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Eli Poorter

Ghent University, Information Technology (INTEC), Faculty Member

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Papers by Eli Poorter

Concept and framework of a self-regulating symbiotic network

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 2012

The concept and framework of a self-regulating symbiotic network planner is introduced as a way t... more The concept and framework of a self-regulating symbiotic network planner is introduced as a way to improve the use of available resources and infrastructure and the overall performance of co-located wireless networks. A framework for physical-layer optimization is proposed, based on an advanced and reliable network planner. Besides an optimal network planning including the adjustment of transmit powers, also a symbiotic optimization over different networks and network layers is implemented, a new concept in network cooperation based on shared and variable incentives. In this article, specifically, it is assumed that the co-located networks share the incentive of a lower global power consumption and the newly created symbiotic network is optimized accordingly. Feedback about the signal quality parameters allows optimizing path loss models, finetuning device transmit powers, coping with a changing propagation environment, and improving network reliability. The concept is applied to and experimentally validated with a real-life wireless test environment and a power consumption reduction of 79.5% is obtained, by consecutively enabling energy-saving features of the network planner: intelligent cognitive network planning, symbiotic network cooperation, and transmit power adjustments.

Advanced spectrum sensing with parallel processing based on software-defined radio

by Eli Poorter and Daan Pareit

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 2013

Due to interference between co-located wireless networks, obtaining accurate channel assessment b... more Due to interference between co-located wireless networks, obtaining accurate channel assessment becomes increasingly important for wireless network configuration. This information is used, among others, for cognitive radio solutions and for intelligent channel selection in wireless networks. Solutions such as spectrum analyzers are capable of scanning a wide spectrum range, but are not dedicated for channel occupation assessment because they are extremely costly and not able to perform continuous recording for a time period longer than a few seconds. On the other hand, low-cost solutions lack the flexibility and required performance in terms of configuration and sensing efficiency. To remedy the situation, this paper presents an alternative for channel assessment on top of a commercial software-defined radio platform. Although there exist software solutions for performing spectrum sensing on such platforms, to the best of our knowledge, continuous spectrum sensing and long-term recording remain challenging. We propose a pioneering solution that is capable of seamless spectrum sensing over a wide spectrum band and guarantees sufficient flexibility in terms of configurations. The proposed solution is validated experimentally. We demonstrate two advantages of seamless spectrum sensing: the capability of accurate channel occupancy measurement and detecting transient signals such as Bluetooth.

Distributed Ontology-Based Monitoring on the IBBT WiLab.t Infrastructure

Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, 2011

MOFBAN: A Lightweight Modular Framework for Body Area Networks

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2007

The increasing use of wireless networks, the constant miniaturization of electrical devices and t... more The increasing use of wireless networks, the constant miniaturization of electrical devices and the growing interest for remote health monitoring has led to the development of wireless on-body networks or WBANs. The research on communication in this type of network is still at it's infancy. The first communication protocols are being proposed, but a general architecture that can be used to integrate the protocols easily is still lacking. However, such an architecture could trigger the development of new protocols and ease the use of WBANs. In this paper, we present a lightweight modular framework for body area networks (MOFBAN). A modular structure is used which allows for a higher flexibility and improved energy efficiency. The paper first investigates the challenges and requirements needed for sending messages in a WBAN. Further, we discuss how this framework can be used when designing new protocols by defining the different components of the framework.

AMoQoSA: Adaptive Modular QoS Architecture for Wireless Sensor Networks

2008 Second International Conference on Sensor Technologies and Applications (sensorcomm 2008), 2008

In contrast to traditional wireless sensor networks, where energy conservation is the main object... more In contrast to traditional wireless sensor networks, where energy conservation is the main objective, nextgeneration wireless sensor networks will additionally demand guarantees in terms of delay, reliability and bandwidth. However, current sensor network protocols offer very limited QoS support. Moreover, the current research does not take into account the growing heterogeneous nature of sensor nodes and applications. Therefore, we present in this paper an Adaptive Modular QoS Architecture (AMoQoSA), which uses several QoS techniques that can be activated according to the nodes' capabilities. This enables the network to dynamically adapt itself to the current network situation in order to continuously deliver optimal QoS guarantees in heterogeneous sensor networks.

