Abstract

Smart home technology integrates various devices and systems that upgrade the convenience, security, and efficiency of a home. Due to these benefits, this technology is gaining global attention. In this paper, we have explored the perspectives of the residents of Mumbai on smart home technology adoption. A survey of 425 respondents was conducted, over a period of 3 months, covering demographics, awareness, preferences, concerns, and willingness to adopt. The key factors influencing their willingness to adopt such technology have been identified. The findings reveal insights into the perceived benefits, barriers, and demographic influences on smart home technology adoption in Mumbai. Most respondents show a high level of willing-ness to install smart home technology. More than 40% of respondents con-sider security their top priority when thinking about smart home features. Data privacy and security are the top concerns among the respondents, as they are worried about their personal data management and device vulnerabilities. The results are valuable for policymakers, advertisers, and developers working to promote smart home technology in the urban areas of India.

Abstract

The limited generalization of coreference resolution (CR) models has been a major bottleneck in the task’s broad application. Prior work has identified annotation differences, especially for mention detection, as one of the main reasons for the generalization gap and proposed using additional annotated target domain data. Rather than relying on this additional annotation, we propose an alternative referential task, Major Entity Identification (MEI), where we: (a) assume the target entities to be specified in the input, and (b) limit the task to only the frequent entities. Through extensive experiments, we demonstrate that MEI models generalize well across domains on multiple datasets with supervised models and LLM-based few-shot prompting. Additionally, MEI fits the classification framework, which enables the use of robust and intuitive classification-based metrics. Finally, MEI is also of practical use as it allows a user to search for all mentions of a particular entity or a group of entities of interest.

Abstract

Seismic signal classification plays a crucial role in mitigating the impact of seismic events on human lives and infrastructure. Traditional methods in seismic hazard assessment often overlook the inherent uncertainties associated with the prediction of this complex geological phenomenon. This work introduces a probabilistic framework that leverages Bayesian principles to model and quantify uncertainty in seismic signal classification by applying a Bayesian Convolutional Neural Network (BCNN). The BCNN was trained on a dataset that comprises waveforms detected in the Southern California region and achieved an accuracy of 99.1%. Monte Carlo Sampling subsequently creates a 95% prediction interval for probabilities that considers epistemic and aleatoric uncertainties. The ability to visualize both aleatoric and epistemic uncertainties provides decision-makers with information to determine the reliability of seismic signal classifications. Further, the use of Bayesian CNN for seismic signal classification provides a more robust foundation for decision-making and risk assessment in earthquake-prone regions.

Abstract

This paper introduces an ultra-low-power RC oscillator that utilizes a resistance amplification technique. The resistance amplifier achieves the effect of a large resistance by amplifying the I-V characteristics of a small resistance, resulting in significant area savings. To improve precision in oscillation frequency, a continuous time auto-zeroing technique is incorporated to dynamically calibrate the offset voltage of an integrated amplifier. Fabricated using a 180−nm CMOS process, the designed oscillator produces a 100−Hz clock signal while consuming only 2 nW power under compact silicon area (0.12mm2). Additionally, it achieves a competitive temperature coefficient (TC) of 280ppm/∘C and line sensitivity (LS) of 1.1 % / V without the need for any calibration.

Abstract

Moving Target Defense (MTD) has emerged as a proactive and dynamic framework to counteract evolving cyber threats. Traditional MTD approaches often rely on assumptions about the attackers knowledge and behavior. However, real-world scenarios are inherently more complex, with adaptive attackers and limited prior knowledge of their payoffs and intentions. This paper introduces a novel approach to MTD using a Markov Decision Process (MDP) model that does not rely on predefined attacker payoffs. Our framework integrates the attackers real-time responses into the defenders MDP using a dynamic Bayesian Network. By employing a factored MDP model, we provide a comprehensive and realistic system representation. We also incorporate incremental updates to an attack response predictor as new data emerges. This ensures an adaptive and robust defense mechanism. Additionally, we consider the costs of switching configurations in MTD, integrating them into the reward structure to balance execution and defense costs. We first highlight the challenges of the problem through a theoretical negative result on regret. However, empirical evaluations demonstrate the frameworks effectiveness in scenarios marked by high uncertainty and dynamically changing attack landscapes.

