Cognitive Informatics (CI) is a contemporary multidisciplinary field spanning across computer science, information science, cognitive science, brain science, intelligence science, knowledge science, cognitive linguistics, and cognitive philosophy. CI aims to investigate the internal information processing mechanisms and processes of the brain, the underlying abstract intelligence theories and denotational mathematics, and their engineering applications in cognitive computing and computational intelligence. This paper reports a set of eleven position statements presented in the plenary panel of IEEE ICCI*CC’13 on Cognitive Computers and Knowledge Processors contributed from invited panelists who are part of the world’s renowned researchers and scholars in the field of cognitive informatics and cognitive computing.

Wireless technologies are continuously evolving, including features such as the extension to mid- and long-range communications and the support of an increasing number of devices. However, longer ranges increase the probability of suffering from hidden terminal issues. In the particular case of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), the use of Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms introduced in IEEE 802.11e compromises scalability, exacerbates the hidden node problem, and creates congestion as the number of users and the variety of services in the network grow. In this context, this paper presents a configurable Colored Petri Net (CPN) model for the IEEE 802.11e protocol with the aim of analyzing the QoS support in mid- and long-range WLANs The CPN model covers the behavior of the protocol in the presence of hidden nodes to examine the performance of the RTS/CTS exchange in scenarios where the QoS differentiation may involve massive collision chains and high delays. Our CPN model sets the basis for further exploring the performance of the various mechanisms defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard. We then use this CPN model to provide a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of this protocol by using the simulation and monitoring capabilities of CPN Tools.