Broadening the Concept of Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks

2008 Second International Conference on Sensor Technologies and Applications (sensorcomm 2008), 2008

Energy is scarce in sensor nodes. Therefore wireless sensor networks aim to transmit as few packe... more Energy is scarce in sensor nodes. Therefore wireless sensor networks aim to transmit as few packets as possible. An often used technique is to aggregate data coming from multiple sensor nodes into a single packet. In this paper, we broaden this approach so that control information can also be sent together with other (control) information. The benefits of this broadened aggregation approach are discussed, and we give several examples of this generalized aggregation view. We also provide a classification for different aggregation techniques. Furthermore, we define an architecture that supports some of the techniques that were proposed and prove mathematically that even simple techniques can significantly reduce the number of sent packets.

Supporting Protocol-Independent Adaptive QoS in Wireless Sensor Networks

2010 IEEE International Conference on Sensor Networks, Ubiquitous, and Trustworthy Computing, 2010

Next-generation wireless sensor networks will be used for many diverse applications in time-varyi... more Next-generation wireless sensor networks will be used for many diverse applications in time-varying network/environment conditions and on heterogeneous sensor nodes. Although Quality of Service (QoS) has been ignored for a long time in the research on wireless sensor networks, it becomes inevitably important when we want to deliver an adequate service with minimal efforts under challenging network conditions. Until now, there exist no general-purpose QoS architectures for wireless sensor networks and the main QoS efforts were done in terms of individual protocol optimizations. In this paper we present a novel layerless QoS architecture that supports protocol-independent QoS and that can adapt itself to time-varying application, network and node conditions. We have implemented this QoS architecture in TinyOS on TmoteSky sensor nodes and we have shown that the system is able to support protocol-independent QoS in a real life office environment.

An Information Driven Sensornet Architecture

2009 Third International Conference on Sensor Technologies and Applications, 2009

Most sensor networks do not support QoS or heterogeneity. As a result, current sensor networks ar... more Most sensor networks do not support QoS or heterogeneity. As a result, current sensor networks are not suited for next-generation applications, such as wireless building automation, process control or medical applications. In this paper, we present an alternative architecture wherein the system is responsible for packet creation and packet manipulation. To support QoS, energy-efficiency and heterogeneity, the system intelligently combines information exchanges from multiple network protocols in a single packet. We demonstrate that this approach is better suited for very demanding applications and prove that this approach is much more scalable, in terms of memory requirements, than tradition system architectures.

Exploring a Boundary-Less Cooperation Approach for Heterogeneous Co-Located Networks

2011 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), 2011

In a future 'internet of things', an increasing number of every-day objects are connected with ea... more In a future 'internet of things', an increasing number of every-day objects are connected with each other. Nowadays, connectivity between these devices is supported by assigning each device to an existing (wireless) network. However, these networks do not take into account the individual needs of these devices, even though all these devices are very different in terms of application requirements and hardware capabilities. Moreover, multiple existing networks are often configured independent from each other without any interaction. As an alternative, this paper proposes and discusses a methodology that more efficiently supports network cooperation between heterogeneous devices. The paper argues for autonomously created communities of similar devices, that are able to negotiate with different co-located communities to further optimize their network performance. Different communities engage in cooperation by activating network services, but only when the end result is beneficial for all involved communities. In this paper, the concepts and advantages of this approach are discussed. In addition, a methodology is explored that is able to realize these concepts. Finally, based on this methodology, possible network solutions are presented, remaining challenges are listed and future research opportunities are identified.

Exploiting programmable architectures for WiFi/ZigBee inter-technology cooperation

by Bart Jooris and Eli Poorter

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 2014

Development of a dynamic symbiotic network planner and application to a living lab testbed

by Bart Jooris and Eli Poorter

2011 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (APSURSI), 2011

... David Plets*, Wout Joseph, Kris Vanhecke, Luc Martens WiCa-IBBT, Dept. ... Sharing wireless n... more

Real-Life Performance of Protocol Combinations for Wireless Sensor Networks

by Eli Poorter and Jono Vanhie-Van Gerwen

2010 IEEE International Conference on Sensor Networks, Ubiquitous, and Trustworthy Computing, 2010

Next-generation wireless sensor networks will be used for many diverse applications in time-varyi... more Next-generation wireless sensor networks will be used for many diverse applications in time-varying network/environment conditions and on heterogeneous sensor nodes. Although Quality of Service (QoS) has been ignored for a long time in the research on wireless sensor networks, it becomes inevitably important when we want to deliver an adequate service with minimal efforts under challenging network conditions. Until now, there exist no general-purpose QoS architectures for wireless sensor networks and the main QoS efforts were done in terms of individual protocol optimizations. In this paper we present a novel layerless QoS architecture that supports protocol-independent QoS and that can adapt itself to time-varying application, network and node conditions. We have implemented this QoS architecture in TinyOS on TmoteSky sensor nodes and we have shown that the system is able to support protocol-independent QoS in a real life office environment.

