SoftCOM'98 Tutorials

SoftCOM'98

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOFTWARE IN
TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND
COMPUTER NETWORKS

Split, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Bari, Italy
October 15-17, 1998

TUTORIALS

Wednesday, October 14, 1998, Split, Hall A

15.00-19.00 Software Architecture for Digital Cellular Systems
G. Luderer, Arizona State University, USA

Abstract:

This tutorial will give an overview of the system architecture of digital cellular systems from the point of view of software architecture. The dominant GSM system (Global System for Mobile Communication) will serve as the basic model, and the tutorial will elaborate on the differences of other digital cellular systems like IS-41 (TDMA), IS-95 (CDMA), and satellite systems like Iridium and Globalstar. The tutorial will survey services, internal system structure, and guiding philosophies. In addition, the tutorial will deal with system definition using the standard Specification and Description Language SDL, which enables use of innovative software tools. The tutorial will conclude with an outlook on the evolution of digital cellular systems toward UMTS which will integrate many currently separate services.

Biography:

Dr. Gottfried Luderer was appointed Professor, ISS Chair of Telecommunication, at Arizona State University in the Fall of 1990. His current research program in networking includes work in the areas of control of ISDN/Broadband ISDN networks, mobile communication networks, and multimedia communication, which ranges from call processing for intelligent network services to network management.
Research emphasis is on advanced software technologies for development of telecommunication networks, as used in switches, for signalling and in network management, with a focus on object and component technology and formal definition techniques. Besides the academic involvement at the university, Dr. Luderer has been teaching short courses since 1992 on high-speed networks and telecommunication software architecture in various countries. From 1965 to 1989, Dr. Luderer was with AT&T Bell Labs, at last directing research on next generation switch architectures, based on fast packet switching technology on the hardware side and object-oriented design technology on the software side, resulting in some of the earliest demonstration networks for multimedia communication. Dr. Luderer holds Diplomingenieur (M.S) and Dr.-Ing. (Ph.D) degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. He holds two patents. While at Bell Labs, he taught at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, and at Princeton University. He is member of ACM, IEEE, IEEE Computer and Communication Societies.

Wednesday, October 14, 1998, Split, Hall B

15.00 - 19.00 High Bandwidth Access to the Home
James Mollenauer, Technical Strategy Associates, USA

Abstract:

Initially the course will cover the basics of video transmission, and cable TV systems. It will go on to examine the design of voice-band and RF modems and look at some of the transmission problems of cable TV systems. Media-access control protocols for sharing the upstream cable bandwidth will be examined.
Compression of digital video signals will be reviewed, with an emphasis on JPEG, MPEG 1 and 2, and H.320 algorithms. On the computer side, the emergence of graphical and multimedia applications will be covered. New trends such as working at home and desktop video conferencing will be discussed.
Alternatives to the HFC system will be covered next. The xDSL family over twisted pair, fiber to the curb, and several radio systems (satellite-based and terrestrial microwave) will be considered from the point of view of technology and economics.
ATM communication technology for transmission and switching will be reviewed in detail, since it is basic to the interconnection of cable TV systems and also in the design of video servers. Comparison will be made between ATM and the alternative of TCP/IP based backbone structures. Standards work to be reviewed includes the ATM Forum, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as well as IEEE Project 802.14, which is intended to integrate multiple services (video, audio, and data) over the HFC system.
Finally, the full-service network embodying all of these technologies will be presented, including video on demand, interactive services, and the emerging capability of the hybrid fiber-coaxial system to transmit ATM to the home. The lecturer’s personal experience with cable modem trials and Internet access service will be presented as an indication of real-world problems and payoffs.

Biography:

Dr. Mollenauer is President of Technical Strategy Associates, a consulting firm specializing in high-performance networking. He chairs the IEEE 802.6 Metropolitan Area Networks standards committee and has served as vice-chair of the 802.14 group for cable TV standards. He was formerly Vice President, Advanced Technology, at Artel Communications. He spent 17 years at Bell Laboratories in physics research and data communications.
This one-day tutorial will provide attendees with an understanding of the relevant technologies and applications of the convergence, with an emphasis on the modernized hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) architecture now used in the cable TV industry. It is recommended for those working in various aspects of communications technology and for those involved with the Internet and Web use. It will also be useful for those thinking of upgrading their own home access to the Internet and for those simply wishing to have a background knowledge of this important new technology.

