Events

The IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation is coming up in mid July, so the AP-S Student Chapter is holding a conference presentation competition. This event will give you the chance to practice your presentation along with fielding questions from a technical audience. Getting a practice session like this will make the real presentation much easier and less stressful. There will also be anonymous feedback provided to the presenters on ways they can improve their presentations (e.g., delivery, content, slide layout, etc.). If you would like to give a presentation, please email stewart.pearson@mail.utoronto.ca so we can get a schedule drawn up. If you're not planning on attending an upcoming conference, you are still welcome to give a presentation on your current research. It's never too early to practice! For the presenters, there will be a chance at winning an exciting prize for the highest rated presentation. There will also be a raffle prizes for the attendees. As usual, there will also be coffee and refreshments provided. We look forward to seeing you there! Room: BA4287, Bldg: Bahen Centre for Information Technology, 40 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA) is a beam-scanning antenna that plays a crucial role in modern wireless communication, satellite communication, navigation systems, and autonomous drive. In this talk we will discuss the fundamentals of the LWA, its applications, and comparison with phased array antennas. Speaker(s): , , Nima Javanbakht Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/423962

Talk 1: In this talk, the operation of DC-DC converters, which work by exchanging energy between storage elements due to the action of switching semiconductors are explored. The storage elements (mainly inductors and capacitors) are also called passive components. The size of the converters is highly influenced by the size of inductors and capacitors which is at the same time influenced by the power dissipation and the stored energy. It is desirable to design compact converters. However, reducing this energy cannot be done arbitrarily due to the constraints imposed by switching ripple specifications, and reducing the power rating cannot be done due to safety. Various topologies that have been designed with reduced stored energy, examining their advantages and the trade-offs involved will be highlighted. The discussion will highlight innovative approaches to achieving efficiency and compactness in converter design. Talk 2: Designing compensators for control models in the αβ0 reference frame for tracking sinusoidal functions of time is not a straightforward task. Alternatively, a control scheme in dq reference frame offers the possibility to track dc control signals. It also allows simpler design of compensators. This talk covers a control scheme in the dq reference frame integrated to a modulator and voltage balancing algorithm for Hexverter-based systems functioning as an intertie. It can be considered as an extension of the control model developed for the two-level voltage source inverter. By doing so, an independent regulation of the Hexverter's active and reactive power flows can be realized. The control system is validated using PSCAD/EMTDC computer simulations. Speaker(s): Julio C Rosas Caro, Hector R.Robles Campos Room: 2130, Bldg: Science Building (UA), 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/426892

This talk shall focus on contemporary visual computing research trends with critical implications for 6G semantic communications. Semantic communication was initially proposed by Weaver and Shannon 70+ years ago in the early 1950s in which they outlined the classical definition of three levels of communications: the technical problem, the semantic problem, and the effectiveness problem. Until 5G, most researchers and practitioners have been working on the first technical problem. For 6G, semantic communication becomes necessary to handle the overwhelming volume of visual data among all IP traffic. We firmly believe that a paradigm-shifting framework needs to be designed to transport the volumetric visual data under the 6G mobile communication architecture. We show that recent technical advances in contemporary visual computing bear great potential for 6G semantic communication. Among the volumetric visual data, a significant portion of them has been acquired for machine intelligence purposes. Therefore, structured extraction and representation of the semantics from these visual data are desired to facilitate the 6G semantic communication. For contemporary visual computing, the well-structured scene graph generation (SGG) approaches have been demonstrated capable of representing compactly the logical relationship among the subjects and objects detected from the visual data. We shall show that the unique capability of structured SGG can be applied to 6G semantic communication towards future advances in integrating visual computing with 6G. [] Speaker(s): Chang Wen Chen, Room: ENG460, Bldg: ENG building, 245 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

