An architecture for adaptive task planning in support of IoT-based machine learning applications for disaster scenarios

The proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) in conjunction with edge computing has recently opened up several possibilities for several new applications. Typical examples are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) that are deployed for rapid disaster response, photogrammetry, surveillance, and environmental monitoring. To support the flourishing development of Machine Learning assisted applications across all these networked applications, a common challenge is the provision of a persistent service, i.e., a service capable of consistently maintaining a high level of performance, facing possible failures. To address these service resilient challenges, we propose APRON, an edge solution for distributed and adaptive task planning management in a network of IoT devices, e.g., drones. Exploiting Jackson's network model, our architecture applies a novel planning strategy to better support control and monitoring operations while the states of the network evolve. To demonstrate the functionalities of our architecture, we also implemented a deep-learning based audio-recognition application using the APRON NorthBound interface, to detect human voices in challenged networks. The application's logic uses Transfer Learning to improve the audio classification accuracy and the runtime of the UAV-based rescue operations.