Speaker: Prof. Rachel Cardell-Oliver

Title: End-to-End Reliability of Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract: Wireless sensor networks are used to monitor complex real-world landscapes at a fine-grain temporal and spatial resolution. They provide this service as a data-processing pipeline starting from sensors monitoring a phenomenon of interest, through micro-controller hardware and software, radio communication, data pre-processing, data storage, and finally providing data analysis and visualization to end-users. In order to achieve end-to-end reliability each task in the pipeline must provide a reliable service.

This tutorial will offer an overview of the sensor network data-processing pipeline using examples of sensor networks for monitoring soil moisture in natural bush land, micro-climate in tall trees, and irrigation in vineyards.

Two of the most difficult challenges for researchers designing and deploying sensor networks are: 1. how to maximize the reliability of data transport whilst minimizing the cost, and 2. how to ensure the quality of data delivered to the end-user. Despite a decade of research in these areas, they continue to provide challenges in real-world applications. The tutorial will review current techniques for addressing the problems of reliable data transport and data quality and will provide some hands-on exercises in the application of those techniques.

Bio: Rachel Cardell-Oliver is a Professor in the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Western Australia. She has a PhD in protocol verification from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Masters on distributed systems from UWA. Her research interests include designing and building wireless sensor networks, low-power long-distance radio communication, sensor network query languages and protocols, formal methods for distributed systems, software engineering, software testing and computer science education. The research on end-to-end reliability presented in this tutorial is in collaboration with Professor Christof Huebner at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, supported by the Australia-Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme.

Speaker: Dr. Herbert Jelinek

Title: Using heart rate variability (HRV) as a diagnostic tool

Abstract: This tutorial will briefly describe various methods of determining heart rate variability and cardiac autonomic neuropathy. Heart rate variability primarily reflects the input from the autonomic nervous system. Changes in HRV are associated with many diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's and it is therefore a good measure for identification of anomalies associated with these diseases. Examples of the use of HRV will be provided from eating disorders, depression, and diabetes. The influence of age and gender will also be discussed.

Bio: Herbert Jelinek is currently teaching Neuroscience and Pharmacology, at Charles Sturt University, Australia. His main research interest is the use of pattern analysis in clinical assessment of disease processes. As such diverse image analysis tools have been applied to the investigation of changes in blood vessel patterns of people with dementia and schizophrenia as well as changes associated with diabetic retinopathy progression. Single cell analysis of microglia and temporal analysis of ECG series has also been investigated for sensitivity and specificity of disease classification. His main project deals with diabetes and its complications. Within this project he is investigating biochemical markers as risk indicators of disease progression, nonlinear analysis of heart rate intervals in identification of cardiac autonomic neuropathy and developing new methods to identify peripheral vascular disease. Programmes that allow automated identification of diabetic eye disease are also being developed. The emphasis of this work is to develop tools for rural and remote primary health care providers that allow them to determine the presence of disease and the necessity for referral as well as target larger sections of the population.

Speaker: Dr. Daniel James

Title: Sports Engineering with Wearable Sensors

Abstract: Technology continues to transform many aspects of our lives. The adoption and use of technology sport is no exception where advances in materials, equipment design, clothing and portable electronics have all had an impact on sport. Miniature sensors are finding their way into a plethora of applications including professional sport. While professional sport might drive some higher-end applications the main take up of sensor technology comes through the consumer market. For example the use of accelerometers to detect the orientation of the iPod and iPhone is one example of a simple but effective use of miniature accelerometers in a consumer device. The range of sports where miniature sensors have been used is extensive, accelerometers have been used in half-pipe snowboarding to detect air time, in rowing to monitor athlete biomechanics and boat movement through the water, in running to generate force-plate simulations, contact time, step rate and other biomechanical information, in football to estimate energy expenditure, in swimming to count laps, monitor lap times and stroke rate. The list is long and growing. For any sport, the question is, what can these sensors do for me? 

This talk introduces the field of sports engineering with a particular focus on performance monitoring of athletes using wearable sensors. It would draw on recent progress under taken at Griffith University with several elite sporting bodies (AIS, OWIA, QAS, ICC, CA, Lions) to demonstrate the use of sensors to assist athletes in swimming, rowing, field sports, winter sports, combative sports and cricket

Bio: Dr. Daniel James heads the Sports Programme with the Centre for Wireless Monitoring and Applications, Griffith University, Australia, and holds a joint appointment the Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science, Queensland Academy of Sport where he leads the technology in sport programme. He holds several international patents on sports technology and devices in daily use by athletes; he continues to develop innovative technologies for Australia's leading sporting organisations. More information can be found on http://sportsbioengineering.com

Speaker: Prof. Rajkumar Buyya

Title: Cloud Computing and Sensor Networks

Speaker: Dr. Leif Hanlen

Title: Body Area Networks

Abstract: Wireless Body-area-networks (BAN's) represent the humanization of the internet of things - moving wireless sensor networks onto and even inside the human body. Applications of BAN's touch every aspect of health, fitness, occupational and everyday living, and include critical care, elite/amateur sports, military personnel and consumer entertainment. The global shipment for wireless body sensors is expected grow from 11 million units in 2009 to 420 million units in 2014. With the promise of such networks to improve human monitoring, comes the challenge of making unobtrusive and reliable ambient wireless systems.

The aim of this tutorial is to provide a context of emerging wireless standardization efforts (in particular 802.15.4c/802.15.6, Continua and Wibree), and research challenges which impact on body-area-networking. We will outline the requirements and motivation of BAN's based on several real-world scenarios. We will show interaction between application layers and wireless protocols and radio schemes required to service them. The audience will be exposed to physical layer wireless technologies and "myth-busters" style highlights into the counter-intuitive aspects of BAN's which differentiate them from typical wireless sensor networks. This tutorial will give, engineers, and researchers a broad understanding of a BAN system; and the challenges and opportunities presented in research, development, integration and commercialization. A comprehensive introduction will be combined with in-depth discussion of important BAN communications techniques, and potential system design techniques. No previous experience in wireless sensor networks is required.

Bio: Dr Leif Hanlen is a member of the Human Performance Improvement Project at NICTA, and is the project leader. They have been carrying out extensive research in Wireless Body-Area-Networks (BAN) communications in the physical layer as part of this project; in conjunction with related research in the MAC and applications layer. They have made 12 separate contributions to the IEEE 802.15.6 standards task group. The project team has 22 peer-reviewed publications, and a number of provisional patent applications, of which Dr. Hanlen is a significant contributor. One of his conference publications received best paper award (Communications): D. Smith, L. Hanlen, D. Miniutti, J. Zhang, D. Rodda, B. Gilbert "Statistical characterization of the dynamic narrowband body-area channel", First International Symposium on Applied Sciences on Biomedical and Communication Technologies, 2008. ISABEL '08, Aalborg, Denmark. The project team has developed various hardware, and undertaken extensive measurement campaigns, which have been used to accurately characterize, and simulate, body-area communications over a range of microwave frequencies.

Dr. Hanlen also has extensive experience in channel and space-time coding, MIMO radio communications, physical layer channel modeling, information theory with over 80 peer reviewed research achievements and publications in these fields. Dr. Hanlen has delivered several undergraduate and post-graduate courses in the areas of communication and information theory.