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Reconciliation of Point-of-Interest Locations on OpenStreetMap
Get PDFOpenStreetMap (OSM) is a crowdsourcing project, which creates and distributes open geographical data of and for the world. The continuous change of the real world circumstances can hardly be managed and reflected on maps in general. Consequently, only selective and punctual updates are made and this causes the data on OSM to be neither perfectly accurate nor complete.
To overcome the before-mentioned shortcomings of OSM, web scrapers can be used to collect publicly accessible brand data. The collected data will be stored in a scraper system and compared with OSM by a judging system to identify discrepancies. The results will be manually validated by OSM members and then be uploaded to OSM.
Various open-source tools have been assessed to find an ideal scraper and judging system to perform the matching between publicly available data and the OSM database. The combination of "AllThePlaces" (ATP, www.alltheplaces.xyz) as the scraper system and "OSM Conflator" as the judging system has turned out to be the most suited. The OSM Conflator obtains the external data from ATP. Profiles are used to pre-process the data before the OSM Conflator performs the matching. Currently, for each brand a separate profile has to be created.
During this task, five profiles were created in Python and the data output by the OSM Conflator was analysed. The brands for the profiles were selected by their availability on ATP and their localisation in Switzerland. Thus, the selection consists of Fust, Aldi, Jumbo, Coop Vitality and the public toilets of Zurich city. On average 12.6% of the entries from the external sources do not exist in OSM and were flagged as new entries. One problem is the questionable quality of the tag values, which prevented a match between external data and OSM clues for almost 2% of the entries. On top of that, the data quality of the external sources has room for improvement. In 1.6% of all analysed entries, a matching was not possible as the coordinates from the external sources were too unprecise.
Additional findings concern the creation of queries within the OSM Conflator. As a result of schema mismatches between the different data sources, it is challenging to include suitable tags in the profile to create a precise and performant query for a certain brand. Besides the non-standardised schemas, also the matching of the data is challenging due to spelling aspects of brand names, regional differences in brand naming and real-world circumstances, like e.g. company takeovers.
The output of the OSM Conflator shows that data reconciliation of OSM data is important. A more generic profile, which pre-processes the data for the OSM Conflator, would be ideal. Allowing a profile to dynamically extract different tags from the external data source and directly generate multiple individual queries for OSM, might constitute an interesting improvement for the OSM Conflator. Furthermore, standards for the data sources would be required to establish a more generic profile. The input data needs to be accurate, consistent and trustworthy. These improvements would also enable the reconciliation of regions rather than brands alone
A Security Focused Outline on Bitcoin Wallets
Get PDFThe famous electronic peer-to-peer cash system called Bitcoin is an open-source protocol allowing individuals to store and transact units of the same named currency.
Private and public key cryptography plays a central role in this value transfer system, which implies the importance of professionally managing the information about such keys.
This work elaborates on the essential prerequisites to understand this relatively new technology that combines elements from the fields of computer science, cryptography, mathematics, and game theory.
In doing so, crucial general and Bitcoin-specific terms are defined and contextually explained.
The central part of this work addresses the outline of different Bitcoin interaction means, commonly known as wallets.
The structure of the presented wallet types orients itself alongside a potential user's experience.
Besides defining explanations and examples of use cases, this work outlines advantages and disadvantages concerning security and privacy.
The start concerns two wallets that target beginners in the field of Bitcoin.
The concept of online accounts is elaborated and attention is drawn to the inherent need to trust when using them.
Also, the relatively primitive type of paper wallets is surveyed.
For a more intermediate interaction with this peer-to-peer cash system, the concept of software wallets, in general, is explained and examples are provided.
The bridge from single-address paper wallets will be drawn to the more sophisticated multi-address wallets enabled through rooted key derivation techniques.
Designated computer devices that solely serve the purpose of managing keying material, known as hardware wallets, represent another intermediate wallet type discussed in this work.
Last, advanced topics are discussed that further leverage the security and privacy of someone's interaction with Bitcoin.
One concerns the setup of a self-managed Bitcoin full node.
This undertaking not only harmonies with the concept of verification over trust but also allows for the complete exclusion of any third party between wallet communication.