3D Multimedia Analytics, Search and Generation In Conjunction with ICME 2024 15-19 July, Niagra Falls, Canada Today, ubiquitous multimedia sensors and large-scale computing infrastructures are producing at a rapid velocity of 3D multi-modality data, such as 3D point cloud acquired with LIDAR sensors, RGB-D videos recorded by Kinect cameras, meshes of varying topology, and volumetric data. 3D multimedia combines different content forms such as text, audio, images, and video with 3D information, which can perceive the world better since the real world is 3-dimensional instead of 2-dimensional. For example, the robots can manipulate objects successfully by recognizing the object via RGB frames and perceiving the object size via point cloud. Researchers have strived to push the limits of 3D multimedia search and generation in various applications, such as autonomous driving, robotic visual navigation, smart industrial manufacturing, logistics distribution, and logistics picking. The 3D multimedia (e.g., the videos and point cloud) can also help the agents to grasp, move and place the packages automatically in logistics picking systems. Therefore, 3D multimedia analytics is one of the fundamental problems in multimedia understanding. Different from 3D vision, 3D multimedia analytics mainly concentrate on fusing the 3D content with other media. It is a very challenging problem that involves multiple tasks such as human 3D mesh recovery and analysis, 3D shapes and scenes generation from real-world data, 3D virtual talking head, 3D multimedia classification and retrieval, 3D semantic segmentation, 3D object detection and tracking, 3D multimedia scene understanding, and so on. Therefore, the purpose of this workshop is to: 1) bring together the state-of-the-art research on 3D multimedia analysis; 2) call for a coordinated effort to understand the opportunities and challenges emerging in 3D multimedia analysis; 3) identify key tasks and evaluate the state-of-the-art methods; 4) showcase innovative methodologies and ideas; 5) introduce interesting real-world 3D multimedia analysis systems or applications; and 6) propose new real-world or simulated datasets and discuss future directions. We solicit original contributions in all fields of 3D multimedia analysis that explore the multi-modality data to generate the strong 3D data representation. We believe this workshop will offer a timely collection of research updates to benefit researchers and practitioners in the broad multimedia communities. Please note: You'll need to register for the ICME2024 conference in order to attend this event Agenda: Detailed agenda will be updated soon Bldg: Niagara Falls Marriott Convention & Exhibition Centre , 6755 Fallsview Blvd , Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Next sixth generation (6G) wireless systems are expected to support ultra-reliable communications (URC) for data generated from various devices and applications. To achieve URC, various techniques can be used, such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), intelligent reflective surfaces (IRS), forward error correction coding, and automatic repeat request (ARQ). The design of resilient waveforms, modulation schemes, and multiple access techniques at the physical layer also plays a crucial role in the design of future 6G networks. However, most conventional techniques require significant overhead in terms of complexity, signalling, hardware, or power consumption. In this presentation, we will present a novel signal design that can offer about 40 dB of diversity gain without any additional transmission or hardware resources. The performance of the new scheme will be compared to other schemes. [] Speaker(s): Arafat Al-Dweik, Room: ENG460, Bldg: ENG building , 245 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Next sixth generation (6G) wireless systems are expected to support ultra-reliable communications (URC) for data generated from various devices and applications. To achieve URC, various techniques can be used, such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), intelligent reflective surfaces (IRS), forward error correction coding, and automatic repeat request (ARQ). The design of resilient waveforms, modulation schemes, and multiple access techniques at the physical layer also plays a crucial role in the design of future 6G networks. However, most conventional techniques require significant overhead in terms of complexity, signalling, hardware, or power consumption. In this presentation, we will present a novel signal design that can offer about 40 dB of diversity gain without any additional transmission or hardware resources. The performance of the new scheme will be compared to other schemes. [] Speaker(s): Prof. Arafat Al-Dweik, Room: ENG 460, Bldg: ENG building , 245 Church Street, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Title: Intent-Based Management for Next-Generation Networks: an LLM-centric Approach Intent-based networking (IBN) is crucial in enabling autonomous networks by specifying goals and constraints at a higher level to the Network Management System. TMForum has specified a dedicated architecture and model that rely on Intents to handle and manage communication services, paving the way for autonomous systems towards 6G. Intents that represent an abstracted operational goal specified by the communication service owner, which is usually provided as input to the Network Management System (NMS). The latter, in turn, generates the necessary low-level configurations to fulfill these Intents. The current model of expressing Intents still requires significant effort in writing JSON and YAML structures, demanding a detailed comprehension of the format and model specified by the Northbound Interface (NBI). This process is sometimes not straightforward, and adhering to the structure of these NBIs takes time. A natural evolution for IBN is to move beyond human-readable languages and transition towards natural language. In this talk, we will discuss the evolution of Intents in 6G relaying Large Language Model (LLM) that translates human language into operational intents to deploy communication systems, leveraging few-shot learning and human-in-the-loop Feedback. BIOGRAPHY []Adlen Ksentini is a professor in the Communication Systems Department of EURECOM. He is leading the Network softwarization group activities related to Network softwarization, 5G/6G, and Edge Computing. Adlen Ksentini's research interests are Network Sofwerization and Network Cloudification, focusing on topics related to network virtualization, Software Defined Networking (SDN), and Edge Computing for 5G and 6G networks. He has been participating to several H2020 and Horizon Europe projects on 5G and beyond, such as 5G!Pagoda, 5GTransformer, 5G!Drones, MonB5G, ImagineB5G, 6GBricks, 6G-Intense, Sunrise-6G and AC3. He is the technical manager of 6G-Intense and AC3, on zero-touch management of 6G resources and applications, and Cloud Edge Continuum, respectively. He is interested in the system and architectural issues but also in algorithm problems related to those topics, using Markov Chains, Optimization algorithms, and Machine Learning (ML). Adlen Ksentini has given several tutorials in IEEE international conferences, IEEE Globecom 2015, IEEEE CCNC 2017/2018/2023, IEEE ICC 2017, IEEE/IFIP IM 2017, IEEE School 2019. Adlen Ksentini is a member of the OAI board of directors, where he is in charge of OAI 5G Core Network and ORAN management (O1, E2) for OAI RAN activities. Speaker(s): Adlen, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/427766

