The integration of real-time capacity optimization suites within legacy civil aviation computing ecosystems is highly bottlenecked by the severe structural heterogeneity of distribution data infrastructures. Telemetry and transactional feeds remain highly siloed across disparate legacy Global Distribution System (GDS) alphabetic fields, Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) direct APIs, and non-public multi-alliance loyalty program ledger inventories. This paper presents a sovereign computational architecture engineered to achieve distributed eventual consistency across these fragmented environments. The system introduces an automated Heterogeneous Data Fusion (H-Pipeline) layer that aggregates high-frequency multi-source distribution data streams into a unified, encrypted semantic vector space through specialized vector dimension coalescing protocols operating under strict TLS 1.3 mutual authentication frameworks. To intelligently parse and navigate these multi-source streams, the architecture deploys an asynchronous, cloud-native Large Language Model (LLM) orchestration middleware running entirely within serverless stateless edge containers (AWS Wavelength/Cloudflare Workers meshes). The cloud-native LLM layer is established as an asynchronous predictive semantic router, dynamically identifying macroeconomic anomalies, unexpected capacity imbalances, and transient route volatility without introducing synchronized write-back overhead or data persistence bottlenecks to critical On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) reservation threads. Simulation-based performance evaluation utilizing industry-standard benchmark datasets confirms single-digit millisecond failover recovery bounds, a strict 12 ms cross-border fiber pathway propagation convergence limit, and total mitigation of cross-region distributed semantic drift, establishing a robust computational foundation for next-generation asynchronous AI airline operations.
Timed signatures are cryptographic primitives that enable senders to predefine the validity period of a signature. Currently, two primary types of timed signatures have been developed. The first type, known as Verifiable Timed Signatures (CCS'2020), implements a delay before a signature becomes effective. The second type is Short-Lived Signatures (ASIACRYPT'2022), which allows for the setting of an expiration time for signatures upon creation. However, certain applications requiring time-sensitive authorization demand both activation and expiration times to be set, a requirement not fulfilled by the existing timed signature schemes. To overcome this limitation, we propose a novel flexible timed signature scheme called Time Interval Signatures (TIS). TIS combines Verifiable Delay Functions and Short-Lived Signatures with our Zero-Knowledge Proof of Product, facilitating the flexible setting of both activation and expiration times for the signature. Building on TIS, we present TimeGuardian, a time-bound NFT rights protocol that enables presetting authorization and revocation periods for NFT usage rights. Experimental results show that TIS achieves signature size reductions of 98.67% and 57.14% compared to existing verifiable timed signature solutions.
USDOE, Emilio C. Piesciorovsky, Gary Hahn, Raymond Borges Hink · 5 authors
In this study is presented two power system applications with distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts (SC) that were assessed in a Cyber-Grid-Guard System (CGGS) advanced testbed, with protective relays, power meters, communication devices, DLT devices, synchronized time source, clock displays and real time simulator. This CGGS testbed was set in the Advanced Protection Lab, 252 lab space of the Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center (GRID- C), at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In power grids, customer-owned distributed energy resources (DERs) are more frequent than in the past, and the numbers of points of interconnection (POI) with customer-owned DERs have increased. Disruptive operation from DERs presents a risk to grid operations, and protective relays located at the POI are used to isolate out-of-tolerance or poorly behaving of DERs. Ensuring the integrity of data from the relays at the POI, and DLT could enhance the security of the power grids. The first application is a SC to define and control the allowable total power factor (TPF) of the DER (wind farm) output, and the terms of the SC are implemented using DLT with a CGGS for a customer-owned DER. The TPF SC was implemented by the CGGS using DLT. The experimental model was performed with a real-time simulator using a CGGS and relay in-the-loop. The data collected from the CGGS were used to execute the TPF SC. The TPF limits were between +0.9 and +1.0, and the breakersâ operation in the POI was controlled by the relay using the SC. The events were collected from the real-time simulator, CGGS, and SEL 700GT relay to validate a successful application of the TPF SC using DLT. The second application is a SC to measure and control the allowable voltage service limits (VSL) by the CGGS using DLT. The tests were performed by using a real-time simulator, CGGS and relay in-the-loop. The data was collected from the CGGS that executed the SC. The main constraints were defined based on ANSI C84.1 service voltage limits, and the operation of the breakers in the POI. The events were collected from the CGGS, and SEL 700GT relay to assess a successful operation of the VSL SC using DLT.
