Sophisticated and robust resource management is an essential issue in future wireless systems which will provide a variety of application services. In this paper, we employ an adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to control the resource allocation for mobile multimedia networks. ANFIS, possessing the advantages of expert knowledge of fuzzy logic system and learning capability of neural networks, can provide a systematic approach to finding appropriate parameters for the Sugeno fuzzy model. The fuzzy resource allocation controller (FRAC) is designed in a two-layer architecture and selects properly the capacity requirement of new call request, the capacity reservation for future handoffs, and the air interface performance as input linguistic variables. Therefore, the statistical multiplexing gain of mobile multimedia networks can be maximized in the FRAC. Simulation results indicate that the proposed FRAC can keep the handoff call blocking rate low without jeopardizing the new call blocking rate. Also, the FRAC can indeed guarantee quality of service (QoS) contracts and achieve higher system performance according to network dynamics, compared with the guard channel scheme and ExpectedMax strategy.

The stateless-based cache invalidation schemes for wireless environments can be categorized into either asynchronous or synchronous cache invalidation according to the broadcasting way of invalidation report. However, if the asynchronous cache invalidation scheme attempts to support local processing of read-only transaction, a critical problem may occur; the asynchronous invalidation reports provide no guarantee of waiting time for mobile transactions requesting commit. To solve this problem, the server in our approaches broadcasts two kind of messages, asynchronous invalidation report to reduce transaction latency and periodic guide message to avoid the uncertainty of waiting time for the next invalidation report. This paper presents a simulation-based analysis on the performance of the suggesting algorithms. The simulation experiments show that the local processing algorithms of read-only transaction based on asynchronous cache invalidation scheme get better response time than the algorithm based on synchronous cache invalidation scheme.

The mobile computing system is a set of functions on a distributed environment organized to support mobile hosts. In this environment, mobile hosts should be able to move without any constraints and should remain connected to the network even while moving. Also, they should be able to get necessary information regardless of their current location and time. Distributed mutual exclusion methods for supporting distributed algorithms have hitherto been designed for networks only with static hosts. However, with the emergence of mobile computing environments, a new distributed mutual exclusion method needs to be developed for integrating mobile hosts with underlying distributed systems. In the sense, many issues that should be considered stem from three essential properties of mobile computing system such as wireless communication, portability, and mobility. Thus far, distributed mutual exclusion methods for mobile computing environments were designed based on a token ring structure, which has the drawback of requiring high costs in order to locate mobile hosts. In this paper, we propose not only a distributed mutual exclusion method that can reduce such costs by structuring the entire system as a tree-based logical structure but also recovery schemes that can be applied when a node failure occurs. Finally, we evaluate the operation costs for the mutual exclusion scheme and the recovery scheme.

The frequency- and time-domain expressions are derived for the signal-to-noise power ratio (SNR) of an ideal Rake combiner output in a direct sequence spread spectrum (DS-SS) mobile communication system. The derived SNR expressions make it possible to estimate the SNR statistics after Rake combining for an arbitrary spreading chip rate in the frequency-selective multipath channel.

Teletraffic characteristics of a mobile packet communication network, which supports mobile Internet, were quantitatively evaluated by using a terminal migration model in which the cell dwell time possesses self-similarity. I used a migration model in which the migration speed of the terminal is determined by the density of the dwell terminals in a cell (determined from measured vehicular mobility characteristics). The transmission rates per terminal in a cell were estimated as teletraffic on the mobile packet communication networks using this migration model. I found that when there is self-similarity in the terminal cell dwell time, communicating terminals may be concentrated in the cell and restricted for an indefinite period of time to using only a narrow bandwidth.

