Towards Next Generation Teaching, Learning, and Context-Aware Applications for Higher Education: A Review on Blockchain, IoT, Fog and Edge Computing Enabled Smart Campuses and Universities
23 Oct 2019-Applied Sciences (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)-Vol. 9, Iss: 21, pp 4479
TL;DR: This article reviews the state of the start on the application of the latest key technologies for the development of smart campuses and universities, and defines the essential characteristics of a smart campus/university and the latest communications architectures and technologies.
Abstract: Smart campuses and smart universities make use of IT infrastructure that is similar to the one required by smart cities, which take advantage of Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing solutions to monitor and actuate on the multiple systems of a university. As a consequence, smart campuses and universities need to provide connectivity to IoT nodes and gateways, and deploy architectures that allow for offering not only a good communications range through the latest wireless and wired technologies, but also reduced energy consumption to maximize IoT node battery life. In addition, such architectures have to consider the use of technologies like blockchain, which are able to deliver accountability, transparency, cyber-security and redundancy to the processes and data managed by a university. This article reviews the state of the start on the application of the latest key technologies for the development of smart campuses and universities. After defining the essential characteristics of a smart campus/university, the latest communications architectures and technologies are detailed and the most relevant smart campus deployments are analyzed. Moreover, the use of blockchain in higher education applications is studied. Therefore, this article provides useful guidelines to the university planners, IoT vendors and developers that will be responsible for creating the next generation of smart campuses and universities.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: A list of smart campus initiatives that can be prioritized as per a university needs and geographical location is created and the generic model established in this work for a smart campus remains valid.
77 citations
Cites background from "Towards Next Generation Teaching, L..."
...The fourth and fifth themes for the smart city was introduced in [56, [69] [70] as (iv) governance (administration), and (v) propagation (replicability, innovation)....
[...]
TL;DR: A holistic survey of various applications of CPS where blockchain has been utilized and some of the many applications that can benefit from the blockchain technology and will be discussed in the paper are presented.
Abstract: Cyber-physical systems (CPS) is a setup that controls and monitors the physical world around us. The advancement of these systems needs to incorporate an unequivocal spotlight on making these systems efficient. Blockchains and their inherent combination of consensus algorithms, distributed data storage, and secure protocols can be utilized to build robustness and reliability in these systems. Blockchain is the underlying technology behind bitcoins and it provides a decentralized framework to validate transactions and ensure that they cannot be modified. By distributing the role of information validation across the network peers, blockchain eliminates the risks associated with a centralized architecture. It is the most secure validation mechanism that is efficient and enables the provision of financial services, thereby giving users more freedom and power. This upcoming technology provides internet users with the capability to create value and authenticate digital information. It has the capability to revolutionize a diverse set of business applications, ranging from sharing economy to data management and prediction markets. In this paper, we present a holistic survey of various applications of CPS where blockchain has been utilized. Smart grids, health-care systems, and industrial production processes are some of the many applications that can benefit from the blockchain technology and will be discussed in the paper.
66 citations
TL;DR: A SC concept is proposed to investigate the integration of building information modeling tools with Internet of Things-based wireless sensor networks in the fields of environmental monitoring and emotion detection to provide insights into the level of comfort and the ability of universities to contribute to local sustainability projects by sharing knowledge and experience across a multi-disciplinary team.
Abstract: Interdisciplinary cross-cultural and cross-organizational research offers great opportunities for innovative breakthroughs in the field of smart cities, yet it also presents organizational and knowledge development hurdles. Smart cities must be large towns able to sustain the needs of their citizens while promoting environmental sustainability. Smart cities foment the widespread use of novel information and communication technologies (ICTs); however, experimenting with these technologies in such a large geographical area is unfeasible. Consequently, smart campuses (SCs), which are universities where technological devices and applications create new experiences or services and facilitate operational efficiency, allow experimentation on a smaller scale, the concept of SCs as a testbed for a smart city is gaining momentum in the research community. Nevertheless, while universities acknowledge the academic role of a smart and sustainable approach to higher education, campus life and other student activities remain a mystery, which have never been universally solved. This paper proposes a SC concept to investigate the integration of building information modeling tools with Internet of Things- (IoT)-based wireless sensor networks in the fields of environmental monitoring and emotion detection to provide insights into the level of comfort. Additionally, it explores the ability of universities to contribute to local sustainability projects by sharing knowledge and experience across a multi-disciplinary team. Preliminary results highlight the significance of monitoring workspaces because productivity has been proven to be directly influenced by environment parameters. The comfort-monitoring infrastructure could also be reused to monitor physical parameters from educational premises to increase energy efficiency.
65 citations
Cites background from "Towards Next Generation Teaching, L..."
...In the literature, there are only a few papers that present descriptions of current SC proposals [8,40]....
[...]
