NEWS
Book “Co-Utility - Theory and Applications” has been published
July 8, 2017The book has been edited by Professor Josep Domingo and Dr. David Sánchez. It covers the theoretical foundations of co-utility, applications and ethical aspects, including distributed reputation management, anonymous keyword search, collaborative data anonymization, digital oblivion, peer-to-peer (P2P) content distribution, ridesharing for sustainable mobility, environmental economy, business model design and the collaborative economy. This book evolved from presentations at the 1st Co-Utility Workshop, held in Tarragona, Spain, on March 10–11, 2016.
Paper accepted in Journal of Optimization
July 7, 2017The paper written by Dr. Dritan Osmani, "The modeling of coalition for environmental protection within co-utility framework" has been accepted for its publication in the Journal of Optimization.
Paper accepted in 28th International Workshop on Combinatorial Algorithms (IWOCA 2017)
May 24, 2017The paper written by professor Josep Domingo-Ferrer, "Privacy-preserving and co-utile distributed social credit" has been accepted for its presentation in IWOCA 2017 that it will be held in Newcastle, Australia on July 17-21, 2017.
Article and interview about Co-Car
April 4, 2017The newspaper “Diari de Tarragona” published an article about the Application Co-Car that uses co-utile protocols to share cars in a decentralized and private way. The Templeton World Charity Foundation and the Co-Utility project are cited in the title of the news [link]. Moreover, the radio “La Xarxa” (with Catalonian level) has emitted an interview with Dr. David Sánchez (Professor at U.R.V. and member of Co-utility project) about the smartphone application Co-Car [link].
Publication in newspapers in Spain
March 10, 2017The most important news agency in Spain "EFE" has published a piece of news about the smartphone application Co-car that has been developed as demonstrator within the Co-utility project. The Templeton World Charity Foundation and the Co-Utility project are cited in the article. Most of the newspapers in Spain picked up the news:
- http://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20170308/42672572349/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios-y-en-privado.html
- http://www.larazon.es/tecnologia/co-car-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios-y-en-privado-ME14673348
- http://www.elconfidencial.com/ultima-hora-en-vivo/2017-03-08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios-y-en-privado_1159088/
- http://www.diaridetarragona.com/tarragona/82975/investigadors-de-la-urv-creen-una-nova-app-per-compartir-cotxe-sense-intermediaris-i-en-privat-
- http://noticiasvenezuela.org/2017/03/12/una-aplicacion-de-movil-permite-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios/
- http://www.soysd.mx/gadgets/2017/03/14/47862
- http://www.publicnow.com/view/AF5350C762445607B5E324615DB2C12233CFF15B
- http://www.diarimes.com/noticies/tarragona/2017/03/08/una_app_per_compartir_cotxe_que_preserva_privadesa_dels_usuaris_16156_1091.html
- http://diaridigital.tarragona21.com/una-aplicacio-creada-a-la-urv-permet-compartir-cotxe-sense-intermediaris-i-de-forma-anonima/
- http://www.eldia.es/agencias/9122695-Desarrollan-aplicacion-compartir-coche-intermediarios-privado
- http://www.larioja.com/agencias/201703/08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-910376.html
- http://www.hoy.es/agencias/201703/08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-910376.html
- http://www.elcomercio.es/agencias/201703/08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-910376.html
- http://www.lasprovincias.es/agencias/201703/08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-910376.html
- http://www.diariosur.es/agencias/201703/08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-910376.html
- http://www.diariovasco.com/agencias/201703/08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-910376.html
- http://www.laverdad.es/agencias/201703/08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-910376.html
- https://es.finance.yahoo.com/noticias/desarrollan-aplicaci%C3%B3n-para-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios-y-175500619--spt.html
- http://diaridigital.urv.cat/aplicacio-compartir-cotxe-sense-intermediaris-protegint-privadesa-usuaris/
- http://diaridigital.urv.cat/es/aplicacion-permite-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios-protegiendo-privacidad-usuarios/
- http://diaridigital.urv.cat/en/application-lets-people-car-share-whilst-protecting-data/
- http://www.elnortedecastilla.es/agencias/201703/08/desarrollan-aplicacion-para-compartir-910376.html
- http://eldigitaldeasturias.com/magazine365/co-car-permite-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios/
- http://noticiasvenezuela.org/2017/03/12/una-aplicacion-de-movil-permite-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios/
- http://noticiasdelaciencia.com/not/23376/una-aplicacion-de-movil-permite-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios/
- http://www.onemagazine.es/app-comparti-coche-sin-intermediario
- http://www.larepublicacheca.com/co-car-una-app-amb-el-segell-de-tarragona/
- http://www.elboletin.com/tecnologia/146653/aplicacion-movil-permite-compartir-coche.html
- http://www.agenciasinc.es/Noticias/Una-aplicacion-de-movil-permite-compartir-coche-sin-intermediarios