Support for heterogeneous dynamic network environments through a reconfigurable network service platform

2011 1st International Symposium on Access Spaces (ISAS), 2011

In a future internet of things, an increasing number of every-day objects will be connected with ... more In a future internet of things, an increasing number of every-day objects will be connected with each other. These objects can be very diverse in terms of their network protocols and communication technologies. As more resource constrained devices such as sensor networks and PDAs are added to our environment, supporting efficient communication between these heterogeneous devices becomes a key challenge in next-generation networks. To realize this challenge, this paper presents a reconfigurable network framework (IDRA) that supports direct connectivity between heterogeneous co-located devices, without the need for complex translation gateways.

Universal Modular Framework for Sensor Networks

Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 2008

Wireless sensor networks are becoming increasingly popular for wireless monitoring and automation... more Wireless sensor networks are becoming increasingly popular for wireless monitoring and automation of buildings and industrial processes. Currently, many different protocols for sensor networks are proposed. However, there is very little research regarding a sensor network architecture in which to integrate them. To that end, we propose a universal, modular framework (UMF) for sensor networks. The proposed framework eases protocol integration, and has two key advantages over previous layered solutions. First, due to its modular composition, the proposed framework is highly optimized to support heterogeneous networks. Second, more advanced network functionality such as QoS is more easily supported. In this paper, we discuss several design constraints for building a modular network architecture for sensor networks and we explore several possibilities to take advantage of a modular architecture when designing network protocols.

Facilitating sensor deployment, discovery and resource access using embedded web services

by Jeroen Hoebeke and Eli Poorter

Smart embedded objects such as sensors and actuators will become an important part of the Interne... more Smart embedded objects such as sensors and actuators will become an important part of the Internet of Things. With recent technologies, it has now become possible to deploy a sensor network and interconnect it with IPv6 Internet. However, several manual configuration steps are still needed to integrate a sensor network within an existing networking environment. In this paper we describe a novel self-organization solution to facilitate the deployment of sensor networks and enable the discovery, end-to-end connectivity and service usage of these newly deployed sensor nodes. The proposed approach makes use of embedded web service technology, i.e. the IETF Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP). Automatic hierarchical discovery of CoAP servers is one of the key features, resulting in a browsable hierarchy of CoAP servers, up to the level of the sensor resources, which can be accessed both over CoAP and HTTP and through the use of either DNS names or IPv6 addresses. To demonstrate the feasibility of our approach we have implemented the solution and deployed it on a test setup, which is publicly accessible to everyone.

IETF Standardization in the Field of the Internet of Things (IoT): A Survey

by Jeroen Hoebeke, Isam Ishaq, Eli Poorter, and D. Carels

Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks, 2013

Smart embedded objects will become an important part of what is called the Internet of Things. Ho... more Smart embedded objects will become an important part of what is called the Internet of Things. However, the integration of embedded devices into the Internet introduces several challenges, since many of the existing Internet technologies and protocols were not designed for this class of devices. In the past few years, there have been many efforts to enable the extension of Internet technologies to constrained devices. Initially, this resulted in proprietary protocols and architectures. Later, the integration of constrained devices into the Internet was embraced by IETF, moving towards standardized IP-based protocols. In this paper, we will briefly review the history of integrating constrained devices into the Internet, followed by an extensive overview of IETF standardization work in the 6LoWPAN, ROLL and CoRE working groups. This is complemented with a broad overview of related research results that illustrate how this work can be extended or used to tackle other problems and with a discussion on open issues and challenges. As such the aim of this paper is twofold: apart from giving readers solid insights in IETF standardization work on the Internet of Things, it also aims to encourage readers to further explore the world of Internet-connected objects, pointing to future research opportunities. OPEN ACCESS J. Sens. Actuator Netw. 2013, 2 236 239