Equally advanced is the concept of multi-signature wallets, which is discussed at the end of this work
Cryptographic Discovery
No full textThe imminent next generation of computers will rely on quantum computing. This poses a threat to many of the cryptographic algorithms in use today. Quantum computers will be able to break the mathematical primitives of many of the cryptographic algorithms in the not-so-distant future.
A transition from existing cryptographic algorithms to newer, quantum-safe algorithms such as CRYSTALS-Dilithium and CRYSTALS-Kyber is therefore of high importance for enterprises, to maintain a secure environment. But where are the new quantum-safe algorithms to be applied?
The goal of this student research work is to find a way to identify used cryptographic algorithms on a system so that the engineers can change insecure cryptographic algorithms to quantum-safe cryptography. In particular, we focus on the challenge to identify and model the cryptographic assets, which are in use within the network of an enterprise.
This involves scanning and collecting data from a variety of sources, cataloging assets and building an understanding, of how the collected data artifacts are related to each other.
In this thesis, the newly written scanner, which crawls the system autonomously for information, will be used for the detection and cataloging of cryptographic assets. An evaluation of various open-source scanners was conducted, regarding possible implementation in this project. Osquery and YARA were promising candidates, regarding how they could be used for the challenge at hand.
As a solution, the Python-based command line tool named Crypto-Scanner based on YARA rules was implemented during this thesis. The output of the scanner must be converted into a CBOM standard in CycloneDX format. Therefore, a Python-based command line tool called CBOM generator was developed using the CycloneDX Python
library.
Furthermore, Dependency Track, an existing methodology for visualizing SBOM standards, was extended so that CBOM formats, which are extended SBOM formats, can be utilized for the visualization of the existing cryptographic inventory.
Dependency Track is an open-source tool that has been used in trials for similar challenges and has proven to be a great asset for the analysis of the SBOM and also the CBOM standard.
The result of our student research work demonstrates the potential of static scanners in the area of cryptographic discovery. With this work, a basis for further research in this area has been created, which aids in the first step toward the transition to quantum-safe algorithms. This result demonstrates possible ways to identify implemented and used cryptographic algorithms and creates a standardized CBOM format from the identified cryptographic assets. This CBOM format can be uploaded in the extended Dependency Track to visualize the location of the algorithm implementation.
In further research, there are possibilities to improve and expand the scanner results achieved today. For this purpose, the scanner can be extended for other operating systems (currently: Linux). Another possibility would be to combine the written crypto scanner with the CBOM generator, which has also been newly implemented, to simplify CBOM creation even further. To improve performance, there is also the possibility of rewriting the scanner for multiprocessing
Nutzerzentrierte Entwicklung eines digitalen Bestellprozesses für Rohmaterialien
Get PDFDie SFS Group AG ist ein weltweit führendes Unternehmen für applikationskritische Präzisionskomponenten und Baugruppen, mechanische Befestigungssysteme, Qualitätswerkzeuge und Logistiksysteme. Am Standort Heerbrugg existiert ein individueller interner Bestellprozess zwischen dem Lager und der Produktion, welcher über den Austausch von Papierformularen erfolgt. Er ist träge, ineffizient und fehleranfällig und weist unnötige Mehraufwände auf, weshalb er optimiert werden sollte.
In dieser Arbeit wird die Digitalisierung und Optimierung dieses Bestellprozesses mit dem Fokus auf der Anwendung von nutzerzentrierten Entwicklungsmethoden behandelt. Um die Umstellung auf einen digitalen Prozess möglichst angenehm für die Nutzer zu gestalten, wurde eine Literaturrecherche zum Thema User-centered Design und Dashboard-Design für das Industrieumfeld durchgeführt. Das neu angeeignete Wissen wurde im Rahmen der Arbeit direkt angewendet. Zudem wurde bei der SFS Group AG ein Contextual Inquiry nach dem Master-Apprentice-Model durchgeführt, um die Ziele und die Aufgaben der Nutzer zu verstehen. Basierend auf der Nutzeranalyse wurden Personas erstellt und Wireframes designt, welche mit den Anwendern nochmals diskutiert und optimiert wurden.