- http://www.tarragonaradio.cat/noticia/investigadors_de_la_urv_dissenyen_una_app_per_compartir_cotxe_sense_intermediaris_i_vetllant_per_la_privadesa/47309
Paper accepted at Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence
Jan 2, 2017Our paper entitled "Co-utility: self-enforcing protocols for the mutual benefit of participants" has been accepted for its publication in "Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence" journal (to appear). In this paper co-utility is introduced as a framework for cooperation between rational agents so that the best strategy for each agent is to help another agent to achieve her best outcome. In this paper self-enforcing protocols are also studied and characterized in game-theoretic terms. [PDF]
Josep Domingo-Ferrer elevated to ACM Distinguished member
Dec 1, 2016Professor Josep Domingo-Ferrer has been elevated to ACM Distinguished Member. The ACM Distinguished grade recognizes those members who made outstanding technical, educational or leadership contributions to the computing field. The significance of this ACM grade are explained in: http://awards.acm.org/distinguished_member/
Paper published in Annual Mediterranean Ad Hoc Networking Workshop
Dec 1, 2016Our paper entitled “Co-utility for digital content protection and digital forgetting” has been published in MedHocNet 2016-15th Annual Mediterranean Ad Hoc Networking Workshop, IEEE, pp. 1-7. ISBN 978-1-5090-1983-0. In this paper it is addressing digital content protection and digital forgetting problems introducing the co-utility concept. In the paper it is presented peer-to-peer protocols that leverage co-utility to provide solutions for the two mentioned problems. [DOI]
Presentation at AC2016 conference
Nov 21, 2016Abeba Nigussie presented the paper “Filtering P2P loans based co-utilile reputation” in the 13th International Conference on Applied Computing 2016 carried out in Manheim (Germany) October 28-30. [PDF]. In this paper a distributed reputation protocol based on the co-utility principle is applied in order to minimize the mistrust effect that suffer peer-to-peer loans.
Paper accepted at Transportation research part C - Emerging technologies
Nov 7, 2016Our paper entitled “Co-utile P2P ridesharing via decentralization and reputation management” has been published in “Transportation research part C - Emerging technologies” journal on Nov, 7th. In this paper we present a fully decentralized P2P ridesharing system, relying on the co-utility notion and enforcing trust among peers with a distributed reputation protocol. Special care has been put in order to ensure the privacy of peers.
Paper accepted at Information Sciences
May 30, 2016Our paper entitled "Self-Enforcing Protocols via Co-Utile Reputation Management" has been published in "Information Sciences" journal on May, 30th. In this paper we study how reputation mechanisms can be incorporated into existing protocols in order to make them self-enforcing (and optionally co-utile). Moreover, we show that the reputation management is itself self-enforcing (and co-utile).
Video summary of Co-Utility Workshop
April 15, 2016Paper accepted at Science journal
March 18, 2016Our technical comment entitled "Comment on 'Unique in the shopping mall: On the reidentifiability of credit card metadata'" has been published in Science on March 18th.
In this paper we demonstrate that anonymization can be performed by techniques well established in the literature. Also, we mention co-utility as a way to achieve collaborative anonymization by the data subjects themselves.
First Co-utility Workshop news
March 11, 2016The national Catalonian television “TV3” has covered the Workshop and has broadcasted a report of the event [link]. The local newspapers “Diari La Republica” (link) and “URVACTIV@” (link) have also covered the event and have published a report .
First Co-utility Workshop was held in Tarragona
March 10-11, 2016During the 1st Co-utility Workshop held from the 10th to the 11th of March in Tarragona, participants present the co-utility theory and explore co-utility applications in the fields of anonymity, collaborative economy and environmental coalitions between countries. The Templeton World Charity Foundation has supported the workshop [photo1] [photo2].
Paper accepted at the Review of Managerial Science Journal
February 1, 2016Our paper entitled "A co-utility approach to the mesh economy: the crowd-based business model" has been accepted at the Review of Managerial Science Journal. The paper explores the mesh economy applications of co-utility and it shows that the crowdsourcing market is naturally co-utile. The paper also analyzes the investment crowdfunding industry proposing solutions to make its market strictly co-utile.
Presentation at Remmin University, China
October 16, 2015Josep Domingo-Ferrer presents co-utility at the Remmin University, Beijing, (China). Invited talk, title: “New directions in anonymization: the permutation paradigm, verifiability, transparency and co-utility”
Presentation at the the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics
August 27, 2015Josep Domingo-Ferrer presents co-utility at the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Washington DC, (USA). Invited talk, title of the presentation: "Verifiability, transparency and co-utility in anonymization" [slides].