In order to navigate a mobile robot or an autonomous vehicle in indoor environment, which includes several kinds of obstacles such as walls, furniture, and humans, the distance between the mobile robot and the obstacles have to be determined. These obstacles can be considered as walls with complicated edges. This paper proposes a mobile-robot-navigation method by using the polar coordinate transformation from an omnidirectional image. The omnidirectional image is obtained from a hyperboloidal mirror, which has the prominent feature in sensing the surrounding image at the same time. When the wall image from the camera is transformed by the transformation, the straight lines between the wall and the floor appear in the curve line after transformation. The peak point represents the distance and the direction between the robot and the wall. In addition, the wall types can be classified by the pattern and number of peak points. They are one side wall, corridor and corner. To navigate the mobile robot, in this paper, it starts with comparing a peak point obtained from the real image with the reference point determined by designed distance and direction. If there is a difference between the two points, the system will compute appropriate wheel angle to adjust the distance and direction against the wall by keeping the peak point in the same position as the reference point. The experiments are performed on the prototype mobile robot. The results show that for the determining distance from the robot to the wall between 70-290 cm, the average error is 6.23 percent. For three types of the wall classification, this method can correctly classify 86.67 percent of 15 image samples. In the robot movement alongside the wall, the system approximately consumes the 3 frame/s processing time at 10 cm/s motion speed. The mobile robot can maintain its motion alongside the wall with the average error 12 cm from reference distance.

This paper elucidates through experiments the improvement in the achievable bit error rate (BER) performance when space time transmit diversity (STTD) is applied to the wideband direct sequence code division multiple access (W-CDMA) forward link. First, laboratory experimental results clarify that the received path timing difference of transmitted signals from two antennas, due to the propagation delay, should be within a chip duration of approximately 1/4 and 1/2 with and without fast transmit power control (TPC), respectively, in order to achieve a prominent transmit diversity effect. We show that the required average received signal energy per bit-to-background noise spectrum density (Eb/N0) at the average BER of 10-3 using STTD is decreased by approximately 4.2 (1.7) dB compared to the case of single-antenna transmission at the maximum Doppler frequency, fD, of 5 Hz without (with) antenna diversity reception at a mobile station (MS) due to the increasing randomization effect of burst error. Furthermore, we elucidate that although the gain of STTD in field experiments is decreased compared to that in laboratory experiments, since the degradation in path search accuracy is greater due to the frequently changing delay time of each path in a real multipath-fading channel, the required average received signal energy per bit-to-interference plus background noise power spectrum density ratio (Eb/I0) at the average BER of 10-3 with STTD is decreased by approximately 1.3 to 1.5 (0.7 to 1.0) dB without (with) antenna diversity reception when fast TPC is not applied in the forward link. This indicates that STTD is effective for a channel without TPC such as a common control channel in a real multipath-fading channel.

It is widely recognized that IP-based mobile network will be a dominant trend. For mobile IP networks, the address starvation problem and scalable mobility management for mobile nodes are important issues. In order to cope with these issues, we propose an approach to realize mobile IP network supporting private addresses for mobile nodes. Our approach introduces regional registration of mobile nodes (Hierarchical Mobile IPv4) and coordinates NAT and DNS functions with the Mobile IP protocol. It enables a mobile node to be assigned a global address temporally in a visited network and to accept a call initiated by a correspondent node connected to the global IP network. This paper describes the detailed design of our approach and the implementation of proposed procedures based on the Mobile IPv4 software developed by the CMU Monarch project.

As the network speed becomes faster and requirements about various services are increased, a number of groups are currently developing technologies aimed at evolving and enhancing the capabilities of existing network. A Next-Generation Network (NGN) is defined as a hybrid telecommunications network that employs new distributed processing techniques to provide all types of services. By integrating the Intelligent Network (IN) technology and the Mobile Agent (MA) technology we can support service flexibility and service portability in NGN. In this paper, we propose a caching-based mobile agent model for NGN and analyze the performance of this model. The mobile agent technology increases the service portability and the caching strategy does the service reusability. Each Physical Entity (PE) has MAs within their repository through the caching strategy and processes service requests from users without the control of the central system such as Service Control Point (SCP). Therefore, we can decrease the total network load and the response time for user requests.

