Much like the rise of technology and machinery revolutionized industry 200 years ago, systems based on the Internet of Things (IoT) lead the current drive toward industrial automation. These systems are everywhere, helping with everyday life in fields such as healthcare, urbanization, telecommunications, agriculture, and autonomous vehicle design. However, as these industrial applications grow, it is vital that these systems be safe and reliable to maintain product quality and ensure user security.
The Sedna Research Lab, led by professors Shiva Nejati and Mehrdad Sabetzadeh of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, specializes in such research. Its mandate is to bring systems and software engineering to the forefront in the development of complex IoT systems. The lab conducts high-impact research, combining proven systems and software engineering best practices with applied artificial intelligence to provide effective and scalable automation.
“Scalable, automated testing is a must for building trust around IoT and minimizing the risk of critical failures in IoT-based systems.”
Shiva Nejati
— associate professor
The lab employs machine learning and evolutionary optimization algorithms to develop simulation-based testing solutions that help IoT suppliers detect erroneous behaviours, improve resilience, assess service capacity, and meet regulatory requirements. “Scalable, automated testing is a must for building trust around IoT and minimizing the risk of critical failures in IoT-based systems,” said Professor Nejati in describing the motivation behind the lab. And such critical failures could have serious consequences, such as major infrastructure outages, spoilage of goods and supplies, accidents involving autonomous vehicles, and delayed response in disaster-relief operations. “We cannot afford to find out too late, or after the fact, about shortcomings that may lead to such serious failures. At Sedna, we focus on early detection and avoidance of such failures through simulation, well before an IoT system is delivered to its customers and operators.”
While the Sedna Lab was only established earlier this year, it has already worked on several projects that directly affect consumers:
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Reliability of networks for mobile and home offices: The team is working with RabbitRun Technologies to increase the reliability and serviceability of small office and home office networks, which have grown in importance during the pandemic. The main thrust of the research is testing the robustness of bandwidth-management policies employed at the edge of a network.
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Prevention of food spoilage: A project with Stratosfy has the team working on systems that prevent food spoilage and automate temperature monitoring through cloud-enabled sensors and real-time analytics. The project’s goal is to improve the trustworthiness of cloud-native IoT systems by devising simulators that can detect errors and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
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Scaling of IoT cloud capacity to meet demand: In partnership with Cheetah Networks, PhD students are working on advanced simulations for large-scale IoT. The goal here is to stress test IoT cloud applications and ensure that these applications have enough capacity to process massive volumes of real-time data from thousands of IoT sensors and edge devices.
These types of projects allow the Sedna Lab to pursue a research agenda that is both novel and directly relevant to daily life and society. “We strive to align our research with our partners’ needs. This is a win-win,” said Professor Sabetzadeh. Working with a business partner allows the professors and students to conduct R&D for the companies at a reduced cost. “Through collaborating with University researchers, our partners get to de-risk their R&D investment and tap into the most recent research trends and findings. In return, we, the researchers, get to work on topics that serve the interests of the industry, the national economy, and the public. Close interaction with partners also provides a significantly enriched experience for our students, allowing them to work on real-world case studies and hone their skills for their future careers.”
“Close interaction with partners also provides a significantly enriched experience for our students, allowing them to work on real-world case studies and hone their skills for their future careers.”
Mehrdad Sabetzadeh
— associate professor
The Sedna Research Lab has found its home in newly renovated offices at the SITE Building, located on the University of Ottawa’s downtown campus, and is ready to take on new partners and challenges.
About the Sedna Research Lab
Sedna is a CFI JELF-funded lab established in 2022 at the University of Ottawa. Sedna professors have several years of experience conducting research in software engineering, applied artificial intelligence, IoT and autonomous vehicles, and in successfully managing large research projects with industry partners. Over the years, the lab’s professors have collaborated with more than 30 major commercial and public-service partners in Europe, Canada, and the US. These partners span a number of key sectors, including IoT, telecommunications, automotive, maritime, energy, aerospace, eGovernment and law.
Shiva Nejati
Shiva Nejati is an associate professor at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the Faculty of Engineering. Her research interests centre around software testing and verification, search-based software engineering, connected and autonomous systems, applied artificial intelligence, and formal and empirical research methods.
Mehrdad Sabetzadeh
Mehrdad Sabetzadeh is an associate professor at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Ottawa. His research interests are in requirements engineering, model-based development, and legal compliance. A key aspect of his research is the application of natural language processing and machine learning to enable automated software quality assurance.