The Internet of Materials

State-of-the-art, flat structures called metasurfaces can filter and steer light and sound, render an object completely invisible to electromagnetic waves, and much more. They can deliver automation, remote operation, and advanced performance to a wide variety of existing systems, with applications in communications, medical imaging, sensing, and security.

However, for non-specialists, individual metasurfaces are currently restricted to limited reusability and accessibility. This book brings together various scientific disciplines with the aim of outlining a programmable ‘plug-and-play’ metasurface.

The book focuses on a recently proposed platform – known as the HyperSurface – that provides many electromagnetic functions of metasurfaces in a single structure, which can be controlled and reconfigured by software. This revolutionary approach paves the way for new opportunities in wireless communications and programmable wireless environments: HyperSurfaces could link networks with objects and physical environments and create smarter systems that are far more responsive to user demands. Walls that absorb radiation or block digital eavesdropping, and wireless, long-distance charging of devices are among the many possibilities.

The book aspires to provide the foundational knowledge for creating an Internet of Materials, enabling smart environments at any scale – from indoor wireless communications to medical imaging equipment. Although the set of disciplines involved covers a considerable span, we hope that the material will benefit experts and students alike.

Dr. Christos Liaskos received the Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece in 2004, the MSc degree in Medical Informatics in 2008 from the Medical School, AUTH and the PhD degree in Computer Networking from the Dept. of Informatics, AUTH in 2014. He has published work in several venues, such as IEEE Transactions on: Networking, Computers, Vehicular Technology, Broadcasting, Systems Man and Cybernetics, Networks and Service Management, Communications, INFOCOM. He is currently a researcher at the Foundation of Research and Technology, Hellas (FORTH). His research interests include computer networks, security and nanotechnology, with a focus on developing nanonetwork architectures and communication protocols for future applications.

Dr. Ageliki Tsioliaridou received the Diploma and PhD degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Greece, in 2004 and 2010, respectively. Her research work is mainly on the field of Quality of Service in computer networks. Additionally, her recent research interests lie in the area of nanonetworks, with specific focus on architecture, protocols, security and authorization issues. She has contributed to a number of EU, ESA and National research projects. She is currently a researcher at the Foundation of Research and Technology, Hellas (FORTH).

Prof. Sotirios Ioannidis received a BSc degree in Mathematics and an MSc degree in Computer Science from the University of Crete in 1994 and 1996 respectively. In 1998 he received an MSc degree in Computer Science from the University of Rochester and in 2005 he received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. Ioannidis held a Research Scholar position at the Stevens Institute of Technology until 2007, and since then he is Research Director at the Institute of Computer Science of the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas. Since November 2017 he is a member of the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) Permanent Stakeholders Group (PSG). His research interests are in the area of systems, networks, and security. Ioannidis has authored more than 100 publications in international conferences and journals, as well as book chapters, including ACM CCS, ACM/IEEE ToN, USENIX ATC, NDSS, and has both chaired and served in numerous program committees in prestigious international conferences. Ioannidis is a Marie-Curie Fellow and has participated in numerous international and European projects. He has coordinated a number of European and National projects (e.g. PASS, EU-INCOOP, GANDALF, SHARCS) and is currently the project coordinator of the THREAT-ARREST, I-BiDaaS, BIO-PHOENIX, IDEAL-CITIES, CYBERSURE, and CERTCOOP European projects.

Prof. Andreas Pitsillides is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus, heads NetRL, the Networks Research Laboratory he founded in 2002, and is appointed Visiting Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), School of Electrical and Information engineering, Johannesburg, South Africa. Earlier (2014-2017) Andreas was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science, South Africa. His broad research interests include communication networks (fixed and mobile/wireless), Nanonetworks and Software Defined Metasurfaces/Metamaterials, the Internet- and Web- of Things, Smart Spaces (Home, Grid, City), and Internet technologies and their application in Mobile e-Services, especially e-health, and security. He has a particular interest in adapting tools from various fields of applied mathematics such as adaptive non-linear control theory, computational intelligence, game theory, and recently complex systems and nature inspired techniques, to solve problems in communication networks. Published over 270 referred papers in flagship journals (e.g. IEEE, Elsevier, IFAC, Springer), international conferences and book chapters, 2 books (one edited), participated in over 30 European Commission and locally funded research projects as principal or co-principal investigator, received several awards, including best paper, presented keynotes, invited lectures at major research organizations, short courses at international conferences and short courses to industry, and serves/served on several journal and conference executive committees.

Prof. Ian F. Akyildiz is currently the Ken Byers Chair Professor in Telecommunications with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Director of the Broadband Wireless Networking Laboratory, and Chair of the Telecommunication Group at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. Since 2011, he serves as a Consulting Chair Professor with the Department of Information Technology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and with the Computer Science Department at the University of Cyprus since January 2017. He is a Megagrant Research Leader with the Institute for Information Transmission Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences, in Moscow, Russia, since May 2018. His current research interests are in 5G wireless systems, nanonetworks, Terahertz band communications, and wireless sensor networks in challenged environments. He is an IEEE Fellow (1996) and an ACM Fellow (1997). He received numerous awards from the IEEE and the ACM, and many other organizations. His h-index is 115, and the total number of citations is above 105K as per Google scholar as of October 2018.