Structural changes after videogame practice related to a brain network associated with intelligence

Here gray and white matter changes after four weeks of videogame practice were analyzed using optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM), cortical surface and cortical thickness indices, and white matter integrity computed from several projection, commissural, and association tracts relevant to cognition. Beginning with a sample of one hundred young females, twenty right handed participants were recruited for the study and assigned to a practice or a control group carefully matched by their general cognitive ability scores. After the first scan, the practice group played ���Professor Layton and The Pandora's Box��� 4 h per week during four weeks. A second scan was obtained at the end of practice and intelligence was measured again. Image analyses revealed gray and white matter changes in the practice group. Gray matter changes theoretically relevant for intelligence were observed for the practice group mainly in frontal clusters (Brodmann areas 9 and 10) and also in smaller parietal and temporal regions. White matter findings were focused in the hippocampal cingulum and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus. These gray and white matter changes presumably induced by practice did not interact with intelligence tests' scores.

A syntactic approach to combining functional notation, lazy evaluation, and higher-order in LP systems

Nondeterminism and partially instantiated data structures give logic programming expressive power beyond that of functional programming. However, functional programming often provides convenient syntactic features, such as having a designated implicit output argument, which allow function cali nesting and sometimes results in more compact code. Functional programming also sometimes allows a more direct encoding of lazy evaluation, with its ability to deal with infinite data structures. We present a syntactic functional extensi��n, used in the Ciao system, which can be implemented in ISO-standard Prolog systems and covers function application, predefined evaluable functors, functional definitions, quoting, and lazy evaluation. The extensi��n is also composable with higher-order features and can be combined with other extensions to ISO-Prolog such as constraints. We also highlight the features of the Ciao system which help implementation and present some data on the overhead of using lazy evaluation with respect to eager evaluation.

Combining a Similar Coefficient Identification Algorithm with the Boundary Element Method

The boundary element method (BEM) has been applied successfully to many engineering problems during the last decades. Compared with domain type methods like the finite element method (FEM) or the finite difference method (FDM) the BEM can handle problems where the medium extends to infinity much easier than domain type methods as there is no need to develop special boundary conditions (quiet or absorbing boundaries) or infinite elements at the boundaries introduced to limit the domain studied. The determination of the dynamic stiffness of arbitrarily shaped footings is just one of these fields where the BEM has been the method of choice, especially in the 1980s. With the continuous development of computer technology and the available hardware equipment the size of the problems under study grew and, as the flop count for solving the resulting linear system of equations grows with the third power of the number of equations, there was a need for the development of iterative methods with better performance. In [1] the GMRES algorithm was presented which is now widely used for implementations of the collocation BEM. While the FEM results in sparsely populated coefficient matrices, the BEM leads, in general, to fully or densely populated ones, depending on the number of subregions, posing a serious memory problem even for todays computers. If the geometry of the problem permits the surface of the domain to be meshed with equally shaped elements a lot of the resulting coefficients will be calculated and stored repeatedly. The present paper shows how these unnecessary operations can be avoided reducing the calculation time as well as the storage requirement. To this end a similar coefficient identification algorithm (SCIA), has been developed and implemented in a program written in Fortran 90. The vertical dynamic stiffness of a single pile in layered soil has been chosen to test the performance of the implementation. The results obtained with the 3-d model may be compared with those obtained with an axisymmetric formulation which are considered to be the reference values as the mesh quality is much better. The entire 3D model comprises more than 35000 dofs being a soil region with 21168 dofs the biggest single region. Note that the memory necessary to store all coefficients of this single region is about 6.8 GB, an amount which is usually not available with personal computers. In the problem under study the interface zone between the two adjacent soil regions as well as the surface of the top layer may be meshed with equally sized elements. In this case the application of the SCIA leads to an important reduction in memory requirements. The maximum memory used during the calculation has been reduced to 1.2 GB. The application of the SCIA thus permits problems to be solved on personal computers which otherwise would require much more powerful hardware.

A general implementation framework for tabled CLP

This paper describes a framework to combine tabling evalua- tion and constraint logic programming (TCLP). While this combination has been studied previously from a theoretical point of view and some implementations exist, they either suffer from a lack of efficiency, flex- ibility, or generality, or have inherent limitations with respect to the programs they can execute to completion (either with success or fail- ure). Our framework addresses these issues directly, including the ability to check for answer / call entailment, which allows it to terminate in more cases than other approaches. The proposed framework is experimentally compared with existing solutions in order to provide evidence of the mentioned advantages.

Combining Text and Graphics for Interactive Exploration of Behavior Datasets

Modern sensor technologies and simulators applied to large and complex dynamic systems (such as road traffic networks, sets of river channels, etc.) produce large amounts of behavior data that are difficult for users to interpret and analyze. Software tools that generate presentations combining text and graphics can help users understand this data. In this paper we describe the results of our research on automatic multimedia presentation generation (including text, graphics, maps, images, etc.) for interactive exploration of behavior datasets. We designed a novel user interface that combines automatically generated text and graphical resources. We describe the general knowledge-based design of our presentation generation tool. We also present applications that we developed to validate the method, and a comparison with related work.

