Computer Engineering Commons^™

Exploiting The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast System Via False Target Injection, Domenic Magazu Iii

Theses and Dissertations

A new aircraft surveillance system, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), is being introduced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with mandated implementation in the United States by the year 2020. The rapid deployment of the system with current test-beds spread across the U.S. leaves very little chance for anyone to test the abilities of the system and more importantly the flaws of the system. The research conducted within this thesis explores some of the weaknesses of the system to include the relative ease with which false aircraft targets can be injected. As part of a proof of concept, false ADS-B messages …

External Verification Of Scada System Embedded Controller Firmware, Lucille R. Mcminn

Theses and Dissertations

Critical infrastructures such as oil and gas pipelines, the electric power grid, and railways, rely on the proper operation of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Current SCADA systems, however, do not have sufficient tailored electronic security solutions. Solutions available are developed primarily for information technology (IT) systems. Indeed, the toolkit for SCADA incident prevention and response is unavailing as the operating parameters associated with SCADA systems are different from IT systems. The unique environment necessitates tailored solutions. Consider the programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that directly connect to end physical systems for control and monitoring of operating parameters -- …

Technology Trends And Predictions: Is A Flying Car In Our Future?, Carol A. Watson

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Discusses the future of legal research and technologies that are currently available for law offices. Highlights current technology trends and predictions and the latest innovations in courtroom technology. Concludes with a list of general technology predictions that will hopefully provide food for thought and generate excitement about the coming prospects of technology.

The Uconn Vpc: A Collaborative Story About Desktop Virtualization, Tony Molloy, Jeremy Pollack, Ed Swindelles

UConn Library Presentations

The UConn vPC is a collaborative IT project among the UConn School of Business, the School of Engineering, and the University Libraries. The project delivered virtual desktops to UConn students beginning the fall semester of 2011. Students now have access to UConn-licensed applications from their PCs, Macs, and mobile devices from anywhere in the world where they have Internet access. This session discusses both the technology behind the service and the collaboration between the academic units that built a scalable, centralized service. An overview of the service can be found at http://vpc.uconn.edu.

Overcoming Limitations Of Serial Audio Search, Isabela Cordeiro Ribeiro Moura Hidalgo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The typical approach for finding audio recordings, such as music and sound effects, in a database is to enter some textual information into a search field. The results appear summarized in a list of textual descriptions of the audio files along with a function for playing back the recordings. Exploring such a list sequentially is a time-consuming and tedious way to search for sounds. This research evaluates whether searching for audio information can become more effective with a user interface capable of presenting multiple audio streams simultaneously.

A prototype audio player was developed with a user interface suitable for both …

Design Methodologies For Reversible Logic Based Barrel Shifters, Saurabh Kotiyal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The reversible logic has the promising applications in emerging computing paradigm

such as quantum computing, quantum dot cellular automata, optical computing, etc. In

reversible logic gates there is a unique one-to-one mapping between the inputs and outputs.

To generate an useful gate function the reversible gates require some constant ancillary

inputs called ancilla inputs. Also to maintain the reversibility of the circuits some additional

unused outputs are required that are referred as the garbage outputs. The number of

ancilla inputs, number of garbage outputs and quantum cost plays an important role in

the evaluation of reversible circuits. Thus minimizing these …

Power Spectral Densities Of Baseband Signals In Epc Class-1 Gen-2 Uhf Rfid Systems, Robert H. Morelos-Zaragoza

Faculty Publications

The power spectral densities (PSD) of baseband signals in EPC Class-1 Gen-2 UHF RFID systems are shown. PSD are obtained using Matlab as the Fourier transform (via the FFT algorithm) of the autocorrelation function of random pulse sequences. The PSD of PIE, FM0 and Miller subcarrier for M=2, 4 and 8 are shown for both unipolar (for 100% ASK or OOK modulation) and polar (PSK modulation) waveforms.

