabia); Habib Fathallah
(King Saud University, Saudi Arabia); Machhout Mohsen (Electronics and MicroElectronics Laboratory, Tunisia)
Next generation few mode fibers (FMF) promise to substantially increase the spectral efficiency of existing
state-of-the-art optical communication networks by an order of magnitude [1]. In FMF, individual
propagating modes are considered as independent optical communication channels that carry separate
streams of data. The performance of these communication streams however, suffers from inter channel
interference (ICI) that depends on the physical characteristics of the optical fiber. The ICI mainly results of
two impairments, namely the mode coupling and the differential mode delay. It is known that step index
(SI) FMF is the less expensive and the easiest to fabricate in addition to having a limited number of
physical design parameters, i.e., step refractive index and core diameter. Our objective here is first to
investigate the design tradeoffs of SI-FMF and then identify the parameters' intervals that minimize the
inter channel interference by reducing: the mode coupling and the differential mode delay. Our numerical
simulation identifies the desired design regions that minimize these impairments separately. Our analysis
also illustrates the challenge to minimize both impairments simultaneously and get compromising design
solutions.
TP7.13 Mobile Virtual Network Operator Strategy for Migration towards
4G
Yacouba Coulibaly (École de Technologie Supérieure - Université du Québec, Canada);
Georges Kaddoum (ETS Engineering School, University of Québec, Canada);
Mohammed F. A. Ahmed (Assiut University, Canada)
Recently, mobile network operators (MNOs) around the world are migrating their networks to the fourth
generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) standard. Mobile virtual network operator (MVNOs), who do not
have their own wireless access network and still offer added value services, are affected with this
migration. Most of the research conducted about network migration toward the 4G focused on challenges in
the architecture level and the business model. Also, research addressed the compatibility of core networks
with 4G, and the interfaces and protocols that must be implemented by the MVNO to continue offering its
services. This paper proposes different approach by focusing on the prospects of services. Typically, the
service cost should decline with the arrival of the new 4G network. We suggest some strategies that could
be adopted by MVNOs to offer more competitive services and contribute in reducing the costs of
communication of customers.
TP7.14 Compressive Sensing for improved MIMO Radar performance - A
Review
Muhammad Hadi (King Saud University & PSATRI, Saudi Arabia); Saleh A Alshebeili and
Fathi Abdelsamie (King Saud University, Saudi Arabia); Khalid Jamil (PSATRI - KSU,
Saudi Arabia)
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar systems have received much attention in recent times due to
their ability to detect and estimate targets better. These radar systems utilize multiple transmit
waveforms, either orthogonal or non-orthogonal, providing additional diversity to improve on delayDoppler as well as angular resolutions. Recent advances in Compressive Sensing (CS) offer an effective
means to address for further performance improvements in MIMO radar signal processing. CS based MIMO
radar systems emphasize the inherent target sparsity in the target space and aim to achieve better
resolution while using considerably reduced number of measurements; or significantly enhance the radar
performance for the same number of measurements. The benefits of data volume reduction appears as
savings in memory and power, as well as lowering the acquisition time. In this paper, a number of
representative and recent articles pertaining to CS techniques in MIMO radar systems are reviewed and
categorized. The discussion here particularly emphasizes the various design techniques that improve the
MIMO radar performance.
TP7.15 Experimental Evaluation of Vehicle-to-Vehicle Based Data
Transfer
Azam Memon (Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan); Faisal
Karim Shaikh (Mehran University of Engineering and Technology & Umm Al-Qura
University, Pakistan); Emad Felemban (Umm Al Qura University, Saudi Arabia)
In recent years the number of automobiles have been increased on the roads. Due to high density of
vehicles, the potential threats and road accidents are increasing. Alongside new application domains are
evolving such as infotainment. VANETs is an emerging technology where the information is exchanged among
the vehicles on the road to provide updates about different road situations and dangerous conditions,
to save time and lives. A lot of research is carried in this field and many simulations studies are available.
