1. Annual meeting of GTTI - June 24-26, 2013 - Ancona, Italy The STEM-Net Project A network element is called a “STEM-Node” when it is able to autonomously acquire new functions, new capabilities for which it was not specifically devised. The concept of “stemness” of a wireless communication device is accomplished following 5 main relevant capabilities: 1.Learning: A set of cognitive and decision making techniques by which a STEM-Node can dynamically learn its optimal configuration. 2.Intra stack reconfiguration: “on-the-fly” reconfiguration of Physical and MAC, “on-the-fly” implementation of extensions/variants of the MAC protocol. 3.Inter stack reconfiguration: support of multiple protocol stack and possible “on-the fly switching” from one to another. 4.Cooperation/Coordination: capability to coordinate with other network elements and to share tasks with them. 5.Spontaneous mobility: capability to spontaneously move Stemness property accomplished through: 1)intra-stack protocol reconfiguration, 2) multi- homing or inter-stack protocol reconfiguration, 3) learning, 4) cooperation, 5) controlled mobility ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Technological issues: Today the Internet “only just works”; further evolution can be sustained through the design of novel networking paradigms; there is no one-size-fits-all architecture for the future Internet. Governance Issues: fragmentation of network technologies, usually deployed by different operators; no centralized governance; long time to deploy new services; Some Facts The Stemness Concept The benefits I.Introduce in to the network a strong attitude to Self-* : No need for a central governance; Fast reconfiguration, fast reaction, fast deployment of new services. Opex reduction. II.Promote end-user devices from leafs to network elements: Increase the pervasiveness of the network Participated ownership. Capex Reduction. III.Introduce/Leverage high level of configurability in the network devices: Fast deployment of new networking paradigm; Fast deployment of new services; Capex Reduction. Results How a STEM-node can learn? In the scope of the inter-stack reconfiguration is proposed an algorithm for the epidemic management of mutations; The implementation of a new protocol stack is embedded into software module (evolving module) which is passed from a node to another Three concurrent process are carried out: i.The dissemination process, in which the spreading of information; ii.The individual decision process, in which each node individually decides whether to accept or not an evolution module; iii.The infection process, in which the executable implementation of an evolution module is transmitted to the requesting nodes; Infection Propagation THE STEM-NODE ARCHITECTURE Infection and learning speed U8150, although performing suboptimal compared to a wireless router, can manage traffic in an access segment, and thus can undergo mutation to cover multiple roles (in the specifc, EUSN or leaf node) in a stem- network for disaster recovery. Internet is continuously growing in terms of number of users, pervasiveness, and supported services. A large plethora of devices are nowadays connected from the internet: PC’s, Smartphone, TVs, and “Things” … Many actors have emerged: Telcos, City authorities and utilities just to name a few. The Consequences Enabling Technologies Radio Device Re-configuration Decision and Control methodologies Knowledge Representation. Meta-roles and mutation Controlled Mobility Cooperation & STEM-network creation. Basics devices and their evolution line I.Standalone/Fixed No mobility, high performances, no energy limitations (Node-B, Wireless AP o Desktop PCs); II.End-User/Mobile: No controllable mobility, average performance, limited energy (Laptops, Tablets); III.Autonomous/Swarm: high mobility, able to decide how to move, Battery/APU. Each stem-node is provided with a set of roles R={r 1,r 2,r 3, … r M } denoting the network capabilities/functionalities that the device can provide. Besides these, a stem-node can also play some “meta-roles” “learnt” from other nodes by relying on cooperation with them. STEM-NETWORK ARCHITECTURE AND USE-CASE SCENARIOS Data forwarding ability in disaster scenario Access networkDisaster recovery 1)Access Network: stem-nodes and related functions can be leveraged to guarantee pervasive access, by promoting the spontaneous network extension; 2)Disaster recovery: survivors’ devices could be isolated due to the heterogeneity of protocols stacks, through Stem-Net these devices are able to create a spontaneous communication infrastructure, to aid diagnosis, or detect dangerous situations. 800m^2 area, node density in [1.44e-4, 3.44e-4] node/m^2; Infection probability F=0.5; Node lifetime G exponentially distributed with E{G} in [150s,∞]; Ricean fading model; Each evolution module is 1 MB long. http://stemnet.deis.unical.it/stemnet/