This letter describes a new parallel combinatorial delayed multiplexing CDMA system for high-bit-rates mobile communications. It combines delayed multiplexing and parallel combinatory methods with the CDMA system to provide higher bit rates without the use of complex receivers. The results of computer simulations using the double-spike Rayleigh fading channel model in a multiple-user environment show that its down-link BER performance is the same as that of the conventional multicode system.

This paper investigates the interference suppression effect from much higher rate dedicated physical channels (DPCHs) of a parallel-type coherent multistage interference canceller (COMSIC) with iterative channel estimation (ICE) by laboratory experiments in the transmit-power-controlled W-CDMA reverse link. The experimental results elucidate that when two interfering DPCHs exist with the spreading factor (SF) of 8 and with the ratio of the target signal energy per bit-to-interference power spectrum density ratio (Eb/I0) of fast transmit power control, ΔEb/I0, of -6 dB (which corresponds to 64 simultaneous DPCHs with SF = 64, i.e., the same symbol rate as the desired DPCH), the implemented COMSIC receiver with ICE exhibits a significant decrease in the required transmit signal energy per bit-to-background noise power spectrum density ratio (Eb/N0) at the average bit error rate (BER) of 10-3 (while the matched filter (MF)-based Rake receiver could not realize the average BER of 10-3 due to severe multiple access interference (MAI)). It is also found that the achieved BER performance at the average BER of 10-3 of the COMSIC receiver with the A/D converter quantization of 8 bits in the laboratory experiments is degraded by approximately 1.0 dB and 4.0 dB compared to the computer simulation results, when ΔEb/I0=-6 dB and -9 dB, respectively, due to the quantization error of the desired signal and path search error for the Rake combiner. Finally, we show that the required transmit Eb/N0 at the average BER of 10-3 of the third-stage COMSIC with ICE is decreased by approximately 0.3 and 0.5 dB compared to that of COMSIC with decision-feedback type channel estimation (DFCE) with and without antenna diversity reception, respectively.

We previously developed a novel transmission power control method for code-division multiple access (CDMA) wireless systems that is suitable for the transmission control protocol (TCP) and constant bit rate (CBR) connections. It allows each mobile terminal to send packets to arbitrary slots without negotiation or the use of the ALOHA protocol. It results in high bandwidth utilization for TCP connections without the need to modify the TCP protocol or use a snoop agent. In this paper, we improve our previously developed power control method so as to adapt itself to distance variations and instantaneous fluctuations in the received power due to fading. We show that the developed method enables efficient bandwidth utilization compared with the conventional power control technique under various conditions.

In this paper, the statistical characteristics of rain attenuation in the equatorial zone are investigated. A more reasonable LMS channel model incorporating weather impairments is proposed and compared to the weather-affected Ka-band land mobile satellite (LMS) channel model suggested by Loo. The proposed LMS model uses Lutz's LMS channel model as its basis. The PDF of the received signal and BER performance derived from Loo's model and the proposed channel model are quantified and compared to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. Finally, the influence of weather impairments on the BER performance is evaluated under various weather conditions, which clearly shows the superiority of the proposed model.

Distributed domino effect-free checkpointing techniques can be divided into two categories: coordinated and communication-induced checkpointing. The former is inappropriate for mobile computing systems because it either forces every mobile host to take a new checkpoint or blocks the underlying computation during the checkpointing process. The latter makes every mobile host take the checkpoint independently. However, each mobile host may need to store multiple local checkpoints in stable storage. This investigation presents a novel three level synchronous checkpointing algorithm that combines the advantages of above two methods for mobile computing systems. The algorithm utilizes pre-synchronization, quasi-synchronization, and post-synchronization techniques and has the following merits: (1) Consistent global checkpoints can be ensured. (2) No mobile host is blocked during checkpointing. (3) Only twice the checkpoint size is required. (4) Power consumption is low. (5) The disconnection problem of mobile hosts can be resolved. (6) Very few mobile hosts in doze mode are disturbed. (7) It is simple and easy to implement. The proposed algorithm's numerical results are also provided in this work for comparison. The comparison reveals that our algorithm outperforms other algorithms in terms of checkpoint overhead, maintained checkpoints, power consumption, and disturbed mobile hosts.

