Past Research Projects

PROFILES
PeeR-to-peer beyOnd FILE Sharing

The project addresses the study of peer-to-peer (P2P) communication systems, considering P2P as a novel communication paradigm that is changing the rules of the communication game in the Internet. P2P applications (Napster, Gnutella, Kazaa, ...) became famous (or infamous!) thanks to file-sharing and the exchange of copyrighted information. However, the key point for the success of P2P networks are cooperation and resource sharing, which make the system scalable, highly performing, dependable, and resilient. Recent P2P systems like Bit-Torrent, Split-Stream, and Skype made it clear that P2P networking can address many other applications apart from file-sharing.

website http://profiles.dit.unitn.it/

DISCREET SERVICE PROVISION IN SMART ENVIRONMENT

People Involved:

  • Renato Lo Cigno
  • Leonardo Maccariv
  • Luca Baldesi

Communications networks are on the brim of novel revolutions. The communication paradigm that has kept the Internet going for the past 20 years is showing its limit. The addressing principle and routing are strained to the limit and IPv6 does not really seem the solution: it is a technology already old before it has been rolled out ... a bit like Asynchronous Transfer Mode in the '90s!!

At the same time cooperative networking, form P2P to Community Networks are also showing different possible paradigms of communications.

In this panorama, this fundamental research project investigated different possible solution and architectures to sustain communications and the network delivering information, starting from simple filetering techniques that can be "added" to the normal functionalities of networks to improve traffic controlo or to deliver contents based on the information itself and not based on a traditional addressing scheme, to graph analysis tools to find the best possible location for such functions, to "clean slate design" that shatters the socio-economic foundations of the Internet to guarantee that communications will survive the (inevitable) decline of the Internet as we know it today.

See the project web page for further information.

TRITON
NETWORK-AWARE P2P-TV APPLICATION OVER WISE NETWORKS

TRITon is a research and innovation project funded by the project members and the Autonomous Province of Trento (Provincia Autonoma di Trento, PAT) aimed at advancing the state of the art in the management of road tunnels, specifically to improve safety and reduce energy costs. To achieve these goals, TRITon will merge research on state-of-the-art technology into the established practices of road tunnel infrastructures, supported by project members that include local research centers and companies working in the field.

An example application, central in TRITon, is adaptive lighting. In current deployments, the light intensity inside the tunnel is typically regulated based on design parameters and the current date and time, and regardless of the actual environmental conditions. As it can be experienced when driving through a road tunnel too bright or too dark, this potentially determines a waste of energy, as well as a potential safety hazard. In TRITon, the light intensity inside the tunnel will instead be regulated through a wireless sensor network (WSN). This will relay sensed light information to the control station, which will exploit such information for fine-grained adaptation to environmental condition, significantly reducing costs and improving safety. A dedicated laboratory has been established to support TRITon's research and development activities. However, to bring state-of-the-art research and technology like WSN into road tunnel management, the traditional lab-centered research is not sufficient. Indeed, TRITon will transfer its results in real test-sites, four operational tunnels on road SS 45bis near Trento. This will provide not only the ultimate test for the project outcomes, but also a direct and measurable benefit to the local population.

website http://triton.disi.unitn.it/