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With the advent of AI-federated technologies, it is feasible to perform complex tasks in industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environment by enhancing throughput of the network and by reducing the latency of transmitted data. The communications in IIoT and Industry 4.0 requires handshaking of multiple technologies for supporting heterogeneous networks and diverse protocols. IIoT applications may gather and analyse sensor data, allowing operators to monitor and manage production systems, resulting in considerable performance gains in automated processes. All IIoT applications are responsible for generating a vast set of data based on diverse characteristics. To obtain an optimum throughput in an IIoT environment requires efficiently processing of IIoT applications over communication channels. Because computing resources in the IIoT are limited, equitable resource allocation with the least amount of delay is the need of the IIoT applications. Although some existing scheduling strategies address delay concerns, faster transmission of data and optimal throughput should also be addressed along with the handling of transmission delay. Hence, this study aims to focus on a fair mechanism to handle throughput, transmission delay and faster transmission of data. The proposed work provides a link-scheduling algorithm termed as delay-aware resource allocation that allocates computing resources to computational-sensitive tasks by reducing overall latency and by increasing the overall throughput of the network. First of all, a multi-hop delay model is developed with multistep delay prediction using AI-federated neural network long–short-term memory (LSTM), which serves as a foundation for future design. Then, link-scheduling algorithm is designed for data routing in an efficient manner. The extensive experimental results reveal that the average end-to-end delay by considering processing, propagation, queueing and transmission delays is minimized with the proposed strategy. Experiments show that advances in machine learning have led to developing a smart, collaborative link scheduling algorithm for fairness-driven resource allocation with minimal delay and optimal throughput. The prediction performance of AI-federated LSTM is compared with the existing approaches and it outperforms over other techniques by achieving 98.2% accuracy.

With an increase of IoT devices, the demand for more IoT gateways has increased, which increases the cost of network infrastructure. As a result, the proposed system uses low-cost intermediate gateways in this study. Each gateway may use a different communication technology for data transmission within an IoT network. As a result, gateways are heterogeneous, with hardware support limited to the technologies associated with the wireless sensor networks. Data communication fairness at each gateway is achieved in an IoT network by considering dynamic IoT traffic and link-scheduling problems to achieve effective resource allocation in an IoT network. The two-phased solution is provided to solve these problems for improved data communication in heterogeneous networks achieving fairness. In the first phase, traffic is predicted using the LSTM network model to predict the dynamic traffic. In the second phase, efficient link selection per technology and link scheduling are achieved based on predicted load, the distance between gateways, link capacity and time required as per different technologies supported such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Zigbee. It enhances data transmission fairness for all gateways, resulting in more data transmission achieving maximum throughput. Our proposed approach outperforms by achieving maximum network throughput, and less packet delay is demonstrated using simulation.

Our proposed approach outperforms by achieving maximum network throughput, and less packet delay is demonstrated using simulation. It also shows that AI- and IoT-federated devices can communicate seamlessly over IoT networks in Industry 4.0.

The concept is a part of the original research work and can be adopted by Industry 4.0 for easy and seamless connectivity of AI and IoT-federated devices.

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) is the foundational technology of the next generation air transportation system defined by Federal Aviation Authority and is one of the most precise ways for tracking aircraft position. ADS-B is intended to provide greater situational awareness to the pilots by displaying the traffic information like aircraft ID, altitude, speed and other critical parameters on the Cockpit Display of Traffic Information displays in the cockpit. Unfortunately, due to the initial proposed nature of ADS-B protocol, it is neither encrypted nor has any other innate security mechanisms, which makes it an easy target for malicious attacks. The system is vulnerable to various active and passive attacks like message ingestion, message deletion, eavesdropping, jamming, etc., which has become an area of concern for the aviation industry. The purpose of this study is to propose a method based on modified advanced encryption standard (AES) algorithm to secure the ADS=B messages and increase the integrity of ADS-B data transmissions.

Though there are various cryptographic and non-cryptographic methods proposed to secure ADS-B data transmissions, it is evident that most of these systems have limitations in terms of cost, implementation or feasibility. The new proposed method implements AES encryption techniques on the ADS-B data on the sender side and correlated decryption mechanism at the receiver end. The system is designed based on the flight schedule data available from any flight planning systems and implementing the AES algorithm on the ADS-B data from each aircraft in the flight schedule.