07 Aug 2020
TL;DR: This paper discusses blockchain technology, a novel driver of technological transformation that comprises a multitude of underlying technologies and protocols, and its potential impact on smart cities, and addresses the question of how blockchain technology may benefit the development of urban areas.
Abstract: The term “Smart City” denotes a comprehensive concept to alleviate pending problems of modern urban areas which have developed into an important work field for practitioners and scholars alike. However, the question remains as to how cities can become “smart”. The application of information technology is generally considered a key driver in the “smartization” of cities. Detailed frameworks and procedures are therefore needed to guide, operationalize, and measure the implementation process as well as the impact of the respective technologies. In this paper, we discuss blockchain technology, a novel driver of technological transformation that comprises a multitude of underlying technologies and protocols, and its potential impact on smart cities. We specifically address the question of how blockchain technology may benefit the development of urban areas. Based on a comprehensive literature review, we present a framework and research propositions. We identify nine application fields of blockchain technology in the smartization of cities: (1) healthcare, (2) logistics and supply chains, (3) mobility, (4) energy, (5) administration and services, (6) e-voting, (7) factory, (8) home and (9) education. We discuss current developments in these fields, illustrate how they are affected by blockchain technology and derive propositions to guide future research endeavors.
62 citations
Cites background or methods from "Towards Next Generation Teaching, L..."
...Blockchain technology provides a highly secure design for handling huge amounts of educational data [60]....
[...]
...Moreover, blockchain strengthens the security of educational records and increases the correctness and reliability of data by limiting the possibilities of tampering the ledger [60]....
[...]
...The dynamics of the development is further enhanced by the combination of blockchain together with Artificial Intelligence (AI) [57], the Internet of Things (IoT) [58], 5G and architectures that allow for the remote processing of data, frequently labeled as cloud, fog and edge computing [59,60]....
[...]
TL;DR: The LRSB findings indicate that blockchain is being used to build up new interventions to improve the prevailing ways of sharing, delivering and securing knowledge data and personal student records.
Abstract: Blockchain has emerged as an important concept at the interface of ICT and higher education. It is a system in which a record of transactions is maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network. Hence, it allows the creation of a decentralized environment, where data are not under the control of any third-party organization. This study presents a Systematic Bibliometric Literature Review (LRSB in further text) of research on blockchain applications in the higher education field. The review integrated 37 articles presenting up-to-date knowledge on current implications pertaining to the use of blockchain technology for improving higher education processes. The LRSB findings indicate that blockchain is being used to build up new interventions to improve the prevailing ways of sharing, delivering and securing knowledge data and personal student records. The application of blockchain technology is carrying on a conceptual progress in the higher education sector where it has added substantial value by ameliorated efficiency, effectiveness, privacy control, technological improvement and security of data management mechanisms. Challenges posed by current literature and further research directions are suggested.
59 citations
Cites background or methods from "Towards Next Generation Teaching, L..."
...Thirdly, the application of different shared algorithms may also be considered constraints for Blockchain deployment [32], while there is a lack of smart campus standards with respect to a common framework, capable of enabling an effective Blockchain-based higher education ecosystem [5]....
[...]
...For example, some discuss the application of the latest key technologies for the development of smart campuses and universities [5]; the advantages of this technology as decentralized open data for safe...
[...]
...Despite the fact that these SLRs have built the existing knowledge on the topic, their focus has mostly been on underscoring areas of Blockchain application [5,9]....
[...]
...As a campus can cover a large number of users requesting smart services, it is essential for the application to be easily scalable, to proportionally adapt its performance [5]....
[...]
...In this way, the study is driven by two research questions: what is the research building for Blockchain technology in the higher education sector to date? Additionally, what are the current challenges and future research paths in the theme? We address these research goals by carrying out a Systematic Bibliometric Literature Review (LRSB) on the use of blockchain in higher education [5]....
[...]
References
More filters
TL;DR: The conclusion is that the blockchain-IoT combination is powerful and can cause significant transformations across several industries, paving the way for new business models and novel, distributed applications.
Abstract: Motivated by the recent explosion of interest around blockchains, we examine whether they make a good fit for the Internet of Things (IoT) sector. Blockchains allow us to have a distributed peer-to-peer network where non-trusting members can interact with each other without a trusted intermediary, in a verifiable manner. We review how this mechanism works and also look into smart contracts—scripts that reside on the blockchain that allow for the automation of multi-step processes. We then move into the IoT domain, and describe how a blockchain-IoT combination: 1) facilitates the sharing of services and resources leading to the creation of a marketplace of services between devices and 2) allows us to automate in a cryptographically verifiable manner several existing, time-consuming workflows. We also point out certain issues that should be considered before the deployment of a blockchain network in an IoT setting: from transactional privacy to the expected value of the digitized assets traded on the network. Wherever applicable, we identify solutions and workarounds. Our conclusion is that the blockchain-IoT combination is powerful and can cause significant transformations across several industries, paving the way for new business models and novel, distributed applications.
