This book discusses the smooth integration of optical and RF networks in 5G and beyond (5G+) heterogeneous networks (HetNets), covering both planning and operational aspects. The integration of high-frequency air interfaces into 5G+ wireless networks can relieve the congested radio frequency (RF) bands. Visible light communication (VLC) is now emerging as a promising candidate for future generations of HetNets. Heterogeneous RF-optical networks combine the high throughput of visible light and the high reliability of RF. However, when implementing these HetNets in mobile scenarios, several challenges arise from both planning and operational perspectives. Since the mmWave, terahertz, and visible light bands share similar wave propagation characteristics, the concepts presented here can be broadly applied in all such bands. To facilitate the planning of RF-optical HetNets, the authors present an algorithm that specifies the joint optimal densities of the base stations by drawing on stochastic geometry in order to satisfy the users' quality-of-service (QoS) demands with minimum network power consumption. From an operational perspective, the book explores vertical handovers and multi-homing using a cooperative framework. For vertical handovers, it employs a data-driven approach based on deep neural networks to predict abrupt optical outages; and, on the basis of this prediction, proposes a reinforcement learning strategy that ensures minimal network latency during handovers. In terms of multi-homing support, the authors examine the aggregation of the resources from both optical and RF networks, adopting a two-timescale multi-agent reinforcement learning strategy for optimal power allocation. Presenting comprehensive planning and operational strategies, the book allows readers to gain an in-depth grasp of how to integrate future coexisting networks at high-frequency bands in a cooperative manner, yielding reliable and high-speed 5G+ HetNets.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Explainable, Transparent AI and Multi-Agent Systems, EXTRAAMAS 2021, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 19 long revised papers and 1 short contribution were carefully selected from 32 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: XAI & machine learning; XAI vision, understanding, deployment and evaluation; XAI applications; XAI logic and argumentation; decentralized and heterogeneous XAI.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Software Technologies, ICSOFT 2020, which was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 12 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 95 submissions. The papers deal with the following topics: business process modelling; IT service management; interoperability and service-oriented architecture; project management software; scheduling and estimating; software metrics; requirements elicitation and specification; software and systems integration among others.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Data Management Technologies and Applications, DATA 2020, which was supposed to take place in Paris, France, in July 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the event was held virtually. The 14 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 70 submissions. The papers deal with the following topics: datamining; decision support systems; data analytics; data and information quality; digital rights management; big data; knowledge management; ontology engineering; digital libraries; mobile databases; object-oriented database systems; data integrity.

This book focuses on smart results in the field of smart automotive mobility concentrating on (semi-)autonomous cars. The results are based on 5 recently finished public-funded research projects with a budget of over 15 million Euro. Providing insights into the next generation of personalized mobility on the road the authors discuss personalized, adaptive cooperative systems for highly automated cars and how they can be developed in a human-centered way. Furthermore, the book reports on a cooperative driver-vehicle interaction. How can the driver and the vehicle support each other? What are their best skills and how can they benefit from each other? It also gives novel insights on intuitive steering gestures on the steering wheel which initiate maneuvers to be executed by the automation, and to be supervised by, influenced or interrupted by the driver. The book finishes with information on a cooperative laser beam system which improves the communication between the different road participants to optimize the road safety of tomorrow. Smart Automotive Mobility: Reliable Technology for the Mobile Human is an ideal source for researchers, students and practitioners working in the area of intelligent systems for the automotive industry. It gives valuable and condensed information from multi-million Euro research projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computational Advances in Bio and Medical Sciences, ICCABS 2020, held in December 2020. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually.The 6 regular and 5 invited papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 16 submissions. The use of high throughput technologies is fundamentally changing the life sciences and leading to the collection of large amounts of biological and medical data. The papers show how the use of this data can help expand our knowledge of fundamental biological processes and improve human health - using novel computational models and advanced analysis algorithms.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Formal Modeling and Analysis of Timed Systems, FORMATS 2021, held in Paris, France, in August 2021. The 8 full papers that were carefully reviewed and selected from 19 submissions are presented in this volume with 2 invited talks. The papers focus on topics such as probabilistic computation, logic and verification, robotic planning, complexity of timed pattern matching, safety violations in real-time systems, modal and temporal logics, and others.

The 3-volume set CCIS 1422, CCIS 1423 and CCIS 1424 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Security, ICAIS 2021, which was held in Dublin, Ireland, in July 2021. The total of 131 full papers and 52 short papers presented in this 3-volume proceedings was carefully reviewed and selected from 1013 submissions. The papers were organized in topical sections as follows: Part I: artificial intelligence; Part II: artificial intelligence; big data; cloud computing and security internet; Part III: cloud computing and security; encryption and cybersecurity; information hiding; IoT security.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Theory and Applications of Satisfiability Testing, SAT 2021, which took place in Barcelona, Spain, in July 2021.The 37 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 73 submissions. They deal with theory and applications of the propositional satisfiability problem, broadly construed. Aside from plain propositional satisfiability, the scope of the meeting includes Boolean optimization, including MaxSAT and pseudo-Boolean (PB) constraints, quantified Boolean formulas (QBF), satisfiability modulo theories (SMT), and constraint programming (CP) for problems with clear connections to Boolean reasoning.