Jin Qian, Jun Luo, Liquan Chen, Bangwei Yin · 6 authors
The authentication of identities within the smart grid system is crucial for ensuring its security and stable operation. With the emergence of smart grid technology, the significance of identity authentication in smart grid systems has become increasingly evident. Traditional authentication techniques, such as Direct Anonymous Attestation (DAA) based on RSA or ECC algorithm, face threats from quantum computing. On the other hand, lattice-based cryptography utilizes lattice structures and difficult problems to ensure the security and reliability of authentication against quantum computing threats, leading to the development of various Lattice-based Direct Anonymous Attestation (LDAA) protocols. In traditional LDAA schemes, the signature process involves using issued identity certificates to ensure trustworthiness. To maintain identity anonymity and trust, this process usually requires an additional commitment scheme and the use of large coefficient expressions for zero-knowledge proofs. This paper presents a single-domain LDAA scheme based on lattice cryptography. It significantly enhances authentication efficiency and performance by employing an innovative multiplication relations proof mechanism in lattices. Comparative experimental results validate the superiority of the proposed scheme.
Ioannis Nikolaou, ÎΔÏÎœÎŻÎŽÎ±Ï ÎΜΞÏÏÎżÏ Î»ÎżÏ
The emergence of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) in the past decade has challenged our imagination to discover new, innovative and disruptive solutions to problems in domains ranging from finance and healthcare to supply chain and Smart Cities. However, the enormous energy consumption that has been observed in some of the most successful DLT applications raises the question of their long term sustainability. This article reviews the standardization efforts of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to provide guidelines to regulators and policy makers for making informed decisions on the applicability and sustainability of DLT architectures from the point of view of energy consumption.
Pol Gonzålez, Adam Zahir, Chiara Grasselli, Alejandro Muñiz · 10 authors
A ML function orchestrator deploying secure ML pipelines to support near-real-time control of network services is demonstrated. A distributed ledger supports the initial key exchange to establish secure connectivity among the agents in the pipeline.
Lina AlâSahan, Noureddine Lasla, Mohamed Abdallah, Bo Wang
Abstract The licensed band is crowded and suffers from immense mobile data traffic growth, which exceeded 58 exabytes per month in 5 years. Meanwhile, a significant portion of the unlicensed band is underutilized and not coordinated efficiently. Experiments in some urban areas of the world have shown that only 5% of the unlicensed 5 GHz band is being used. 5G NRâU technology supports 5G networks in the unlicensed band to alleviate the traffic congestion and boosts 5G networks capacity. Different heterogeneous network access technologies already use the unlicensed band. Consequently, 5G NRâU networks will operate in the proximity of the other coexisting networks, such as WiFi networks in the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. In such environments, assessing the shared spectrum becomes challenging and necessitates adequate protocols to identify idle slots for successful transmissions. Cooperative Spectrum Sensing (CSS) improves the spectrum assessment process, as the decision about the spectrum state is rendered based on the local decisions of multiple sensing nodes. CSS is exploited by integrating it with Blockchain technology to design a decentralized cooperative spectrum management system called: BlockchainâBased Cooperative Spectrum Management (BCSM). The system is attributed to ameliorating 5G NRâU awareness about the neighboring WiFi networks traffic in the unlicensed band. An algorithm is designed for performing distributed cooperative spectrum assessment between the 5G NRâU base stations to profile the WiFi networks traffic in their proximity. To ensure fairness based on the effort expended in assessing the spectrum, a priorityâbased algorithm is designed for spectrum access scheduling. A proofâofâconcept is implemented using private Ethereum Blockchain and NS3 simulator. Finally, the system's accuracy is evaluated empirically along with theoretical security analysis.
