Abstract

Air pollution due to industrial activity, vehicles, and construction has shown immediate and long-term effects on human health. While respiratory condition manifests directly, long-term conditions like heart diseases, cancer, lung damage, and the impact on fetal health have been established. This study is aimed to explore the effects of air pollution on the physiological health of humans using a smart wearable watch. A total of 8 healthy security guards posted at the institute gate close to a very busy traffic junction for 12 hours a day were recruited. The physiological indicators such as heart rate (HR), body temperature (BT), and SPO2 levels were recorded by the wearable device for changes during the day/night for two seasons (summer and winter). Air pollution monitoring sensors were also deployed at the same site to record PM2.5, PM10, relative humidity (RH), and environmental temperature (ENT). A survey of 43 questions under three different sections: demographic, medical condition, and quality of life (QoL) were also filled by each participant. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistical analysis (Wilcoxon, Correlation) have been presented based on the collected data. The research shows an association between short-term fluctuations in physiological parameters due to air pollution. Still, the findings need to be weighted with the accuracy and consistency of the wearable devices.

Abstract

Robust spectrum sensing is crucial for facilitating opportunistic spectrum utilization for secondary users (SU) in the absense of primary users (PU). However, propagation environment factors such as multi-path fading, shadowing, and lack of line of sight (LoS) often adversely affect detection performance. To deal with these issues, this paper focuses on utilizing reconfig- urable intelligent surfaces (RIS) to improve spectrum sensing in the scenario wherein both the multi-path fading and noise are correlated. In particular, to leverage the spatially correlated fading, we propose to use maximum eigenvalue detection (MED) for spectrum sensing. We first derive exact distributions of test statistics, i.e., the largest eigenvalue of the sample covariance matrix, observed under the null and signal present hypothesis. Next, utilizing these results, we present the exact closed-form expressions for the false alarm and detection probabilities. In addition, we also optimally configure the phase shift matrix of RIS such that the mean of the test statistics is maximized, thus improving the detection performance. Our numerical analysis demonstrates that the MED’s receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curve improves with increased RIS elements, SNR, and the utilization of statistically optimal configured RIS. Index Terms—Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces, Spectrum Sensing, Maximum Eigenvalue Detector, Correlated Fading, e

Abstract

The high rate of groundwater usage has resulted in a rapid decline in groundwater levels, which has necessitated its monitoring. This paper focuses on estimating the groundwater level inside borewells remotely and in real-time using the Internet of Things (IoT). For this, a solution is proposed which is based on string tension and does not require any electrical components to be lowered into the borewell. The solution provides a completely automated, real-time, reliable, and IoT-enabled alternative to existing methods for borewell water monitoring. The proposed approach is compared with an ultrasonic sensor-based approach in a controlled environment as well as in a tank. Additionally, four nodes were deployed in a small educational campus in the Indian city of Hyderabad to ascertain its usability and reliability in practical situations. The observations from the data collected over a month show that the proposed low-cost solution is reliable and has a good performance in the field. Index Terms—Borewell, Real-time, IoT, String tension, Water-level.

Abstract

This study presents an Internet of Things (IoT)- based system that utilises machine learning (ML) techniques to estimate water flow through pipes based on pressure. The system incorporates an ESP-32 microcontroller, a Danfoss MBS 3000 pressure sensor, and a flow meter deployed at three locations to collect data for three months. To model the relationship between pressure and flow rate, ML algorithms such as linear regression (LR), support vector regression (SVR), and convolutional neural network (CNN) were trained, analysed, and compared. By establishing a model to estimate the flow rate based on pressure, the need for a flow meter in the setup can be eliminated. The system’s low-cost, easy-to-implement, and non-invasive nature makes it suitable for widespread adoption in residential areas offering a promising solution for optimising water distribution and reducing water wastage.

Abstract

This paper focuses on the direction of arrival (DoA) estimation for two coherent sources using a uniform linear array (ULA). It is demonstrated that the DoA estimation error increases as the angle of the incoming signal moves away from the center in the range (-90°, 90°) for existing schemes. In addition, this paper also focuses on improving the DoA estimation performance in low signal to noise ratio (SNR). Therefore a cascaded neural network (CaNN) is proposed to improve the DoA estimation consisting of two stages of neural networks (NNs). The first NN is the enhanced SNR (ESNR) classifier, which is used to improve performance for different SNRs. The second NN is the angle estimator, which improves the performance for different angle ranges. For overcoming the issue of coherent signals, a spatially smoothened auto covariance matrix is fed to the SNR classifier and angle estimator blocks. A performance comparison with an existing scheme such as spatial smoothing- multiple signal classification (SS-MUSIC) and ESNR CaNN shows that the proposed CaNN for different angles and SNR ranges performs better than the existing schemes.

