Prof. Paul Havinga is full professor and chair of the Pervasive Systems research group at the Computer Science department at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. He received in 2000 the 'DOW Dissertation Energy Award' for his Phd thesis. He has a broad background in various aspects of communication systems, including wireless communication, sensor networks, smart sensor systems, Cyber Physical Systems, QoS over wireless networks, reconfigurable computing, and on interconnection architectures for multiprocessor systems. The common themes in his area of research is the development of large-scale, heterogeneous, wireless, distributed systems. Research questions cover architectures, protocols, programming paradigms, algorithms, and applications. He has a significant experience as project manager in several national and international research projects on wireless sensor networks. In 2001 he initiated the first European project on wireless sensor networks EYES, and many national and international projects evolved from this. In May 2007 he received the ICT Innovation Award for the successful transfer of knowledge from university to industrial use. In June 2007 he received the "van den Kroonenberg award" for being a successful innovative entrepreneur.  

Dr. Nirvana Meratnia is associate professor in the Pervasive Systems Group at the University of Twente. Her research interests are in the area of Internet of Things (IoT), distributed sensor data analytics, (underwater) wireless sensor networks, and wearable/implantable communication and computing. The common themes in her area of research are energy-efficient, accurate, and reliable sensor data processing, reasoning, and interpretation. This goes hand in hand with requirements and limitations posed by the wireless communication being in air, in body, or underwater. This in turn requires a cross-layer optimization. She is and has been involved in many EU and national projects related to these themes. 

Nicht nur wir Menschen stehen ständig vor Entscheidungen, sondern auch unsere Geräte. Vor allem unsere heiss geliebten Computer stehen andauernd vor Entscheidungen, wie und wann sie welche Informationen wohin senden. Wenn ich einer Freundin eine Email schicke, gebe ich einfach eine Adresse ein. Aber wie kommt meine Email von meinem Rechner zum Rechner meiner Freundin? Findet die Email auch wirklich den kürzesten Weg dahin?

In diesem Vortrag werden wir eine Reihe von Entscheidungsprozessen für Computer & Co kennenlernen. Und zwar nicht die einfachen, trivialen Prozesse, sondern die naturinspirierten und intelligenten Prozesse. Was hat eine Ameise damit zu tun? Oder ein Vogelschwarm? Oder ein Baum? Das werden wir gemeinsam erkunden.

Der Vortrag findet statt am Mittwoch, 11. Mai, von 16 bis 18 Uhr in der Rotunde im Cartesium, Enrique-Schmidt-Str. 5, 28359 Bremen.

Nächstes Jahr im Sommer geht es weiter - also sofort auf die Mailing Liste setzen und gespannt bleiben!

Our project “mAInZaun: Modular and AI assisted Intelligent Fence for Protecting Domestic Animals” has received financing from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and is now running from beginning of July 2021 until end of June 2024. Together with the University of Giessen and RoFlex GmbH, we will design, develop and prototype an intelligent fence, which is able to reliably recognise approaching wolves and to scare them off by using light, ultrasound, moving elements, scent marks, etc. One unique property of our system will be the recognition of individual wolves and the personalisation of the repellant methods applied to avoid habituation, a common problem with other wolf repellants. More information about this project can be found on the dedicated website: https://www.intelligenter-herdenschutz.de. A press release (in German) is available here: https://www.uni-bremen.de/universitaet/hochschulkommunikation-und-marketing/aktuelle-meldungen/detailansicht/der-intelligente-zaun-gegen-den-wolf

Our PhD student Gibson Kimutai (in cooperation with the University of Rwanda and Moi University, Kenya) has won the best paper award at the IEEE Global Humanitarian Conference - congratulations! He is working on bringing the Internet of Things and Machine Learning to Tea factories in developing countries and his results can be easily transferred to other industrial processes. Check out his talk here:

YouTube

His papers are available here:

GoogleScholar

https://miru.ict.mahidol.ac.th
https://blogs.uni-bremen.de/icttropmed/

• Prof. Dr. Anna Förster | Comnets, University of Bremen - https://www.uni-bremen.de/comnets/people/personal-profiles/prof-dr-anna-foerster
• Dr. Marco Zennaro |  Science, Technology and Innovation Unit,  The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics - http://users.ictp.it/~mzennaro/
• Prof. Dr. Pietro Manzoni | Department of Computer Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València - https://pmanzoni.github.io/
• Dr. Fredrik Ahlgren | Faculty of Technology, Linnæus University - https://lnu.se/en/staff/fredrik.ahlgren/

We congratulate her on her success and wish her the best for her future.