The ever-increasing demand for high communication data rate and high-quality multi-media services; over past few decades, has ignited new avenues in radio architectures. Frequency reconfigurable (or frequency agile) communication systems are among the key architectures for efficient and cost-effective utilization of the allotted frequency spectrum. The emerging concept of on-orbit flexible payload (or programmable payload) in satellite communication is another encouraging development on the horizon. In-addition, tunability in filters used for remote radio unit (RRU) is highly preferred by network operators owing to the high cost of installing RRU both in low density remotely accessed locations and in high density expensive urban locations. Such frequency reconfigurable radio architectures typically demand reconfigurability (tunability) of components within the physical layer as well. Hence, tunable filters play a vital role in realization of frequency reconfigurable communication systems. \n \nIn general, any fixed frequency filter can be transformed into a tunable filter by introducing tuning elements dedicated to tuning the resonators and the coupling structures. Thus, a tunable filter of order N would require 2N+1 tuning elements to maintain a constant absolute bandwidth (BW) over the tuning range. This use of large number of tuning elements not only increases size and cost, but also adds to the complexity of the tuning control mechanism, particularly when configured in a closed loop system. Over the past decade, a significant research has been carried out to reduce the number of tuning elements by roughly 50% (i.e. with only N tuning elements). The coupling structures are suitably designed to maintain their performance over the tuning range, eliminating N+1, while only N tuning elements are used for tuning the N resonators. The goal here is to further reduce the number of tuning elements to a âsingle tuning elementâ. \n \nThe thesis presents several novel configurations for a high-Q tunable band pass filter employing a single tuning element, while maintaining a constant BW, return loss performance and location of the transmission zeros over a wide tuning range. Advanced filter synthesis techniques for both tunable filter and fixed filters are also proposed. \n \nA tunable double-septa waveguide (WG) filter is presented employing a single tuning element. The theory of coupling behavior of single septum and double septa to achieve constant absolute BW is explored. The tuning mechanism of the proposed filter is explained with measurement results presented for a Ku-band tunable WG filter designed at 15 GHz with a 2% fractional BW to achieve 15% tuning range. BW variation is observed to be within ±5% while the center frequency is tuned from 14.65 to 17.15 GHz. The filter promises to be useful in emerging 5G millimeter-wave applications, where the filter size is very small to accommodate multiple mechanical tuning elements. Furthermore, the proposed design methodology is scalable, i.e., the tuning mechanism is independent of the filter order. \n \nA frequency reconfigurable dual-mode WG filter having an elliptic response is presented. The proposed filter maintains a constant absolute BW and a constant rejection BW (i.e. constant frequency spacing between transmission zeros) over the tuning range. Furthermore, the filter can be tuned using a single tuning mechanism. A 4th order prototype filter at 11.5 GHz with 50 MHz bandwidth and 2 symmetric transmission zeros (± 45 MHz) is fabricated and measured. \n \nA novel configuration of a BW reconfigurable WG filter that uses only two tuning elements irrespective of the filter order is proposed. The proposed filter configuration demonstrates that it can achieve a relatively wide BW variations without deviating the center frequency. A 4 pole prototype filter is designed, fabricated and tested at Ku-band. The measured BW tunability of the filter is nearly 35 % from 225 to 320 MHz at 13.375 GHz. To the authorâs knowledge, this is the only BW reconfigurable filter that can be tuned with only two tuning elements regardless of the filter order. \n \nThe thesis also demonstrates the feasibility of realizing a high-Q lambda/2 resonator based tunable coaxial filter, which is tuned by a single rotational tuning element irrespective of the filter order. The proposed filter has low variations in the absolute BW and insertion loss (IL) over a relatively wide tuning range. A prototype four-pole filter is developed at 2.5 GHz with a fractional BW of 4% to verify the concept. The measured tuning range of the filter is 20%, within which the BW variation is better than ±10% and IL variation is better than 0.05 dB. The proposed concept is easily expandable to filters with higher order. Furthermore, the concept is adopted to design a tunable diplexer using only a single tuning mechanism while maintaining the frequency performance of each channel and the frequency spacing between the two channels over the tuning range. The proposed high-Q tunable filter is promising for use in the frequency-agile communication architecture at the cellular base-station and aerospace applications. \n \nA novel configuration of a High-Q coaxial tunable filter which employs a single rotational mechanism to tune the filter, while using fixed lambda/4 resonators is also presented. The rotational tuning concept is different from that proposed for the tunable coaxial lambda/2 resonators. A prototype filter is designed for the proof of concept, which has a tuning range of 11.6% from 685 MHz to 770 MHz, over which bandwidth variation is within 10.5±0.7 MHz.. In-addition, the proposed design methodology can be scaled to realize higher order filters. The proposed filter promises to be useful in a wide range of telecommunication applications including flexible payload in aerospace applications.