Join the IEEE Toronto Instrumentation & Measurement – Robotics & Automation Joint Chapter for a talk on the Sleep, The Reflection of Health, presented by Dr. Nasim Montazeri from Queen's University. Wednesday, July 24, 2024 @ 4:30 – 5:30 PM Abstract: While sufficient sleep is one of the health pillars, disrupted sleep is linked to adverse health related problems ranging from developmental impairment in children to cardiorespiratory diseases in adults and cognitive decline in older adults. The gold standard in-lab sleep test is inconvenient, expensive and has a long waiting list, making sleep monitoring inaccessible. This talk will highlight the role of new technologies in expanding the scope of sleep monitoring, with a particular focus on solutions enabled by signal processing and artificial intelligence. Dr. Montazeri will present the entire development cycle of a portable sleep monitoring device from crude observation to commercialization and draw examples from different age groups that demonstrate how sleep, when analyzed using customized analytic techniques, can reflect health. Speaker(s): Nasim Montazeri, Ph.D. Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/423915

[] Join the IEEE Toronto Instrumentation & Measurement – Robotics & Automation Joint Chapter for a talk on the Walking with Robots, presented by Dr. Amy R. Wu from Queen's University. Wednesday, July 31, 2024 @ 5:00 – 6:00 PM Abstract: A world embedded with robots seems inevitable. One challenge, however, is designing robots to work with us, not against us. It is unclear how assistive robots, such as robot companions, would affect activities of human daily living, such as walking. To inform the design of controllers that enable seamless human-robot interaction during walking tasks, we first sought to determine whether legged robots could affect human walking behavior. Robots have the potential to greatly improve human lives, but we should ensure they are designed to interact well with us to minimize mechanical and possibly energetically related consequences from human-robot interaction. In this talk, Dr. Amy R. Wu will discuss two studies they conducted with human participants and quadrupedal robots walking side-by-side. They compared human behavior with and without the robot and found that legged robots can affect human gait even without physical interactions, which has implications for the design of robot companions or monitoring robots. Speaker(s): Amy R. Wu, PhD, P.L.Eng Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/425309

Federated learning (FL) is an efficient and privacy-preserving distributed learning paradigm that enables massive edge devices to train machine learning models collaboratively. Although various communication schemes and algorithm designs have been proposed to expedite the FL process in resource-limited wireless networks, the unreliable nature of wireless channels, device heterogeneity, and data heterogeneity are still less explored. In this talk, number of solutions solutions will be discussed for addressing the above practical challenges in wireless FL. Firstly, to tackle the unreliable wireless channels, a novel FL framework, namely FL with gradient recycling (FL-GR), which recycles the historical gradients of unscheduled and transmission-failure devices to improve the learning performance of FL will be discussed. Secondly, to solve the heterogeneity issues, partial model aggregation, knowledge aided learning and adaptive model pruning-based FL framework will be explained. Based on our research experience, some open problems of wireless FL will be provided. Speaker(s): Professor Arumugam , Room: 460, Bldg: ENG, 245 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5B 1Z4

