Urban microclimate and thermal comfort modelling: strategies for urban renovation

The urban microclimate plays an important role in building energy consumption and thermal comfort in outdoor spaces. Nowadays, cities need to increase energy efficiency, reduce pollutant emissions and mitigate the evident lack of sustainability. In light of this, attention has focused on the bioclimatic concepts use in the urban development. However, the speculative unsustainability of the growth model highlights the need to redirect the construction sector towards urban renovation using a bioclimatic approach. The public space plays a key role in improving the quality of today’s cities, especially in terms of providing places for citizens to meet and socialize in adequate thermal conditions. Thermal comfort affects perception of the environment, so microclimate conditions can be decisive for the success or failure of outdoor urban spaces and the activities held in them. For these reasons, the main focus of this work is on the definition of bioclimatic strategies for existing urban spaces, based on morpho-typological components, urban microclimate conditions and comfort requirements for all kinds of citizens. Two case studies were selected in Madrid, in a social housing neighbourhood constructed in the 1970s based on Rational Architecture style. Several renovation scenarios were performed using a computer simulation process based in ENVI-met and diverse microclimate conditions were compared. In addition, thermal comfort evaluation was carried out using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) in order to investigate the relationship between microclimate conditions and thermal comfort perception. This paper introduces the microclimate computer simulation process as a valuable support for decision-making for neighbourhood renovation projects in order to provide new and better solutions according to the thermal quality of public spaces and reducing energy consumption by creating and selecting better microclimate areas.

Nonparametric Message Passing Methods for Cooperative Localization and Tracking

The objective of this thesis is the development of cooperative localization and tracking algorithms using nonparametric message passing techniques. In contrast to the most well-known techniques, the goal is to estimate the posterior probability density function (PDF) of the position of each sensor. This problem can be solved using Bayesian approach, but it is intractable in general case. Nevertheless, the particle-based approximation (via nonparametric representation), and an appropriate factorization of the joint PDFs (using message passing methods), make Bayesian approach acceptable for inference in sensor networks. The well-known method for this problem, nonparametric belief propagation (NBP), can lead to inaccurate beliefs and possible non-convergence in loopy networks. Therefore, we propose four novel algorithms which alleviate these problems: nonparametric generalized belief propagation (NGBP) based on junction tree (NGBP-JT), NGBP based on pseudo-junction tree (NGBP-PJT), NBP based on spanning trees (NBP-ST), and uniformly-reweighted NBP (URW-NBP). We also extend NBP for cooperative localization in mobile networks. In contrast to the previous methods, we use an optional smoothing, provide a novel communication protocol, and increase the efficiency of the sampling techniques. Moreover, we propose novel algorithms for distributed tracking, in which the goal is to track the passive object which cannot locate itself. In particular, we develop distributed particle filtering (DPF) based on three asynchronous belief consensus (BC) algorithms: standard belief consensus (SBC), broadcast gossip (BG), and belief propagation (BP). Finally, the last part of this thesis includes the experimental analysis of some of the proposed algorithms, in which we found that the results based on real measurements are very similar with the results based on theoretical models.

Coastal Urban Flood Resislience versus Climate Change

Processes of founding and expanding cities in coastal areas have undergone great changes over time driven by environmental conditions. Coastal settlements looked for places above flood levels and away from swamps and other wetlands whenever possible. As populations grew, cities were extending trying to avoid low and wet lands. No city has been able to limit its growth. The risk of flooding can never be eliminated, but only reduced to the extent possible. Flooding of coastal areas is today dramatically attributed to eustasic sea level rise caused by global climate change. This can be inaccurate. Current climate change is generating an average sea level upward trend, but other regional and local factors result in this trend being accentuated in some places or attenuated, and even reversed, in others. Then, the intensity and frequency of coastal flooding around the planet, although not so much as a unique result of this general eustasic elevation, but rather of the superposition of marine and crustal dynamic elements, the former also climate-related, which give rise to a temporary raising in average sea level in the short term. Since the Little Ice Age the planet has been suffering a global warming change leading to sea level rise. The idea of being too obeying to anthropogenic factors may be attributed to Arrhenius (1896), though it is of much later highlight after the sixties of the last century. Never before, the human factor had been able of such an influence on climate. However, other types of changes in sea levels became apparent, resulting from vertical movements of the crust, modifications of sea basins due to continents fracturing, drifting and coming together, or to different types of climate patterns. Coastal zones are then doubly susceptible to floods. Precipitation immediately triggers pluvial flooding. If it continues upland or when snow and glaciers melt eventually fluvial flooding can occur. The urban development presence represents modifying factors. Additional interference is caused by river and waste water drainage systems. Climate also influences sea levels in coastal areas, where tides as well as the structure and dynamic of the geoid and its crust come into play. From the sea, waters can flood and break or push back berms and other coastline borders. The sea level, controlling the mouth of the main channel of the basin's drainage system, is ultimately what governs flood levels. A temporary rise in sea level acts as a dam at the mouth. Even in absence of that global change, so, floods are likely going to increase in many urban coastal areas. Some kind of innovative methodologies and practices should be needed to get more flood resilience cities