Bayesian scene analysis for multi-camera 3D tracking and camera positioning

Los sistemas de seguimiento mono-c��mara han demostrado su notable capacidad para el an��lisis de trajectorias de objectos m��viles y para monitorizaci��n de escenas de inter��s; sin embargo, tanto su robustez como sus posibilidades en cuanto a comprensi��n sem��ntica de la escena est��n fuertemente limitadas por su naturaleza local y monocular, lo que los hace insuficientes para aplicaciones realistas de videovigilancia. El objetivo de esta tesis es la extensi��n de las posibilidades de los sistemas de seguimiento de objetos m��viles para lograr un mayor grado de robustez y comprensi��n de la escena. La extensi��n propuesta se divide en dos direcciones separadas. La primera puede considerarse local, ya que est�� orientada a la mejora y enriquecimiento de las posiciones estimadas para los objetos m��viles observados directamente por las c��maras del sistema; dicha extensi��n se logra mediante el desarrollo de un sistema multi-c��mara de seguimiento 3D, capaz de proporcionar consistentemente las posiciones 3D de m��ltiples objetos a partir de las observaciones capturadas por un conjunto de sensores calibrados y con campos de visi��n solapados. La segunda extensi��n puede considerarse global, dado que su objetivo consiste en proporcionar un contexto global para relacionar las observaciones locales realizadas por una c��mara con una escena de mucho mayor tama��o; para ello se propone un sistema autom��tico de localizaci��n de c��maras basado en las trayectorias observadas de varios objetos m��viles y en un mapa esquem��tico de la escena global monitorizada. Ambas l��neas de investigaci��n se tratan utilizando, como marco com��n, t��cnicas de estimaci��n bayesiana: esta elecci��n est�� justificada por la versatilidad y flexibilidad proporcionada por dicho marco estad��stico, que permite la combinaci��n natural de m��ltiples fuentes de informaci��n sobre los par��metros a estimar, as�� como un tratamiento riguroso de la incertidumbre asociada a las mismas mediante la inclusi��n de modelos de observaci��n espec��ficamente dise��ados. Adem��s, el marco seleccionado abre grandes posibilidades operacionales, puesto que permite la creaci��n de diferentes m��todos num��ricos adaptados a las necesidades y caracter��sticas espec��ficas de distintos problemas tratados. El sistema de seguimiento 3D con m��ltiples c��maras propuesto est�� espec��ficamente dise��ado para permitir descripciones esquem��ticas de las medidas realizadas individualmente por cada una de las c��maras del sistema: esta elecci��n de dise��o, por tanto, no asume ning��n algoritmo espec��fico de detecci��n o seguimiento 2D en ninguno de los sensores de la red, y hace que el sistema propuesto sea aplicable a redes reales de vigilancia con capacidades limitadas tanto en t��rminos de procesamiento como de transmision. La combinaci��n robusta de las observaciones capturadas individualmente por las c��maras, ruidosas, incompletas y probablemente contaminadas por falsas detecciones, se basa en un metodo de asociaci��n bayesiana basado en geometr��a y color: los resultados de dicha asociaci��n permiten el seguimiento 3D de los objetos de la escena mediante el uso de un filtro de part��culas. El sistema de fusi��n de observaciones propuesto tiene, como principales caracter��sticas, una gran precisi��n en t��rminos de localizaci��n 3D de objetos, y una destacable capacidad de recuperaci��n tras eventuales errores debidos a un n��mero insuficiente de datos de entrada. El sistema autom��tico de localizaci��n de c��maras se basa en la observaci��n de m��ltiples objetos m��viles y un mapa esquem��tico de las ��reas transitables del entorno monitorizado para inferir la posici��n absoluta de dicho sensor. Para este prop��sito, se propone un novedoso marco bayesiano que combina modelos din��micos inducidos por el mapa en los objetos m��viles presentes en la escena con las trayectorias observadas por la c��mara, lo que representa un enfoque nunca utilizado en la literatura existente. El sistema de localizaci��n se divide en dos sub-tareas diferenciadas, debido a que cada una de estas tareas requiere del dise��o de algoritmos espec��ficos de muestreo para explotar en profundidad las caracter��sticas del marco desarrollado: por un lado, an��lisis de la ambig��edad del caso espec��ficamente tratado y estimaci��n aproximada de la localizaci��n de la c��mara, y por otro, refinado de la localizaci��n de la c��mara. El sistema completo, dise��ado y probado para el caso espec��fico de localizaci��n de c��maras en entornos de tr��fico urbano, podr��a tener aplicaci��n tambi��n en otros entornos y sensores de diferentes modalidades tras ciertas adaptaciones. ABSTRACT Mono-camera tracking systems have proved their capabilities for moving object trajectory analysis and scene monitoring, but their robustness and semantic possibilities are strongly limited by their local and monocular nature and are often insufficient for realistic surveillance applications. This thesis is aimed at extending the possibilities of moving object tracking systems to a higher level of scene understanding. The proposed extension comprises two separate directions. The first one is local, since is aimed at enriching the inferred positions of the moving objects within the area of the monitored scene directly covered by the cameras of the system; this task is achieved through the development of a multi-camera system for robust 3D tracking, able to provide 3D tracking information of multiple simultaneous moving objects from the observations reported by a set of calibrated cameras with semi-overlapping fields of view. The second extension is global, as is aimed at providing local observations performed within the field of view of one camera with a global context relating them to a much larger scene; to this end, an automatic camera positioning system relying only on observed object trajectories and a scene map is designed. The two lines of research in this thesis are addressed using Bayesian estimation as a general unifying framework. Its suitability for these two applications is justified by the flexibility and versatility of that stochastic framework, which allows the combination of multiple sources of information about the parameters to estimate in a natural and elegant way, addressing at the same time the uncertainty associated to those sources through the inclusion of models designed to this end. In addition, it opens multiple possibilities for the creation of different numerical methods for achieving satisfactory and efficient practical solutions to each addressed application. The proposed multi-camera 3D tracking method is specifically designed to work on schematic descriptions of the observations performed by each camera of the system: this choice allows the use of unspecific off-the-shelf 2D detection and/or tracking subsystems running independently at each sensor, and makes the proposal suitable for real surveillance networks with moderate computational and transmission capabilities. The robust combination of such noisy, incomplete and possibly unreliable schematic descriptors relies on a Bayesian association method, based on geometry and color, whose results allow the tracking of the targets in the scene with a particle filter. The main features exhibited by the proposal are, first, a remarkable accuracy in terms of target 3D positioning, and second, a great recovery ability after tracking losses due to insufficient input data. The proposed system for visual-based camera self-positioning uses the observations of moving objects and a schematic map of the passable areas of the environment to infer the absolute sensor position. To this end, a new Bayesian framework combining trajectory observations and map-induced dynamic models for moving objects is designed, which represents an approach to camera positioning never addressed before in the literature. This task is divided into two different sub-tasks, setting ambiguity analysis and approximate position estimation, on the one hand, and position refining, on the other, since they require the design of specific sampling algorithms to correctly exploit the discriminative features of the developed framework. This system, designed for camera positioning and demonstrated in urban traffic environments, can also be applied to different environments and sensors of other modalities after certain required adaptations.