Leveraging upon standards to build the Internet of Things

by Jeroen Hoebeke, G. Ketema, Isam Ishaq, Eli Poorter, and D. Carels

Smart embedded objects will become an important part of what is called the Internet of Things. Ho... more Smart embedded objects will become an important part of what is called the Internet of Things. However, the integration of embedded devices into the Internet introduces several challenges, since many of the existing Internet technologies and protocols were not designed for this class of devices. In the past few years, there were many efforts to enable the extension of Internet technologies to constrained devices. Initially, this resulted in proprietary protocols and architectures. Later, the integration of constrained devices into the Internet was embraced by IETF, moving towards standardized IP-based protocols. Long time, most efforts were focusing on the networking layer. More recently, the IETF CoRE working group started working on an embedded counterpart of HTTP, allowing the integration of constrained devices into existing service networks. In this paper, we will briefly review the history of integrating constrained devices into the Internet, with a prime focus on the IETF standardization work in the ROLL and CoRE working groups. This is further complemented with some research results that illustrate how these novel technologies can be extended or used to tackle other problems.

Strategies and challenges for interconnecting wireless mesh and wireless sensor networks

by Jeroen Hoebeke and Eli Poorter

Wireless sensor networks and wireless mesh networks are popular research subjects. The interconne... more Wireless sensor networks and wireless mesh networks are popular research subjects. The interconnection of both network types enables nextgeneration applications and creates new optimization opportunities. However, current single-gateway solutions are suboptimal, as they do not allow advanced interactions between sensor networks (WSNs) and mesh networks (WMNs). Therefore, in this article, challenges and opportunities for optimizing the WSN-WMN interconnection are determined. In addition, several alternative existing and new interconnection approaches are presented and compared. Furthermore, the interconnection of WSNs and WMNs is used to study challenges and solutions for future heterogeneous network environments. Finally, it is argued that the use of convergence layers and the development of adaptive network protocols is a promising approach to enable low end devices to participate in heterogeneous network architectures.

Managed ecosystems of networked objects

by Jeroen Hoebeke and Eli Poorter

Small embedded devices such as sensors and actuators will become the cornerstone of the Future In... more Small embedded devices such as sensors and actuators will become the cornerstone of the Future Internet. To this end, generic, open and secure communication and service platforms are needed in order to be able to exploit the new business opportunities these devices bring. In this paper, we evaluate the current efforts to integrate sensors and actuators into the Internet and identify the limitations at the level of cooperation of these Internet-connected objects and the possible intelligence at the end points. As a solution, we propose the concept of Managed Ecosystem of Networked Objects, which aims to create a smart network architecture for groups of Internet-connected objects by combining network virtualization and clean-slate end-to-end protocol design. The concept maps to many real-life scenarios and should empower application developers to use sensor data in an easy and natural way. At the same time, the concept introduces many new challenging research problems, but their realization could offer a meaningful contribution to the realization of the Internet of Things.

Symbiotic Networks: Towards a New Level of Cooperation Between Wireless Networks

Wireless Personal Communications, 2008

In the future, many wireless networks, serving diverse applications, will co-exist in the same en... more In the future, many wireless networks, serving diverse applications, will co-exist in the same environment. Today, wireless networks are mostly optimized in a rather opportunistic and/or selfish way: optimizations methods only use a local view of the network and environment, as they try to achieve the best performance within its own network. The optimizations are very often limited to a single layer and cooperation between networks is only happening through the use of gateways. In this paper, we suggest an alternative paradigm for supporting cooperation between otherwise independent networks, called 'symbiotic networking'. This new paradigm can take many forms, such as sharing of network resources, sharing of nodes for communal routing purposes and sharing of (networking) services. Instead of optimizing network parameters within the individual networks, symbiotic networking solutions operate across network boundaries. Parameters are optimized between the networks and communal protocols are developed, leading to a more global optimization of the scarce network resources. In this paper, we describe several scenarios which can profit from symbiotic networking and illustrate a strategy for supporting networking protocols which can operate across network boundaries. Ultimately, through the disappearance of network boundaries and the introduction of cross-layer/cross-node/cross-network cooperation, symbiotic networks takes the notion of cooperation to a new level, paving the way for a true network symbiosis.