arXiv subjects

Mirko Viroli

Publications and source records attributed to Mirko Viroli.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

A Higher-order Calculus of Computational Fields

The complexity of large-scale distributed systems, particularly when deployed in physical space, calls for new mechanisms to address composability and reusability of collective adaptive behaviour. Computational fields have been proposed as an effective abstraction to fill the gap between the macro-level of such systems (specifying a system's collective behaviour) and the micro-level (individual devices' actions of computation and interaction to implement that collective specification), thereby providing a basis to better facilitate the engineering of collective APIs and complex systems at higher levels of abstraction. This paper proposes a full formal foundation for field computations, in terms of a core (higher-order) calculus of computational fields containing a few key syntactic constructs, and equipped with typing, denotational and operational semantics. Critically, this allows formal establishment of a link between the micro- and macro-levels of collective adaptive systems, by a result of full abstraction and adequacy for the (aggregate) denotational semantics with respect to the (per-device) operational semantics.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2016

Resiliency with Aggregate Computing: State of the Art and Roadmap

One of the difficulties in developing collective adaptive systems is the challenge of simultaneously engineering both the desired resilient behaviour of the collective and the details of its implementation on individual devices. Aggregate computing simplifies this problem by separating these aspects into different layers of abstraction by means of a unifying notion of computational field and a functional computational model. We review the state of the art in aggregate computing, discuss the various resiliency properties it supports, and develop a roadmap of foundational problems still needing to be addressed in the continued development of this emerging discipline.

cs.PL↗

arXiv2015

Type-based Self-stabilisation for Computational Fields

Emerging network scenarios require the development of solid large-scale situated systems. Unfortunately, the diffusion/aggregation computational processes therein often introduce a source of complexity that hampers predictability of the overall system behaviour. Computational fields have been introduced to help engineering such systems: they are spatially distributed data structures designed to adapt their shape to the topology of the underlying (mobile) network and to the events occurring in it, with notable applications to pervasive computing, sensor networks, and mobile robots. To assure behavioural correctness, namely, correspondence of micro-level specification (single device behaviour) with macro-level behaviour (resulting global spatial pattern), we investigate the issue of self-stabilisation for computational fields. We present a tiny, expressive, and type-sound calculus of computational fields, and define sufficient conditions for self-stabilisation, defined as the ability to react to changes in the environment finding a new stable state in finite time. A type-based approach is used to provide a correct checking procedure for self-stabilisation.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2012

Organizing the Aggregate: Languages for Spatial Computing

As the number of computing devices embedded into engineered systems continues to rise, there is a widening gap between the needs of the user to control aggregates of devices and the complex technology of individual devices. Spatial computing attempts to bridge this gap for systems with local communication by exploiting the connection between physical locality and device connectivity. A large number of spatial computing domain specific languages (DSLs) have emerged across diverse domains, from biology and reconfigurable computing, to sensor networks and agent-based systems. In this chapter, we develop a framework for analyzing and comparing spatial computing DSLs, survey the current state of the art, and provide a roadmap for future spatial computing DSL investigation.

cs.PL↗