Im Verlauf der Arbeit wurde ein Prototyp umgesetzt, Usability-Tests unterzogen und weiter optimiert. Er erfüllt alle definierten User-Storys und entspricht weiteren Anforderungen, beispielsweise berücksichtigt er Cloud-native Standards. Das Feedback seitens der SFS Group AG war sowohl beim Usability-Test als auch bei der Evaluation positiv. Der Prototyp konnte den technischen Verantwortlichen des Unternehmens übergeben werden und wird in Zukunft im produktiven Umfeld eingesetzt werden
Admin-Portal (BA)
Get PDFAusgangslage
Das Unternehmen 2BIT betreibt eine Software-as-a-Service Lösung für Aufgaben im Bereich Personalwesen mit dem Namen 2getHR. Diese erlaubt gängige Prozesse wie Zeiterfassung, Ferien- und Spesenmanagement und On-Boarding automatisiert und benutzerfreundlich durchzuführen. Mit zunehmender Beliebtheit der Applikation entsteht für 2BIT ein erhöhter Supportaufwand. Um den Supportprozess zu unterstützen, wurde ein rudimentäres Admin-Portal entwickelt, welches es erlaubte, einige supportrelevante Daten einzusehen und bestimmte Daten zu löschen. Das bestehende Admin-Portal deckte jedoch nicht alle notwendigen Anforderungen ab. Zudem wurde nur eine Auswahl der supportrelevanten Daten abgebildet. In diesem Projekt wurde das bestehende Admin-Portal ausgebaut und benutzerfreundlicher gestaltet, um den Supportprozess zu vereinfachen und effizienter zu gestalten. Das neue Tool erlaubt es alle supportrelevanten Daten einzusehen, zwischen den Objekten zu navigieren, diese zu löschen und klar definierte Änderungen an Daten vorzunehmen.
Ansatz
Die Funktionalität und die Bedienbarkeit des neuen Admin-Portals wurden auf die Endbenutzer-Basis ausgelegt. In einem ersten Schritt wurde eine Analyse der Anforderungen des Supports durchgeführt, um ein Bild der bestehenden Situation zu erhalten.
Basierend auf dieser Analyse wurden Anforderungen und Wireframes ausgearbeitet und gemeinsam mit dem Product Owner und dem Supportpersonal von 2BIT auf Bedienbarkeit und Relevanz geprüft. In Form einer Priorisierung wurde bestimmt, in welcher Reihenfolge die Anforderungen umgesetzt werden sollten.
Mit der Analyse als Grundlage wurde eine Applikation konzipiert, welche die Bedürfnisse des Supports bestmöglich abdeckt. Während der Konstruktion wurde die Applikation wiederholt mit 2BIT getestet und die Priorisierung angepasst. Das Resultat ist eine Applikation, welche auf die Bedürfnisse von 2BIT abgestimmt ist.
Fazit
Automatisierte und manuelle Tests haben gezeigt, dass das neue Admin-Portal von 2BIT im produktiven Betrieb genutzt werden kann. Die bestehende Funktionalität des alten Tools wurde überarbeitet, fehlende Funktionen ergänzt sowie die Benutzbarkeit erhöht. Ein Ausblick auf weitere Features wurde ausgearbeitet. Diese können von 2BIT zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt umgesetzt werden.
Da das Tool im produktiven Betrieb eingesetzt werden soll, wurde besondere Aufmerksamkeit auf die Stabilität und Korrektheit der Features gelegt. Dies wurde mit Tests verifiziert. Um eine möglichst reibungslose Übergabe des Projektes an 2BIT zu ermöglichen, wurde die Applikation nach Vorgaben von 2BIT dokumentiert und der Code gemäss Coding Guidelines und Clean Code geschrieben.
In der folgenden Dokumentation wird ersichtlich, wie die Planung und Umsetzung des Projektes gehandhabt wurde und wie die enge Zusammenarbeit mit 2BIT das Resultat beeinflusst hat
Conceptual design of a browser-based frontend for the Gossik Mobile App
Get PDFObjective
A piece of software is only as useful, as the supports it provides to their users and organization to fulfill their goals. The challenging process of building software can dilute the initial goal of any application, which is to serve the user and support them in reaching their goals. Focusing only on the technical aspects of software bares the risk of forgetting the user and their motivations. The result of leaving the user out of the design process of a system can lead to a feature-polluted application with a tedious-to-operate UI, serving no one. The goal of this thesis is to create a conceptual design of a browser-based frontend for the Gossik mobile app in a user-centered manner. This is achieved through multiple UX design iterations and user interviews.