The suitable hardware was developed using Raspberry pi, ESP32 and Ra-02. Several runs were done to verify the original message, transmitted data and received data. During transmission, encryption algorithm was being developed, which has got very high secured transmission, and during the reception, the data was secured. Field test was conducted to validate the transmission and quality. Several trials were done to validate the transmission process. The authors have successfully shown that the ADS-B data can be encrypted using AES algorithm. The authors are successful in transmitting and receiving the ADS-B data packet using the discussed hardware and software methodology. One major advantage of using the proposed solution is that the information received is encrypted, and the receiver ADS-B system can decrypt the messages on the receiving end. This clearly proves that when the data is received by an unknown receiver, the messages cannot be decrypted, as the receiver is not capable of decrypting the AES-authenticated messages transmitted by the authenticated source. Also, AES encryption is highly unlikely to be decrypted if the encryption key and the associated decryption key are not known.

Implementation of the developed solution in actual onboard avionics systems is not within the scope of this research. Hence, assessing in the real-time distances is not covered.

The authors propose to extend this as a software solution to the onboard avionics systems by considering the required architectural changes. This solution can also bring in positive results for unmanned air vehicles in addition to the commercial aircrafts. Enhancement of security to the key operational and navigation data elements is going to be invaluable for future air traffic management and saving lives of people.

The proposed solution has been practically implemented by developing the hardware and software as part of this research. This has been clearly brought out in the paper. The implementation has been tested using the actual ADS-B data/messages received from using the ADS-B receiver. The solution works perfectly, and this brings immense value to the aircraft-to-aircraft and aircraft-to-ground communications, specifically while using ADS-B data for communicating the position information. With the proposed architecture and minor software updates to the onboard avionics, this solution can enhance safety of flights.

This study proposes a collaborative federated learning (CFL) framework to address personal data transmission and retention issues for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled video surveillance in public spaces.

This study examines specific challenges for long-term people monitoring in public spaces and defines AI-enabled video surveillance requirements. Based on the requirements, this study proposes a CFL framework to gradually adapt AI models’ knowledge while reducing personal data transmission and retention. The framework uses three different federated learning strategies to rapidly learn from different new data sources while minimizing personal data transmission and retention to a central machine.

The findings confirm that the proposed CFL framework can help minimize the use of personal data without compromising the AI model's performance. The gradual learning strategies help develop AI-enabled video surveillance that continuously adapts for long-term deployment in public spaces.

This study makes two specific contributions to advance the development of AI-enabled video surveillance in public spaces. First, it examines specific challenges for long-term people monitoring in public spaces and defines AI-enabled video surveillance requirements. Second, it proposes a CFL framework to minimize data transmission and retention for AI-enabled video surveillance. The study provides comprehensive experimental results to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in the context of facial expression recognition (FER) which involves large-scale datasets.

The study aims to develop a multilayer high-effective ensemble of ensembles predictive model (stacking ensemble) using several hyperparameter optimized ensemble machine learning (ML) methods (bagging and boosting ensembles) trained with high-volume data points retrieved from Internet of Things (IoT) emission sensors, time-corresponding meteorology and traffic data.

For a start, the study experimented big data hypothesis theory by developing sample ensemble predictive models on different data sample sizes and compared their results. Second, it developed a standalone model and several bagging and boosting ensemble models and compared their results. Finally, it used the best performing bagging and boosting predictive models as input estimators to develop a novel multilayer high-effective stacking ensemble predictive model.

Results proved data size to be one of the main determinants to ensemble ML predictive power. Second, it proved that, as compared to using a single algorithm, the cumulative result from ensemble ML algorithms is usually always better in terms of predicted accuracy. Finally, it proved stacking ensemble to be a better model for predicting PM_2.5 concentration level than bagging and boosting ensemble models.

A limitation of this study is the trade-off between performance of this novel model and the computational time required to train it. Whether this gap can be closed remains an open research question. As a result, future research should attempt to close this gap. Also, future studies can integrate this novel model to a personal air quality messaging system to inform public of pollution levels and improve public access to air quality forecast.

