Intemnets Lab
Intelligent  and  Embedded  Networks  and  Systems  Laboratory


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The Intemnets Lab conducts research on intelligent Wireless Multihop Networks (WMNs) that adapt to human activity and the systems that integrate with these networks to provide services for a variety of applications. The research consists of two main fundamental aspects (described below) that have a common goal: a set of intelligent and embedded wireless networked systems that are aware of the users’ activities and their environments, and that adapt to their variations. We refer to these systems as Intelligent and Embedded Networked (Intemnet) Systems. These systems can cover personal areas and areas for team work (i.e., body-area and local-area networks) as shown in Figure 1.

a.

b.                                                                                                   c.
Figure 1. Intemnet-Systems Formation
Figure 1a shows a personal-area Intemnet System, which is treated as an individual system that is aware of its user activity (e.g., body posture, user mobility, services accessed by the user) and that adapts intelligently in order to provide services with quality guarantees to the user. Several personal-area Intemnet Systems (Figure 1b) may communicate with each other through a local-area WMN that is aware of the activities the users perform as a team. In this way, they form a larger (i.e., local-area) Intemnet System that provides services at the team level. The local-area Intemnet System adapts intelligently to the team by observing and learning from the activity patterns of the users. The formation of new Intemnet Systems from smaller Intemnet Systems may continue recursively if the application requires it. For example, in Figure 1c, several independent teams need to be interconnected to perform a common task such as the case of rescue teams. We view this recurrent formation of Intemnet Systems (i.e., Intemnet Systems based on smaller and simpler Intemnet Systems) in a way similar to the formation of fractals (Figure 2).

The two aspects that Intemnet Systems are based on are as follows.
  • Fractal formation of WMNs: This is the recurrent formation of WMNs as networks of networks (Figure 1). It considers a broad range of WMN aspects which include cognitive networking, topology control, directional antennas, network stability, network coding, overlay networks, and quality of service. These problems are addressed while considering the users’ behavior such as traffic patterns, body postures, and relative movement.
  • Intement-System development: The solutions obtained for the problem of fractal-formation of WMNs have the potential to contribute to applications that will increase the penetration of wireless technologies in the every-day life. Applications of the planned research activity include: Body-movement monitoring, Biological-signal monitoring, Reality mining (i.e., real-time monitoring of human behavior and its automated analysis), Tactical field communications resilience, Disaster recovery and community networks.

Figure 2. The Madelbrot set

Intemnets Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Loyola Marymount University
Mailing Address: 1 LMU Drive, MS 8145, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA    Phone: +1 310 338-5761    Fax: +1 310 338-2782    E-mail: gvejaran at lmu dot edu