Towards cost reduction in concentrating solar power: innovative design for an efficient fresnel based solar field

Energ��a termosolar (de concentraci��n) es uno de los nombres que hacen referencia en espa��ol al t��rmino ingl��s ���concentrating solar power���. Se trata de una tecnolog��a basada en la captura de la potencia t��rmica de la radiaci��n solar, de forma que permita alcanzar temperaturas capaces de alimentar un ciclo termodin��mico convencional (o avanzado); el futuro de esta tecnolog��a depende principalmente de su capacidad para concentrar la radiaci��n solar de manera eficiente y econ��mica. La presente tesis est�� orientada hacia la resoluci��n de ciertos problemas importantes relacionados con este objetivo. La mencionada necesidad de reducir costes en la concentraci��n de radiaci��n solar directa, asegurando el objetivo termodin��mico de calentar un fluido hasta una determinada temperatura, es de vital importancia. Los colectores lineales Fresnel han sido identificados en la literatura cient��fica como una tecnolog��a con gran potencial para alcanzar esta reducci��n de costes. Dicha tecnolog��a ha sido seleccionada por numerosas razones, entre las que destacan su gran libertad de dise��o y su actual estado inmaduro. Con el objetivo de responder a este desaf��o se desarrollado un detallado estudio de las propiedades ��pticas de los colectores lineales Fresnel, para lo cual se han utilizado m��todos anal��ticos y num��ricos de manera combinada. En primer lugar, se han usado unos modelos para la predicci��n de la localizaci��n y la irradiaci��n normal directa del sol junto a unas relaciones anal��ticas desarrolladas para estudiar el efecto de m��ltiples variables de dise��o en la energ��a incidente sobre los espejos. Del mismo modo, se han obtenido anal��ticamente los errores debidos al llamado ���off-axis aberration���, a la apertura de los rayos reflejados en los espejos y a las sombras y bloqueos entre espejos. Esto ha permitido la comparaci��n de diferentes formas de espejo ���planos, circulares o parab��licos���, as�� como el dise��o preliminar de la localizaci��n y anchura de los espejos y receptor sin necesidad de costosos m��todos num��ricos. En segundo lugar, se ha desarrollado un modelo de trazado de rayos de Monte Carlo con el objetivo de comprobar la validez del estudio anal��tico, pero sobre todo porque este no es preciso en el estudio de la reflexi��n en espejos. El c��digo desarrollado est�� espec��ficamente ideado para colectores lineales Fresnel, lo que ha permitido la reducci��n del tiempo de c��lculo en varios ��rdenes de magnitud en comparaci��n con un programa comercial m��s general. Esto justifica el desarrollo de un nuevo c��digo en lugar de la compra de una licencia de otro programa. El modelo ha sido usado primeramente para comparar la intensidad de flujo t��rmico y rendimiento de colectores Fresnel, con y sin reflector secundario, con los colectores cil��ndrico parab��licos. Finalmente, la conjunci��n de los resultados obtenidos en el estudio anal��tico con el programa num��rico ha sido usada para optimizar el campo solar para diferentes orientaciones ���Norte-Sur y Este-Oeste���, diferentes localizaciones ���Almer��a y Aswan���, diferentes inclinaciones hacia el Tr��pico ���desde 0 deg hasta 32 deg��� y diferentes m��nimos de intensidad del flujo en el centro del receptor ���10 kW/m2 y 25 kW/m2���. La presente tesis ha conducido a importantes descubrimientos que deben ser considerados a la hora de dise��ar un campo solar Fresnel. En primer lugar, los espejos utilizados no deben ser plano, sino cil��ndricos o parab��licos, ya que los espejos curvos implican mayores concentraciones y rendimiento. Por otro lado, se ha llegado a la conclusi��n de que la orientaci��n Este-Oeste es m��s propicia para localizaciones con altas latitudes, como Almer��a, mientras que en zonas m��s cercanas a los tr��picos como Aswan los campos Norte-Sur conducen a mayores rendimientos. Es de destacar que la orientaci��n Este-Oeste requiere aproximadamente la mitad de espejos que los campos Norte-Sur, puediendo estar inclinados hacia los Tr��picos para mejorar el rendimiento, y que alcanzan parecidos valores de intensidad t��rmica en el receptor todos los d��as a mediod��a. Sin embargo, los campos con orientaci��n Norte-Sur permiten un flujo m��s constante a lo largo de un d��a. Por ��ltimo, ha sido demostrado que el uso de dise��os pre-optimizados anal��ticamente, con anchura de espejos y espaciado entre espejos variables a lo ancho del campo, pueden implicar aumentos de la energ��a generada por metro cuadrado de espejos de hasta el 6%. El rendimiento ��ptico anual de los colectores cil��ndrico parab��licos es 23 % mayor que el rendimiento de los campos Fresnel en Almer��a, mientras que la diferencia es de solo 9 % en Aswan. Ello implica que, para alcanzar el mismo precio de electricidad que la tecnolog��a de referencia, la reducci��n de costes de instalaci��n por metro cuadrado de espejo debe estar entre el 10 % y el 25 %, y que los colectores lineales Fresnel tienen m��s posibilidades de ser desarrollados en zonas de bajas latitudes. Como consecuencia de los estudios desarrollados en esta tesis se ha patentado un