The outcome of this study will aid the public to proactively identify highly polluted areas thus potentially reducing pollution-associated/ triggered COVID-19 (and other lung diseases) deaths/ complications/ transmission by encouraging avoidance behavior and support informed decision to lock down by government bodies when integrated into an air pollution monitoring system

This study fills a gap in literature by providing a justification for selecting appropriate ensemble ML algorithms for PM_2.5 concentration level predictive modeling. Second, it contributes to the big data hypothesis theory, which suggests that data size is one of the most important factors of ML predictive capability. Third, it supports the premise that when using ensemble ML algorithms, the cumulative output is usually always better in terms of predicted accuracy than using a single algorithm. Finally developing a novel multilayer high-performant hyperparameter optimized ensemble of ensembles predictive model that can accurately predict PM_2.5 concentration levels with improved model interpretability and enhanced generalizability, as well as the provision of a novel databank of historic pollution data from IoT emission sensors that can be purchased for research, consultancy and policymaking.

The purpose of this study is to explore a new assembly process planning and execution mode to realize rapid response, reduce the labor intensity of assembly workers and improve the assembly efficiency and quality.

Based on the related concepts of digital twin, this paper studies the product assembly planning in digital space, the process execution in physical space and the interaction between digital space and physical space. The assembly process planning is simulated and verified in the digital space to generate three-dimensional visual assembly process specification documents, the implementation of the assembly process specification documents in the physical space is monitored and feed back to revise the assembly process and improve the assembly quality.

Digital twin technology enhances the quality and efficiency of assembly process planning and execution system.

It provides a new perspective for assembly process planning and execution, the architecture, connections and data acquisition approaches of the digital twin-driven framework are proposed in this paper, which is of important theoretical values. What is more, a smart assembly workbench is developed, the specific image classification algorithms are presented in detail too, which is of some industrial application values.

The advent of Internet of Things, cloud computing and advanced computing has endowed smart manufacturing environments with resilience, reconfigurability and intelligence, resulting in the emergence of novel capabilities. These capabilities have significantly reshaped the manufacturing ecosystem, enabling it to effectively navigate uncertainties. The purpose of this study is to assess the operational transformations resulting from the implementation of smart manufacturing, which distinguish it from conventional systems.

A list of qualitative and quantitative smart manufacturing performance metrics (SMPMs) are initially suggested and categorized into strategic, tactical and operational levels. The SMPMs resemble the capabilities of smart manufacturing systems to manage disruptions due to uncertainties. Then, industry and academia experts validate the SMPMs through the utilization of the Delphi method, enabling the ranking of the SMPMs.

The proposition of the SMPMs serves as a metric to assess the digital transformation capabilities of smart manufacturing systems. In addition, the ranking of the proposed SMPMs shows a degree of relevance of the measures in smart manufacturing deployment and managing the disruptions caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The findings benefit managers, consultants, policymakers and researchers in making appropriate decisions for deploying and operationalizing smart manufacturing systems by focusing on critical SMPMs.

The research provides a metric to assess the operational transformations during the deployment of smart manufacturing systems. Also, it states the role of the metric in managing the potential disruptions that can alter the performance of the business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to meet the different quality of service (QoS) requirements of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and multiple vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) links in vehicle networks, an efficient V2V spectrum access mechanism is proposed in this paper.

A long-short-term-memory-based multi-agent hybrid proximal policy optimization (LSTM-H-PPO) algorithm is proposed, through which the distributed spectrum access and continuous power control of V2V link are realized.

Simulation results show that compared with the baseline algorithm, the proposed algorithm has significant advantages in terms of total system capacity, payload delivery success rate of V2V link and convergence speed.

The LSTM layer uses the time sequence information to estimate the accurate system state, which ensures the choice of V2V spectrum access based on local observation effective. The hybrid PPO framework shares training parameters among agents which speeds up the entire training process. The proposed algorithm adopts the mode of centralized training and distributed execution, so that the agent can achieve the optimal spectrum access based on local observation information with less signaling overhead.

Despite the opportunities of digital twins (DTs) for smart buildings, limited research has been conducted regarding the facility management stage, and this is explained by the high complexity of accurately representing and modelling the physics behind the DTs process. This study thus organises and consolidates the fragmented literature on DTs implementation for smart buildings at the facility management stage by exploring the enablers, applications and challenges and examining the interrelationships amongst them.

A systematic literature review approach is adopted to analyse and synthesise the existing literature relating to the subject topic.