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the implementation of the ContikiMAC protocol on the OMNeT++ simulation tool’s FLoRA framework. This framework enables precise modeling and evaluation of the proposed implementation and provides vital insights into the behavior and performance characteristics of the ContikiMAC protocol. The thesis aims to investigate the acceptability and efficacy of the ContikiMAC protocol on LoRa-based networks in terms of duty cycle and packet delivery ratio. In this thesis, the implemented ContikiMAC protocol is designed to cohabit with the existing LoRaMAC protocol, which is the default MAC protocol for FLoRa. A performance evaluation of the ContikiMAC protocol is carried out in this thesis with variations in node sleeping time and a variable number of packets to compare it against the hardware implementation of the ContikiMAC protocol on a PyCom device, which is carried out by the authors of LoRaDucy [1]. With this implementation of the ContikiMAC protocol on FLoRA, further research can be done in the future to compare and evaluate it against the existing MAC protocols.

https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1049/ntw2.12094

The Internet of Things (IoT) Enabled Content-Centric Networking (CCN) for the Internet

Student: Sowmia Suresh Kumar

A pull-type communication technique is used in content-centric networking, where information flow only happens in response to requests. The IoT is perfectly suited to employ CCN for communications since it is largely an information-carrying network. IoT devices, such as sensors, can communicate with the Internet to exchange data for various purposes. Due to resource limits, pull-type communications are regarded as inappropriate for IoT devices. This thesis study suggests push-type techniques for publish-subscribe-based applications to avoid pointless data transmissions. The goal here is to create a hardware setup that supports CCN-based Internet and assess the effectiveness of the system that has been put in place to support various IoT use cases. To assess the deployed system, the IoT network's operations, including the gateway that manages both the Internet and the IoT sides, are simulated. The entire system is made up of Python3-programmed hardware elements like Raspberry Pi. The effectiveness of the developed CCN-enabled Internet infrastructure was tested through several experiments using an application for a smart university environment monitoring system. With a content delivery ratio of 1.0, the findings demonstrated excellent network content retrieval efficiency. Content retrieval improved via in-network caching in intermediate CCN routers, and no packet losses were noticed. The Reflexive Forwarding extension maximized content delivery for periodic content retrieval scenarios. Better caching policies are needed since network caches send some users outdated content. To stop subscribers from accessing cached data from routers, the gateway issued a particular Record ID. Recommendations on improvements and features that may be added to the system to make it more useful, such as mobility and intelligent automobile systems, could be considered for future work. Security features like content encryption could be required to avoid cache poisoning, which was not covered in this thesis work.
 

Content-Centric Networking (CCN) based Internet of Things (IoT) with Long Range (LoRa) Communications

Student: Yamani Dalpathadu

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a transformative concept that expands the capabilities of the Internet by incorporating a diverse range of devices into its ecosystem. The presence of various sensors and actuators characterizes the IoT. Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is an emerging networking paradigm that aims to shift the paradigm of Information-Centric Networking. The main paradigm in ICN is that it considers content caching. In-network caching enables the ICN to gain huge performance advantages by caching content. Due to the resource limitations inevitable in IoT networks, push-type communication has to be focused on. Reflexive Forwarding for CCN is an extension of CCN that can handle complex data flow scenarios, and this protocol can be used to effectively exchange data between CCN-enabled IoT and CCN-enabled Internet networks. The proposed setup was implemented on a hardware test bed. The performance evaluation of the proposed setup has been conducted using different use-case scenarios that can be categorized as either a publish/subscribe or query/response type of event. The results showed that the utilization of in-networking caching proved efficient, but it was observed that it facilitated the expedited retrieval of content. The use of Record-ID always made sure that subscribers always received fresh data. Overall, using Reflexive Forwarding for CCN was shown to be very beneficial for data communications in the system.

The upcoming NetSys conference, named NetSys'23, is hosted by Hasso-Plattner-Institut in Potsdam, Germany. The event is scheduled from the 4th to the 7th of September. ComNets plays a significant role in the organization of NetSys'23. Anna Förster is a co-chair of the technical program committee (TPC), while Asanga Udugama is the conference's web chair. Additionally, two other members of ComNets, namely Shadi Attahara and Thenuka Karunatilake, are slated to showcase their research. Shadi Attahara will present her work on the Fault Detection Framework for Trustworthy Provisioning of Sustainable IoT Applications, while Thenuka Karunatilake will delve into Collective Perception Messages in VANETs.