sistema de almacenamiento que tiene en cuenta la variaci��n del flujo t��rmico en el receptor a lo largo del d��a, especialmente para campos con orientaci��n Este-Oeste. Este invento permitir��a el aprovechamiento de la energ��a incidente durante m��s parte del a��o, aumentando de manera apreciable los rendimientos ��ptico y t��rmico. Abstract Concentrating solar power is the common name of a technology based on capturing the thermal power of solar radiation, in a suitable way to reach temperatures able to activate a conventional (or advanced) thermodynamic cycle to generate electricity; this quest mainly depends on our ability to concentrate solar radiation in a cheap and efficient way. The present thesis is focused to highlight and help solving some of the important issues related to this problem. The need of reducing costs in concentrating the direct solar radiation, but without jeopardizing the thermodynamic objective of heating a fluid up to the required temperature, is of prime importance. Linear Fresnel collectors have been identified in the scientific literature as a technology with high potential to reach this cost reduction. This technology has been selected because of a number of reasons, particularly the degrees of freedom of this type of concentrating configuration and its current immature state. In order to respond to this challenge, a very detailed exercise has been carried out on the optical properties of linear Fresnel collectors. This has been done combining analytic and numerical methods. First, the effect of the design variables on the ratio of energy impinging onto the reflecting surface has been studied using analytically developed equations, together with models that predict the location and direct normal irradiance of the sun at any moment. Similarly, errors due to off-axis aberration, to the aperture of the reflected energy beam and to shading and blocking effects have been obtained analytically. This has allowed the comparison of different shapes of mirrors ���flat, cylindrical or parabolic���, as well as a preliminary optimization of the location and width of mirrors and receiver with no need of time-consuming numerical models. Second, in order to prove the validity of the analytic results, but also due to the fact that the study of the reflection process is not precise enough when using analytic equations, a Monte Carlo Ray Trace model has been developed. The developed code is designed specifically for linear Fresnel collectors, which has reduced the computing time by several orders of magnitude compared to a wider commercial software. This justifies the development of the new code. The model has been first used to compare radiation flux intensities and efficiencies of linear Fresnel collectors, both multitube receiver and secondary reflector receiver technologies, with parabolic trough collectors. Finally, the results obtained in the analytic study together with the numeric model have used in order to optimize the solar field for different orientations ���North-South and East-West���, different locations ���Almer��a and Aswan���, different tilts of the field towards the Tropic ���from 0 deg to 32 deg��� and different flux intensity minimum requirements ���10 kW/m2 and 25 kW/m2. This thesis work has led to several important findings that should be considered in the design of Fresnel solar fields. First, flat mirrors should not be used in any case, as cylindrical and parabolic mirrors lead to higher flux intensities and efficiencies. Second, it has been concluded that, in locations relatively far from the Tropics such as Almer��a, East-West embodiments are more efficient, while in Aswan North- South orientation leads to a higher annual efficiency. It must be noted that East-West oriented solar fields require approximately half the number of mirrors than NS oriented fields, can be tilted towards the Equator in order to increase the efficiency and attain similar values of flux intensity at the receiver every day at midday. On the other hand, in NS embodiments the flux intensity is more even during each single day. Finally, it has been proved that the use of analytic designs with variable shift between mirrors and variable width of mirrors across the field can lead to improvements in the electricity generated per reflecting surface square meter up to 6%. The annual optical efficiency of parabolic troughs has been found to be 23% higher than the efficiency of Fresnel fields in Almer��a, but it is only around 9% higher in Aswan. This implies that, in order to attain the same levelized cost of electricity than parabolic troughs, the required reduction of installation costs per mirror square meter is in the range of 10-25%. Also, it is concluded that linear Fresnel collectors are more suitable for low latitude areas. As a consequence of the studies carried out in this thesis, an innovative storage system has been patented. This system takes into account the variation of the flux intensity along the day, especially for East-West oriented solar fields. As a result, the invention would allow to exploit the impinging radiation along longer time every day, increasing appreciably the optical and thermal efficiencies.