The experimental studies based on the open sources hardware models are very rare. We have developed a
prototype for VANETs to exchange short safety messages and infotainment sharing among the vehicles. Along
with designing we have also analyzed its performance and obtained results by doing many experiments using
Arduino.
TP8: Posters - All Tracks
Room: Emerald
Chair: Kahtan Mezher (Khalifa University, UAE)
TP8.1 Improving the Accuracy of SSPA Device Behavioral Modeling
Paul Fisher (The University of Adelaide, Australia); Said Al-Sarawi (The University of
Adelaide & Director of Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Australia)
Several well-known simple behavioral models for solid state power amplifier (SSPA) devices are reviewed
and compared in terms of AM/AM and AM/PM performance. An improvement to White et al's model is
proposed and its' use is discussed in comparison with the Rapp model for device modeling. Furthermore an
improvement to Honkanen & Haggman's phase shift addition to Rapp's model is given thus allowing phase
shifts greater than zero degrees to be considered. Finally a review of several models' performances
beyond available data and into the saturation region is presented. These behavioral model improvements
and additions lead to more accurate modeling from limited data thus aiding SSPA device selection for
digital communication systems.
TP8.2 Hierarchical multi-objective RFID network planning using firefly
algorithm
Milan Tuba (Megatrend University Belgrade, Faculty of Computer Science & University
of Belgrade, Serbia); Nebojsa Bacanin (Megatrend University, Serbia); Raka Jovanovic
(Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute & Institute of Physics Belgrade
Serbia, Qatar)
This paper presents implementation of the firefly algorithm adapted for solving hierarchical multi-objective
radio frequency identification (RFID) network planning problem. This problem belongs to the group of hard
optimization problems since it employs many objectives and constraints. Firefly algorithm has been proven
as a robust algorithm for solving such tasks. We used hierarchical approach where total coverage was
required, along with minimization of the number of used readers, interference and transmitted power.
Empirical tests were conducted on six standard RFID benchmark sets with clustered and random
topologies. In comparative analysis with other state-of-the-art metaheuristics which were tested using the
same benchmark sets, our proposed approach exhibited uniformly better performance.
TP8.3 Low Cost Bio-Electric Signal Acquisition System for Real Time
Biomedical Applications
Mujeeb Rahman Kanhirakadavath and Mohamed Nasor Khalil (Ajman University of
Science & Technology, UAE)
Bio-electric signals are all kinds of electrical signals that can be measured and monitored from biological
beings. These signals are of low frequency and very low voltage and are often contaminated with
surrounding noise. Hence the bio-electric signal acquisition system should provide very high input impedance,
very high CMRR, high voltage gain and high selectivity. To achieve these specifications, bio- electric
acquisition systems are commonly designed using precision components. Use of precision components
makes the design very expensive and occasionally availability constraints of these components in
the local market, makes the design more difficult. The main objective of this work is to develop a compact
and cost effective bio-electric signal acquisition system for real time biomedical applications. The
proposed design employs general purpose electronic components which are commonly available in any
electrical lab that makes the cost of prototype around $160. The system mainly consists of Op-Amp based
bio-amplifier, data acquisition board and a laptop. Design examples are in the form of ECG, EMG, EOG and
EEG acquisitions.
