arXiv subjects

Adam Zahir

Publications and source records attributed to Adam Zahir.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

D-MUTRA: DLT-based MUTual Remote Attestation for Multi-Agent Systems

Multi-agent systems (MAS) comprise autonomous software agents that collaborate to perform complex tasks in critical cyber-physical domains, including multi-robot coordination and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In such distributed environments, a compromised agent may execute modified software while appearing trustworthy, causing other agents to act on false information and corrupting the mission. Agents must therefore establish and maintain mutual trust throughout operation. Remote attestation (RA) is a well-established technique for this purpose, enabling a remote verifier to assess the integrity of a potentially compromised prover device. However, conventional RA approaches face significant limitations in MAS: integrity guarantees are restricted to boot or application-load time, designs rely on centralized trusted verifiers or security hardware, and attestation records lack transparency and auditability. To address these limitations, this paper presents D-MUTRA, a blockchain-based framework that introduces a mutual RA protocol in which agents measure their runtime integrity while verifying that of their peers, acting as both prover and verifier. The framework operates entirely in software and relies on two components: a Security-as-a-Service that instruments agents with lightweight measurement and verification capabilities, and a smart contract that coordinates the attestation protocol in a decentralized and transparent manner. We implement a proof-of-concept on a private Ethereum blockchain using Hyperledger Besu and evaluate it in a swarm robotics scenario built with Robot Operating System (ROS) and the Gazebo simulator. Results show that D-MUTRA enables agents to continuously attest one another, detects malicious software modifications, and scales to large deployments with negligible overhead on protected applications.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2026

vAccSOL: Efficient and Transparent AI Vision Offloading for Mobile Robots

Mobile robots are increasingly deployed for inspection, patrol, and search-and-rescue operations, relying on computer vision for perception, navigation, and autonomous decision-making. However, executing modern vision workloads onboard is challenging due to limited compute resources and strict energy constraints. While some platforms include embedded accelerators, these are typically tied to proprietary software stacks, leaving user-defined workloads to run on resource-constrained companion computers. We present vAccSOL, a framework for efficient and transparent execution of AI-based vision workloads across heterogeneous robotic and edge platforms. vAccSOL integrates two components: SOL, a neural network compiler that generates optimized inference libraries with minimal runtime dependencies, and vAccel, a lightweight execution framework that transparently dispatches inference locally on the robot or to nearby edge infrastructure. This combination enables hardware-optimized inference and flexible execution placement without requiring modifications to robot applications. We evaluate vAccSOL on a real-world testbed with a commercial quadruped robot and twelve deep learning models covering image classification, video classification, and semantic segmentation. Compared to a PyTorch compiler baseline, SOL achieves comparable or better inference performance. With edge offloading, vAccSOL reduces robot-side power consumption by up to 80% and edge-side power by up to 60% compared to PyTorch, while increasing vision pipeline frame rate by up to 24x, extending the operating lifetime of battery-powered robots.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2025

Blockchain-Driven Federation for Distributed Edge Systems: Design and Experimental Validation

Edge computing brings computation near end users, enabling the provisioning of novel use cases. To satisfy end-user requirements, the concept of edge federation has recently emerged as a key mechanism for dynamic resources and services sharing across edge systems managed by different administrative domains. However, existing federation solutions often rely on pre-established agreements and face significant limitations, including operational complexity, delays caused by manual operations, high overhead costs, and dependence on trusted third parties. In this context, blockchain can create dynamic federation agreements that enable service providers to securely interact and share services without prior trust. This article first describes the problem of edge federation, using the standardized ETSI multi-access edge computing framework as a reference architecture, and how it is being addressed. Then, it proposes a novel solution using blockchain and smart contracts to enable distributed MEC systems to dynamically negotiate and execute federation in a secure, automated, and scalable manner. We validate our framework's feasibility through a performance evaluation using a private Ethereum blockchain, built on the open-source Hyperledger Besu platform. The testbed includes a large number of MEC systems and compares two blockchain consensus algorithms. Experimental results demonstrate that our solution automates the entire federation lifecycle-from negotiation to deployment-with a quantifiable overhead, achieving federation in approximately 18 seconds in a baseline scenario. The framework scales efficiently in concurrent request scenarios, where multiple MEC systems initiate federation requests simultaneously. This approach provides a promising direction for addressing the complexities of dynamic, multi-domain federations across the edge-to-cloud continuum.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2023

Performance evaluation of Private and Public Blockchains for multi-cloud service federation

The stringent low-latency, high reliability, availability and resilience requirements of 6G use cases will present challenges to cloud providers. Currently, cloud providers lack simple, efficient, and secure implementation of provisioning solutions that meet these challenges. Multi-cloud federation is a promising approach. In this paper, we evaluate the application of private and public blockchain networks for multi-cloud federation. We compare the performance of blockchain-based federation in private and public blockchain networks and their integration with a production-ready orchestration solution. Our results show that the public blockchain needs approximately 91 seconds to complete the federation procedure compared to the 48 seconds in the private blockchain scenario.

cs.NI↗