BR3: a biologically inspired fish-like robot actuated by SMA-based artificial muscles

Los peces son animales, donde en la mayor��a de los casos, son considerados como nadadores muy eficientes y con una alta capacidad de maniobra. En general los peces se caracterizan por su capacidad de maniobra, locomoci��n silencioso, giros y partidas r��pidas y viajes de larga distancia. Los estudios han identificado varios tipos de locomoci��n que los peces usan para generar maniobras y nataci��n constante. A bajas velocidades la mayor��a de los peces utilizan sus aletas pares y / o impares para su locomoci��n, que ofrecen una mayor maniobrabilidad y mejor eficiencia de propulsi��n. A altas velocidades la locomoci��n implica el cuerpo y / o aleta caudal porque esto puede lograr un mayor empuje y aceleraci��n. Estas caracter��sticas pueden inspirar el diseo y fabricaci��n de una piel muy flexible, una aleta caudal m��rfica y una espina dorsal no articulada con una gran capacidad de maniobra. Esta tesis presenta el desarrollo de un novedoso pez robot bio-inspirado y biomim��tico llamado BR3, inspirado en la capacidad de maniobra y nado constante de los peces vertebrados. Inspirado por la morfolog��a de los peces Micropterus salmoides o tambi��n conocido como lubina negra, el robot BR3 utiliza su fundamento biol��gico para desarrollar modelos y m��todos matem��ticos precisos que permiten imitar la locomoci��n de los peces reales. Los peces Largemouth Bass pueden lograr un nivel incre��ble de maniobrabilidad y eficacia de la propulsi��n mediante la combinaci��n de los movimientos ondulatorios y aletas morficas. Para imitar la locomoci��n de los peces reales en una contraparte artificial se necesita del an��lisis de tecnolog��as de actuaci��n alternativos, como arreglos de fibras musculares en lugar de servo actuadores o motores DC est��ndar, as�� como un material flexible que proporciona una estructura continua sin juntas. Las aleaciones con memoria de forma (SMAs) proveen la posibilidad de construir robots livianos, que no emiten ruido, sin motores, sin juntas y sin engranajes. Asi es como un pez robot submarino se ha desarrollado y cuyos movimientos son generados mediante SMAs. Estos actuadores son los adecuados para doblar la espina dorsal continua del pez robot, que a su vez provoca un cambio en la curvatura del cuerpo. Este tipo de arreglo estructural est�� inspirado en los m��sculos rojos del pescado, que son usados principalmente durante la nataci��n constante para la flexi��n de una estructura flexible pero casi incompresible como lo es la espina dorsal de pescado. Del mismo modo la aleta caudal se basa en SMAs y se modifica para llevar a cabo el trabajo necesario. La estructura flexible proporciona empuje y permite que el BR3 nade. Por otro lado la aleta caudal m��rfica proporciona movimientos de balanceo y guiada. Motivado por la versatilidad del BR3 para imitar todos los modos de nataci��n (anguilliforme, carangiforme, subcarangiforme y tunniforme) se propone un controlador de doblado y velocidad. La ley de control de doblado y velocidad incorpora la informaci��n del ��ngulo de curvatura y de la frecuencia para producir el modo de nataci��n deseado y a su vez controlar la velocidad de nataci��n. As�� mismo de acuerdo con el hecho biol��gico de la influencia de la forma de la aleta caudal en la maniobrabilidad durante la nataci��n constante se propone un control de actitud. Esta novedoso robot pescado es el primero de su tipo en incorporar s��lo SMAs para doblar una estructura flexible continua y sin juntas y engranajes para producir empuje e imitar todos los modos de nataci��n, as�� como la aleta caudal que es capaz de cambiar su forma. Este novedoso diseo mecatr��nico presenta un futuro muy prometedor para el diseo de veh��culos submarinos capaces de modificar su forma y nadar mas eficientemente. La nueva metodolog��a de control propuesto en esta tesis proporcionan una forma totalmente nueva de control de robots basados en SMAs, haci��ndolos energ��ticamente m��s eficientes y la incorporaci��n de una aleta caudal m��rfica permite realizar maniobras m��s eficientemente. En su conjunto, el proyecto BR3 consta de cinco grandes etapas de desarrollo: ��� Estudio y an��lisis biol��gico del nado de los peces con el prop��sito de definir criterios de dise��o y control. ��� Formulaci��n de modelos matem��ticos que describan la: i) cinem��tica del cuerpo, ii) din��mica, iii) hidrodin��mica iv) an��lisis de los modos de vibraci��n y v) actuaci��n usando SMA. Estos modelos permiten estimar la influencia de modular la aleta caudal y el doblado del cuerpo en la producci��n de fuerzas de empuje y fuerzas de rotaci��n necesarias en las maniobras y optimizaci��n del consumo de energ��a. ��� Dise��o y fabricaci��n de BR3: i) estructura esquel��tica de la columna vertebral y el cuerpo, ii) mecanismo de actuaci��n basado en SMAs para el cuerpo y la aleta caudal, iii) piel artificial, iv) electr��nica embebida y v) fusi��n sensorial. Est�� dirigido a desarrollar la plataforma de pez robot BR3 que permite probar los m��todos propuestos. ��� Controlador de nado: compuesto por: i) control de las SMA (modulaci��n de la forma de la aleta caudal y regulaci��n de la actitud) y ii) control de nado continuo (modulaci��n de la velocidad y doblado). Est�� dirigido a la formulaci��n de los m��todos de control adecuados que permiten la modulaci��n adecuada de la aleta caudal y el cuerpo del BR3. ��� Experimentos: est�� dirigido a la cuantificaci��n de los efectos de: i) la correcta modulaci��n de la aleta caudal en la producci��n de rotaci��n y su efecto hidrodin��mico durante la maniobra, ii) doblado del cuerpo para la producci��n de empuje y iii) efecto de la flexibilidad de la piel en la habilidad para doblarse del BR3. Tambi��n tiene como objetivo demostrar y validar la hip��tesis de mejora en la eficiencia de la nataci��n y las maniobras gracias a los nuevos m��todos de control presentados en esta tesis. A lo largo del desarrollo de cada una de las cinco etapas, se ir��n presentando los