The Creation Of A Robotics Based Human Upper Body Model For Predictive Simulation Of Prostheses Performance, Derek James Lura

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work focuses on the use of 3D motion capture data to create and optimize a robotic human body model (RHBM) to predict the inverse kinematics of the upper body. The RHBM is a 25 degrees of freedom (DoFs) upper body model with subject specific kinematic parameters. The model was developed to predict the inverse kinematics of the upper body in the simulation of a virtual person, including persons with functional limitations such as a transradial or transhumeral amputation. Motion data were collected from 14 subjects: 10 non-amputees control subjects, 1 person with a transradial amputation, and 3 persons with …

Negative Results Of Computable Analysis Disappear If We Restrict Ourselves To Random (Or, More Generally, Typical) Inputs, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

It is well known that many computational problems are, in general, not algorithmically solvable: e.g., it is not possible to algorithmically decide whether two computable real numbers are equal, and it is not possible to compute the roots of a computable function. We propose to constraint such operations to certain "sets of typical elements" or "sets of random elements".

In our previous papers, we proposed (and analyzed) physics-motivated definitions for these notions. In short, a set T is a set of typical elements if for every definable sequences of sets A_n for which each A_n is a subset …

Research Toward A Partially-Automated, And Crime Specific Digital Triage Process Model, Gary Cantrell, David Dampier, Yoginder S. Dandass, Nan Niu, Chris Bogen

Computer Sciences and Electrical Engineering Faculty Research

The digital forensic process as traditionally laid out begins with the collection, duplication, and authentication of every piece of digital media prior to examination. These first three phases of the digital forensic process are by far the most costly. However, complete forensic duplication is standard practice among digital forensic laboratories.

The time it takes to complete these stages is quickly becoming a serious problem. Digital forensic laboratories do not have the resources and time to keep up with the growing demand for digital forensic examinations with the current methodologies. One solution to this problem is the use of pre-examination techniques …

Privacy Protection Framework With Defined Policies For Service-Oriented Architecture, David S. Allison, Miriam Am Capretz, Hany F. Elyamany, Shuying Wang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a computer systems design concept which aims to achieve reusability and integration in a distributed environment through the use of autonomous, loosely coupled, interoperable abstractions known as services. In order to interoperate, communication between services is very important due to their autonomous nature. This communication provides services with their functional strengths, but also creates the opportunity for the loss of privacy. In this paper, a Privacy Protection Framework for Service-Oriented Architecture (PPFSOA) is described. In this framework, a Privacy Service (PS) is used in combination with privacy policies to create privacy contracts that outline what can …

Towards Formalizing Non-Monotonic Reasoning In Physics: Logical Approach Based On Physical Induction And Its Relation To Kolmogorov Complexity, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

To formalize some types of non-monotonic reasoning in physics, researchers have proposed an approach based on Kolmogorov complexity. Inspired by Vladimir Lifschitz's belief that many features of reasoning can be described on a purely logical level, we show that an equivalent formalization can be described in purely logical terms: namely, in terms of physical induction.

One of the consequences of this formalization is that the set of not-abnormal states is (pre-)compact. We can therefore use Lifschitz's result that when there is only one state that satisfies a given equation (or system of equations), then we can algorithmically find this state. …

The Android Powwow Invitation Application, Jason Stewart

Computer Science and Software Engineering

No abstract provided.

Kreative Outlets, Travis Crist, Steve Clark, Jason Peressini

Computer Engineering

With the widespread use of smart phones and the advancement of WiFi technologies, people now have the Internet at their fingertips at all times. Home automation and control has the possibility of becoming the next big technology that can utilize the abundant availability of the Internet. This paper documents the findings and results of a project aimed at developing the infrastructure needed for a home automation system that is accessible anywhere. We implemented a system that utilized a web enabled ethernet connection and RF wireless technology to control AC outlets and provide the user with feedback information about the status …

Bluemote!, Philip Kaye

Computer Engineering

In today’s society, our mobile phones are an extremely useful device when we are on the go and away from our homes; however, when we return home, our smart phone becomes just a communication tool again. Home automation is inevitable, and it will find its way into every house. The first person to commercialize it to the point where it is as easy to set-up and as affordable as a home router will end up breaking this slow trend. The key to this success is the smart phone; this should end up being the most expensive piece of hardware for …

A Framework For Evaluating Traceability Benchmark Metrics, Yonghee Shin, Jane Huffman Hayes, Jane Cleland-Huang