Computerized Three-Dimmensional Craniofacial Reconstruction from Skulls Based on Landmarks.

Human identification from a skull is a critical process in legal and forensic medicine, specially when no other means are available. Traditional clay-based methods attempt to generate the human face, in order to identify the corresponding person. However, these reconstructions lack of objectivity and consistence, since they depend on the practitioner. Current computerized techniques are based on facial models, which introduce undesired facial features when the final reconstruction is built. This paper presents an objective 3D craniofacial reconstruction technique, implemented in a graphic application, without using any facial template. The only information required by the software tool is the 3D image of the target skull and three parameters: age, gender and Body Mass Index (BMI) of the individual. Complexity is minimized, since the application database only consists of the anthropological information provided by soft tissue depth values in a set of points of the skull.

A Multi-agent System for Emergency Decision Support

This paper describes the multi-agent organization of a computer system that was designed to assist operators in decision making in the presence of emergencies. The application was developed for the case of emergencies caused by river floods. It operates on real-time receiving data recorded by sensors (rainfall, water levels, flows, etc.) and applies multi-agent techniques to interpret the data, predict the future behavior and recommend control actions. The system includes an advanced knowledge based architecture with multiple symbolic representation with uncertainty models (bayesian networks). This system has been applied and validated at two particular sites in Spain (the Jucar basin and the South basin).

A multinational SDI-based system to facilitate disaster risk management in the Andean Community

A useful strategy for improving disaster risk management is sharing spatial data across different technical organizations using shared information systems. However, the implementation of this type of system requires a large effort, so it is difficult to find fully implemented and sustainable information systems that facilitate sharing multinational spatial data about disasters, especially in developing countries. In this paper, we describe a pioneer system for sharing spatial information that we developed for the Andean Community. This system, called SIAPAD (Andean Information System for Disaster Prevention and Relief), integrates spatial information from 37 technical organizations in the Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). SIAPAD was based on the concept of a thematic Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and includes a web application, called GEORiesgo, which helps users to find relevant information with a knowledge-based system. In the paper, we describe the design and implementation of SIAPAD together with general conclusions and future directions which we learned as a result of this work.

