1st Workshop on Next-gen Decentralized Dependable Intelligent and Connected IoT: Challenges and Opportunities

Track ID: Work-08

 

Description

The maturity of wireless connectivity, blockchain (distributed ledger technologies), and intelligence has led to a comprehensive ecosystem of Internet of Things (IoT). The popularity of smart IoT and new services, such as extended reality (XR), autonomous driving vehicles, and metaverse, has increased the demand for ubiquitous connectivity and accountability for all things, everywhere. Additionally, the IoT network has transitioned into a fully decentralized age with the launch of the Helium Network's first node, claiming itself as the first decentralized network operator with low-power, long-range wide-area networks (LoRaWAN). However, this decentralized movement faces challenges, including the lack of quality of service (QoS) and coverage due to operations under unlicensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) spectrum with local ranged networks.

Therefore, the integration of 5G technology strongly improves the coverage and deployment of wireless sensor/actuator networks with energy-saving Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and RedCap. Nevertheless, the IoT exhibit interoperability, privacy, and ownership concerns when switching to operator-owned networks on a large scale. Considering this, 5G-enabled IoT must accommodate the need for top-notch bandwidth, low latency, and mobility in critical application fields while integrating new functionalities via 5G and beyond.

However, the introduction of 5G bring a concern of centralization, if the networks are under central control. Blockchain offers an inherent holistic trust mechanism for IoT which is also essential for building the decentralized underlying network (e.g., decentralized 5G network) for IoT . Still, using blockchain in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) networks has been challenging, as the blockchain is yet to be fully integrated into the 3GPP network. This workshop aims to encourage the integration of blockchain in two ways: first, the integration practice of blockchain features, such as decentralized identity and access control, decentralized applications, and distributed consensus in IoT and 3GPP networks. Second, the implementation of blockchain for distributed resource management in intelligent, dependable, and interoperable IoT networks. Furthermore, computing-enabled IoT will be capable of supporting various computing and networking services for different environments and applications.

In summary, this workshop intends to facilitate open discussions on the deep convergence of blockchain, computing, and networking in 3GPP networks for decentralized IoT in any given aspect. The objective and motivation of this workshop will highlight the latest advances in integrating and implementing IoT with blockchain and computing on 5GS. Contributions are invited on the following topics, including but not limited to:

• Designing 5G-enabled IoT networks with blockchain: Investigating the integration of blockchain and/or computing into IoT networks integrated with 5G technologies.
• Novel decentralized 5G and/or holistic ICT architecture: Proposing new and innovative 5G and ICT architectures to support IoT technologies in decentralized manner.
• Blockchain applications in IoT networks: Studying various blockchain applications that can be implemented in IoT networks, with an emphasis on decentralized 5G networks.
• Adapting SDN and Overlay network to 5G-enabled IoT network: Examining the adaptation of SDN and overlay networking in 5G-enabled IoT networks, incorporating blockchain networks.
• Decentralization and dApps in 5G-enabled IoT networks: Analyzing the role of decentralization and dApps in 5G-enabled IoT networks.
• Computing and blockchain in 5G-enabled IoT: Exploring the significance of computing and blockchain in 5G-enabled IoT networks, particularly in areas of data offloading, load balancing, and edge computing with decentralized computing resources.
• Interoperability in IoT networks: Investigating the interoperability between 3GPP and Non-3GPP networks for IoT, with a view to considering decentralization for IoT.
• Distributed learning in IoT networks: Highlighting the critical role of distributed learning in IoT networks.
• Distributed data processing in IoT: Presenting strategies for distributed data processing in connected IoT networks, to facilitate efficient and data-driven IoT networks, incorporating blockchain, computing and intelligence integrated into 5G-enabled IoT networks.

 

Workshop Length

6 hours (3 sessions):

• Session 1 for keynote speeches
• Session 2 for Panel discussion, featuring panelist from Academia, Industrialists and Investors (TBC).
• Session 3 for papers

 

Intended Audience

This workshop provides the opportunity for attendees from both academia and industry to exchange their views on blockchain-enabled and computing-enabled IoT.

 

Tentative Timeline Schedule

 

Presenters

• Keynote Speech by Prof. Bin Cao (BUPT, confirmed)
• Keynote Speech by Dr. Hao Xu (Huawei, confirmed)
• Keynote Speech by Dr. Chen Sun (Sony, confirmed)

 

Panel discussion: Transformation towards decentralized IoT Infrastructure

Panelists:

• Dr. Xiaoshuai Zhang (QMUL and University of Glasgow, can serve as the moderator)
• Prof. Yan Zhang (IEEE Fellow, elected member of Academia Europaea)
• Prof. Erwu Liu (Tongji University, TBC)
• Dr. Chen Sun (Sony)
• Dr. Yao Sun (University of Glasgow)
• Dr. Hao Xu (Huawei)
• Salvador Gala (Co-founder of Escape Velocity Ventures (ev3), TBC) [ev3 is a VC investing on early-stage decentralized digital infrastructure] (www.ev3.xyz)

 

Paper Session Chair

Dr. Shichao Zhu (Huawei)

 

Paper Submission Deadline

Important Dates:

• Deadline for Paper Submissions: July 30th, 2023
• Acceptance Notification: September 8th, 2023
• Deadline for Camera-Ready Paper Submissions:  September 29th, 2023
• Deadline for Presentation Submissions: October 2nd, 2023

Papers should be six (6) pages in length and follow the instruction provided for the main Conference. The conference allows up to two additional pages for a maximum length of eight (8) pages with payment of extra page charges once the paper has been accepted.

