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Cyberspace: a world at war. Our privacy, freedom of speech, and with them the very foundations of democracy are under attack. In the virtual world frontiers are not set by nations or states, they are set by those, who control the flows of information. And control is, what everybody wants.
The Five Eyes are watching, storing, and evaluating every transmission. Internet corporations compete for our data and decide if, when, and how we gain access to that data and to their pretended free services. Search engines control what information we are allowed - or want - to consume. Network access providers and carriers are fighting for control of larger networks and for better ways to shape the traffic. Interest groups and copyright holders struggle to limit access to specific content. Network operators try to keep their networks and their data safe from outside - or inside - adversaries.
And users? Many of them just don’t care. Trust in concepts and techniques is implicit. Those who do care try to take back control of the Internet through privacy-preserving techniques.
This leads to an arms race between those who try to classify the traffic, and those who try to obfuscate it. But good or bad lies in the eye of the beholder, and one will find himself fighting on both sides.
Network Traffic Classification is an important tool for network security. It allows identification of malicious traffic and possible intruders, and can also optimize network usage. Network Traffic Obfuscation is required to protect transmissions of important data from unauthorized observers, to keep the information private. However, with security and privacy both crumbling under the grip of legal and illegal black hat crackers, we dare say that contemporary traffic classification and obfuscation techniques are fundamentally flawed. The underlying concepts cannot keep up with technological evolution. Their implementation is insufficient, inefficient and requires too much resources.
We provide (1) a unified view on the apparently opposed fields of traffic classification and obfuscation, their deficiencies and limitations, and how they can be improved. We show that (2) using multiple classification techniques, optimized for specific tasks improves overall resource requirements and subsequently increases classification speed. (3) Classification based on application domain behavior leads to more accurate information than trying to identify communication protocols. (4) Current approaches to identify signatures in packet content are slow and require much space or memory. Enhanced methods reduce these requirements and allow faster matching. (5) Simple and easy to implement obfuscation techniques allow circumvention of even sophisticated contemporary classification systems. (6) Trust and privacy can be increased by reducing communication to a required minimum and limit it to known and trustworthy communication partners.
Our techniques improve both security and privacy and can be applied efficiently on a large scale. It is but a small step in taking back the Web.
Nowadays, there is a continuous need for many corporations to renew their business portfolio strategically in anticipation of changes in the business environment (e.g., technological change). The ongoing booming of founding international start-ups suggests that small entrepreneurial teams are an effective means to develop new businesses. Corporations should be able to benefit from this form of self-organized innovation when entering novel business domains for strategic renewal. However, corporations that establish small entrepreneurial teams (corporate ventures) are facing two obstacles. First, corporate ventures often fail for reasons that are not well explored. Second, it remains unclear how the partial successes may be improved to large successes. Although the key success factors remain ambiguous, there is little hope that corporate ventures will be successful without effective management. Since an empirical model for corporate venture management does not exists so far, the thesis formulates and answers the following problem statement: How can corporate management effectively manage corporate ventures? Building on qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, a model for effective corporate venture management is developed and tested statistically in the German IT consulting industry. The research results reveal some of the essential management principles through which corporate management can increase corporate venture success systematically.
The intentions of the so-called "More Electrical Aircraft" (MEA) are higher efficiency and lower weight. A main topic here is the application of electrical instead of hydraulical, pneumatical and mechanical systems. The necessary power electronic devices have intermediate DC-links, which are typically supplied by a three-phase system with active B6 and passive B12 rectifiers. A possible alternative is the B6 diode bridge in combination with an active power filter (APF). Due to the parallel arrangement, the APF offers a higher power density and is able to compensate for harmonics from several devices. The use of the diode bridge rectifier alone is not permitted due to the highly distorted phase current. The following investigations are dealing with the development of an active power filter for a three-phase supply with variable frequency from 360 to 800 Hz. All relevant components such as inductors, EMC-filters, power modules and DC-link capacitor are designed. A particular focus is put on the customized power module with SiC-MOSFETs and SiC-diodes, which is characterized electrically and thermally. The maximum supply frequency slope has a value of 50 Hz/ms, which requires a high dynamic and robustness on the control algorithm. Furthermore, the content of 5th and 7th harmonics must be reduced to less than 2 %, which demands a high accuracy. To cope with both requirements, a two-stage filter algorithm is developed and implemented in two independent signal processors. Simulations and laboratory experiments confirm the performance and robustness of the control algorithm. This work comprehensively presents the design of aerospace rectifiers. The results were published in conferences and patents.