his two-volume set LNCS 12689-12690 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Advances in Swarm Intelligence, ICSI 2021, held in Qingdao, China, in July 2021. The 104 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 177 submissions. They cover topics such as: Swarm Intelligence and Nature-Inspired Computing; Swarm-based Computing Algorithms for Optimization; Particle Swarm Optimization; Ant Colony Optimization; Differential Evolution; Genetic Algorithm and Evolutionary Computation; Fireworks Algorithms; Brain Storm Optimization Algorithm; Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm; DNA Computing Methods; Multi-Objective Optimization; Swarm Robotics and Multi-Agent System; UAV Cooperation and Control; Machine Learning; Data Mining; and Other Applications.

his two-volume set LNCS 12689-12690 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Advances in Swarm Intelligence, ICSI 2021, held in Qingdao, China, in July 2021. The 104 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 177 submissions. They cover topics such as: Swarm Intelligence and Nature-Inspired Computing; Swarm-based Computing Algorithms for Optimization; Particle Swarm Optimization; Ant Colony Optimization; Differential Evolution; Genetic Algorithm and Evolutionary Computation; Fireworks Algorithms; Brain Storm Optimization Algorithm; Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm; DNA Computing Methods; Multi-Objective Optimization; Swarm Robotics and Multi-Agent System; UAV Cooperation and Control; Machine Learning; Data Mining; and Other Applications.

This book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Persuasive Technology, PERSUASIVE 2021, held as a virtual event, in April 2021. The 17 full papers presented in this book together with 8 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 67 submissions. The papers are grouped in topical sections as follows: persuasive affective technology; digital marketing, ecommerce, etourism and smart ecosystems; and persuasion and education.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 17th IFIP WG 10.3 International Conference on Network and Parallel Computing, NPC 2020, held in Zhengzhou, China, in September 2020. The 34 full and 7 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 95 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: accelerator; AI; algorithm; architecture and hardware; big data and cloud; edge computing; emerging; network; and storage.

This book constitutes the refereed conference proceedings of the 28th International Colloquium on Structural Information and Communication Complexity, SIROCCO 2021, held in Wroclaw, Poland, in June 2021. Due to COVID-19, the conference will be held online. The 20 full papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 48 submissions. The papers are solicited from all areas of study of local structural knowledge and global communication and computational complexities. Among the typical areas are distributed computing, communication networks, game theory, parallel computing, social networks, mobile computing

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Reversible Computation, RC 2021, which was held online during July 7-8, 2021. The 11 papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 21 submissions. The book also contains 2 invited talks in full-paper length, 3 work-in-progress papers and 1 tool paper. They were organized in topical sections named: programming and programming languages; reversible concurrent computation; theory and foundations; and circuit synthesis.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 8th International Conference on End-User Development, IS-EUD 2021, held in July 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually.The paper track received 26 submissions, of which 11 full and 4 short papers were selected after a rigorous double-blind review process. The papers focus on "Democratizing AI development", namely on EUD for AI-based systems, where end users are called-on to become end-user developers of intelligent agents, digital twins, collaborative systems and social robots.

In the statistical domain, certain topics have received considerable attention during the last decade or so, necessitated by the growth and evolution of data and theoretical challenges. This growth has invariably been accompanied by computational advancement, which has presented end users as well as researchers with the necessary opportunities to handle data and implement modelling solutions for statistical purposes. Showcasing the interplay among a variety of disciplines, this book offers pioneering theoretical and applied solutions to practice-oriented problems. As a carefully curated collection of prominent international thought leaders, it fosters collaboration between statisticians and biostatisticians and provides an array of thought processes and tools to its readers. The book thereby creates an understanding and appreciation of recent developments as well as an implementation of these contributions within the broader framework of both academia and industry. Computational and Methodological Statistics and Biostatistics is composed of three main themes: * Recent developments in theory and applications of statistical distributions;* Recent developments in supervised and unsupervised modelling;* Recent developments in biostatistics; and also features programming code and accompanying algorithms to enable readers to replicate and implement methodologies. Therefore, this monograph provides a concise point of reference for a variety of current trends and topics within the statistical domain. With interdisciplinary appeal, it will be useful to researchers, graduate students, and practitioners in statistics, biostatistics, clinical methodology, geology, data science, and actuarial science, amongst others.

This two-volume set constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2021, held as part of the 23rd International Conference, HCI International 2021, held as a virtual event, in July 2021. The total of 1276 papers and 241 posters included in the 39 HCII 2021 proceedings volumes was carefully reviewed and selected from 5222 submissions. UAHCI 2021 includes a total of 84 papers; they focus on topics related to universal access methods, techniques and practices, studies on accessibility, design for all, usability, UX and technology acceptance, emotion and behavior recognition for universal access, accessible media, access to learning and education, as well universal access to virtual and intelligent assistive environments.