Technical Reports

Many software traceability techniques have been developed in the past decade, but suffer from inaccuracy. To address this shortcoming, the software traceability research community seeks to employ benchmarking. Benchmarking will help the community agree on whether improvements to traceability techniques have addressed the challenges faced by the research community. A plethora of evaluation methods have been applied, with no consensus on what should be part of a community benchmark. The goals of this paper are: to identify recurring problems in evaluation of traceability techniques, to identify essential properties that evaluation methods should possess to overcome the identified problems, and to …

(Mu-Ctl-01-12) Towards Model Driven Game Engineering In Simsys: Requirements For The Agile Software Development Process Game, C. Shaun Longstreet, Kendra M. L. Cooper

Center for Teaching and Learning Technical Reports

Software Engineering (SE) and Systems Engineering (Sys) are knowledge intensive, specialized, rapidly changing disciplines; their educational infrastructure faces significant challenges including the need to rapidly, widely, and cost effectively introduce new or revised course material; encourage the broad participation of students; address changing student motivations and attitudes; support undergraduate, graduate and lifelong learning; and incorporate the skills needed by industry. Games have a reputation for being fun and engaging; more importantly immersive, requiring deep thinking and complex problem solving. We believe educational games are essential in the next generation of e-learning tools. An extensible, freely available, engaging, problem-based game platform …

Metonymy And Student Programming Errors, Craig Miller

Technical Reports

The common occurrence of metonymy in everyday language is considered as a negative bias towards successfully learning to state the correct referent when learning to program. Reported errors from previous studies are surveyed and the analysis reveals a pattern consistent with the use of metonymy, a rhetorical device where the speaker states a referent that is structurally related to the intended referent. This analysis suggests an underlying cause for a class of programming errors and provides directions for further research and instructional interventions.

Assessing Network Security Through Automated Attack Graph Based Multi-Level Penetration Testing, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Assessing network security can be done in many different ways like applying penetration testing against target network. Penetration testing follows actual steps like reconnaissance, scanning, exploit and logical access to compromised hosts. When attacker compromises a machine, he uses it as a pivot for attacking other machines and getting access to them. An attacker continues in this process till he explores the entire target network or till he reaches his endeavor. This shows that attacks are not a single step but, to reach attackers' goal, the attacker has to go through multiple steps. Many of the available exploitation tools depend …

2012 (Spring) Ensi Informer Magazine, Morehead State University. Engineering Sciences Department

ENSI Informer Magazine Archive

The ENSI Informer Magazine published in the spring of 2012.

Location Of Processor Allocator And Job Scheduler And Its Impact On Cmp Performance, Dawid Zydek, Grzegorz Chmaj, Alaa Shawky, Henry Selvaraj

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

High Performance Computing (HPC) architectures are being developed continually with an aim of achieving exascale capability by 2020. Processors that are being developed and used as nodes in HPC systems are Chip Multiprocessors (CMPs) with a number of cores. In this paper, we continue our effort towards a better processor allocation process. The Processor Allocator (PA) and Job Scheduler (JS) proposed and implemented in our previous works are explored in the context of its best location on the chip. We propose a system, where all locations on a chip can be analyzed, considering energy used by Network-on-Chip (NoC), PA and …

An Interactive Visualization Model For Analyzing Data Storage System Workloads, Steven Charubhat Pungdumri

Master's Theses

The performance of hard disks has become increasingly important as the volume of data storage increases. At the bottom level of large-scale storage networks is the hard disk. Despite the importance of hard drives in a storage network, it is often difficult to analyze the performance of hard disks due to the sheer size of the datasets seen by hard disks. Additionally, hard drive workloads can have several multi-dimensional characteristics, such as access time, queue depth and block-address space. The result is that hard drive workloads are extremely diverse and large, making extracting meaningful information from hard drive workloads very …

Analyzing Logistic Map Pseudorandom Number Generators For Periodicity Induced By Finite Precision Floating-Point Representation, Kyle Persohn, Richard J. Povinelli

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Because of the mixing and aperiodic properties of chaotic maps, such maps have been used as the basis for pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs). However, when implemented on a finite precision computer, chaotic maps have finite and periodic orbits. This manuscript explores the consequences finite precision has on the periodicity of a PRNG based on the logistic map. A comparison is made with conventional methods of generating pseudorandom numbers. The approach used to determine the number, delay, and period of the orbits of the logistic map at varying degrees of precision (3 to 23 bits) is described in detail, including the …