This article considers both the influence of relay power and load control period on the load tracking performance in smart grid communication. First, based on regulation errors caused by load control with imperfect channel state information (CSI), the load tracking cost model integrated of load control period and relay power is established in smart grid communication. Then, a coordination mechanism of cost-sharing contract (CSC) is presented. In the CSC, the utility companies select the preferred contractual terms offered by the telecom operator (TO) to reduce their costs and coordinate the whole network system simultaneously. Finally, the theoretical analysis and simulation demonstrate that the simultaneous consideration of the relay power and load control period can reduce the costs of the utility companies, increase the profit of the TO, and improve the social welfare. Besides, the proposed coordination mechanism of CSC can coordinate the whole network system.
Technological advancements are leading to new frontiers in power grid operation, monitoring, control, and commercialization. The conventional notion of unidirectional power flow from centralized generating stations to probable consumers through unidirectional distribution systems is now changing with the active participation of consumers as prosumers and distributed energy resources. In order to maintain security, privacy and avoid double-spending while performing energy trading through online mechanisms a strong and reliable mode of energy transaction platform is required. Blockchain technology has proven as a stable and reliable platform for maintaining the distributed ledger that could be utilized for hosting and managing the energy transactions of the grid. In this paper, a blockchain-based energy trading mechanism in presence of internet of things has been proposed and the impact of employing blockchain technology on the aggregated load profile and available distribution capability of the ADN has been performed in Modified IEEE 123 bus distribution feeder.
The sheer growth of electricity demand and the rising number of electricity-hungry devices have highlighted and elevated the need of addressing the demand response management problem in residential smart grid systems. In this article, a novel contract-theoretic demand response management (DRM) framework in residential smart grid systems is introduced based on the principles of labor economics. The residential households produce and consume electricity, acting as dynamic prosumers. Initially, the prosumers' personal electricity generation and consumption characteristics are captured by introducing the concept of prosumers' types. Then, the prosumers' and the electricity market's profit is depicted in representative utility functions. Based on the labor economics principles, Contract Theory is adopted to design the interactions among the electricity market, which offers personalized rewards to the prosumers in order to buy electricity at an announced price, and the prosumers, who offer their âeffortâ by paying for the purchased electricity. The contract-theoretic DRM problem is formulated as a maximization problem of the electricity market's utility, while jointly guaranteeing the optimal satisfaction of the prosumers, under the scenarios of complete and incomplete information from the electricity market's perspective regarding knowing or not the prosumers' types, respectively. The corresponding optimization problems are solved following a convex optimization approach and the optimal contracts, i.e., rewards and efforts, are determined. Detailed numerical results obtained via modeling and simulation, highlight the key operation features and superiority of the proposed framework.