retos, problem��ticas y soluciones a abordar. Los experimentos en canales de agua estar��n orientados a discutir y demostrar c��mo la aleta caudal y el cuerpo pueden afectar considerablemente la din��mica / hidrodin��mica de nataci��n / maniobras y c��mo tomar ventaja de la modulaci��n de curvatura que la aleta caudal m��rfica y el cuerpo permiten para cambiar correctamente la geometr��a de la aleta caudal y del cuerpo durante la nataci��n constante y maniobras. ABSTRACT Fishes are animals where in most cases are considered as highly manoeuvrable and effortless swimmers. In general fishes are characterized for his manoeuvring skills, noiseless locomotion, rapid turning, fast starting and long distance cruising. Studies have identified several types of locomotion that fish use to generate maneuvering and steady swimming. At low speeds most fishes uses median and/or paired fins for its locomotion, offering greater maneuverability and better propulsive efficiency At high speeds the locomotion involves the body and/or caudal fin because this can achieve greater thrust and accelerations. This can inspire the design and fabrication of a highly deformable soft artificial skins, morphing caudal fins and non articulated backbone with a significant maneuverability capacity. This thesis presents the development of a novel bio-inspired and biomimetic fishlike robot (BR3) inspired by the maneuverability and steady swimming ability of ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii, bony fishes). Inspired by the morphology of the Largemouth Bass fish, the BR3 uses its biological foundation to develop accurate mathematical models and methods allowing to mimic fish locomotion. The Largemouth Bass fishes can achieve an amazing level of maneuverability and propulsive efficiency by combining undulatory movements and morphing fins. To mimic the locomotion of the real fishes on an artificial counterpart needs the analysis of alternative actuation technologies more likely muscle fiber arrays instead of standard servomotor actuators as well as a bendable material that provides a continuous structure without joins. The Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) provide the possibility of building lightweight, joint-less, noise-less, motor-less and gear-less robots. Thus a swimming underwater fish-like robot has been developed whose movements are generated using SMAs. These actuators are suitable for bending the continuous backbone of the fish, which in turn causes a change in the curvature of the body. This type of structural arrangement is inspired by fish red muscles, which are mainly recruited during steady swimming for the bending of a flexible but nearly incompressible structure such as the fishbone. Likewise the caudal fin is based on SMAs and is customized to provide the necessary work out. The bendable structure provides thrust and allows the BR3 to swim. On the other hand the morphing caudal fin provides roll and yaw movements. Motivated by the versatility of the BR3 to mimic all the swimming modes (anguilliform, caranguiform, subcaranguiform and thunniform) a bending-speed controller is proposed. The bending-speed control law incorporates bend angle and frequency information to produce desired swimming mode and swimming speed. Likewise according to the biological fact about the influence of caudal fin shape in the maneuverability during steady swimming an attitude control is proposed. This novel fish robot is the first of its kind to incorporate only SMAs to bend a flexible continuous structure without joints and gears to produce thrust and mimic all the swimming modes as well as the caudal fin to be morphing. This novel mechatronic design is a promising way to design more efficient swimming/morphing underwater vehicles. The novel control methodology proposed in this thesis provide a totally new way of controlling robots based on SMAs, making them more energy efficient and the incorporation of a morphing caudal fin allows to perform more efficient maneuvers. As a whole, the BR3 project consists of five major stages of development: ��� Study and analysis of biological fish swimming data reported in specialized literature aimed at defining design and control criteria. ��� Formulation of mathematical models for: i) body kinematics, ii) dynamics, iii) hydrodynamics, iv) free vibration analysis and v) SMA muscle-like actuation. It is aimed at modelling the e ects of modulating caudal fin and body bend into the production of thrust forces for swimming, rotational forces for maneuvering and energy consumption optimisation. ��� Bio-inspired design and fabrication of: i) skeletal structure of backbone and body, ii) SMA muscle-like mechanisms for the body and caudal fin, iii) the artificial skin, iv) electronics onboard and v) sensor fusion. It is aimed at developing the fish-like platform (BR3) that allows for testing the methods proposed. ��� The swimming controller: i) control of SMA-muscles (morphing-caudal fin modulation and attitude regulation) and ii) steady swimming control (bend modulation and speed modulation). It is aimed at formulating the proper control methods that allow for the proper modulation of BR3���s caudal fin and body. ��� Experiments: it is aimed at quantifying the effects of: i) properly caudal fin modulation into hydrodynamics and rotation production for maneuvering, ii) body bending into thrust generation and iii) skin flexibility into BR3 bending ability. It is also aimed at demonstrating and validating the hypothesis of improving swimming and maneuvering efficiency thanks to the novel control methods presented in this thesis. This thesis introduces the challenges and methods to address these stages. Waterchannel experiments will be oriented to discuss and demonstrate how the caudal fin and body can considerably affect the dynamics/hydrodynamics of swimming/maneuvering and how to take advantage of bend modulation that the morphing-caudal fin and body enable to properly change caudal fin and body��� geometry during steady swimming and maneuvering.