Agile Construction and Evolution of Product-Line Architectures

Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) has proved to have significant advantages in family-based software development, but also implies the up¬front design of a product-line architecture (PLA) from which individual product applications can be engineered. The big upfront design associated with PLAs is in conflict with the current need of "being open to change". However, the turbulence of the current business climate makes change inevitable in order to stay competitive, and requires PLAs to be open to change even late in the development. The trend of "being open to change" is manifested in the Agile Software Development (ASD) paradigm, but it is spreading to the domain of SPLE. To reduce the big upfront design of PLAs as currently practiced in SPLE, new paradigms are being created, one being Agile Product Line Engineering (APLE). APLE aims to make the development of product-lines more flexible and adaptable to changes as promoted in ASD. To put APLE into practice it is necessary to make mechanisms available to assist and guide the agile construction and evolution of PLAs while complying with the "be open to change" agile principle. This thesis defines a process for "the agile construction and evolution of product-line architectures", which we refer to as Agile Product-Line Archi-tecting (APLA). The APLA process provides agile architects with a set of models for describing, documenting and tracing PLAs, as well as an algorithm to analyze change impact. Both the models and the change impact analysis offer the following capabilities: Flexibility & adaptability at the time of defining software architectures, enabling change during the incremental and iterative design of PLAs (anticipated or planned changes) and their evolution (unanticipated or unforeseen changes). Assistance in checking architectural integrity through change impact analysis in terms of architectural concerns, such as dependencies on earlier design decisions, rationale, constraints, and risks, etc.Guidance in the change decision-making process through change im¬pact analysis in terms of architectural components and connections. Therefore, APLA provides the mechanisms required to construct and evolve PLAs that can easily be refined iteration after iteration during the APLE development process. These mechanisms are provided in a modeling frame¬work called FPLA. The contributions of this thesis have been validated through the conduction of a project regarding a metering management system in electrical power networks. This case study took place in an i-smart software factory and was in collaboration with the Technical University of Madrid and Indra Software Labs. La Ingeniería de Líneas de Producto Software (Software Product Line Engi¬neering, SPLE) ha demostrado tener ventajas significativas en el desarrollo de software basado en familias de productos. SPLE es un paradigma que se basa en la reutilización sistemática de un conjunto de características comunes que comparten los productos de un mismo dominio o familia, y la personalización masiva a través de una variabilidad bien definida que diferencia unos productos de otros. Este tipo de desarrollo requiere el diseño inicial de una arquitectura de línea de productos (Product-Line Architecture, PLA) a partir de la cual los productos individuales de la familia son diseñados e implementados. La inversión inicial que hay que realizar en el diseño de PLAs entra en conflicto con la necesidad actual de estar continuamente "abierto al cam¬bio", siendo este cambio cada vez más frecuente y radical en la industria software. Para ser competitivos es inevitable adaptarse al cambio, incluso en las últimas etapas del desarrollo de productos software. Esta tendencia se manifiesta de forma especial en el paradigma de Desarrollo Ágil de Software (Agile Software Development, ASD) y se está extendiendo también al ámbito de SPLE. Con el objetivo de reducir la inversión inicial en el diseño de PLAs en la manera en que se plantea en SPLE, en los último años han surgido nuevos enfoques como la Ingeniera de Líneas de Producto Software Ágiles (Agile Product Line Engineering, APLE). APLE propone el desarrollo de líneas de producto de forma más flexible y adaptable a los cambios, iterativa e incremental. Para ello, es necesario disponer de mecanismos que ayuden y guíen a los arquitectos de líneas de producto en el diseño y evolución ágil de PLAs, mientras se cumple con el principio ágil de estar abierto al cambio. Esta tesis define un proceso para la "construcción y evolución ágil de las arquitecturas de lineas de producto software". A este proceso se le ha denominado Agile Product-Line Architecting (APLA). El proceso APLA proporciona a los arquitectos software un conjunto de modelos para de¬scribir, documentar y trazar PLAs, así como un algoritmo para analizar vel impacto del cambio. Los modelos y el análisis del impacto del cambio ofrecen: Flexibilidad y adaptabilidad a la hora de definir las arquitecturas software, facilitando el cambio durante el diseño incremental e iterativo de PLAs (cambios esperados o previstos) y su evolución (cambios no previstos). Asistencia en la verificación de la integridad arquitectónica mediante el análisis de impacto de los cambios en términos de dependencias entre decisiones de diseño, justificación de las decisiones de diseño, limitaciones, riesgos, etc. Orientación en la toma de decisiones derivadas del cambio mediante el análisis de impacto de los cambios en términos de componentes y conexiones. De esta manera, APLA se presenta como una solución para la construcción y evolución de PLAs de forma que puedan ser fácilmente refinadas iteración tras iteración de un ciclo de vida de líneas de producto ágiles. Dicha solución se ha implementado en una herramienta llamada FPLA (Flexible Product-Line Architecture) y ha sido validada mediante su aplicación en un proyecto de desarrollo de un sistema de gestión de medición en redes de energía eléctrica. Dicho proyecto ha sido desarrollado en una fábrica de software global en colaboración con la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid e Indra Software Labs.

Polynomial approximation using particle swarm optimization of lineal enhanced neural networks with no hidden layers.

This paper presents some ideas about a new neural network architecture that can be compared to a Taylor analysis when dealing with patterns. Such architecture is based on lineal activation functions with an axo-axonic architecture. A biological axo-axonic connection between two neurons is defined as the weight in a connection in given by the output of another third neuron. This idea can be implemented in the so called Enhanced Neural Networks in which two Multilayer Perceptrons are used; the first one will output the weights that the second MLP uses to computed the desired output. This kind of neural network has universal approximation properties even with lineal activation functions. There exists a clear difference between cooperative and competitive strategies. The former ones are based on the swarm colonies, in which all individuals share its knowledge about the goal in order to pass such information to other individuals to get optimum solution. The latter ones are based on genetic models, that is, individuals can die and new individuals are created combining information of alive one; or are based on molecular/celular behaviour passing information from one structure to another. A swarm-based model is applied to obtain the Neural Network, training the net with a Particle Swarm algorithm.