Friday, October 16, 1998, Bari, Hall A

13.00-14.00 Quantum Mind Networks Based On BRAMA Protocol
Branko Soucek, IRIS, Italy

Abstract:

Today’s autonomous communication, control and monitoring systems are limited by deficits, that are similar to those found in human with frontal lobe damage. The control or monitoring works well in preprogrammed situations. Yet it cannot inhibit the automatic responses and program itself, to handle novel events. On the other hand, the Quantum Mind Network. like a healthy human, should be able to override the automatic, preprogrammed behavior and to adapt its behavior to the dynamics of environment.
How to put the Quantum Mind in a network of computers?. the way to do it, is to follow the BRAMA protocol, observed in experiments with human mind. BRAMA Protocol, regulates the features extraction, low-level reaction, chunking, associations and high-level deliberations.
BRAMA cooperates with the Flow of Favorable Factors, FFF, through the Quantum Mind barrier. BRAMA helps storing, correlating and activating a bunch of parallel, competing, temporally ordered sequences of actions. There is no central executive, and there is no overall planning. there is only FFF and BRAMA protocol.
The implementation takes advantage of: the graphical programming in SDL-GR; the facilitation of subsystem interactions through a Common Object Request Broker, CORBA; Neuro-Fuzzy-Genetic system synthesis. The Neural network permits the use of experimental data for learning and for building and storing the experience. The fuzzy rule set permits the use of human heuristic knowledge. The genetic optimization extracts the right membership functions, and efficiently reduces the rule set, by factor 10 times, or more. For large scale Quantum Mind Network or system design, there is no alternative to the above approach.

Biography:

Branko Souček, Professor at Universities of Zagreb, New York and Arizona. Researcher and consultant for United Nation Agencies UNIDO, IAEA; NASA; IBM; Siemens; Schering; Brookhaven National Laboratory; QDI.
Prof. Souček has published 10 books with Wiley, New York. His books have been translated into Croatian, Russian and Japanese language.

Saturday, October 17, 1998, Dubrovnik, Hall A

09.00-12.00 Multimedia Applications on the Internet
Borko Furht, Florida Atlantic University, USA

Abstract:

The goal of this tutorial is to link present realities to the future of technology. It should bring to participants 21st century thinking today. The first part of the tutorial is on present and future multimedia and information superhighways technologies. The fundamental technical concepts and principles of multimedia, Internet, and Web are presented. The synergy between the Internet and multimedia promises to bring a tremendous explosion in application possibilities. The second part is on present and future interactive multimedia applications on information superhighways. The tutorial concludes with our vision of the 21st century. We present our views of future computers and the global community in which billions of people communicate, interact among themselves, and receive various services via information superhighways. We also envision how “the information home” and “the company of the future” will look like.

Biography:

Borko Furht is a professor of computer science and engineering at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida. He is the founder and director of the Multimedia Laboratory at FAU, funded by National Science Foundation.
His current research is in multimedia systems and Internet, video compression, video indexing and retrieval, and interactive TV systems. He has published over 150 papers, 15 books, and holds 2 patents. Dr. Furht received research grants from national agencies such as NSF and NASA, and from industrial corporations such as IBM, General Electric, Xerox, and Modcomp.
Dr. Furht is a co-author of the IEEE tutorial book on Guided Tour of Multimedia Systems and Applications (IEEE Computer Society Press, 1995), and Computer Architecture (IEEE Computer Society Press, 1987), as well as the principal author of Video and Image Processing in Multimedia Systems (Kluwer, 1995), Real-Time UNIX Systems (Kluwer, 1991), and Microprocessor Interfacing and Communications (Prentice-Hall, 1986), Multimedia Systems and Techniques (Kluwer, 1996), Multimedia Tools and Applications (Kluwer, 1996), Real-Time Video Compression: Systems and Techniques (Kluwer, 1997), and Multimedia Technologies and Applications for the 21^st Century (Kluwer, 1998).

Saturday, October 17, 1998, Dubrovnik, Hall A

12.00-13.00 Information and Communication Technologies: An Overview of EU Projects
Gorazd Kandus, J. Stefan Institute, Slovenia

Abstract:

Since 1984, EU research and technological development activities have been strategically planned and coordinated within four multiannual framework programmes under which over 7.000 projects have been financed. These programmes have involved thousands of European companies, research centres and universities.
EU RTD activities in the field of information and communication technologies are presently covered by three specific programmes supported under the forth framework programme:

* Advanced communications technologies and services (ACTS),
* Information technologies (ESPRIT),
* Telematic applications (TELEMATICS).

Particular attention will be given to the programmes for RTD cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries (COST, COPERNICUS).
Finally, the general objectives and the priority areas will be covered for the fifth framework programme starting in 1999. Thematic programmes concern:

* Living world and ecosystem,
* User friendly information society,
* Competitive and sustainable growth.

Biography:

Gorazd Kandus received B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from University of Ljubljana in 1971, 1974 and 1991, respectively. After working with the Institute of Transportation and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, he joined Jo?ef Stefan Institute in 1979. He is currently the head of the Department of Digital Communications and Computer Networks at Jo?ef Stefan Institute and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana. In 1978 he received the Fulbright Grant and spent one year at Worchester Polytechnic Institute, Worchester, MA. as a postgraduate researcher. In 1993 and 1995 he was a visiting scientist at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. His research interests include mobile communications and telecommunication systems. Dr. Kandus is a member of The Institute of IEEE and Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society in the Computing Sciences.