TP8.4 Individual's Informational Readiness towards Online Piracy
Behavioral Act
Ali Zolait (University of Bahrain, Bahrain)
The purpose of this research paper is to participate in finding a real solution that will help in decreasing
the amount of online piracy conducted in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This research includes an empirical
analysis to measure the awareness of the citizens of Bahrain regarding online piracy. This research applies
an exploratory quantitative approach with sample of 374 of Bahraini citizens selected randomly. The
results of the survey were obtained via online and paper based. In addition to that, interviews were
conducted with individuals who have significant effect on the society and work force in Bahrain. The
findings of his research confirm that online piracy cannot be stopped and developing an online piracy law is
not the solution. However, increasing the awareness of the citizens and using strategies such as training
and motivation will definitely participate in decreasing the amount of online piracy conducted. Research
limitations of the study could be the complexity of the problem which may affect the method used for
acquiring the results of this research; the scope of this research has shifted while trying to find the optimal
approach in minimizing online piracy acts in Bahraini setting. The findings require further investigation and
validation using large sample. This topic has been chosen as a challenge in finding a real solution for a critical
problem but the innovation in this research lies in considering and proposing a non-technical solution..
TP8.5 Investigating Bias in The Page Ranking Approach
Eshaa Mohamed Alkhalifa (University of Bahrain, Bahrain)
This paper investigates the random walk in PageRank . It begins by explaining how the Random Walk
works with the Markov Chain. It then displays how specific forms of cycles are capable of queuing page
ranks and moving from one value to the next. Finally, the paper clarifies how the same arrangement of
links, can disadvantage a page's rank based upon its row and column location in the adjacency matrix of
the Internet graph. Results indicate that the adjacency matrix used as a basis for PageRank has biased
spaces that need to be taken into consideration.
TP8.6 A Gesture Based Kinect for Quadrotor Control
Ahmed Mashood and Hassan Noura (United Arab Emirates University, UAE)
This paper presents a novel approach to control or navigate mobile platforms in a GPS denied
environment, using natural human gestures. Gesture based interfaces and visual computing techniques are
used to develop systems that can be used in UAV navigation using body postures. This approach will easily
marginalize the complexity in Human-Computer interaction, making it more intuitive and repetitive.
TP8.7 Performance evaluation of Cloud Service Providers
Bassem El Zant (Telecom ParisTech ( Ecole Nationale Superieure des
Telecommunications), France); Maurice Gagnaire (Telecom Paristech & Institut
Telecom, France)
In the actual Cloud computing market, the Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) do not provide quantitative
information about the performance of their services. This make it difficult for the Cloud customers to
choose the appropriate CSP. Thus, the importance of the evaluation of the performance of Cloud Service
Providers. In our paper, and in the context of the Easi- Clouds, a European ITEA 2 research project, we
propose a set of performance tests based on real measurements to evaluate the performance of multiple
CSPs in the market. We compare the performance based on seven different metrics: CPU performance,
Memory performance, Disk I/O performance, Mean Response time (MRT), Provisioning time, Availability,
and Variability. Our work will help the Cloud customers choosing the suitable CSP.
TP8.8 Colorization of gray scale natural still images by using ANN to
predict the low frequency DCT components of the RGB channels
Muna Darweesh (Khalifa University, UAE); Mona AlZubaidi (Khalifa University of
Science, Technology and Research, UAE); Hussain Al-Ahmad and Fatma Taher (Khalifa
University, UAE)
This paper presents a new algorithm for colorizing gray scale natural still images. The algorithm uses
artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the low frequency discrete cosine transform (DCT) components of
the RGB channels. A set of natural color images are used to train three ANNs. The trained networks
estimates the RGB layers of the gray scale image that best match a set of training colored images. The
ANN predicts only the low frequency components. The high frequency components of the gray scale image
are mapped to the RGB channels. The performances of the new algorithm are analyzed using the peak
signal to noise. Acceptable colors were obtained for a variety of still images.
TP8.9 Question Classification for Arabic Question Answering Systems
Hani Al Chalabi and Santosh Ray (Al Khawarizmi International College, UAE); Khaled F.