Please submit your paper for this Workshop using the link to eWorks:

eWorks

Call For Papers: 

PDF

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Hao Xu: hao.xu@ieee.org

 

Chairs

Hao Xu: Huawei Technologies

Hao Xu, who received B.Eng. degree from the University of Sheffield in 2017, M.Sc. degree in avionics from Cranfield University in 2018, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Glasgow in 2022, currently works at the Wireless Network Research Department at Huawei Technologies, and an active contributor to ETSI ISG PDL. Before joining Huawei, he was a visiting researcher at the China Mobile Research Institute, and also acted as a rapporteur for the O-RAN WG11 (formally Security Focus Group and Security Task Group) on behalf of China Mobile and the University of Glasgow. He has filed 8 patents both in UK and China, and authored/co-authored over 20 publications on IEEE Communicaitons Magazine, IEEE Network, IEEE Internet of Things Journal, IEEE TPDS, etc., and 2 of them are ESI Hot/Highly Cited Papers. His research interests cover wireless communication, wireless blockchain consensus, and blockchain-enabled radio access network.

 

 

Bin Cao: Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications

Bin Cao is a professor in the state key laboratory of network and switching technology at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. He received the Ph.D. (Hons.) degree in communication and information systems from the National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Communications, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in 2014. From July 2015 to July 2016, he was a research fellow at the National University of Singapore. He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, a Lead Guest Editor of IEEE Internet of Things Journal for Special Issue on Blockchain-enabled Internet of Things, and a cochair for big data track of IEEE Globecom 2022. He also served as Guest Editor of IEEE Sensors Journal, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, as well as symposium cochair for IEEE ICNC 2018, blockchain workshop cochair for CyberC 2019, IEEE Blockchain 2020 and TPC member for numerous conferences. He is the Founding Vice Chair of Special Interest Group on Wireless Blockchain Networks in IEEE Cognitive Networks Technical Committee. He received IEEE Outstanding Leadership Award 2020 and IEEE Broadcast Technology Society 2021 Best Paper Award. His research interests include blockchain system and internet of things, and he has extensive publications in IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, IEEE Transactions on Could Computing, IEEE Internet of Things Journal, IEEE Sensors Journal, IEEE Communications Magazine, IEEE Wireless Communications, and IEEE Network, and seven of them are ESI Hot/Highly Cited Papers.

 

Qi Sun: China Mobile Research Institute

Dr. Qi Sun is a Senior Researcher in China Mobile Research Institute. She chaired the 2022 ICC workshop on Cloud and Intelligent RAN for 5G and beyond. She is the Co-chair of O-RAN Alliance WG2, Chairman of ITU-T Focus Group on Machine Learning for Future Networks including 5G (FG-ML5G) Data formats & ML technologies Group. She has been working on the key technology and standardization of 5G RAN. Now her research interest focuses on wireless big data and machine learning enabled 5G and future network architecture, protocol and algorithm design. She has filed more than 30 patents, published more than 30 SCI/EI papers, and won the award of ESI top 1% highly cited paper.

 

 

 

 

Chong Lou: Huawei Technologies

Chong Lou is a Principal Engineer at Huawei RAN Research Department, where he leads the RAN research group on 5G/5G+ L2/L3 protocol design,RAN architecture and standardization. His research interests include Quality of Service, L2 architecture, NG-RAN AI and performance evaluation, etc. He is and has been actively contributed to the 3GPP RAN2/RAN3 areas of User Plane, Grant-Free, Small data, URLLC/XR, Mobility and relevant 3GPP NR Release 15-18standards since from 2016. He has held over 30 NR Standard Essential Patents and served several (co-) rapporteur of 3GPP work items.His current research focus is the next-generation RAN architecture.

 

 

 

 

Paulo Valente Klaine : Ericsson K. K. Japan

Paulo Valente Klaine received his B. Eng. degree in electrical and electronic engineering from the Federal University of Technology - Parana (UTFPR), Brazil in 2014, the MSc. degree from the University of Surrey, Guildford, U.K., in mobile communications systems in 2015, and the PhD degree in electrical and Electronics engineering from the University of Glasgow, U.K., in 2019. He has 3 filed patents and authored/co-authored over 20 publications. He received the IEEE ICEICT'21 Best Paper award. His research interests include wireless blockchain, machine learning in wireless networks and massive MIMO. He is currently working as an experienced researcher at Ericsson K. K. Japan.