All topics are refreshed every year to accommodate current technologies used. One of the main changes this year is using ESP32-based microcontrollers in the Arduino lab. Instead of the ATMEL platform we used previously, we want to emphasize how the same microcontroller platform can be used with different development environments. We also introduced the BME280 sensor for students to write code in the lab to collect multiple environmental data to analyze and present in a report.

The conference website is at https://kuvs.de/netsys/2023/

Some picture are available here.

90 students registered for the course, but we had to shortlist to select 26 students due to resource limitations in conducting such a course. In the course, we provide all the IoT hardware the students require to perform the different tasks. They were only required to bring their own laptop.

The course's final task is a project, where the students work on finding a solution to a given problem. The following three problems were offered this time.

- Theft Protection - Develop a solution to prevent the theft of deployed IoT devices
- Dog Collar - Develop a virtual dog leash using the LoRa wireless technology
- Smart Parking - Develop a comprehensive parking solution for a closed parking lot

In addition to the given projects, students were also allowed to propose their own projects. One proposed project was the IoT solution to monitor appliance usage in student hostels. The students' solutions were evaluated for their originality, reliability, conciseness, and knowledgeability, including selecting the best project. The student group with the best project won an award.

The gallery here show a selection of the students and their work, including the best project winners.

We congratulate him on his success and wish him the best in the future.

Abstract

In recent years, the growing number of vehicles on the road has led to a significant trend toward increasing the autonomy of vehicles. This surge in vehicle autonomy has made ensuring safety and minimizing traffic congestion a top priority. In response to these challenges, Collective Perception (CP) services have been introduced within Vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs). CP services enhance safety by enabling vehicles to be aware of their surroundings, detecting both Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) and non-V2X-enabled entities. Vehicles detect nearby objects and generate Cooperative Perception Messages (CPM), which are exchanged with other vehicles, creating a collective awareness of the environment. This collective awareness empowers vehicles to make informed decisions based on various scenarios.

The proposed ETSI CPM Standard limits the message generation between 1 Hz and 10 Hz to avoid channel overload within this bandwidth. This research focuses on developing algorithms to determine the optimal generation frequency for CPMs generated by individual vehicles. The primary objective is to enable vehicles to autonomously determine the best transmission frequency, facilitating distributed adaptive message generation. Various mechanisms have been implemented using the Artery V2X Framework Simulation Model to achieve this goal.

This research explores the critical intersection of autonomous vehicles, collective perception, and adaptive message generation, aiming to enhance safety and efficiency in modern road networks.

By leveraging the SDI-12 interface, MoleNet aims to enhance the reliability and accuracy of data collected from a wide range of sensors. This standard protocol allows multiple sensors to communicate with a single data logger, simplifying the deployment of complex sensor networks in the field. The upcoming test will be a crucial step in ensuring the robustness and scalability of our system, pushing the boundaries of what open-source technology can achieve in environmental monitoring.

Weitere Informationen gibt es auf der Homepage: https://blogs.uni-bremen.de/goodit2024

From September 4th to 6th, 2024, the ACM GoodIT will take place here in Bremen. ComNets is organizing this event and we are looking forward to over 50 expert talks on the topic of IT technologies for the benefit of society.

Further information can be found online: https://blogs.uni-bremen.de/goodit2024

Abstract:

Information technology (IT) is not only embedded in a complex social and economic context with a wide range of implications on an individual and collective level; it is also invented, designed, created, implemented, run, maintained, policed, restricted, studied, used and debated on many different levels by a diverse set of stakeholders. Activists, software developers, philosophers, companies, politicians, investors, engineers, social workers, parents, teachers, and researchers all contribute to a debate on how we should use the (positive) potential of IT. As most stakeholders realize, technology is not neutral; technology always serves a purpose, and technology is always created by an entity with an agenda. Working as a software engineer in the private sector, leading a non-profit ICT4D-focused NGO, and working as a researcher in the field of ICT4D surfaced that most of the previously mentioned stakeholders rarely talk with each other. Some define IT hypes, others develop the technologies, many debate their consequences and countless benefits from the economic perspective, and a few foster their power and influence over the many. In this talk, participants are invited to reflect upon how we can achieve the conference’s goal of a positive societal impact for this new global citizen and put a focus on the interchange of stakeholders and how we can broaden the discourse.

Thomas BASIKOLO, Programme Officer in the Telecommunication Standardization Policy Department of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), presents his talk with the title: " Innovating for impact: The role of AI and emerging technology in advancing SDGs"

Abstract:

The integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), tinyML (tiny Machine Learning), and the Metaverse provides unique opportunities to accelerate progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These technologies hold the potential to transform various sectors by making solutions more accessible, efficient, and scalable.