Shaalan (The British University in Dubai & Cairo University, UAE)
Due to very fast growth of information in the last few decades, getting precise information in real time is
becoming increasingly difficult. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo are helping in finding the
information but the information provided by them are in the form of documents which consumes a lot of
time of the user. Question Answering Systems have emerged as a good alternative to search engines
where they produce the desired information in a very precise way in the real time. This saves a lot of time
for the user. There has been a lot of research in the field of English and some European language Question
Answering Systems. However, Arabic Question Answering Systems could not match the pace due to some
inherent difficulties with the language itself as well as due to lack of tools available to assist the
researchers. Question classification is a very important module of Question Answering Systems. In this
paper, we are presenting a method to accurately classify the Arabic questions in order to retrieve precise
answers. The proposed method gives promising results.
TP8.10 Multimodal Biometrics Using Multiple Feature Representations to
Speaker Identification System
Rami Al-Hmouz, Khaled Daqrouq and Ali Morfeq (King Abdulaziz University, Saudi
Arabia); Witold Pedrycz (Professional Engineer, Canada)
Multimodal biometrics combines information coming from multiple biometrics with a key objective to
reduce the limitations associated with any single biometric method such as accuracy, security, noisy
measurements, etc. In this study, different multimodal speaker identification approaches are investigated.
Linear predictive coding features, Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients features, discrete wavelet based
linear predictive coding features are examined with the use of different combinations of features applied to
the identification system. In building the multimodal system, Fusion is realized at the score level using
Gaussian mixture model. The system is tested on public data set and shows improvement in the
classification rate for all feature extraction methods
TP8.11 A Framework for Comparison of Trust Models for Multi Agent
Systems
Dina Shehada, Jamal Zemerly, Chan Yeob Yeun and Mahmoud Al-Qutayri (Khalifa
University, UAE); Yousof Al-Hammadi (Khalifa University of Science Technology and
Research, UAE)
Agents technology plays an important role nowadays however, securing agent systems is considered a
challenge. In this paper we review some of the available trust model that try to offer security to Multi
Agent Systems (MAS). The different model are compared and classified according their features and
suitability to MAS.
TP8.12 Support Vector Machine based Exploratory Projection Pursuit
Optimization for User face identification
Sanaa Ghouzali (King Saud University & College of Computer and Information Sciences,
Saudi Arabia); Souad Larabi Marie-Sainte (King Saud University, Saudi Arabia)
For most real-world biometric identification applications, the training database size could be very large,
i.e. in the range of several thousands. This yields to the curse of dimensionality problem. The downside of
such a problem is that it could negatively affect both the identification performance and speed. In this
paper we use Exploratory Projection Pursuit (EPP) methods to determine clusters of users having
significant similarities and then apply Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers on each cluster of users
independently. This allows reducing the dimensionality of the dataset for training SVMs and thus
improving the performance of user identification.
TP8.13 Key Management for the MANET: A Survey
Bassant Selim and Chan Yeob Yeun (Khalifa University, UAE)
Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) are a spontaneous network of mobile devices who do not rely on any
kind of fixed infrastructure. In these networks, all the network operations are carried on by the nodes
themselves. The self-organizing nature of MANETs make them suitable for many application and hence,
considerable effort has been put into securing this type of network. Secure communication in a network is
determined by the reliability of the key management scheme which is responsible for generating,
distributing and maintaining encryption/decryption keys among the nodes. In this paper we investigate
key management schemes for MANETs. We give an overview of available key management schemes for
symmetric key, asymmetric key, group key and hybrid key cryptography.
TP8.14 Digital Arabic Content: Challenges and Opportunities
Hanin Abubaker (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, UAE); Khaled
Salah (Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR), UAE); Hassan
Al-Muhairi (Khalifa University (KUSTAR), UAE); Ahmed Bentiba (Khalifa University of
Science, Technology and Research, UAE)
The rapid development of information technology sector and the fact that we use the Internet in daily
basis, the production of the digital Arabic content becomes essential. Although Internet users from the
Arab world is increasing, the digital Arabic content still lacks serious research and development plans. In
this paper, we presents the main challenges facing the digital Arabic content and the opportunities for
development including personal, institutional and governmental policies.