Paper accepted at the IEEE ICEBE 2015 conference
July 6, 2015Our paper entitled " Co-Utility: Conciliating Individual Freedom and Common Good for the Crowd-based Business Model " has been accepted at the 2015 IEEE Intl. Conf. on e-Business Engineering (ICEBE 2015), Beijing China, October 23-25, 2015 [link].
The paper analyzes the application of the notion of co-utility to the crowd based business model. It also analyzes the equity Crowdfunding industry proposing solutions to make it strictly co-utile.
Article publication in the newspaper "Ara"
June 20, 2015The Catalan newspaper "Ara" (published in Barcelona with national level) published the article "Coutilitat: ajudar en interès propi" written by Josep Domingo-Ferrer about the notion of Co-Utility. The article makes known, in a didactic way, theoretical and practical issues of co-utility. The article can be read in [link] (in catalan).
John Nash dies aged 86
May 24, 2015
The inventor of the Nash equilibrium, for which he won a Nobel Prize, died today in a car crash with his wife [Link]
Presentation at RSME 2015
February 3, 2015Poster presentation at RSME 2015 (bi-annual conference of the Spanish Royal Society of Mathematics and Statistics), held in Granada. [Poster]
Presentation at Cryptography Seminars
January 22, 2015Oana Ciobotaru gave a rump session presentation [link] about the co-utility project at the itinerant Cryptography Seminars, IMDEA Software Institute, Madrid
Josep Domingo-Ferrer among Catalonia's top 100 cited scientists
January 21, 2015The PI of the CO-UTILITY project, among Catalonia's top 100 cited scientists (Google Scholar) [link]
Presentation at CPDP2015
January 21, 2015Josep Domingo-Ferrer presents co-utility in a panel at CPDP 2015-Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection Conference (Brussels) [slides]
Best Track Paper at IEOM 2015
January 18, 2015Best Track Paper Award at the IEOM 2015 conference for the first publication of the CO-UTILITY project. [link]
Presentation at the Bermuda Symposium
January 15, 2015Josep Domingo-Ferrer makes a presentation on co-utility at the Bermuda Symposium, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands [link]
New incorporations to the team
January 12, 2015Abeba Nigussie Turi has been incorporated, as Ph.D. student, to the CO-UTILITY project team. She holds a Master in Economics from Charles University in Prague
Publication in the URV’s magazine
December 16, 2014The magazine of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili publishes a notice about the purposes of the Co-Utility project. The article can be read in: [link (in Catalan with a summary in English)]
Appointment in the Human Brain Project
December 12, 2014Josep Domingo-Ferrer has been appointed to the Ethics, Legal and Social Aspects Committee (ELSA) of the Human Brain Project (European Union Flagship Project).
Open presentation in Bilbao, Basque Country
November 11, 2014Josep Domingo-Ferrer gave an open talk in an open evening on dual-use research held on Nov. 5, 2014 in Bilbao, Basque Country (http://www.fcs.es/investigaciondobleuso). The talk was entitled "Privacidad and seguridad en tiempos de big data" (Privacy and security in a time of big data). At the end of it, co-utility was described as a solution and the Templeton-sponsored CO-UTILITY project was presented.
Paper accepted at the IEEE IEOM 2015 conference
November 03, 2014Our paper entitled "Co-Utility: Self-Enforcing Protocols without Coordination Mechanisms" has been accepted at the 2015 IEEE Intl. Conf. on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, Dubai, March 3-5, 2015.
The paper formalizes the notions of strict co-utility and relaxed co-utility vs. self-enforcing and co-ordination protocols.
Publication in the URV's newspaper
October 31, 2014URV's newspaper "Indicador universitari" (freely distributed with Tarragona's local press) summarizes the aims of the "CO-UTILITY" project [link (in Catalan)].
New incorporations to the team
October 01, 2014Aida Calviño has joined the CO-UTILITY project; Into the team section you can see her brief researcher curriculum. [LINK]
PSD 2014 has been co-supported by CO-UTILITY project
September 25, 2014The Templeton World Charity Foundation through the CO-UTILITY project has co-supported the conference "Privacy in Statistical Databases" (PSD 2014) held from the 17th to the 19th of September in Eivissa (Balearic Islands) sponsored and organized by the UNESCO Chair in Data Privacy. [link]
New incorporations to the team
September 15, 2014Oana Ciobotaru, Jordi Soria and Sergio Martínez have incorporated to the CO-UTILITY project; look at their biographical sketch into the team section. [LINK]