Network Science and Graph Analytics

International Research Awards on Network Science and Graph Analytics

Wireless Accelerometer Architecture for Bridge SHM: From Sensor Design to System Deployment This paper introduces a framework to perform operational modal analysis (OMA) for structural health monitoring (SHM) by presenting the development and validation of a low-power, solar-powered wireless sensor network (WSN) tailored for bridge structures. The system integrates accelerometers and temperature sensors for dynamic structural assessment, all interconnected through the energy-efficient message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) messaging protocol. Moreover, it delves into the details of sensor selection, calibration, and the design considerations necessary to address the unique challenges associated with bridge structures. Special attention is given to the solar-powered aspect, allowing for extended deployment periods without the need for frequent maintenance or battery replacements. To validate the proposed system, a comprehensive field deployment was conducted on an actual bridge stru...

Virtual Node-Driven Cloud–Edge Collaborative Resource Scheduling for Surveillance with Visual Sensors For public security purposes, distributed surveillance systems are widely deployed in key areas. These systems comprise visual sensors, edge computing boxes, and cloud servers. Resource scheduling algorithms are critical to ensure such systems’ robustness and efficiency. They balance workloads and need to meet real-time monitoring and emergency response requirements. Existing works have primarily focused on optimizing Quality of Service (QoS), latency, and energy consumption in edge computing under resource constraints.  However, the issue of task congestion due to insufficient physical resources has been rarely investigated. In this paper, we tackle the challenges posed by large workloads and limited resources in the context of surveillance with visual sensors. First, we introduce the concept of virtual nodes for managing resource shortages, referred to as virtual node-driven reso...

Cross-Chain Identity Authentication Method Based on Relay Chain The cross-chain identity authentication method based on relay chains provides a promising solution to the issues brought by the centralized notary mechanism. Nonetheless, it continues to encounter numerous challenges regarding data privacy, security, and issues of heterogeneity. For example, there is a concern regarding the protection of identity information during the cross-chain authentication process, and the incompatibility of cryptographic components across different blockchains during cross-chain transactions. We design and propose a cross-chain identity privacy protection method based on relay chains to address these issues. In this method, the decentralized nature of relay chains ensures that the cross-chain authentication process is not subject to subjective manipulation, guaranteeing the authenticity and reliability of the data. Regarding the compatibility issue, we unify the user keys according to the identity ...

Multi-Task Federated Split Learning Across Multi-Modal Data with Privacy Preservation With the advancement of federated learning (FL), there is a growing demand for schemes that support multi-task learning on multi-modal data while ensuring robust privacy protection, especially in applications like intelligent connected vehicles. Traditional FL schemes often struggle with the complexities introduced by multi-modal data and diverse task requirements, such as increased communication overhead and computational burdens. In this paper, we propose a novel privacy-preserving scheme for multi-task federated split learning across multi-modal data (MTFSLaMM). Our approach leverages the principles of split learning to partition models between clients and servers, employing a modular design that reduces computational demands on resource-constrained clients. To ensure data privacy, we integrate differential privacy to protect intermediate data and employ homomorphic encryption to safeguard client m...

Wireless Accelerometer Architecture for Bridge SHM: From Sensor Design to System Deployment This paper introduces a framework to perform operational modal analysis (OMA) for structural health monitoring (SHM) by presenting the development and validation of a low-power, solar-powered wireless sensor network (WSN) tailored for bridge structures. The system integrates accelerometers and temperature sensors for dynamic structural assessment, all interconnected through the energy-efficient message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) messaging protocol. Moreover, it delves into the details of sensor selection, calibration, and the design considerations necessary to address the unique challenges associated with bridge structures. Special attention is given to the solar-powered aspect, allowing for extended deployment periods without the need for frequent maintenance or battery replacements. To validate the proposed system, a comprehensive field deployment was conducted on an actual bridge str...