Approach
The conceptual design was created through a multiphase design and improvement process. Through user interviews, the target group's wants and needs were revealed and gave the base for the personas used as orientation in the further process. Over the course of three design iterations, the concept evolves through user feedback and research.
Conclusion
A component-based web prototype was created as the final prototype of the conceptual design. The prototype provides users with multiple ways to reach their goals and is designed to allow them quick access to actions and controls
Using Functional Reactive Programming in Yampa to Redesign the Control Software for the Robotic Artwork “Islanders”
Get PDFThe Islanders artwork by Pors & Rao is a robot application reacting to the sounds in the room and controlling actuators. The control software is written in a low-level imperative style, intertwining the program sequence and commands for the actuators. Furthermore, the program code describes the behavior of the program depending on the current state of the actuators. It is difficult to comprehend where the state transitions are initiated. This way of programming complicates the comprehension of the code making modifications in the program sequence arduous. Functional Reactive Programming (FRP) is a composable, modular way to program reactive applications. With FRP, the code was redesigned, making it more customizable, especially for people with little programming experience. The redesign uses Yampa, an FRP implementation in Haskell using Arrows as the basic structuring framework. The resulting design is very promising. The state transitions clearly show which event triggers which reaction, making the code much more understandable. The new design separates the control of the hardware from the implementation of the program flow. This makes it possible to use the same code with different peripheral devices
Haskell Substitution Stepper (Folgearbeit)
Get PDFThe UN CRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights for People with Disabilities) is a human rights instrument, aiming to change attitudes and approaches toward persons with disabilities.
The ZEN (Center for Ethics and Sustainability) of the OST (Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences) has created a printable survey form, that focuses on several aspects of the UN CRPD.
This survey form allows institutions and homes for people with disabilities to evaluate themselves.
The goal of this project is to digitize the survey form created by the ZEN to simplify the entire process of distributing survey forms and tallying scores.
We ended up with a survey application that allows institutions to start surveys that are accessible via an online link.
The survey can then be filled out by respondents who received that link.
Once the survey is completed, institutions can view the results and receive recommendations on how to improve their implementation of the UN CRPD.
During the creation of the application, we placed great emphasis on accessibility, to make sure it can be filled out by almost everyone.
During the duration of the project we managed to implement a large part of the desired functionality, however, there are still some features missing.
Despite this, we have managed to create a usable product that provides value for institutions wishing to evaluate themselves
VisualFP - Designing a Visual, Block-Based Environment to Create & Execute Haskell Code
Get PDFMost visual programming tools used to introduce children & young adults to the programming world are based on the imperative paradigm. Existing tools based on functional programming either lack a good user experience or hide critical concepts of the functional paradigm.
To address this gap, a visual, block-based tool for functional programming should be designed. This project aims to find a visual design of such a tool and then prove its feasibility in a proof of concept application.
Existing visual programming tools are examined before creating a visual design. The development of the design is approached in two iterations: In a first step, concept drafts are based on researched tools and evaluated using a survey. Then, a new concept is created using the received feedback and implemented in a proof of concept.
The created design concept focuses on function composition, guided by type holes that indicate the type required for a valid function definition.
The implemented application proves that the proposed concept for function composition works as envisioned. It includes an inference engine that determines the type of undefined parts of a function and is built using Electron.js & Haskell.
It is recommended that an additional project be conducted to implement missing features of the application so that it can be used in classrooms.
Keywords: Haskell, Functional Programming, Visual Programmin
Build-your-own-[grep, Redis] in Haskell
Get PDF"How can one write a 'real' application in Haskell" is a common question by students after completing a functional programming course.
Following the 'build-your-own-x' concept, we provide two partial, but fully working implementations of the grep and Redis applications in Haskell.
The principle of algebra-driven design, also known as denotational design, is closely followed for these implementations.
Both code bases are accompanied with detailed and reviewed explanations which serve as a tutorial for experienced software engineers and students alike.
All code, along with the explanations are released open-source and, in addition, are used at OST as part of the functional programming lecture