The IEEE Blockchain Forum is returning as part of (https://www.canadacryptoweek.com/) for a second edition. The goal of this forum is to congregate BUIDLers, researchers, academics, and engineers building blockchain protocols, infrastructure, and decentralized software applications. Our theme for this year is Securing Blockchain infrastructure for the Financial Services Industry. Since our last gathering, two ETF launches brought the crypto industry a mile or two closer to mass adoption. The ranks of institutional players such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Société Générale (socgen), and others keep growing. Beyond the realm of finance, enterprise blockchain has found its way to the technology stack of industry leaders as diverse as Toyota, L'Oréal, Visa, and Samsung to name few. Still, this technology is fairly new. For example, the Ethereum network (the world computer doted with a Turing-complete programming language) went live only 9 years ago, on July 30th, 2015. A lot more work is required for the technology to mature, particularly on the cybersecurity front. Although the public chains have proven reliable in securing assets, bridges and other smart contracts have proven to be less worthy of trust. As blockchain technology becomes one of the key issues shaping the public discourse during the US presidential election, industry leaders will soon be faced by questions regarding quality of service, ethical use, and its level of security. This forum invites researchers and engineers to share their research and best practices to secure blockchain infrastructure for the core services our industry and our society rely upon, starting with the financial services. Speakers include - David Barreto, Developer Advocate at Starknet Foundation - Baltazar Rodriguez, Acting Head at the BIS Toronto Innovation Hub - Dr. Soosan Naderi, Blockchain Director at Cyber Security Global Alliance (CSGA) - Zhiyang Chen, PhD student at University of Toronto - Adit Patel, Co-founder of Blockscope - Irene Katzela, CTO at Dandelion - Marc Lijour, Financial Services Innovation at Exaion and Adjunct Faculty at International Business University - Christian St. Louis, Data & Research at Ethereal Ventures - Andres Assmus, CEO at CityZeen - Sam Drissi, CEO at Artizyou - Opinder Preet Singh, Founder & CEO at PropTy - Ehsan Shariati, COO and Co-founder at Functionland - Géraldine Jippé, COO and co-founder of AssetsWaves - Dr. Keerthi Nelaturu, Technical Advisor at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Co-sponsored by: Ontario Centre of Innovation, Exaion, Starknet, InCyber Forum North America Speaker(s): Baltazar Rodriguez, David Barreto, Soosan Naderi, Zhiyang Chen, Marc Lijour, Irene Katzela Agenda: Agenda 1pm - 1:15 pm Welcome and introductions - Marc Lijour and Irene Katzela, co-chairs of the Toronto IEEE Blockchain local group 1:15 pm - 1:30 pm Welcome from our sponsor and host: Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) 1:30pm - 2pm Talk #1: Evolving Financial Landscapes: A Pragmatic Approach to Blockchain Integration By Baltazar Rodriguez, Acting Head, BIS Innovation Hub Toronto 1:30pm - 2pm Talk #2: Cairo, a general purpose CPU for creating verifiable programs By David Barreto, Developer Advocate at Starknet Foundation 2pm - 2:30 pm Panel discussion - Securing public blockchains Moderator: Marc Lijour Panelists: David Barreto, Adit Patel, Soosan Naderi, Zhiyang Chen, Christian St. Louis, Ehsan Shariati 2:30pm - 3pm Talk #3: Data propagation, security and consensus in Ethereum network By Soosan Naderi, PhD, Blockchain Director at Cyber Security Global Alliance (CSGA) 3 pm - 3:30 pm Talk #4: Demystifying Invariant Effectiveness for Securing Smart Contracts By Zhiyang Chen, PhD student at the University of Toronto and Research Engineer at Zircuit 3:30pm - 4 pm Panel discussion - RWA Tokenization Moderator: Marc Lijour Panelists: Opinder Preet Singh, Sam Drissi, Andres Assmus, Dr. Irene Katzela, Géraldine Jippé 4 pm - 5 pm Networking Room: Suite 300, 325 Front Street West, 3rd floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5V 2Y1