Self-Organization in Sensor and Actor Networks explores self-organization mechanisms and methodologies concerning the efficient coordination between intercommunicating autonomous systems.Self-organization is often referred to as the multitude of algorithms and methods that organise the global behaviour of a system based on inter-system communication. Studies of self-organization in natural systems first took off in the 1960s. In technology, such approaches have become a hot research topic over the last 4-5 years with emphasis upon management and control in communication networks, and especially in resource-constrained sensor and actor networks. In the area of ad hoc networks new solutions have been discovered that imitate the properties of self-organization. Some algorithms for on-demand communication and coordination, including data-centric networking, are well-known examples. Key features include: Detailed treatment of self-organization, mobile sensor and actor networks, coordination between autonomous systems, and bio-inspired networking. Overview of the basic methodologies for self-organization, a comparison to central and hierarchical control, and classification of algorithms and techniques in sensor and actor networks. Explanation of medium access control, ad hoc routing, data-centric networking, synchronization, and task allocation issues. Introduction to swarm intelligence, artificial immune system, molecular information exchange. Numerous examples and application scenarios to illustrate the theory. Self-Organization in Sensor and Actor Networks will prove essential reading for students of computer science and related fields; researchers working in the area of massively distributed systems, sensor networks, self-organization, and bio-inspired networking will also find this reference useful.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Self-Organizing Systems, IWSOS 2011, held in Karlsruhe, Germany, in February 2011. The 9 revised full papers presented together with 1 invited paper were carefully selected from 25 initial submissions. It was the 5th workshop in a series of multidisciplinary events dedicated to self-organization in networked systems with main focus on communication and computer networks. The papers address theoretical aspects of self-organization as well as applications in communication and computer networks and robot networks.

This book describes the emerging field of self-organizing, multicore, distributed and real-time embedded systems. Self ‐organization of both hardware and software can be a key technique to handle the growing complexity of modern computing systems. Distributed systems running hundreds of tasks on dozens of processors, each equipped with multiple cores, requires self‐organization principles to ensure efficient and reliable operation. This book addresses various, so-called Self‐X features such as self-configuration, self‐optimization, self‐adaptation, self‐healing and self‐protection.

This book presents the state-of-the-art in successfully engineered self-organizing systems. It goes further, too, to examine ways to balance design and self-organization in the context of applications. As demonstrated throughout, finding this balance helps to deal with diverse practical challenges. The case studies described illustrate the richness of the topic and provide guidance on its more intricate areas.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Self-Organizing Systems, IWSOS 2008, held in Vienna, Austria, December 10-12, 2008. The 20 revised full papers and 13 revised short papers presented were carefully selected from the 70 full and 24 short paper submissions from authors from 33 different countries. The papers are organized in topical sections on peer-to-peer systems, overlay networks as well as resource and service management.

This thoroughly updated version of the German authoritative work on self-organization has been completely rewritten by internationally renowned experts and experienced book authors to also include a review of more recent literature. It retains the original enthusiasm and fascination surrounding thermodynamic systems far from equilibrium, synergetics, and the origin of life, representing an easily readable book and tutorial on this exciting field. The book is unique in covering in detail the experimental and theoretical fundamentals of self-organizing systems as well as such selected features as random processes, structural networks and multistable systems, while focusing on the physical and theoretical modeling of natural selection and evolution processes. The authors take examples from physics, chemistry, biology and social systems, and include results hitherto unpublished in English. The result is a one-stop resource relevant for students and scientists in physics or related interdisciplinary fields, including mathematical physics, biophysics, information science and nanotechnology.

The aim of the book is to provide latest research findings, innovative research results, methods and development techniques from both theoretical and practical perspectives related to the emerging areas of Web Computing, Intelligent Systems and Internet Computing. As the Web has become a major source of information, techniques and methodologies that extract quality information are of paramount importance for many Web and Internet applications. Data mining and knowledge discovery play key roles in many of today’s prominent Web applications such as e-commerce and computer security. Moreover, the outcome of Web services delivers a new platform for enabling service-oriented systems. The emergence of large scale distributed computing paradigms, such as Cloud Computing and Mobile Computing Systems, has opened many opportunities for collaboration services, which are at the core of any Information System. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science that build intelligent systems and algorithms that work and react like humans. The AI techniques and computational intelligence are powerful tools for learning, adaptation, reasoning and planning. They have the potential to become enabling technologies for the future intelligent networks. Recent research in the field of intelligent systems, robotics, neuroscience, artificial intelligence and cognitive sciences are very important for the future development and innovation of Web and Internet applications.