This two-volume set constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2021, held as part of the 23rd International Conference, HCI International 2021, held as a virtual event, in July 2021. The total of 1276 papers and 241 posters included in the 39 HCII 2021 proceedings volumes was carefully reviewed and selected from 5222 submissions. UAHCI 2021 includes a total of 84 papers; they focus on topics related to universal access methods, techniques and practices, studies on accessibility, design for all, usability, UX and technology acceptance, emotion and behavior recognition for universal access, accessible media, access to learning and education, as well universal access to virtual and intelligent assistive environments.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 17th International Symposium on Applied Reconfigurable Computing, ARC 2021, held as a virtual event, in June 2021. The 14 full papers and 11 short presentations presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 40 submissions. The papers cover a broad spectrum of applications of reconfigurable computing, from driving assistance, data and graph processing acceleration, computer security to the societal relevant topic of supporting early diagnosis of Covid infectious conditions.

The book discusses the opportunities and challenges of managing knowledge in the new reality of Industry 4.0. Addressing paradigmatic changes in value creation due to the development of digital technologies applied to manufacturing (additive manufacturing, IoT, robotics, etc.), it includes theoretical and empirical contributions on how Industry 4.0 technologies allow firms to create and exploit knowledge. The carefully selected expert contributions highlight the potential of these technologies in acquiring knowledge from a larger number of sources and examine approaches to innovation, organization of activities, and stakeholder development in the context of this next industrial revolution.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 41st IFIP WG 6.1 International Conference on Formal Techniques for Distributed Objects, Components, and Systems, FORTE 2021, held in Valletta, Malta, in June 2021, as part of the 16th International Federated Conference on Distributed Computing Techniques, DisCoTec 2021. The 9 regular papers and 4 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 26 submissions. They cover topics such as: software quality, reliability, availability, and safety; security, privacy, and trust in distributed and/or communicating systems; service-oriented, ubiquitous, and cloud computing systems; component-and model-based design; object technology, modularity, and software adaptation; self-stabilisation and self-healing/organising; and verification, validation, formal analysis, and testing of the above. Due to the Corona pandemic this event was held virtually.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Model and Data Engineering, MEDI 2021, held in Tallinn, Estonia, in June 2021. The 16 full papers and 8 short papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 47 submissions. Additionally, the volume includes 3 abstracts of invited talks. The papers cover broad research areas on both theoretical, systems and practical aspects. Some papers include mining complex databases, concurrent systems, machine learning, swarm optimization, query processing, semantic web, graph databases, formal methods, model-driven engineering, blockchain, cyber physical systems, IoT applications, and smart systems. Due to the Corona pandemic the conference was held virtually.

Architectural stress is the inability of a system design to respond to new market demands. It is an important yet often concealed issue in high tech systems. In "From scientific instrument to industrial machine, " we look at the phenomenon of architectural stress in embedded systems in the context of a transmission electron microscope system built by FEI Company. Traditionally, transmission electron microscopes are manually operated scientific instruments, but they also have enormous potential for use in industrial applications. However, this new market has quite different characteristics. There are strong demands for cost-effective analysis, accurate and precise measurements, and ease-of-use. These demands can be translated into new system qualities, e.g. reliability, predictability and high throughput, as well as new functions, e.g. automation of electron microscopic analyses, automated focusing and positioning functions.

"From scientific instrument to industrial machine" takes a pragmatic approach to the problem of architectural stress. In particular, it describes the outcomes of the Condor project, a joint endeavour by a consortium of industrial and academic partners. In this collaboration an integrated approach was essential to successfully combine various scientific results and show the first steps towards a new direction. System modelling and prototyping were the key techniques to develop better understanding and innovative solutions to the problems associated with architectural stress.

"From scientific instruments to industrial machine" is targeted mainly at industrial practitioners, in particular system architects and engineers working on high tech systems. It can therefore be read without particular knowledge of electron microscope systems or microscopic applications. The book forms a bridge between academic and applied science, and high tech industrial practice. By showing the approaches and solutions developed for the electron microscope, it is hoped that system designers will gain some insights in how to deal with architectural stress in similar challenges in the high tech industry.

The three-volume set CCIS 1419, CCIS 1420, and CCIS 1421 contains the extended abstracts of the posters presented during the 23rd International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2021, which was held virtually in July 2021. The total of 1276 papers and 241 posters included in the 39 HCII 2021 proceedings volumes was carefully reviewed and selected from 5222 submissions.The posters presented in these three volumes are organized in topical sections as follows: Part I: HCI theory and methods; perceptual, cognitive and psychophisiological aspects of interaction; designing for children; designing for older people; design case studies; dimensions of user experience; information, language, culture and media. Part II: interaction methods and techniques; eye-tracking and facial expressions recognition; human-robot interaction; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; security and privacy issues in HCI; AI and machine learning in HCI. Part III: interacting and learning; interacting and playing; interacting and driving; digital wellbeing, eHealth and mHealth; interacting and shopping; HCI, safety and sustainability; HCI in the time of pandemic.