Knowledge Discovery in Spectral Data by Means of Complex Networks

In the last decade, complex networks have widely been applied to the study of many natural and man-made systems, and to the extraction of meaningful information from the interaction structures created by genes and proteins. Nevertheless, less attention has been devoted to metabonomics, due to the lack of a natural network representation of spectral data. Here we define a technique for reconstructing networks from spectral data sets, where nodes represent spectral bins, and pairs of them are connected when their intensities follow a pattern associated with a disease. The structural analysis of the resulting network can then be used to feed standard data-mining algorithms, for instance for the classification of new (unlabeled) subjects. Furthermore, we show how the structure of the network is resilient to the presence of external additive noise, and how it can be used to extract relevant knowledge about the development of the disease.

Validation tool for smart screening of language disorders in pediatrics care

Primary-care pediatricians could play a key role in early detection of development disorders as quick as they might have enough time and knowledge for suitable screenings at clinical routine. This research paper focuses on the development and validation of a knowledge-based web tool whose aim is to support a smart detection of developmental disorders in early childhood. Thus, the use of the system can trigger the necessary preventive and therapeutic actions from birth until the age of six. The platform was designed on the basis of an analysis of significant 21 cases of children with language disorders that supported the creation of a specific knowledge base, its ontology and a set of description logic relations. The resulting system is being validated in a scalable approach with a team of seven experts from the fields of neonathology, pediatrics, neurology and language therapy.

La financiación y la inversión inmobiliaria : repercusiones en el urbanismo y la arquitectura