Abstract

Dynamic control software reconfiguration for the Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems (CPS) is crucial for adaptable and efficient automation. This paper presents a knowledge-driven architecture enabling dynamic device reconfiguration using the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Terse Triple Language (TTL) formats. Key components include a capability ontology, session-type information for sequencing and concurrent operations, and an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for automated control design. The capability ontology standardizes machine capabilities, facilitating device integration based on their capabilities, while session-type information ensures correct sequencing and synchronization of machine functions. The IDE platform supports dynamic reconfiguration by automating device selection, control strategy formulation, and system adjustments across diverse use cases. The architecture has been validated in real-world scenarios, including smart meeting rooms, warehouse automation, and energy management, showing a reduction in manual configuration time (up to 50%), development time (86% in some cases), and error rates (30%). Benchmarking results indicate faster code generation (40% improvement) and efficient component integration across different CPS environments. Challenges like computational complexity, scalability, and integration with existing systems highlight limitations. Future research will explore further optimizations and broader applicability to ensure low-latency, high-accuracy, and seamless integration in complex CPS. This work advances dynamic control software reconfiguration by providing a flexible solution that enhances CPS reliability and efficiency through a knowledgedriven approach.

Abstract

Developing control software for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and industrial automation faces challenges like hardware integration, real-time responsiveness, and high reliability. Traditional environments often lack domain-specific knowledge, leading to inefficiencies. This paper introduces the Knowledge-aided Integrated Development Environment (K-IDE), which integrates domain knowledge into the software lifecycle, improving efficiency, consistency, and maintainability. K-IDE uses domain-specific languages (DSLs) and knowledge graphs to automate design and code generation. Key findings show that K-IDE significantly reduces development time and errors compared to traditional IDEs, proving effective in robotics and industrial automation. K-IDE bridges the gap between abstract designs and concrete implementations, offering a robust solution for modern control software development.

Abstract

This paper explores the critical issue of enhancing cybersecurity measures for low-cost, Wi-Fi-based Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. In the current work, we have explored three variants of DDoS attacks, namely Transmission Control Proto col (TCP), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), and TCP + ICMPflooding attacks, and developed a detection mechanism that runs on the companion computer of the UAV system. As a part of the detection mechanism, we have evaluated various machine learning, and deep learning algorithms, such as XGBoost, Isolation Forest, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Bidirectional-LSTM (Bi-LSTM), LSTM with attention, Bi LSTM with attention, and Time Series Transformer (TST) in terms of various classification metrics. Our evaluation reveals that algorithms with attention mechanisms outperform their counterparts in general, and TST stands out as the most efficient model with a run time of ∼0.1 seconds. TST has demonstrated an F1 score of 0.999, 0.997, and 0.943 for TCP, ICMP, and TCP + ICMP flooding attacks respectively. In this work, we present the necessary steps required to build an on board DDoS detection mechanism. Further, we also present the ablation study to identify the best TST hyperparameters for DDoS detection, and we have also underscored the advantage of adapting learnable positional embeddings in TST for DDoS detection with an improvement in F1 score from 0.94 to 0.99.

Abstract

Community detection is the problem of identifying natural divisions in networks. Efficient parallel algorithms for identifying such divisions is critical in a number of applications, where the size of datasets have reached significant scales. This paper presents one of the most efficient multicore implementations of the Louvain algorithm, a high quality community detection method. On a server equipped with dual 16-core Intel Xeon Gold 6226R processors, our Louvain, which we term as GVE-Louvain, outperforms Vite, Grappolo, NetworKit Louvain, and cuGraph Louvain (running on NVIDIA A100 GPU) by 50x, 22x, 20x, and 5.8x faster respectively - achieving a processing rate of 560M edges/s on a 3.8B edge graph. In addition, GVE-Louvain improves performance at an average rate of 1.6x for every doubling of threads.

Abstract

PageRank is a widely used centrality measure that assesses the significance of vertices in a graph. Efficiently updating PageRank on dynamic graphs is essential for various applications due to the increasing scale of datasets. This paper introduces our Dynamic Frontier (DF) and Dynamic Frontier with Pruning (DF-P) approaches. Given a batch update comprising edge insertions and deletions, these approaches iteratively identify vertices likely to change their ranks with minimal overhead. On a server featuring a 64-core AMD EPYC-7742 processor, our approaches outperform Static and Dynamic Traversal PageRank by and respectively - on real-world dynamic graphs, and by and on large static graphs with random batch updates. Our approaches scale at a rate of for every doubling of threads.