Seminar – Personhood Online: Identification-Free Identities and Digital Citizenship via Proof-of-Presence
Bryan Ford, EPFL – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne – Abstract: Numerous fundamental weaknesses of our online ecosystem derive from its inability to distinguish securely between real people and fake identities. Social botnets, fake news, anonymous trolling, astroturfing, deep fakes, sock puppetry, online poll and…
‘Gielis Transformations in design and engineering’
Johan Gielis, University of Antwerp, Bio-Engineering Sciences – Abstract: Gielis Transformations in design and engineering Gielis’ Transformations (a.k.a. Superformula) are a generalization of the Pythagorean Theorem. It not only defines the circle, as Pythagoras does, but circles, polygons, starfish, shells, flowers, or superquadrics….; an infinite…
“Photovoltaic Optiverter – A Novel Hybrid MLPE Technology for Residential and Small Commercial Photovoltaic Applications“ by Dmitri Vinnikov
Dmitri Vinnikov, – Abstract: Abstract: In this presentation a novel approach to photovoltaic (PV) module level power electronics called OPTIVERTER (PVOPT) will be introduced and discussed. Functionally, it is a hybrid of PV power optimizer and PV microinverter with such key features as shade-tolerant (or…
Algorithm/Architecture Co-design for Smart Signals and Systems in Cognitive Cloud/Edge
Gwo Giun Chris Lee, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) – Abstract: Niklaus Emil Wirth introduced the innovative idea that Programming = Algorithm + Data Structure. Inspired by this, we advance the concept to the next level by stating that Design = Algorithm + Architecture. With…
Conflict-free Replicated Data Types: An Overview
Nuno Manuel Ribeiro Preguiça, Universidade Nova de Lisboa – Abstract: Internet-scale distributed systems often replicate data at multiple geographic locations to provide low latency and high availability, despite node and network failures. Geo-replicated systems that adopt a weak consistency model allow replicas to temporarily diverge,…
BADA – Big Automotive Data Analytics
Ahmad Al-Shishtawy, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden – Abstract: The BADA project fuses big data analytics with the automotive industry in Sweden. It is a collaboration between RISE SICS, Volvo cars, Volvo trucks, Scania, and the Swedish Transport Agency. The goal of the project is…
InfraComposer: Policy-driven Adaptive and Reflective Middleware for the cloudification of Simulation and Optimization Workflows
Bert Lagaisse, Imec-DistriNet Research Group, KU Leuven – Abstract: We present motivating scenarios as well as an architecture for adaptive and reflective middleware that supports smart cloud-based deployment and execution of en- gineering workflows. This middleware supports deep inspection of the work- flow task structure…
Sketching as an engine of research and development thinking
Anna Lobovikov-Katz, Technion – Abstract: Sketching is a natural way to communicate ideas quickly: with only a few pencil strokes, complex shapes can be evoked in viewers. Freehand sketching is well-known for its contribution to the development of spatial-visual ability, which is a must for…
Learning with Sociable Robots and Artifacts
Sandra Y. Okita, Teachers College, Columbia University – Abstract: People often turn to others to improve their own learning. Technological artifacts (e.g. humanoid robots, pedagogical agents/avatars) often consist of human-like qualities ranging across appearance, behavior, and intelligence. These features often elicit a social response from…
Atomic Transaction Commit for Modern Data Stores
Alexey Gotsman, IMDEA Software Institute in Madrid – Abstract: Modern data stores often need to provide both high scalability and strong transactional semantics. They achieve scalability by partitioning data into shards and fault-tolerance by replicating each shard across several servers. A key component of such…