A Color Image Authentication And Recovery Method Using Block Truncation Code Embedding, Shu-Chien Huang, Ching-Fen Jiang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

A new method for color image authentication and recovery is proposed in this paper. To achieve this goal, the least significant bit (LSB) and the second LSB of the spatial domain were selected to embed the watermark. The watermark consists of two parts: authentication data and recovery data made by block truncation code and bitmap. According to the experimental results, the image embedded within the authentication data and recovery data can still preserve high image quality. The results also reveal that the tampered images can be successfully recovered with acceptable visual quality.

Validated Templates For Specification Of Complex Ltl Formulas, Salamah Salamah, Ann Q. Gates, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Formal verification approaches that check software correctness against formal specifications have been shown to improve program dependability. Tools such as Specification Pattern System (SPS) and Property Specification (Prospec) support the generation of formal specifications. SPS has defined a set of patterns (common recurring properties) and scopes (system states over which a pattern must hold) that allows a user to generate formal specifications by using direct substitution of propositions into parameters of selected patterns and scopes. Prospec extended SPS to support the definition of patterns and scopes that include the ability to specify parameters with multiple propositions (referred to as composite …

Towards Optimizing Cloud Computing: An Example Of Optimization Under Uncertainty, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

One of the most efficient way to store and process data is cloud computing. In cloud computing, instead of storing the data at the user-defined location (e.g., at the user's computer or at the centralized server), the computer system ("cloud") selects the location of the data storage that speeds up computations -- by minimizing the (average) communication time. In this chapter, we provide an analytical solution to the corresponding optimization problem.

The demand for cloud computing is growing fast, and we expect that this demand -- and thus, the size of the resulting cloud -- will continue to grow. …

Do Constraints Facilitate Or Inhibit Creative Problem Solving: A Theoretical Explanation Of Two Seemingly Contradictory Experimental Studies, Karen Villaverde, Olga Kosheleva, Martine Ceberio

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Do constraints facilitate or inhibit creative problem solving? Recently, two experimental studies appeared, one showing that removing constraints may enhance creativity, another showing that adding constraints can facilitate creative problem solving. In this paper, we provide a theoretical explanation of these two seemingly contradictory experimental results.

A Review Of Situation Identification Techniques In Pervasive Computing, Juan Ye, Simon Dobson, Susan Mckeever

Articles

Pervasive systems must offer an open, extensible, and evolving portfolio of services which integrate sensor data from a diverse range of sources. The core challenge is to provide appropriate and consistent adaptive behaviours for these services in the face of huge volumes of sensor data exhibiting varying degrees of precision, accuracy and dynamism. Situation identification is an enabling technology that resolves noisy sensor data and abstracts it into higher-level concepts that are interesting to applications. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the nature and characteristics of situations, discuss the complexities of situation identification, and review the techniques that are most …

Extreme Learning Machine Terrain-Based Navigation For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Ee May Kan, Meng Hiot Lim, Yew Soon Ong, Ah-Hwee Tan, Swee Ping Yeo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) rely on global positioning system (GPS) information to ascertain its position for navigation during mission execution. In the absence of GPS information, the capability of a UAV to carry out its intended mission is hindered. In this paper, we learn alternative means for UAVs to derive real-time positional reference information so as to ensure the continuity of the mission. We present extreme learning machine as a mechanism for learning the stored digital elevation information so as to aid UAVs to navigate through terrain without the need for GPS. The proposed algorithm accommodates the need of the …

On Limitations Of Designing Usable Leakage-Resilient Password Systems: Attacks, Principles And Usability, Qiang Yan, Jin Han, Yingjiu Li, Huijie, Robert Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The design of leakage-resilient password systems (LRPSes) in the absence of trusted devices remains a challenging problem today despite two decades of intensive research in the security community. In this paper, we investigate the inherent tradeoff between security and usability in designing LRPS. First, we demonstrate that most of the existing LRPS systems are subject to two types of generic attacks - brute force and statistical attacks, whose power has been underestimated in the literature. Second, in order to defend against these two generic attacks, we introduce five design principles that are necessary to achieve leakage resilience in the absence …