IRES Track 1: U.S. Rwanda Collaborative Research on Data Flows in IoT Applications

要实现“大数据”在移民研究、气候科学和粮食安全系统等领域的承诺，需要来自地球仪各国的准确和及时的数据。通过物联网（IoT）技术收集的数据，如远程传感器和无人机（UAV），有可能为全球数据中心做出贡献。然而，大多数物联网应用程序及其数据结构都是为了解决当地问题而设计的，例如作物保护和当地粮食短缺预测。该IRES SITTE项目将培训18名美国硕士生进行物联网系统的多标准设计和政策，旨在为全球数据科学家提供本地物联网数据。该项目涉及与卢旺达大学和卡内基梅隆非洲大学的教授/导师合作，这两所大学都位于卢旺达基加利，前者是世界银行东部和南部非洲高等教育卓越中心计划下的物联网卓越中心。通过合作，学生将接受无线网络，软件工程，政策研究和社会技术系统的跨学科研究培训。这种跨学科的培训将使低成本物联网系统的设计，可在一系列环境中使用，包括美国，同时增加生物学/农业和被迫移徙科学家获得数据的机会。该培训还将提高学生以及该项目的顾问委员会，包括学术科学家和行业创新专业人士，在东非的信息和通信技术（ICT）创新系统，扩大美国IT劳动力的全球视野。实现物联网（IoT）的承诺需要持续的系统创新，以融入基础技术的进步，降低成本，满足全球数据科学家的需求。设计将传感器获取的地方数据纳入全球科学数据平台的系统，如全球农业和营养开放数据中心和国际移民组织（移民组织）移民数据门户，可以同时为地方、区域和全球社会经济和环境发展挑战提供信息。这个IRES网站计划追求新颖的物联网研究。跨学科的研究结合了互补的无线网络，软件工程，政策研究和三位导师和PI的社会技术系统专业知识。 该方案包括三个项目，两个技术项目和一个侧重于政策分析。第一个技术项目涉及无人驾驶飞行器（UAV，又名无人机），用于收集难民花园的数据。使用相机，无人机收集通过归一化差异植被指数（NDVI）处理的图像数据，这是一种用于植被监测的标准方法。无人机还将由软件控制，以优化其路径规划，增强覆盖范围，即搜索目标区域和网络连接。 第二个技术项目的目标是通过硬件、软件和数据管理系统的创新，为无法接入电网的系统提供设备到设备通信（D2 D），旨在改善茶园的作物信息。 第三个项目侧重于国家和组织层面的物联网政策分析。这些分析将突出卢旺达物联网使用的当前趋势、系统漏洞以及可能影响数据共享实践并阻碍大数据科学家访问的国家和组织政策。该IRES网站计划培养能够解决多标准设计问题的跨学科和创造性信息技术专业人员。通过具有智力挑战性但范围适当的项目，硕士生接触到国际创新体系，并深入了解东非的文化。该计划的设计包括出发前和后续课程，确保有效的学生准备和广泛传播的结果。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Fulfilling the promise of "Big Data" for fields, such as migration studies, climate science, and food security systems, requires accurate and timely data from countries across the globe. Data collected through Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies, such as remote sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have the potential to contribute to global data hubs. However, most IoT applications and their data structures are designed to solve local problems, such as crop protection and local food shortage predictions. This IRES SITTE project will train 18 U.S. master's students in multicriteria design of and policies for IoT systems with the aim of making local IoT data available to global data scientists. The project involves collaborations with professors/mentors at University of Rwanda and Carnegie Mellon Africa, both in Kigali, Rwanda, the former of which serves as the Center of Excellence for IoT under the World Bank's Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence program. Through the collaboration, students will receive interdisciplinary research training in wireless networks, software engineering, policy studies and sociotechnical systems. This interdisciplinary training will enable designs of low cost IoT systems, usable in a range of contexts, including the U.S., while increasing access to data by biology/agriculture and forced migration scientists. The training will also enhance students' as well as the project's advisory board, consisting of academic scientists and an industry innovation professional, on information and communication technology (ICT) innovations systems in East Africa, expanding global perspectives within the U.S. IT workforce.Fulfilling the promise of the Internet of Things (IoT) requires ongoing systems innovation to incorporate advances in foundational technologies, lower costs, and fulfill the needs of global data scientists. Designing systems for integration of sensor-derived local data into global scientific data platforms, such as the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) hub and the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Migration Data Portal, can simultaneously inform local, regional and global challenges of socioeconomic and environmental development. This IRES Site Program pursues novel IoT research. The interdisciplinary research combines complementary wireless network, software engineering, policy studies, and sociotechnical systems expertise of the three mentors and the PI. The program consists of three projects, two technical and one focused on policy analysis. The first technical project involves unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, a.k.a. drones) designed for collecting data from refugee gardens. Using cameras, the UAVs collect image data processed through a Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI), a standard approach for vegetation monitoring. The UAV will also be controlled by software to optimize its path-planning, enhancing both coverage i.e. canvassing the target area, and network connectivity. The second technical project targets device-to-device communications (D2D) for systems without access to a power grid, through innovations in hardware, software and data management systems, designed to improve crop information on tea estates. A third project focuses on IoT policy analyses at national and organizational levels. The analyses will highlight current trends in Rwandan IoT use, system vulnerabilities, as well as national and organizational policies that may affect data sharing practices and hinder access by Big Data scientists.This IRES Site Program develops interdisciplinary and creative information technology professionals capable of solving multi-criteria design problems. Through intellectually challenging yet appropriately scoped projects, master's students are exposed to international innovation systems and gain insights into the culture of East Africa. The program's design includes both pre-departure and follow-on courses, insuring effective student preparation and widespread dissemination of results.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.