Building a Lunar Network: Johnson Tests Wireless Technologies for the Moon NASA engineers are strapping on backpacks loaded with radios, cameras, and antennas to test technology that might someday keep explorers connected on the lunar surface. Their mission: test how astronauts on the Moon will stay connected during Artemis spacewalks using 3GPP (LTE/4G and 5G) and Wi-Fi technologies. It’s exciting to bring lunar spacewalks into the 21st century with the immersive, high-definition experience that will make people feel like they’re right there with the astronauts. With Artemis, NASA will establish a long-term presence at the Moon, opening more of the lunar surface to exploration than ever before. This growth of lunar activity will require astronauts to communicate seamlessly with each other and with science teams back on Earth. “We’re working out what the software that uses these networks needs to look like,” said Raymond Wagner, principal investigator in NASA’s Lunar 3GPP project ...

Cisco strengthens integrated IT/OT network and security controls A recent report from IDC went even further, stating that 50% of OT assets are more than 10 years old, and their security posture needs to be assessed. “Most OT networks remain unsegmented, leaving critical assets exposed and increasing the likelihood of lateral movement during attacks. Adaptive security policies and real-time segmentation are common in IT. These solutions can help minimize risks in OT without disrupting operations if they are integrated with OT visibility products,” wrote IDC’s Romain Fouchereau, senior research manager, European security. “Managing OT security in isolation is no longer viable. Even when building a dedicated security operations center (SOC) for OT, effective threat detection requires telemetry from both the IT and OT domains,” Fouchereau wrote. “Unified threat detection enables organizations to correlate events across all domains and detect patterns and advanced threats that could otherwi...

Smart, sustainable manufacturing: 3 lessons from the Global Lighthouse Network Launched in 2018, when more than 70% of factories struggled to scale digital transformation beyond isolated pilots, the Global Lighthouse Network set out to identify the world’s most advanced production sites and create a shared learning journey to up-level the global manufacturing community. In the past seven years, the network has grown from 16 to 201 industrial sites in more than 30 countries and 35 sectors, including the latest cohort of 13 new sites. This growing community of organizations is setting new standards for operational excellence, leveraging advanced technologies to drive growth, productivity, resilience and environmental sustainability. But what exactly is a Global Lighthouse and what has the network achieved? What is the Global Lighthouse Network? The Global Lighthouse Network is a community of operational facilities and value chains that harness digital technologies at scale to ac...

SpaceX Falcon 9 deploys 21 satellites for US military’s secure communication network SpaceX successfully launched 21 satellites on September 10 (2025), from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The satellites are sent to the low Earth orbit (LEO), and this has marked the start of the US military’s new encrypted space-based communications network, which is led by the Space Development Agency (SDA). The mission was the first Tranche-1 Transport Layer launch, which will eventually form a constellation of 126 satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage completed its sixth flight and safely landed on the SpaceX droneship in the Pacific Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. Payload and Contractors The payload consisted of 21 satellites manufactured by York Space Systems. To complete the Tranche-1 constellation, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have also been contracted, each tasked with building 42 satellites. While SpaceX confirmed the deployment into orbit, the exact timin...

Modular Soft Sensor Made of Eutectogel and Its Application in Gesture Recognition Soft sensors are designed to be flexible, making them ideal for wearable devices as they can conform to the human body during motion, capturing pertinent information effectively. However, once these wearable sensors are constructed, modifying them is not straightforward without undergoing a re-prototyping process. In this study, we introduced a novel design for a modular soft sensor unit (M2SU) that incorporates a short, wire-shaped sensory structure made of eutectogel, with magnetic blocks at both ends. This design facilitates the easy assembly and reversible integration of the sensor directly onto a wearable device in situ. Leveraging the piezoresistive properties of eutectogel and the dual conductive and magnetic characteristics of neodymium magnets, our sensor unit acts as both a sensing element and a modular component. To explore the practical application of M2SUs in wearable sensing, we equipped a g...

Double-Sided Conformable Piezoelectric Force Sensor with Enhanced Performance and Bending Correction Flexible piezoelectric devices have gained considerable interest due to their potential for new applications, particularly in wearable technology. However, a significant challenge remains in measuring low forces on nonplanar and deformable surfaces. Indeed, conformability on complex surfaces induces bending stresses in the piezoelectric sensors, interfering with the measurement of compressive force. Yet such measurements can be valuable, especially in medical applications that involve assessing forces on soft tissues. This study presents an innovative highly sensitive conformable sensor based on a thin film of P (VDF-TrFE) copolymer. The selection of the substrate is essential for ensuring the device's conformability, but it is also demonstrated that it can provide a substantial improvement in performance if its Young's modulus is lower than that of the active polymer. The effe...

