This brief focuses on medium access control (MAC) in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), and presents VeMAC, a novel MAC scheme based on distributed time division multiple access (TDMA) for VANETs. The performance of VeMAC is evaluated via mathematical analysis and computer simulations in comparison with other existing MAC protocols, including the IEEE 802.11p standard. This brief aims at proposing TDMA as a suitable MAC scheme for VANETs, which can support the quality-of-service requirements of high priority VANET applications.

This SpringerBrief presents the principles, methods, and workflows for processing and analyzing coastal LiDAR data time-series. Robust methods for computing high resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) are introduced as well as raster-based metrics for assessment of topographic change. An innovative approach to feature extraction and measurement of feature migration is followed by methods for estimating volume change and sand redistribution mapping. Simple methods for potential storm impacts and inundation pattern analysis are also covered, along with visualization techniques to support...

This book describes the mathematical background behind discrete approaches to morphological analysis of scalar fields, with a focus on Morse theory and on the discrete theories due to Banchoff and Forman. The algorithms and data structures presented are used for terrain modeling and analysis, molecular shape analysis, and for analysis or visualization of sensor and simulation 3D data sets. It covers a variety of application domains including geography, geology, environmental sciences, medicine and biology. The authors classify the different approaches to morphological analysis which are all...

The message conveyed in this work is that agility can be implemented anywhere. Accordingly, ten guidelines are presented for the adoption of agility to enable us to cope with changes in our lives, in our teams, and in our organizations.

Since the authors advocate agility, the content is presented in the form of concise standalone chapters, allowing the reader to focus on the specific topic they wish to adopt in order to become agile.

This SpringerBrief discusses the characteristics of spatiotemporal movement data, including uncertainty and scale. It investigates three core aspects of Computational Movement Analysis: Conceptual modeling of movement and movement spaces, spatiotemporal analysis methods aiming at a better understanding of movement processes (with a focus on data mining for movement patterns), and using decentralized spatial computing methods in movement analysis. The author presents Computational Movement Analysis as an interdisciplinary umbrella for analyzing movement processes with methods from a range of...

This brief presents a comprehensive review of the network architecture and communication technologies of the smart grid communication network (SGCN). It then studies the strengths, weaknesses and applications of two promising wireless mesh routing protocols that could be used to implement the SGCN. Packet transmission reliability, latency and robustness of these two protocols are evaluated and compared by simulations in various practical SGCN scenarios. Finally, technical challenges and open research opportunities of the SGCN are addressed. Wireless Communications Networks for Smart Grid...

This SpringerBrief explores the internal workings of service systems. The authors propose a lightweight semantic model for an effective representation to capture the essence of service systems. Key topics include modeling frameworks, service descriptions and linked data, creating service instances, tool support, and applications in enterprises. Previous books on service system modeling and various streams of scientific developments used an external perspective to describe how systems can be integrated. This brief introduces the concept of white-box service system modeling as an approach to...

Developers frequently introduce errors into software systems when they fail to recognise module dependencies.

Using forty-three software families and Software Product Lines (SPLs), where the majority are commonly used in industrial practice, the authors reports on the feature modularization problem and provides a study of how often it may occur in practice. To solve the problem they present the concept of emergent feature modularization which aims to establish contracts between features to prevent developers from breaking other features when performing a maintenance task.

This SpringerBrief presents the fundamentals of driver drowsiness detection systems, provides examples of existing products, and offers guides for practitioners interested in developing their own solutions to the problem. Driver drowsiness causes approximately 7% of all road accidents and up to 18% of fatal collisions. Proactive systems that are capable of preventing the loss of lives combine techniques, methods, and algorithms from many fields of engineering and computer science such as sensor design, image processing, computer vision, mobile application development, and machine learning...

This SpringerBrief presents channel estimation strategies for the physical later network coding (PLNC) systems. Along with a review of PLNC architectures, this brief examines new challenges brought by the special structure of bi-directional two-hop transmissions that are different from the traditional point-to-point systems and unidirectional relay systems. The authors discuss the channel estimation strategies over typical fading scenarios, including frequency flat fading, frequency selective fading and time selective fading, as well as future research directions. Chapters explore the...