Bayesian scene analysis for multi-camera 3D tracking and camera positioning

Los sistemas de seguimiento mono-c��mara han demostrado su notable capacidad para el an��lisis de trajectorias de objectos m��viles y para monitorizaci��n de escenas de inter��s; sin embargo, tanto su robustez como sus posibilidades en cuanto a comprensi��n sem��ntica de la escena est��n fuertemente limitadas por su naturaleza local y monocular, lo que los hace insuficientes para aplicaciones realistas de videovigilancia. El objetivo de esta tesis es la extensi��n de las posibilidades de los sistemas de seguimiento de objetos m��viles para lograr un mayor grado de robustez y comprensi��n de la escena. La extensi��n propuesta se divide en dos direcciones separadas. La primera puede considerarse local, ya que est�� orientada a la mejora y enriquecimiento de las posiciones estimadas para los objetos m��viles observados directamente por las c��maras del sistema; dicha extensi��n se logra mediante el desarrollo de un sistema multi-c��mara de seguimiento 3D, capaz de proporcionar consistentemente las posiciones 3D de m��ltiples objetos a partir de las observaciones capturadas por un conjunto de sensores calibrados y con campos de visi��n solapados. La segunda extensi��n puede considerarse global, dado que su objetivo consiste en proporcionar un contexto global para relacionar las observaciones locales realizadas por una c��mara con una escena de mucho mayor tama��o; para ello se propone un sistema autom��tico de localizaci��n de c��maras basado en las trayectorias observadas de varios objetos m��viles y en un mapa esquem��tico de la escena global monitorizada. Ambas l��neas de investigaci��n se tratan utilizando, como marco com��n, t��cnicas de estimaci��n bayesiana: esta elecci��n est�� justificada por la versatilidad y flexibilidad proporcionada por dicho marco estad��stico, que permite la combinaci��n natural de m��ltiples fuentes de informaci��n sobre los par��metros a estimar, as�� como un tratamiento riguroso de la incertidumbre asociada a las mismas mediante la inclusi��n de modelos de observaci��n espec��ficamente dise��ados. Adem��s, el marco seleccionado abre grandes posibilidades operacionales, puesto que permite la creaci��n de diferentes m��todos num��ricos adaptados a las necesidades y caracter��sticas espec��ficas de distintos problemas tratados. El sistema de seguimiento 3D con m��ltiples c��maras propuesto est�� espec��ficamente dise��ado para permitir descripciones esquem��ticas de las medidas realizadas individualmente por cada una de las c��maras del sistema: esta elecci��n de dise��o, por tanto, no asume ning��n algoritmo espec��fico de detecci��n o seguimiento 2D en ninguno de los sensores de la red, y hace que el sistema propuesto sea aplicable a redes reales de vigilancia con capacidades limitadas tanto en t��rminos de procesamiento como de transmision. La combinaci��n robusta de las observaciones capturadas individualmente por las c��maras, ruidosas, incompletas y probablemente contaminadas por falsas detecciones, se basa en un metodo de asociaci��n bayesiana basado en geometr��a y color: los resultados de dicha asociaci��n permiten el seguimiento 3D de los objetos de la escena mediante el uso de un filtro de part��culas. El sistema de fusi��n de observaciones propuesto tiene, como principales caracter��sticas, una gran precisi��n en t��rminos de localizaci��n 3D de objetos, y una destacable capacidad de recuperaci��n tras eventuales errores debidos a un n��mero insuficiente de datos de entrada. El sistema autom��tico de localizaci��n de c��maras se basa en la observaci��n de m��ltiples objetos m��viles y un mapa esquem��tico de las ��reas transitables del entorno monitorizado para inferir la posici��n absoluta de dicho sensor. Para este prop��sito, se propone un novedoso marco bayesiano que combina modelos din��micos inducidos por el mapa en los objetos m��viles presentes en la escena con las trayectorias observadas por la c��mara, lo que representa un enfoque nunca utilizado en la literatura existente. El sistema de localizaci��n se divide en dos sub-tareas diferenciadas, debido a que cada una de estas tareas requiere del dise��o de algoritmos espec��ficos de muestreo para explotar en profundidad las caracter��sticas del marco desarrollado: por un lado, an��lisis de la ambig��edad del caso espec��ficamente tratado y estimaci��n aproximada de la localizaci��n de la c��mara, y por otro, refinado de la localizaci��n de la c��mara. El sistema completo, dise��ado y probado para el caso espec��fico de localizaci��n de c��maras en entornos de tr��fico urbano, podr��a tener aplicaci��n tambi��n en otros entornos y sensores de diferentes modalidades tras ciertas adaptaciones. ABSTRACT Mono-camera tracking systems have proved their capabilities for moving object trajectory analysis and scene monitoring, but their robustness and semantic possibilities are strongly limited by their local and monocular nature and are often insufficient for realistic surveillance applications. This thesis is aimed at extending the possibilities of moving object tracking systems to a higher level of scene understanding. The proposed extension comprises two separate directions. The first one is local, since is aimed at enriching the inferred positions of the moving objects within the area of the monitored scene directly covered by the cameras of the system; this task is achieved through the development of a multi-camera system for robust 3D tracking, able to provide 3D tracking information of multiple simultaneous moving objects from the observations reported by a set of calibrated cameras with semi-overlapping fields of view. The second extension is global, as is aimed at providing local observations performed within the field of view of one camera with a global context relating them to a much larger scene; to this end, an automatic camera positioning system relying only on observed object trajectories and a scene map is designed. The two lines of research in this thesis are addressed using Bayesian estimation as a general unifying framework. Its suitability for these two applications is justified by the flexibility and versatility of that stochastic framework, which allows the combination of multiple sources of information about the parameters to estimate in a natural and elegant way, addressing at the same time the uncertainty associated to those sources through the inclusion of models designed to this end. In addition, it opens multiple possibilities for the creation of different numerical methods for achieving satisfactory and efficient practical solutions to each addressed application. The proposed multi-camera 3D tracking method is specifically designed to work on schematic descriptions of the observations performed by each camera of the system: this choice allows the use of unspecific off-the-shelf 2D detection and/or tracking subsystems running independently at each sensor, and makes the proposal suitable for real surveillance networks with moderate computational and transmission capabilities. The robust combination of such noisy, incomplete and possibly unreliable schematic descriptors relies on a Bayesian association method, based on geometry and color, whose results allow the tracking of the targets in the scene with a particle filter. The main features exhibited by the proposal are, first, a remarkable accuracy in terms of target 3D positioning, and second, a great recovery ability after tracking losses due to insufficient input data. The proposed system for visual-based camera self-positioning uses the observations of moving objects and a schematic map of the passable areas of the environment to infer the absolute sensor position. To this end, a new Bayesian framework combining trajectory observations and map-induced dynamic models for moving objects is designed, which represents an approach to camera positioning never addressed before in the literature. This task is divided into two different sub-tasks, setting ambiguity analysis and approximate position estimation, on the one hand, and position refining, on the other, since they require the design of specific sampling algorithms to correctly exploit the discriminative features of the developed framework. This system, designed for camera positioning and demonstrated in urban traffic environments, can also be applied to different environments and sensors of other modalities after certain required adaptations.