This talk will discuss how emerging technologies can strategically be used to address complex challenges and drive societal progress towards the SDGs. I will discuss the ITU’s AI for Good work by showcasing the potential of AI in health and climate action, enhancing decision-making processes, and facilitating the inclusion of underserved populations. The application of tinyML (through the tinyML for Good activities) will be highlighted for its ability to deliver powerful AI capabilities directly on-device, promoting energy efficiency and enabling real-time data processing in remote areas without the need for continuous cloud connectivity. This capability is crucial for environmental monitoring and agricultural optimizations, contributing directly to SDG targets.

Additionally, the concept of the metaverse will be discussed as a platform for immersive education and training environments that can revolutionize learning and skills development, aligning with the educational and economic goals of the SDGs. The presentation will provide an overview on how AI, tinyML, and the metaverse can be not just tools for technological advancement, but catalysts for meaningful and sustainable change.

Further information about the GoodIT2024 is available online: blogs.uni-bremen.de/goodit2024

The week was packed with insightful discussions, interactive presentations, and engaging hands-on sessions, all aimed at identifying how advanced ICT can be leveraged to tackle some of the most pressing health challenges in tropical regions. A diverse range of topics were explored, including data analytics, telemedicine, disease surveillance, and strategies to improve healthcare access using technological innovations.

The Summer School was opened by Prof. Dr. Jutta Günther, President of the University of Bremen, who emphasized the importance of global collaboration and innovation in tackling healthcare challenges. Prof. Dr. Peter Haddawy from Mahidol University in Thailand, a key figure in ICT for healthcare, shared his deep insights into how these technologies are being applied in tropical medicine, while Prof. Dr. Anna Förster from the University of Bremen led hands-on workshops that demonstrated real-world applications of ICT in medical and public health settings.

This event was a remarkable opportunity for researchers, students, and professionals to come together, share their knowledge, and build lasting networks that will continue to drive progress at the interface of ICT and tropical medicine.

We are incredibly proud of the collaborations and discussions fostered here, and we look forward to seeing the innovative solutions that will emerge from these conversations in the near future.

For more details and updates, check out our webpage: https://blogs.uni-bremen.de/icttropmed/.

This course features lectures from internationally recognized specialists, including:

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thushara Weerawardane from Sri Lanka, who will delve into 5G Technologies and their role in the IoT ecosystem.
• Dr. Koojana Kuladinithi and Yevhenii Shudrenko from TU Hamburg, who will cover 802.15.4 with 6TiSCH and IoT protocols through the Contiki / Cooja simulation environment.

In addition to these core topics, participants will explore other essential IoT technologies such as:

• WiFi and LoRa for communication,
• Arduino and Micropython hardware integration,
• The Things Network and LoRa, a global IoT community initiative.

The course is designed with an interactive, problem-based learning approach. Students will engage in project work, collaborate in poster sessions, and tackle real-world IoT challenges. With more than 30 students participating, this dynamic environment fosters innovation, critical thinking, and practical skills development.

We look forward to the exciting results from the project phase!!

The focus was on both the implementation and presentation of these solutions, with students adding impressive features like smart notifications, emergency vehicle modes, and automatic calibration.

Choosing the best team for the ComNets IoT Award was no easy task—every group did an outstanding job!

A big thank you also goes to the external evaluators from Hamburg and Sri Lanka.

Dr. Jens Dede from the Sustainable Communication Networks and David Wewetzer from the Center for Computing and Communication Technologies (TZI) at the University of Bremen are developing AI algorithms to identify wolves in real time, enhancing the precision and reliability of wildlife monitoring systems.

At the recent Digital Summit (Digital-Gipfel 2024), hosted by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport alongside the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Dede and Wewetzer presented the current state of AI development. The AI-driven monitoring system offers a powerful tool for farmers and conservationists alike, enabling proactive interventions to mitigate wolf-livestock conflicts.

The presentation sparked engaging discussions about the broader potential of AI in conservation and agriculture, emphasizing its role in sustainable wildlife management. The research team expresses its sincere appreciation to the Digital Summit organizers for the opportunity to present their findings and engage with experts across disciplines. This project demonstrates how AI can be a transformative tool in ecological monitoring and sustainable agriculture, contributing to more effective and adaptive wildlife management strategies.

Read, comment and like our activities at the Digitalgipfel on LinkedIn and Mastodon!

