INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS OF THE PHILIPPINES JOURNAL (IECEP)

TV White Space Field Tests in the Philippines Using the IEEE 802.11af - compliant Prototype

2022-06-01T19:34:53-06:00

This paper presents an overview of the experimental results obtained in deploying a Television white space (TVWS) technology in the Philippines under varying radio frequency (RF) environmental conditions using an IEEE 802.11af - compliant prototype devices developed by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) of Japan. The primary objectives were to address the Philippines’ needs of providing broadband connectivity to an estimated 50 million noninternet user-Filipinos especially those in unserved and underserved areas and the country’s need for an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure that could serve as a reliable and readily deployable communications link in times of disasters. In a suburban hilly environment in a University campus in Cebu City, where the presence of buildings and vegetation served as obstructions between the access point (AP) and station (STA), a deployed multihop network centered at 593 MHz attained a maximum uplink throughput of 4.81 Mbps and 4.93 Mbps for downlink at a combined distance of 600 meters. In another experiment conducted in one of the rural villages in Surigao del Norte, Philippines, the TVWS technology was able to provide internet connectivity in a single link to a public elementary school (STA) roughly 530 meters away from the source (AP) located at the village hall despite Non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions providing a maximum downlink and uplink throughput of 3.43 Mbps and 3.38 Mbps, respectively. In the same locality, a 2 - hop deployment using a different carrier for each hop was also tested to connect an area isolated by the damaged bridge that collapsed due to a 6.7 magnitude earthquake. A maximum throughput of 3.25 Mbps and 3.16 Mbps for downlink and uplink, respectively, were obtained up to a combined distance of 1290 meters. Based on the aforementioned results, TV white space technology utilizing the IEEE 802.11af-based network can indeed provide internet connectivity even in the presence of NLOS conditions and extend internet coverage via a multihop network implementation obtaining throughput that can successfully support voice and data transmission and reception.

Assessment of Telecommuting Schemes of Working Environment in the Philippines Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic

2022-06-01T19:40:01-06:00

– Significant scenarios were presented and assessed in order to recommend telecommuting schemes during and after this Covid-19 pandemic. First, impacts of different stages of Industrial Revolutions were evaluated. Weighing the advantages and disadvantages, trade – off was necessary as there were still affected sectors despite of the advantages brought by technology. Second, provisions for agenda of Gender and Development (GAD) were also presented pursuant the thrusts of international mandates to empower different sectors of the society. Specifically, ICT based and ICT enabled jobs give equal opportunities and equitable opportunities to every marginalized sectors giving them quality living and give significant contributions to the society. Third, telecommuting schemes were assessed in order to achieve optimum output as drawbacks were inevitable despite of the advantages offered by ICT. Moreover, this paper also cited practices that could be a reference for future researchers. Specifically, there were several ICT capacity building initiatives conducted in the Philippines even before COVID-19 struck. These capacity building initiatives equipped people with skills necessary to be ready in Information Technology – Business Process Management (IT-BPM) Industries.

Early Detection and Monitoring of Dengue by Image Processing and Bioimpedance Analysis

2022-06-01T19:44:42-06:00

This paper covers the development of an early dengue detection and monitoring device. This device evaluates and classifies the dengue severity of a patient based on the hydration status and the total platelet count. The hydration status is determined using bio-impedance analysis, a noninvasive technique used to measure total body water. For the platelet analysis, a software was developed that would process microscopic blood images to automatically generate the total platelet count. The performance of these subsystems is expounded on this paper.