NeTS: Small: Geometric and Topological Analysis on Trajectory Sensing: Collection, Classification and Anonymization

Project Objective

The objective of the project CNS-1618391 is to systematically study the issue of anonymizing trajectory data, from the bottom layer of trajectory sensing and data collection, to the middle layer of trajectory representation and anonymity, to the application layer of how the anonymized trajectory data can be used. By the nature of trajectories as being time stamped sequence of points, in this project we develop novel geometric and topological algorithms for achieving the objective. Further we work in the setting in which the targets are being monitored by sensors placed in the environment. We plan to investigate distributed algorithms that have anonymity built in at the root when data is collected. Queries to such decentralized sensors are made to ensure no sensitive information is released.

Personnel

  1. Professor Jie Gao (PI)
  2. Dr. Chien Chun Ni (graduated August 2017)
  3. Dr. Jiaxin Ding (graduated December 2018)
  4. Haotian Wang (2018 - now)
  5. Aria Rezaei (2017 - now)

Research Activities and Outputs

Improved Bounds on Information Dissemination by Manhattan Random Waypoint Model

Aria Rezaei, Jie Gao, Jeff Phillips, Csaba Toth

Proceedings of the 26th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM SIGSPATIAL'18), 139-148, November 6-9, 2018. arXiv:1809.07392.

Boris Aronov, Alon Efrat, Ming Li, Jie Gao, Joseph S. B. Mitchell, Valentin Polishchuk, Boyang Wang, Hanyu Quan, Jiaxin Ding

Proceedings of the 19th ACM International Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing (MobiHoc'18), 280-289, June 26-29, 2018.

MinHash Hierarchy for Privacy Preserving Trajectory Sensing and Query

Jiaxin Ding, Chien-Chun Ni, Mengyu Zhou, Jie Gao

Proc. of the 16th International Symposium on Information Processing in Sensor Networks (IPSN'17), 17-28, April, 2017.

Jiaxin Ding, Chien-Chun Ni, Jie Gao

Proceedings of the 25rd ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM SIGSPATIAL 2017), 82:1-82:4, November, 2017.

Jiemin Zeng, Gaurish Telang, Matthew P. Johnson, Rik Sarkar, Jie Gao, Esther Arkin, Joseph S. B. Mitchell

Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing (MobiHoc'17), 7:1-7:10, July 10-13, 2017.

Talks

  1. New Challenges in Distributed Sensing, Processing and Query of Spatial Data, invited talk at ALGO 2017.
  2. New Challenges of Data Privacy in a Socially Connected World,
  • Workshop of Computational Geometry & Machine Learning (Eindhoven, Netherlands), July 2018
  • Shanghai Jiaotong University, June, 2018.
  • Invited talk at the Fall Workshop on Computational Geometry, October 27th, 2018.
  • Network Alignment and Anonymity, MobiHoc'19 TPC workshop, March 15th, 2019.
  • Network Algorithms in an Increasingly Connected World, DIMACS REU Seminar Series, June 25, 2019.