Highlights of ComNets’ Participation

1. Third Place in Sustainability Competition

ComNets earned the 3rd place in the Sustainability Competition, which challenged participants to implement efficient hashing on an MSP430-series microcontroller with an intermittent power supply. This accomplishment underscores the group's expertise in developing innovative, energy-efficient solutions for constrained devices.

2. Live Demonstrations

The team showcased two demonstrations during the conference:

• Water Monitoring: Presented by Julia Steiwer, this demo focused on leveraging wireless sensor networks to monitor water quality effectively, addressing critical sustainability challenges.

• Wildlife Detection: Led by Jens Dede, this demonstration illustrated the potential of sensor networks for wildlife monitoring, highlighting advancements in environmental conservation through technology.

3. Research Poster on Image Manipulation Detection

Shadi Attarha presented a research poster on the detection of camera image falsifications. The work explored cutting-edge techniques to ensure the authenticity of visual data, an increasingly important topic in today’s digital age.

4. Contributions to Ph.D. School and IT Applications

ComNets members were also actively involved in the Ph.D. School, contributing to academic discussions and mentoring young researchers. Additionally, applications of IT applications in Arctica further showcased their diverse expertise.

Acknowledging ComNets’ Impact

The achievements and contributions of the ComNets team at EWSN 2024 highlight their ongoing commitment to innovation and excellence in wireless sensor networks and related fields. Their work continues to address real-world challenges while advancing the state of the art in technology.

The paper by Shadi Attarha, Saurabh Band, and Anna Förster on effective interpretability in IoT fault diagnosis was first presented at the WONS2025 in Austria. You can access the full paper here.

Abstract

In IoT systems, it is of utmost importance to develop a fault diagnosis method that reliably detects faults, identifies their underlying causes, and enables prompt fault resolution. However, while current diagnostic methods excel at identifying faulty data, they cannot often provide a clear interpretation of the underlying cause of the fault. This creates a significant challenge in identifying the appropriate mitigation action promptly, as faults can originate from various sources such as sensor malfunctions, network disruptions, power supply issues, or software errors, each requiring a unique remedy solution. To address this gap, this research proposes a novel rule-based method that enables an interpretable fault diagnosis technique, uncovering the root causes of anomalies through a transparent procedure. In the proposed approach, we consider multiple factors to enable a clear understanding of anomaly sources. Hence, after detecting a fault through sensor data analysis, we evaluate the impact of the fault on the operational status of the edge device. It includes monitoring and assessing the execution time of code on the microcontroller and function call sequences. Additionally, we consider the effects of the fault on in-situ sensors and neighboring IoT edge devices sharing the same access point. By integrating these elements, the approach enables a comprehensive interpretation of the root cause of the anomaly in a fault diagnosis procedure, distinguishing it from other methods. The effectiveness of the proposed solution in enhancing the visibility of the fault diagnosis process is demonstrated through a proof of concept involving various real-world IoT application scenarios.

Many people are enthusiastic about the project and the idea; in addition to angling organisations and the Upper Oste River Maintenance Association, there is also great interest from the media - for example, the Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung newspapers reported on the official launch of the project. The official nala-ai website provides real-time data and status updates on the project.

Contact: Julia Steiwer

Das Projekt MoleNet wird von der Arbeitsgruppe für Nachhaltige Kommunikationsnetze (ComNets) der Universität Bremen geleitet. Unser Ziel ist es, innovative Lösungen für die vernetzte Umweltüberwachung zu schaffen. Mit den nun gesammelten Daten können wir nun unsere unterirdischen Sensornetze mit Blick auf Lebensdauer, Koste, Sensortechniken und vieles mehr optimieren.

Weitere Informationen zum Projekt finden Sie auf unserer Homepage: molenet.org oder auch direkt unter comnets.uni-bremen.de.

Die Verbesserungen gegenüber der Version 6.2 umfassen hauptsächlich kleinere Fehlerkorrekturen. So wurde beispielsweise der Stromverbrauch im Standby durch Anpassungen an den GPIOs deutlich gesenkt. Zudem wurde die Beschriftung der Komponenten überprüft und vereinheitlicht, was die Handhabung der Platine noch einfacher macht.

Insgesamt stehen bei ComNets nun 50 MoleNet-Platinen bereit, um Ihre Projekte zu unterstützen.

Mit Komponenten wie

• LoRa
• SD-Kartenslot
• USB-C
• SDI-12 Interface
• ... und am Wichtigsten: dem Kernstück ESP32-S3

ermöglicht MoleNet 6.3 eine Vielzahl spannender neuer Projekte in Lehre und Forschung.

Weitere Informationen gibt es online unter molenet.org oder auch im MoleNet git Repository.