El presente trabajo de tesis doctoral tiene por finalidad demostrar que las decisiones de financiación y de inversión inmobiliaria en España influyen de manera determinante en la configuración del proceso urbanístico y arquitectónico. Este planteamiento inicial obliga a formular las siguientes cuestiones: - En una primera fase, la situación en España del sector inmobiliario y su relación con el sector financiero en el contexto de la actual crisis financiera, iniciada en el año 2008. - Los métodos de análisis y selección de inversiones y su aplicación a los proyectos de inversión en función de la naturaleza de los activos inmobiliarios. - La valoración inmobiliaria para determinadas entidades financieras. - Características de la gestión financiera empresarial y de las empresas inmobiliarias. - El origen de fondos para financiar el proceso urbanístico y arquitectónico mediante las instituciones de inversión colectiva inmobiliaria y el mercado inmobiliario. - La regulación actual en España, a nivel estatal, del suelo como materia prima del sector inmobiliario. - La edificación residencial y el mercado inmobiliario en el actual contexto económico. - La posibilidad de crear en España un mercado de derivados basado en activos inmobiliarios. - Cómo repercute la actividad económica, a través de la inversión y la financiación, en los activos inmobiliarios, en el urbanismo y la arquitectura. Las cuestiones precedentes se resuelven de forma sistemática y metodológica en esta tesis doctoral estructurada en tres grandes bloques (inversión, financiación y repercusiones en el urbanismo y la arquitectura), obteniendo una serie de respuestas reflejadas en el desarrollo del presente trabajo que se sintetizan en las siguientes líneas: - La actual crisis financiera iniciada en el año 2008 ha provocado en España el colapso del sector inmobiliario y una nueva concepción en la naturaleza de los activos inmobiliarios. El sector inmobiliario trae causa del sector financiero, en especial del crédito bancario. - Dependencia y vinculación del sector inmobiliario español de la política monetaria europea: la incorporación de España a la moneda única transforma por completo el sector inmobiliario español. - Los métodos de análisis y selección de inversiones se conforman como instrumentos relevantes que nos permiten jerarquizar nuestros proyectos. No obstante, presentan una serie de limitaciones y dificultades de aplicación práctica, por lo que no deben considerarse como herramientas que nos aporten una única solución irrefutable. - La valoración de activos inmobiliarios se constituye en un pilar básico que fundamenta la correcta aplicación de los fondos. - La inversión en activos inmobiliarios puede realizarse de forma directa o indirecta. En este último supuesto, con una influencia relevante de las innovaciones financieras surgidas en los últimos años. - Las instituciones de inversión colectiva y el mercado hipotecario constituyen instituciones fundamentales capaces de captar importantes cantidades de fondos que impulsan y financian el proceso urbanístico y arquitectónico. - El complejo y cambiante sistema jurídico español en materia de suelo, dificulta la implementación de los procesos urbanísticos y arquitectónicos. - Tras la crisis financiera de 2008, los activos inmobiliarios tienen un comportamiento similar a otros activos en cuanto a subidas y bajadas de precios. En el actual sistema económico, la especulación forma parte inherente a la naturaleza de los activos inmobiliarios. - Desde una perspectiva teórica, existe la posibilidad de crear un mercado de derivados que tenga como subyacente activos de naturaleza inmobiliaria. - Sin actividad económica, el proceso urbanístico y arquitectónico carecerá finalmente de sentido y tenderá a desaparecer. No obstante, son las innovaciones tecnológicas, a nivel de producto y proceso, las principales causantes del impulso de la actividad económica. - A pesar de lo expresado en los documentos urbanísticos internacionales, la transformación del urbanismo y la arquitectura dependen principalmente de la actividad económica y la tecnología. En un segundo nivel, la inversión y la financiación condicionan y definen el urbanismo y la arquitectura, incluso a nivel de proyecto si se pretende su materialización. En base al desarrollo previo, el objetivo fundamental de esta tesis doctoral ha sido demostrar que las decisiones de financiación y de inversión tienen una importancia capital y determinan la configuración de los activos inmobiliario, del urbanismo y la arquitectura, por lo que deben ser tenidas en cuenta no sólo en su materialización sino incluso en la propia concepción del proceso creativo. ABSTRACT The present dissertation aims to show that real estate financing and investment decisions in Spain play a predominant role in structuring urban development and architectural solutions. The issues addressed to support that contention include: - As a preliminary study, the situation of the real estate industry in Spain and its relationship to the financial sector in the context of the 2008 financial crisis. - The methods used to analyse and select investments and their application to investment projects, by type of real estate asset. - Appraisal of certain financial institutions’ real estate asset holdings. - Characteristics of financial institution and real estate company corporate management. - Sourcing funds for financing urban development and architecture through real estate investment trusts and the real estate market. - Present nation-wide regulations on landed property in Spain as a raw material for the real estate industry. - Residential building construction and the real estate market in the present economic context. - The possibility of creating a real estate asset-based derivatives market in Spain - The impact of economic activity, through investment and financing, on real estate assets, urban development and architecture. The aforementioned issues are addressed systematically and methodically in this dissertation, which is divided into three major units: investment, financing, and impact on urban development and architecture. The conclusions drawn are summarised below. - The financial crisis that began in 2008 has induced the collapse of the Spanish real estate industry and spawned a new perception of the nature of real estate assets. The real estate industry is dependent upon the financial sector, in particular on bank loans. - The Spanish real estate industry also depends on and is related to European monetary policy: Spain’s adherence to the single currency ushered in a thorough overhaul of its real estate industry. - Investment analysis and selection methods constitute highly suitable tools for project evaluation and ranking. Nonetheless, inasmuch as their practical implementation is subject to a series of limitations and difficulties, they should not be thought able to deliver a single irrefutable solution. - Real estate asset appraisal is a mainstay to the rightful application of funds. - Real estate asset investments can be made directly or indirectly. The latter approach is heavily influenced by the financial innovations forthcoming in recent years. - Investment trusts and the mortgage market are key institutions able to raise substantial funding, thereby driving and financing urban development and architecture. - Spain’s complex and changing legal provisions on land management are an obstacle to urban development and architecture. - Since the 2008 crisis, real estate assets have behaved much like other assets in terms of rising and falling prices. In the present economic context, speculation is indivisible from real estate assets. - Theoretically speaking, a derivatives market with real estate holdings as the underlying assets lies within the realm of possibility. - In the absence of economic activity, urban development and architecture are senseless pursuits and tend to disappear. Technological innovation in products and processes are the main drivers of economic activity. - Despite the opinion expressed in international papers on the subject, the transformation of urban development and architecture depend primarily on economic activity and technology. In a second dimension, investment and financing condition and define urban development and architecture, even at the design level for projects aspiring to actual construction. Pursuant to the foregoing, the primary aim of this dissertation is to show that financial and investment decisions are of cardinal importance and determine the structure of real estate assets, urban development and architecture. They must consequently be borne in mind not only in connection with implementation, but also with conceptual design and the creative process itself. I