Agent technology is widely recognized as a new paradigm for the design of concurrent software and systems. The aim of this paper is to give a mathematical foundation for the design and the analysis of multi-agent systems by means of a Petri-net-based model. The proposed model, called PN2, is based on place/transition nets (P/T nets), which is one of the simplest classes of Petri nets. The main difference of PN2's from P/T nets is that each token, representing an agent, is also a P/T net. PN2's are sufficiently simple for the mathematical analysis, such as invariant analysis, but have enough modeling power.

There is an ever-increasing demand for better performance and scalability in workflow systems. We describe how mobile agents can be used to satisfy such a requirement. For the purpose two important design issues are pointed out in workflow execution and architecture levels. Agent delegation models and a 3-layer architecture are suggested in mobile agent based workflow systems as a solution for each consideration. Workload is statically distributed over task performers based on the proposed method. As a result the performance and the scalability are improved. The effectiveness is shown through stochastic Petri-nets simulation through comparison with client-server based- and another mobile agent-based workflow systems.

Autonomous Information Service System is a proposition made to cope with the continuously changing conditions of service provision and utilization in current information systems. The faded information field (FIF), sustained by push/pull mobile agent technology, is such a distributed architecture that brings high-assurance of the system through a balanced selective replication of the information. When the demand changes, the information environment is restructured so that the same response time to services for all unspecified users can be achieved whatever the demand volume. However, once the structure is fixed, dispatching the randomly incoming requests on the FIF is still required to guarantee the same quality of service. Our goal is to warrant the autonomous dispatching of the pull mobile agents to adjust the continuously evolving arrival distribution of the demand to the current information environment. In this paper, we explain the concepts and realization of autonomous navigation under the goal of an autonomous load balancing of the pull mobile agent volume in the FIF structure. The appropriateness of this method for FIF environments has been shown by simulation.

The imprecise computation is one of the promising schemes in the real time systems to adapt quality of computations to change of load with keeping the deadlines of tasks in the systems. When overload occurs in the systems, the minimum requirements on the deadline are assured by decreasing quality of the computation. This paper describes how to apply the concept of the imprecise computation to automobile control in the expressway assuming the intelligent transportation system (shortly, ITS). The deadline violation of tasks for automobile control in the expressway induces collision of automobiles. Regardless of whether the expressway is congested or not, collision of automobiles must be avoided. To satisfy such requirement, the concept of the imprecise computation is effective. This paper proposes an adaptive scheduling using the imprecise computation to avoid collision of automobiles and increase throughput, and shows results of simulation experiments about an adaptive scheduling for automobiles control.

Single-hop communication methods of the current wireless network cannot meet new demands in new domains, especially ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems). Even though the ad-hoc network architecture is expected to solve this problem, but the nature of a dynamic topology makes this routing hard to be realized. This paper introduces a new ad-hoc routing algorithm, which is inspired by [1]. In their system, some control agents explore the network and update routing tables on their own knowledge. Using these routing tables, other agents deliver messages. They considered the feasibility of the agent-based routing system, but did not refer to an efficient algorithm. In this paper, we consider that algorithm without increasing network load. We propose multiple entries for each destination in the routing table to store much more information from agents and evaluating them to make better use of information, which succeeded in raising the network connectivity by about 40% by simulation.

This paper describes agent technology and the various ways in which it can be applied to command, control, communications and intelligence in general, and to network-centric warfare in particular. The paper provides a brief overview of agents, their properties, and their advantages. It covers the concept of the current military trend, network-centric warfare. Problems associated with agents are described, including the conflict between security and autonomy, in a distributed environment. The paper concludes with a discussion of research trends in mobile agents, particularly with regard to applications in the Department of Defense.