In this thesis, a new framework has been proposed, designed and developed for creating efficient and cost effective logistics chains for long items within the building industry. The building industry handles many long items such as pipes, profiles and so on. The handling of these long items is quite complicated and difficult because they are bulky, unstable and heavy. So it is not cost effective and efficient to handle them manually. Existing planning frameworks ignore these special requirements of such goods and are not planned for handling these goods. That leads to that many additional manual handling steps are currently required to handle long items. Therefore, it is very important to develop a new framework for creating the efficient and cost-effective logistics chain for long items. To propose such a new framework, the expert interviews were conducted to gain the fully understanding about the customer requirements. The experts from all stages of the building industry supply chain were interviewed. The data collected from the expert interviews has been analysed and the meaningful findings about the customer requirements have been applied as the valuable inputs for the proposition of the new framework. To have fully knowledge about current practices, all existing planning frameworks have been analysed and evaluated using SWOT analysis. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the current planning frameworks have been comparatively analysed and evaluated. The findings from SWOT analysis have been used for proposing, designing and developing the new framework. The great efforts have been made during the implementation stage. The six different key parameters for a successful implementation have been identified. They are: • Improvement Process with Employees • Control of the Improvements • Gifts/Money for the Improvements and Additional Work • KAIZEN Workshops • Motivation of the Employees for Improvements • Presentation of the Results Among these six parameters, it has been found that KAIZEN workshops is a very effective way for creating an efficient and cost-effective logistics chain for long items. It is believed that the new framework can be theoretically used for the planning of logistics that handle long items and commercial goods. This framework can also be used to plan all kinds of in-house logistics processes from the incoming goods, storage, picking, delivery combination areas and through to the outgoing goods area. The achievements of this project are as follows (1) the new framework for creating efficient and cost-effective logistics chains for long items, (2) the data collection and the data evaluation at the preliminary planning, (3) the decision for one planning variant already at the end of the structure planning, (4) the analysis and evaluation of customer requirements, (5) the consideration and implementation of the customer requirements in the new framework, (6) the creation of figures and tables as planning guideline, (7) the research and further development of Minomi with regards to long items, (8) the research on the information flow, (9) the classification of the improvements and the improvement handling at the implementation, (10) the identification of key parameters for a successful implementation of the planning framework. This framework has been evaluated both theoretically and through a case study of a logistics system planning for handling long items and commercial goods. It has been found that the new framework is theoretically sound and practically valuable. It can be applied to creating the logistics system for long items, especially for building industry.
Path planning and collision avoidance for safe autonomous vessel navigation in dynamic environments
(2017)
Efficient privacy-preserving configurationless service discovery supporting multi-link networks
(2017)
Data is the pollution problem of the information age, and protecting privacy is the environmental challenge — this quotation from Bruce Schneier laconically illustrates the importance of protecting privacy. Protecting privacy — as well as protecting our planet — is fundamental for humankind. Privacy is a basic human right, stated in the 12th article of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The necessity to protect human rights is unquestionable. Nothing ever threatened privacy on a scale comparable to today’s interconnected computers. Ranging from small sensors over smart phones and notebooks to large compute clusters, they collect, generate and evaluate vast amounts of data. Often, this data is distributed via the network, not only rendering it accessible to addressees, but also — if not properly secured — to malevolent parties. Like a toxic gas, this data billows through networks and suffocates privacy. This thesis takes on the challenge of protecting privacy in the area of configurationless service discovery. Configurationless service discovery is a basis for user-friendly applications. It brings great benefits, allowing the configurationless network setup for various kinds of applications; e.g. for communicating, sharing documents and collaborating, or using infrastructure devices like printers. However, while today’s various protocols provide some means of privacy protection, typical configurationless service discovery solutions do not even consider privacy. As configurationless service discovery solutions are ubiquitous and run on almost every smart device, their privacy problems affect almost everyone. The quotation aligns very well with configurationless service