Strategies and good practice for sustainable and liveable cities of tomorrow

This contribution deals with the question, what makes cities sustainable and integrative, and suggests an approach for "liveable cities of tomorrow" designed to sustain mobility. The liveable city of tomorrow needs to meet both ecological and social requirements in an integrative approach. To design urban patterns appropriate or “sustainable mobility” based on a concept of mobility defined as the number of accessible destinations (different to that for “fossil mobility” defined as the ability to cover distances) is a key element of such an approach. Considering the limited reserves of fossil fuels and the long lifetime of the built structure, mobility needs to rely on modes independent of fossil fuels (public transport and pedestrians) to make it sustainable and the urban pattern needs to be developed appropriately for these modes. Crucial for the success of public transport is the location of buildings within the catchment area of stops. An attractive urban environment for pedestrians is characterised by short distances in a compact settlement with appropriate/qualified urban density and mixed land use as well as by attractive public space. This, complemented by an integrative urban development on the quarter level including neighbourhood management with a broad spectrum of activity areas (social infrastructure, integration of diverse social and ethnic groups, health promotion, community living, etc.), results in increased liveability. The role of information technology in this context is to support a sustainable use of the built structures by organisational instruments. Sustainable and liveable communities offer many benefits for health, safety and well-being of their inhabitants.

MIA - a free and open source software for gray scale medical image analysis

Background Gray scale images make the bulk of data in bio-medical image analysis, and hence, the main focus of many image processing tasks lies in the processing of these monochrome images. With ever improving acquisition devices, spatial and temporal image resolution increases, and data sets become very large. Various image processing frameworks exists that make the development of new algorithms easy by using high level programming languages or visual programming. These frameworks are also accessable to researchers that have no background or little in software development because they take care of otherwise complex tasks. Specifically, the management of working memory is taken care of automatically, usually at the price of requiring more it. As a result, processing large data sets with these tools becomes increasingly difficult on work station class computers. One alternative to using these high level processing tools is the development of new algorithms in a languages like C++, that gives the developer full control over how memory is handled, but the resulting workflow for the prototyping of new algorithms is rather time intensive, and also not appropriate for a researcher with little or no knowledge in software development. Another alternative is in using command line tools that run image processing tasks, use the hard disk to store intermediate results, and provide automation by using shell scripts. Although not as convenient as, e.g. visual programming, this approach is still accessable to researchers without a background in computer science. However, only few tools exist that provide this kind of processing interface, they are usually quite task specific, and don’t provide an clear approach when one wants to shape a new command line tool from a prototype shell script. Results The proposed framework, MIA, provides a combination of command line tools, plug-ins, and libraries that make it possible to run image processing tasks interactively in a command shell and to prototype by using the according shell scripting language. Since the hard disk becomes the temporal storage memory management is usually a non-issue in the prototyping phase. By using string-based descriptions for filters, optimizers, and the likes, the transition from shell scripts to full fledged programs implemented in C++ is also made easy. In addition, its design based on atomic plug-ins and single tasks command line tools makes it easy to extend MIA, usually without the requirement to touch or recompile existing code. Conclusion In this article, we describe the general design of MIA, a general purpouse framework for gray scale image processing. We demonstrated the applicability of the software with example applications from three different research scenarios, namely motion compensation in myocardial perfusion imaging, the processing of high resolution image data that arises in virtual anthropology, and retrospective analysis of treatment outcome in orthognathic surgery. With MIA prototyping algorithms by using shell scripts that combine small, single-task command line tools is a viable alternative to the use of high level languages, an approach that is especially useful when large data sets need to be processed.

A Knowledge Model for Automatic Configuration of Traffic Messages

This paper describes a knowledge model for a configuration problem in the do-main of traffic control. The goal of this model is to help traffic engineers in the dynamic selection of a set of messages to be presented to drivers on variable message signals. This selection is done in a real-time context using data recorded by traffic detectors on motorways. The system follows an advanced knowledge-based solution that implements two abstract problem solving methods according to a model-based approach recently proposed in the knowledge engineering field. Finally, the paper presents a discussion about the advantages and drawbacks found for this problem as a consequence of the applied knowledge modeling ap-proach.

A Propose-and-revise System for Real-time Traffic Management

The aim of this paper is to describe an intelligent system for the problem of real time road traffic control. The purpose of the system is to help traffic engineers in the selection of the state of traffic control devices on real time, using data recorded by traffic detectors on motorways. The system follows an advanced knowledge-based approach that implements an abstract generic problem solving method, called propose-and-revise, which was proposed in Artificial Intelligence, within the knowledge engineering field, as a standard cognitive structure oriented to solve configuration design problems. The paper presents the knowledge model of such a system together with the strategy of inference and describes how it was applied for the case of the M-40 urban ring for the city of Madrid.