3,129 citations
TL;DR: This paper offers the first in-depth look at the vast applications of THz wireless products and applications and provides approaches for how to reduce power and increase performance across several problem domains, giving early evidence that THz techniques are compelling and available for future wireless communications.
Abstract: Frequencies from 100 GHz to 3 THz are promising bands for the next generation of wireless communication systems because of the wide swaths of unused and unexplored spectrum. These frequencies also offer the potential for revolutionary applications that will be made possible by new thinking, and advances in devices, circuits, software, signal processing, and systems. This paper describes many of the technical challenges and opportunities for wireless communication and sensing applications above 100 GHz, and presents a number of promising discoveries, novel approaches, and recent results that will aid in the development and implementation of the sixth generation (6G) of wireless networks, and beyond. This paper shows recent regulatory and standard body rulings that are anticipating wireless products and services above 100 GHz and illustrates the viability of wireless cognition, hyper-accurate position location, sensing, and imaging. This paper also presents approaches and results that show how long distance mobile communications will be supported to above 800 GHz since the antenna gains are able to overcome air-induced attenuation, and present methods that reduce the computational complexity and simplify the signal processing used in adaptive antenna arrays, by exploiting the Special Theory of Relativity to create a cone of silence in over-sampled antenna arrays that improve performance for digital phased array antennas. Also, new results that give insights into power efficient beam steering algorithms, and new propagation and partition loss models above 100 GHz are given, and promising imaging, array processing, and position location results are presented. The implementation of spatial consistency at THz frequencies, an important component of channel modeling that considers minute changes and correlations over space, is also discussed. This paper offers the first in-depth look at the vast applications of THz wireless products and applications and provides approaches for how to reduce power and increase performance across several problem domains, giving early evidence that THz techniques are compelling and available for future wireless communications.
1,352 citations
TL;DR: Potential technologies for 6G to enable mobile AI applications, as well as AI-enabled methodologies for6G network design and optimization are discussed.
Abstract: The recent upsurge of diversified mobile applications, especially those supported by AI, is spurring heated discussions on the future evolution of wireless communications. While 5G is being deployed around the world, efforts from industry and academia have started to look beyond 5G and conceptualize 6G. We envision 6G to undergo an unprecedented transformation that will make it substantially different from the previous generations of wireless cellular systems. In particular, 6G will go beyond mobile Internet and will be required to support ubiquitous AI services from the core to the end devices of the network. Meanwhile, AI will play a critical role in designing and optimizing 6G architectures, protocols, and operations. In this article, we discuss potential technologies for 6G to enable mobile AI applications, as well as AI-enabled methodologies for 6G network design and optimization. Key trends in the evolution to 6G will also be discussed.
1,245 citations
TL;DR: A thorough review on how to adapt blockchain to the specific needs of IoT in order to develop Blockchain-based IoT (BIoT) applications is presented and some recommendations are enumerated with the aim of guiding future BIoT researchers and developers on some of the issues that will have to be tackled before deploying the next generation of BIeT applications.
Abstract: The paradigm of Internet of Things (IoT) is paving the way for a world, where many of our daily objects will be interconnected and will interact with their environment in order to collect information and automate certain tasks. Such a vision requires, among other things, seamless authentication, data privacy, security, robustness against attacks, easy deployment, and self-maintenance. Such features can be brought by blockchain, a technology born with a cryptocurrency called Bitcoin. In this paper, a thorough review on how to adapt blockchain to the specific needs of IoT in order to develop Blockchain-based IoT (BIoT) applications is presented. After describing the basics of blockchain, the most relevant BIoT applications are described with the objective of emphasizing how blockchain can impact traditional cloud-centered IoT applications. Then, the current challenges and possible optimizations are detailed regarding many aspects that affect the design, development, and deployment of a BIoT application. Finally, some recommendations are enumerated with the aim of guiding future BIoT researchers and developers on some of the issues that will have to be tackled before deploying the next generation of BIoT applications.
755 citations
TL;DR: A detailed description of the technology is given, including existing security and reliability mechanisms, and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis is presented along with the challenges that LoRa and LoRaWAN still face.
Abstract: LoRaWAN is one of the low power wide area network (LPWAN) technologies that have received significant attention by the research community in the recent years. It offers low-power, low-data rate communication over a wide range of covered area. In the past years, the number of publications regarding LoRa and LoRaWAN has grown tremendously. This paper provides an overview of research work that has been published from 2015 to September 2018 and that is accessible via Google Scholar and IEEE Explore databases. First, a detailed description of the technology is given, including existing security and reliability mechanisms. This literature overview is structured by categorizing papers according to the following topics: (i) physical layer aspects; (ii) network layer aspects; (iii) possible improvements; and (iv) extensions to the standard. Finally, a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis is presented along with the challenges that LoRa and LoRaWAN still face.
347 citations