The study revealed six main categories of enablers of DTs for smart building at the facility management stage, namely perception technologies, network technologies, storage technologies, application technologies, knowledge-building and design processes. Three substantial categories of DTs application for smart buildings were revealed at the facility management stage: efficient operation and service monitoring, efficient building energy management and effective smart building maintenance. Subsequently, the top four major challenges were identified as being “lack of a systematic and comprehensive reference model”, “real-time data integration”, “the complexity and uncertainty nature of real-time data” and “real-time data visualisation”. An integrative framework is finally proposed by examining the interactive relationship amongst the enablers, the applications and the challenges.

The findings could guide facility managers/engineers to fairly understand the enablers, applications and challenges when DTs are being implemented to improve smart building performance and achieve user satisfaction at the facility management stage.

This study contributes to the knowledge body on DTs by extending the scope of the existing studies to identify the enablers and applications of DTs for smart buildings at the facility management stage and the specific challenges.

Deep learning (DL) is on the rise because it can make predictions and judgments based on data that is unseen. Blockchain technologies are being combined with DL frameworks in various industries to provide a safe and effective infrastructure. The review comprises literature that lists the most recent techniques used in the aforementioned application sectors. We examine the current research trends across several fields and evaluate the literature in terms of its advantages and disadvantages.

The integration of blockchain and DL has been explored in several application domains for the past five years (2018–2023). Our research is guided by five research questions, and based on these questions, we concentrate on key application domains such as the usage of Internet of Things (IoT) in several applications, healthcare and cryptocurrency price prediction. We have analyzed the main challenges and possibilities concerning blockchain technologies. We have discussed the methodologies used in the pertinent publications in these areas and contrasted the research trends during the previous five years. Additionally, we provide a comparison of the widely used blockchain frameworks that are used to create blockchain-based DL frameworks.

By responding to five research objectives, the study highlights and assesses the effectiveness of already published works using blockchain and DL. Our findings indicate that IoT applications, such as their use in smart cities and cars, healthcare and cryptocurrency, are the key areas of research. The primary focus of current research is the enhancement of existing systems, with data analysis, storage and sharing via decentralized systems being the main motivation for this integration. Amongst the various frameworks employed, Ethereum and Hyperledger are popular among researchers in the domain of IoT and healthcare, whereas Bitcoin is popular for research on cryptocurrency.

There is a lack of literature that summarizes the state-of-the-art methods incorporating blockchain and DL in popular domains such as healthcare, IoT and cryptocurrency price prediction. We analyze the existing research done in the past five years (2018–2023) to review the issues and emerging trends.

This study aims to examine the present condition of blockchain technology (BT) applications in auditing by analyzing journal publications on the topic to acquire a better understanding of the field.

This study makes use of the Bibliometric Analysis method and gathered 725 papers from the Web of Science and Scopus databases in the management and accounting, business, financial, economic and social science, as well as decision sciences fields from 2017 to 2021 using the R-Package Bibliometrix Analysis “biblioshiny”.

The findings revealed that blockchain research in terms of auditing has already increased and started to spark a quick rise in popularity, but is still in its initial phases with important quality though less in quantity. Moreover, the Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting is the most prolific journal with 2019 as the highest publication year, with the United States and China as the most cited countries in this field. Furthermore, in this field, there are much research topics involving blockchain, audit and smart contracts; and there is less involving data analytics, governance, hyperledger, distributed ledger and financial reporting. Additionally, Sheldon (2019) and Smith and Castonguay (2020) are the most productive authors in the field in terms of the H-index.

This study has certain limitations such as the fact that it only looked at 105 papers in the domains of finance, business, economics, accounting, management as well as multidisciplinary science. Moreover, the research’s data and dates have an impact on the results dependability. As this is an original topic, fresh studies are anticipated to remain to shine a spotlight on and suggest answers to blockchain’s implications on auditing. Additionally, the period of time was limited to only the last five years, from 2017 to 2021. As a result, extensive study into the topic is required since there is currently a research deficit in the blockchain field in the setting of auditing. So, new research is required to offer new frameworks and understandings for describing the blockchain function in auditing, including processes, techniques, security, as well as timeliness. Investigations in unique circumstances and research employing innovative research methodologies for discovering the new issue would be valuable in acquiring a higher grasp of the complexities faced.

This research contributed to the field by assessing the present state of the art of research on the usage and use of BT in finding research gaps, the audit profession and, most importantly, recommending a future direction for researchers in the subject.