Discrete Hartley transform - orthogonal frequency division multiplexing underwater acoustic communication system based on complex-to-real conversion In this paper, we propose a Complex-to-Real Transformation (C2RT) for Discrete Hartley Transform Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DHT-OFDM) in underwater acoustic communication system. C2RT is an efficient system modulation scheme based on the principle of index modulation. Traditional DHT-OFDM systems only support modulation and demodulation in the real domain, which limits the use of high-order phase modulation.   This restriction makes it difficult to improve communication rates and bandwidth utilization. C2RT is an effective solution to this problem. By incorporating this algorithm into DHT-OFDM system, high-order phase modulation can be achieved while maintaining the system's real-valued characteristics. Additionally, due to the sparsity of its output sequence, C2RT provides higher transmission accuracy compared to dir...

Performance Impact of Wind Speed on MAC Protocols for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks Acoustic communication in under water environments is challenging due to high propagation delay and severely limited bandwidth. Furthermore, the quality of the channel is dynamically changing due to wind, rain, temperature and other environmental factors. Efficient medium access control (MAC) protocols are therefore particularly important for acoustic sensor networks ( UWSNs ) to prevent a significant portion of the scarce bandwidth to be wasted on packet collision. Increased wind speed add surface roughness for underwater communication, which in turn can affect the overall performance of MAC protocols in UWSNs. The contribution of this paper is to investigate the performance of five MAC protocols for UWSNs in terms of packet delivery rate, energy consumption and delay under different wind speeds. The protocols investigated are: Aloha, Aloha with carrier sense (Aloha-CS), Carrier Sense Multiple Ac...

One-dimensional C/Co composite nanofibers derived from ZIF-67 with excellent wideband electromagnetic microwave absorption performance The rapid advancement of wireless communications, radar systems, and electronic devices has resulted in a substantial increase in electromagnetic interference (EMI), which poses a threat to electronic device performance and human health. This study addresses the urgent need for lightweight materials with strong absorption capacities, wide absorption bandwidths, and low thickness values. For this purpose, ZIF-67-derived C/Co nanofibers were synthesized via electrospinning, dipping, and high-temperature carbonization . Co2+ ions were pre-anchored and encapsulated in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers and are grown by immersion in an organic ligand. Utilizing 0.4 g of cobalt nitrate hexahydrate, the amount of encapsulated Co2+ was optimized to provide the greatest electromagnetic wave absorption performance. Under these conditions, the reflection loss was −4...

3D printed and circularly polarized 28 GHz patch antenna array for small satellite communications This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a high-gain compact 2 × 2 circularly polarized patch antenna array using 3D printing technology for small satellite 5G communication at 28 GHz. The proposed antenna demonstrates high efficiency and a low profile, addressing the limitations in design flexibility associated with traditional PCB fabrication methods . The 2 × 2 array configuration, incorporating via fences, coaxial vertical feedlines, and a sequentially rotated phased feed network, enhances the antenna's bandwidth and axial ratio bandwidth while maintaining compactness, crucial for space-constrained satellite applications. Simulations optimized key antenna parameters, including reflection coefficient , gain, and axial ratio. Measurement results validated the simulations, showing an impedance bandwidth of 6.8 GHz and an axial ratio bandwidth of 3.1 GHz, with a ...

Multi-Radar Track Fusion Method Based on Parallel Track Fusion Model With the development of multi-sensor collaborative detection technology, radar track fusion has become a key means to improve target tracking accuracy. Traditional fusion methods based on Kalman filtering and weighted averaging have the problem of insufficient adaptability in complex environments. This paper proposes an end-to-end deep learning track fusion method, which achieves high-precision track reconstruction through residual extraction and parallel network fusion, providing a new end-to-end method for track fusion. The method combines the attention mechanism and the long short-term memory network in parallel and optimizes the computational complexity. Through the uncertainty weighting mechanism, the fusion weight is dynamically adjusted according to the reliability of the track features. Experimental results show that the mean absolute error of fusion accuracy of this method is 79% lower than the Kalman filter ...