Smart Grid provides the manufacturer and consumer with real-time energy information, enabling them to make "smart" choices. Smart homes, on the other hand, realize the interaction between the end-user and the smart grid. With this infrastructure, new possibilities arise for the consumer: different prices for different types of energy, instant metering and costs, predictions about bill evolution, etc. In this paper, we focus on another important aspect, namely the quality of the electric energy received by a smart home from the smart grid. For this, we developed a power quality analyzer that besides the usually metering functions also records the period of time when the quality of the energy is lower than the threshold specified in the contract between the consumer and the provider. This information is accessible for both entities to improve the quality of the system and repay the consumer for poor quality energy.
In this article, we propose a blockchain verification protocol as a method for enabling and securing spectrum sharing in moving cognitive radio (CR) networks. The spectrum-sharing mechanism is used as a medium-access protocol for accessing wireless bandwidth among competing CRs. We introduce a virtual currency, called Specoins, for payment to access the spectrum. An auction mechanism based on a first-come-first-served queue is used, with the price for the spectrum advertised by each primary user in a decentralized fashion. The blockchain protocol facilitates the transactions between primary and secondary users and is used to validate and save each user's virtual wallet. Also important for mobile networks, the blockchain serves as a distributed database that is visible by all participating parties, and any node can volunteer to update the blockchain. The volunteer nodes are called miners, and they are awarded with Specoins. We propose diverse methods to exchange the Specoins to make leasing possible even by CRs that are not miners. We show the improvement of the proposed algorithm compared with the conventional Aloha medium-access protocol in terms of spectrum usage. This difference is investigated using small-scale fading variation in the wireless channel to compare the performance of our secure method with the conventional medium access used in vehicular communications. The secure blockchain verification protocol is not only secure but also outperforms the conventional system in moderate cases of small-scale fading. In the case of severe small-scale fading, the blockchain protocol will outperform the conventional system if multipath diversity is not used.
Lillian J. Ratliff, Roy Dong, Henrik Ohlsson, Ălvaro A. CĂĄrdenas · 5 authors
In the electricity grid, networked sensors which record and transmit increasingly high-granularity data are being deployed. In such a setting, privacy concerns are a natural consideration. In order to obtain the consumer's valuation of privacy, we design a screening mechanism consisting of a menu of contracts offered to the energy consumer with varying guarantees of privacy. The screening process is a means to segment customers. Finally, we design insurance contracts using the probability of a privacy breach to be offered by third-party insurance companies.
The traditional electrical grid is transitioning into the Smart Grid (SG) and the introduction of Smart Meter (SM) is a first stage towards Smart Grid. The SM can offer new functionalities such as remote reading, automatic event reporting and the possibility of remote switching by the Distribution System Operator (DSO). The DSO can send remote signal to the breaker of the SM to disconnect or connect customers. This could be used when customers are moving or do not have a contract. DSO is currently applying this technique regularly for customers but one by one which do not affect the grid's power quality remarkably. But this technique has never been applied for multiple customers at a time in a single neighborhood and the possible effect on the grid's power quality is still unknown. This condition is studied in this paper through test scenarios which have already been planned to test. This paper presents necessary steps of remote SM switching for a large number of customers. Power quality standards and steps for measuring power quality during the tests are outlined. Possible risks of the test as well as the probability of occurring risk and also the consequences of those risks are studied in this paper.
Jeff Naruchitparames, Mehmet Hadi Gunes, Cansın Yaman Evrenosoglu
This paper focuses on deployment of smart meters in the power distribution systems to enhance the operation infrastructure. An important challenge in establishing a communication paradigm between the utilities and the customers is that customers are susceptible to privacy concerns. In this paper, we present a model to ensure the privacy and integrity of communicating parties within the smart grid by using smart meters as a gateway between intra- and inter-network communications. In particular, we utilize the smart meter as a firewall to manage incoming and outgoing traffic and mediate household devices based on the instructions from the electric utility. Moreover, third parties are introduced in our model such as service providers so that they can monitor and manage the contracted customers by using the existing communication infrastructure.