Abstract

Remote Labs refer to an end-to-end system, including hardware and software built to access scientific equipment and resources remotely. The software platform built for such purposes needs to be robust enough to handle the communication of inputs and outputs between the client and the hardware nodes with minimal latency and simultaneously provide a seamless user experience. This paper highlights the importance of scalability in Remote Labs and presents multi-user multiplexing as a solution, to essentially provide users with concurrent access to the hardware node for experiments which can generate outputs instantaneously. The paper discusses the inefficiency of existing web-based Remote Labs with 4-layered architectures and proposes the use of WebSocket with a 3-layer software architecture to enhance user experience, accelerate input-output communication and implement multi-user multiplexing. To showcase the effectiveness of the proposed architecture over existing implementations using Blynk IoT platform as the middleware, a comprehensive communication pipeline was developed from scratch to perform Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) experiment remotely.

Abstract

Remote labs allow students from anywhere in the world to access and conduct experiments without the need to physically be present in a lab at anytime. This is extremely important for students with little to no access to proper science labs because of a lack of infrastructure or a pandemic. There is a potential for scaling up the process so that queue delay can be removed and people are able to access dedicated experiment setups. This paper proposes a way for cost-effective scaling of Remote Labs by miniaturization of setups, image processing techniques, and partial streaming (using single camera to stream multiple experiments). For this, a use-case of the Vanishing Glass Rods experiment is considered. An end-to-end remote lab is created, including hardware setups and a dashboard to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach in comparison to the existing approach of using lab-scale setups and one camera per experiment.

Abstract

Carbon monoxide (CO) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) are major air pollutants that have the potential to affect human health adversely. There is a lack of useful information regarding the spatial distribution and temporal variability of CO and NO 2 emissions in major metropolitan areas. The primary goal of this research is to provide a geospatial data methodology for detecting emission spikes of CO and NO 2 in polluted urban environments employing portable low-cost sensors. We propose that ephemeral identification of harmful gas concentrations can be achieved using different IoT device types mounted on a mobile platform. We propose that persistent identification of the CO and NO 2 emission spikes can be attained by driving through the city on different days. We applied this approach to Hyderabad, India, by fixing a mobile platform on a street car. We corrected the IoT device measurement errors by calibrating

Abstract

ABSTRACT Particulate Matter (PM) is a major air pollutant that has the potential for adversely affecting human health. Actionable data on the spatial distribution of temporal variability of PM2.5 emission hot spots in large cities are sparse. The main objective of this research is to provide a protocol for using search agents to hunt for PM2.5 emission hot spots in urban environments. We propose short range identification of variability of harmful PM2.5 concentrations can be achieved using IoT devices mounted on a mobile platform. We propose that long range identification the PM2.5 emission hot spots can attained by searching through the city on different days. We applied this approach to Hyderabad, India by fixing a mobile platform on a street car. We corrected the IoT device measurement errors by calibrating the sensing component data against a reference instrument co-located on the mobile platform. We identified that random forest regression was the most suitable technique to reduce the variability between the IoT devices. The spatial variability of PM2.5 harmful emission hot spots at industrial settings and congested roads were identified. The temporal variability based on image processing shows a weak correlation between PM2.5 concentrations and number of vehicles, and PM2.5 and visibility. The Hyderabad PM2.5 emission hot spots findings demonstrate a clear need to inform people with heart and lung conditions when it is unhealthy to be outside; and when it is unhealthy for children and elderly people to be outside for prolonged periods. Our emission hunting approach can be applied to any mobile platform carried by people walking, cycling or by drones and robots in any city

Abstract

Integrating scalability, interoperability, and security has become crucial with the widespread adoption of Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled smart city solutions. In this context, the oneM2M provides promising technical specifications for an interoperable and secure IoT/M2M system. This paper focuses on the potential threats and their impact on oneM2M standardbased smart city deployments. Further, configurations for baseline security of the oneM2M open-source implementation, called eclipse OM2M, are presented. Recommendations are proposed based on actual on-ground tests conducted on OM2M-based smart city deployment of IIIT Hyderabad (IIIT-H) in India. The tests cover passive eavesdropping, performing replay attacks, brute force on credentials, denial of service, and analysis of access control policies. Index Terms—Eclipse OM2M, Internet of Things (IoT) security, IoT security standardisation, oneM2M, smart city