2024 The International Conference on Mobility, Sensing and Networking

Panel: The Future of MSN: the Challenges and Opportunities

Mobility, Sensing and Networking (MSN) are core enablers and cornerstones for the recent great-leap in both advanced, complex technologies such as digital twin, cyber-physical systems, generative AI and real-time data-driven decision-making, and a new wave of innovative applications such as smart cities, autonomous transportation, digital health and smart agriculture, to name but a few. Yet, each area is still rapidly evolving, ranging from multimodal, wireless sensing, to quantum communication and 5G networks. Not only will the advance of each of them impact the development trajectories of future technologies and applications, the potentials and revolutionary nature of their synergy and integration look even more exciting and promising. Nevertheless, with every great opportunity comes significant challenges, such as safety and trust, sustainability and equity, efficiency and effectiveness.

This panel will delve into some of the most pressing questions and exciting opportunities in this space:

• How will advancements in sensor technology enhance safety and efficiency in autonomous systems?
• What role will next-generation networks, like 5G and beyond, play in enabling ultra-reliable, low-latency communication for mobility solutions?
• How can we ensure that this future is not only innovative but also inclusive, secure, and sustainable?

The discussion will serve as a dynamic platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge dissemination, critical analysis, and collaboration between academia, industry and governmental agencies to help all navigate this complex and rapidly evolving landscape. It is intended to advance scholarship, nurture intellectual growth, and address critical societal challenges. It is expected that the interactions and debates will ignite intellectual stimulation, inspire innovation and encourage interdisciplinary thinking, ultimately advancing the research frontier.

Chair: 

Professor Liming Chen

Dalian University of Technology, China

Liming Chen is Chair Professor in the School of Computer Science and Technology at Dalian University of Technology (DUT), China. He was the chief scientist of European Horizon 2020 Excellence Research MSCA project and the Research Director for the School of Computing, Ulster University, UK before he joined DUT in 2024. His current research interests include data analytics, artificial intelligence, pervasive computing, user-centred smart cyber-physical systems and their applications in smart healthcare and IoT cybersecurity. His research has been funded by external grants from the UK research councils, European Research Programmes such as FP7, AAL and Horizon 2020, and industrial collaborators like SAP, British Telecommunication and PwC. He is a Fellow of IET, a Fellow of HEA, and has served as an expert evaluator for UKRI, EU Horizon2020, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Netherlands and Denmark.

Panelist:

Professor Christian Becker

University of Stuttgart, Germany

Title: There is more to you than your brain

Christian Becker is a full professor for Computer Science at the University of Stuttgart since April 2022. Prior to that he was a full professor for Information Systems at the University of Mannheim from 2006 till 2022. Christian studied Computer Science at the Universities of Karlsruhe and Kaiserslautern where he graduated in 1996. He received his PhD from the University of Frankfurt in 2001. In 2001 he joined the distributed systems group at the University of Stuttgart as Post Doc. In 2004 he received the venia legendi (Habilitation) for Computer Science (Informatik). Christian’s research interests are Distributed Systems and Context-Aware Computing. He is specifically interested in architectures for adaptive systems and their application to distributed systems. Christian has published more than 200 technical papers. He is a member of the IEEE Pervasive Computing and Communication Conference (PerCom) steering committee. Christian is active in the community, e.g., he was general chair of IEEE PerCom in 2010, TPC chair in 2016. He was general chair of IEEE Mobile Data Management in 2007 and 2023 and contributed to many other scientific venues.

Abstract: Obviously a human is more than the brain. Bones, muscles, nerves, vascular system, etc. are necessary to form a functioning body and are tightly integrated and cooperate. In the same sense, although AI seems to dominate the public discussion on computer science these days, there is more to computing than AI. Monitoring and communication are the essentials to obtain data, especial in mobile systems, allowing these systems to react to their environment. The ubiquitous integration of AI into the data processing chain poses new means but also challenges from which I want to highlight and discuss some.

 

Professor Jiannong Cao

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong China

Cao Jiannong is Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Data Science, Chair Professor of Distributed and Mobile Computing, Dean of Graduate School, Director of the Research Institute for AIoT, and Director of the University Research Facility in Big Data Analytics at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is a highly distinguished scholar in computing and data science. He has received numerous awards for his outstanding research achievements in the areas of distributed systems, computer networks, big data analytics and AI. Professor. He is also a member of Academia Europaea, a fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences, a fellow of IEEE, a fellow of CCF and a distinguished member of ACM.

 

Professor Xiaohua Jia

City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong China

Xiaohua Jia received his BSc (1984) and MEng (1987) from University of Science and Technology of China, and DSc (1991) in Information Science from University of Tokyo. He is currently a Chair Professor with Dept of Computer Science at City University of Hong Kong. His research interests include cloud computing and distributed systems, data security and privacy, computer networks and mobile computing. Prof. Jia is an editor of IEEE Trans. on Computers (2021 – present), IEEE Internet of Things (2013-2018), IEEE Trans. on Parallel and Distributed Systems (2006-2009), etc. He is the Chair of IEEE ICDCS 2023, ACM ICN 2019, and ACM MobiHoc 2008, TPC Chair of IEEE GlobeCom 2010, and Area-Chair of IEEE INFOCOM 2015-2017. He is the recipient of IEEE TCDP Outstanding Service and Contributions Award 2024 and Hong Kong RGC Senior Research Fellow Award 2024. He is a Fellow of IEEE (Computer Society) and Distinguished Member of ACM.

 

Professor Song Guo

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong China

is a Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Before joining HKUST in 2023, he was a Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He also holds a Changjiang Chair Professorship awarded by the Ministry of Education of China. His research interests are mainly in edge AI, 6G, big data and machine learning, mobile computing, and distributed systems. As a Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate Web of Science), he published many papers in top venues with wide impact in these areas and received over a dozen Best Paper Awards from IEEE/ACM conferences, journals and technical committees. He is also the recipient of 2024 Edward J. McCluskey Technical Achievement Award, Gold Medal in 2023 Geneva Inventions Expo, Gold Award in 2023 AsiaWorld-Expo, and Intellectual Property Ambassador Award in 2020 Hong Kong Social Enterprise Competition.

 

Professor Junzhao Du

Xidian University, China

Junzhao Du, Ph.D., Professor and Ph.D. Advisor at School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University. Prof.Du is a distinguished member of CCF and member of ACM and IEEE. Prof.Du has visited Wayne State University、New Jersey Institute of Technology、University of California-Santa Cruz、Rice as visiting scholar. Prof.Du is PC member of IJCAI,IEEE SECON, IEEE ICPADS etc.