Thursday January 26, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. the IEEE Toronto Communication Society is inviting all interested IEEE and other engineers, technologists and students to our FIRST technical/social event themed “Innovations in Communications”.
Speaker: Ahmed Alsohaily, Technology Strategy, Telus
Presenting “Low Power Wireless Access for Internet of Things Connectivity”
Alberto Leon-Garcia, Professor, University of Toronto
Presenting “Enabling Smart Infrastructures with Multitier Cloud Computing on Software-Defined Infrastructure”
Nebu Mathai, Director, Strategic Initiatives + Advanced Engineering Cognitive Systems Corp
Presenting “Cognitive Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations: Emerging Trends and Technologies”
Day & Time: Thursday, January 26th, 2017
5:00 pm – 7:00+ pm
Location: Room SF 2202, Sandford Fleming Building
10 King’s College Rd, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8
Contact: Eman Hammad
Organizer: IEEE Toronto Communication Society
Kindly RVSP for event and dinner here.
We are also extending the invitation to interested volunteers to join our team, and for interested speakers to contact us.
Schedule: 5:00 pm – 5:05 pm Opening Remarks
5:05 pm – 5:30 pm Talk #1: Low Power Wireless Access for Internet of Things Connectivity
5:30 pm – 5:40 pm Coffee Break
5:45 pm – 6:15 pm Talk #2: Enabling Smart Infrastructures with Multitier Cloud Computing on Software-Defined Infrastructures
6:15 pm – 6:45 pm Talk #3: Cognitive Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations: Emerging Trends and Technologies
6:45 pm – 8:00 pm Dinner and Networking
Talk #1: Low Power Wireless Access for Internet of Things Connectivity
Abstract: This talk will discuss the emergence of Low Power Wireless Access (LPWA) connectivity to cater to many Internet of Things (IoT) applications. After providing an overview of LPWA challenges, potential solutions and innovations, 3GPP Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) solution will be detailed as prime candidate technology for providing LPWA connectivity.
Biography: Ahmed Alsohaily (S’13–M’15) received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2015 and is currently the Assistant Director of the Wireless Lab at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in University of Toronto, where he holds a MITACS Elevate postdoctoral fellowship. He is also a member of the Technology Strategy team at Telus responsible for standardization at 3GPP RAN. He actively contributes to the IEEE ComSoc Standards Development and serves as an advisor to the NGMN Alliance
Talk #2: Enabling Smart Infrastructures with Multitier Cloud Computing on Software-Defined Infrastructure
Abstract: In this project we discuss the SAVI approach to integrate IoT, SDN, and cloud computing technologies into a platform that can support smart applications. From 2011 to 2016 the NSERC Strategic Network for Smart Applications on Virtual Infrastructures (SAVI) investigated the convergence of computing, networking, and sensing to create an agile platform for smart applications. We introduce SAVI’s multitier computing cloud that converges computing, SDN and sensing, and we describe the testbed that was deployed across Canada and federated with the U.S. We discuss use cases that are operational on SAVI including: service chaining, testbed-wide orchestration, intrusion-detection and protection using NFV, multilayer monitoring and modeling using machine learning, and a live intelligent transportation dashboard for the Greater Toronto Area
Biography: Professor Alberto Leon-Garcia is Distinguished Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electronics an Electrical Engineering “For contributions to multiplexing and switching of integrated services traffic”. He is also a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has received the 2006 Thomas Eadie Medal from the Royal Society of Canada and the 2010 IEEE Canada A. G. L. McNaughton Gold Medal for his contributions to the area of communications. Professor LeonGarcia is author of the leading textbooks: Probability and Random Processes for Electrical Engineering, and Communication Networks: Fundamental Concepts and Key Architecture. Leon-Garcia was Founder and CTO of AcceLight Networks in Ottawa from 1999 to 2002. He was Scientific Director of the NSERC Strategic Network for Smart Applications on Virtual Infrastructures, and Principal Investigator of the ORF Research Excellence project on Connected Vehicles and Smart Transportation.
Talk #3: Cognitive Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations: Emerging Trends and Technologies
Abstract: Electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO; a major component of CEMA, Cyber Electromagnetic Activities) are fundamental to a variety of defense and public security contexts. Forward-thinking roadmaps have highlighted the need to extend this to cognitive EMSO on dynamic land/water/air/space platforms.
Current solutions for CEMA — all based on COTS technologies — are lacking in several respects. Higher performance solutions have unfavorable size, weight and power (SWaP) characteristics, and low agility; the lower-end offers questionable quality of measurement with low flexibility. Additionally, the lack of sufficient edge computing to handle the high loads of radio signal processing often preclude aggressive real-time online sensing.
This talk will present a solution for RF situational awareness that disruptively surmounts these issues in all respects. Rather than employ COTS technologies with poor SWaP and mediocre performance, we present a custom integrated circuit (IC) that enables ultra-low SWaP with high-performance. Central to the solution is the integration of significant on-chip computing resources that enable processing of high-bandwidth RF data directly at the source. The lack of a hardened algorithmic processing chain enables flexible and rapid reconfiguration of the sensor-actuator personality. On-chip computation further facilitates a very agile loop from the high-level algorithmic processing to the low-level RF, analog and digital front ends.
We will also discuss how this uniquely Canadian technology aligns with and enables advanced defense applications.
Biography: Nebu John Mathai, PhD, PEng, is the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Advanced Engineering at Cognitive Systems Corp, a Waterloo, Ontario company. In this dual-mandate role, he directs a team at the forefront of advanced radio and computer science/engineering, while engaging with industrial, government and defence partners who require the bleeding edge. His team produced the highperformance low-power multi-processor computing architecture that forms the foundation of the company’s cognitive-radio-on-chip offering. Beyond this, they have developed real-time RF propagation and data fusion tools, and software suites for advanced cognitive radio sensing and communications applications. He also leads a number of strategic initiatives to anticipate and execute on the RF situational awareness requirements posed by next-generation civilian and defence roadmaps pertaining to electromagnetic spectrum operations.