discovery. Typically, configurationless service discovery solutions realize configurationlessness by using cleartext multicast messages literally polluting the local network and suffocating privacy. Messages containing private cleartext data are sent to everyone, even if they are only relevant for a few users. The typical means for mitigating the network pollution problem caused by multicast per se, regardless of the privacy aspects, is confining multicast messages to a single network link or to the access network of a WiFi access point; institutions often even completely deactivate multicast. While this mitigates the privacy problem, it also strongly scales configurationless service discovery down, either confining it or rendering it completely unusable. In this thesis, we provide an efficient configurationless service discovery framework that protects the users’ privacy. It further reduces the network pollution by reducing the number of necessary multicast messages and offers a mode of operation that is completely independent of multicast. Introducing a multicast independent mode of operation, we also address the problem of the limited range in which services are discoverable. Our framework comprises components for device pairing, privacy-preserving service discovery, and multi-link scaling. These components are independent and — while usable in a completely separated way — are meant to be used as an integrated framework as they work seamlessly together. Based on our device pairing and privacy-preserving service discovery components, we published IETF Internet drafts specifying a privacy extension for DNS service discovery over multicast DNS, a wildly used protocol stack for configurationless service discovery. As our drafts have already been adopted by the dnssd working group, they are likely to become standards.
According to the World Food Organization, nearly half of all root and tuber crops worldwide are not consumed, but are lost due to inappropriate storage and post-harvest losses. In developing countries such as Ethiopia, potatoes have not been dried, but are traditionally stored in potato clamps. So far, dried potatoes have not been converted into usable foods.
The aim of the present work is to convert potatoes - perishable rootlets and tubers - into stable products by hot air drying. Hot air dryers are economical to operate in industrialized countries. In Africa, this is reserved for larger industrial companies only. In regions with a tropical climate, however, the use of solar tunnel dryers is worthwhile. These are a good choice for farming and small industries and wherever electrical energy is difficult or impossible to obtain.
In a first part of the work, the drying process of potatoes was investigated, in particular with regard to the change of thermal, mechanical and chemical quality parameters. In an evaluation of the literature it was found that potatoes are not subject to quality changes if the water activityis below a value of 0.2. In order to determine the water content associated with this value at storage temperature, the known equations for the sorption equilibrium were evaluated and verified with own experimental investigations. This determined the end point of the drying process.
The following experimental investigations showed a process-dependent change of the quality criteria such as color, shrinkage, and mechanical properties as well as the content of valuedetermining substances such as vitamin C and starch. The differences in the course and magnitude of the quality changes were attributed to the glass transition that takes place during the drying process. For the determination of the glass transition temperature a new, simple method based on the measurement of mechanical properties could be developed. The knowledge of the glass transition temperature allowed optimizing the drying process. The drying process could be carried out in the rubbery or glassy region, depending on the expected quality changes. Thus, all information was available to produce high quality dried potatoes in an industrial process.
Since the production of potato products in less industrialized regions without sufficient supply of electrical energy should be included, potatoes were dried with a solar tunnel dryer. Examination of the quality properties mentioned above confirmed the process-dependent quality changes.
Finally, the dried product was ground and with the flour thus produced, wheat flour was replaced for baking bread. An evaluation of the finished bread by a panel showed that the acceptance of the bread according to the new recipe was high, also with regard to baking volume, taste, texture and color.
This work shows that by drying potatoes can be transformed a well accepted, storable and easily transportable product. The risk of losses or degradation is minimized. It can be produced on an industrial as well as on farm level. If the influence of the glass transition is taken into account, it is possible to optimize the quality of the product.
Simon Grimm examines new multi-microphone signal processing strategies that aim to achieve noise reduction and dereverberation. Therefore, narrow-band signal enhancement approaches are combined with broad-band processing in terms of directivity based beamforming. Previously introduced formulations of the multichannel Wiener filter rely on the second order statistics of the speech and noise signals. The author analyses how additional knowledge about the location of a speaker as well as the microphone arrangement can be used to achieve further noise reduction and dereverberation.