Contributions to the Resilience Management in the Internet of Things

El auge del "Internet de las Cosas" (IoT, "Internet of Things") y sus tecnolog��as asociadas han permitido su aplicaci��n en diversos dominios de la aplicaci��n, entre los que se encuentran la monitorizaci��n de ecosistemas forestales, la gesti��n de cat��strofes y emergencias, la dom��tica, la automatizaci��n industrial, los servicios para ciudades inteligentes, la eficiencia energ��tica de edificios, la detecci��n de intrusos, la gesti��n de desastres y emergencias o la monitorizaci��n de se��ales corporales, entre muchas otras. La desventaja de una red IoT es que una vez desplegada, ��sta queda desatendida, es decir queda sujeta, entre otras cosas, a condiciones clim��ticas cambiantes y expuestas a cat��strofes naturales, fallos de software o hardware, o ataques maliciosos de terceros, por lo que se puede considerar que dichas redes son propensas a fallos. El principal requisito de los nodos constituyentes de una red IoT es que estos deben ser capaces de seguir funcionando a pesar de sufrir errores en el propio sistema. La capacidad de la red para recuperarse ante fallos internos y externos inesperados es lo que se conoce actualmente como "Resiliencia" de la red. Por tanto, a la hora de dise��ar y desplegar aplicaciones o servicios para IoT, se espera que la red sea tolerante a fallos, que sea auto-configurable, auto-adaptable, auto-optimizable con respecto a nuevas condiciones que puedan aparecer durante su ejecuci��n. Esto lleva al an��lisis de un problema fundamental en el estudio de las redes IoT, el problema de la "Conectividad". Se dice que una red est�� conectada si todo par de nodos en la red son capaces de encontrar al menos un camino de comunicaci��n entre ambos. Sin embargo, la red puede desconectarse debido a varias razones, como que se agote la bater��a, que un nodo sea destruido, etc. Por tanto, se hace necesario gestionar la resiliencia de la red con el objeto de mantener la conectividad entre sus nodos, de tal manera que cada nodo IoT sea capaz de proveer servicios continuos, a otros nodos, a otras redes o, a otros servicios y aplicaciones. En este contexto, el objetivo principal de esta tesis doctoral se centra en el estudio del problema de conectividad IoT, m��s concretamente en el desarrollo de modelos para el an��lisis y gesti��n de la Resiliencia, llevado a la pr��ctica a trav��s de las redes WSN, con el fin de mejorar la capacidad la tolerancia a fallos de los nodos que componen la red. Este reto se aborda teniendo en cuenta dos enfoques distintos, por una parte, a diferencia de otro tipo de redes de dispositivos convencionales, los nodos en una red IoT son propensos a perder la conexi��n, debido a que se despliegan en entornos aislados, o en entornos con condiciones extremas; por otra parte, los nodos suelen ser recursos con bajas capacidades en t��rminos de procesamiento, almacenamiento y bater��a, entre otros, por lo que requiere que el dise��o de la gesti��n de su resiliencia sea ligero, distribuido y energ��ticamente eficiente. En este sentido, esta tesis desarrolla t��cnicas auto-adaptativas que permiten a una red IoT, desde la perspectiva del control de su topolog��a, ser resiliente ante fallos en sus nodos. Para ello, se utilizan t��cnicas basadas en l��gica difusa y t��cnicas de control proporcional, integral y derivativa (PID - "proportional-integral-derivative"), con el objeto de mejorar la conectividad de la red, teniendo en cuenta que el consumo de energ��a debe preservarse tanto como sea posible. De igual manera, se ha tenido en cuenta que el algoritmo de control debe ser distribuido debido a que, en general, los enfoques centralizados no suelen ser factibles a despliegues a gran escala. El presente trabajo de tesis implica varios retos que conciernen a la conectividad de red, entre los que se incluyen: la creaci��n y el an��lisis de modelos matem��ticos que describan la red, una propuesta de sistema de control auto-adaptativo en respuesta a fallos en los nodos, la optimizaci��n de los par��metros del sistema de control, la validaci��n mediante una implementaci��n siguiendo un enfoque de ingenier��a del software y finalmente la evaluaci��n en una aplicaci��n real. Atendiendo a los retos anteriormente mencionados, el presente trabajo justifica, mediante una an��lisis matem��tico, la relaci��n existente entre el "grado de un nodo" (definido como el n��mero de nodos en la vecindad del nodo en cuesti��n) y la conectividad de la red, y prueba la eficacia de varios tipos de controladores que permiten ajustar la potencia de trasmisi��n de los nodos de red en respuesta a eventuales fallos, teniendo en cuenta el consumo de energ��a como parte de los objetivos de control. As�� mismo, este trabajo realiza una evaluaci��n y comparaci��n con otros algoritmos representativos; en donde se demuestra que el enfoque desarrollado es m��s tolerante a fallos aleatorios en los nodos de la red, as�� como en su eficiencia energ��tica. Adicionalmente, el uso de algoritmos bioinspirados ha permitido la optimizaci��n de los par��metros de control de redes din��micas de gran tama��o. Con respecto a la implementaci��n en un sistema real, se han integrado las propuestas de esta tesis en un modelo de programaci��n OSGi ("Open Services Gateway Initiative") con el objeto de crear un middleware auto-adaptativo que mejore la gesti��n de la resiliencia, especialmente la reconfiguraci��n en tiempo de ejecuci��n de componentes software cuando se ha producido un fallo. Como conclusi��n, los resultados de esta tesis doctoral contribuyen a la investigaci��n te��rica y, a la aplicaci��n pr��ctica del control resiliente de la topolog��a en redes distribuidas de gran tama��o. Los dise��os y algoritmos presentados pueden ser vistos como una prueba novedosa de algunas t��cnicas para la pr��xima era de IoT. A continuaci��n, se enuncian de forma resumida las principales contribuciones de esta tesis: (1) Se han analizado matem��ticamente propiedades relacionadas con la conectividad de la red. Se estudia, por ejemplo, c��mo var��a la probabilidad de conexi��n de la red al modificar el alcance de comunicaci��n de los nodos, as�� como cu��l es el m��nimo n��mero de nodos que hay que a��adir al sistema desconectado para su re-conexi��n. (2) Se han propuesto sistemas de control basados en l��gica difusa para alcanzar el grado de los nodos deseado, manteniendo la conectividad completa de la red. Se han evaluado diferentes tipos de controladores basados en l��gica difusa mediante simulaciones, y los resultados se han comparado con otros algoritmos representativos. (3) Se ha investigado m��s a fondo, dando un enfoque m��s simple y aplicable, el sistema de control de doble bucle, y sus par��metros de control se han optimizado empleando algoritmos heur��sticos como el m��todo de la entrop��a cruzada (CE, "Cross Entropy"), la optimizaci��n por enjambre de part��culas (PSO, "Particle Swarm Optimization"), y la evoluci��n diferencial (DE, "Differential Evolution"). (4) Se han evaluado mediante simulaci��n, la mayor��a de los dise��os aqu�� presentados; adem��s, parte de los trabajos se han implementado y validado en una aplicaci��n real combinando t��cnicas de software auto-adaptativo, como por ejemplo las de una arquitectura orientada a servicios (SOA, "Service-Oriented Architecture"). ABSTRACT The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) enables a tremendous number of applications, such as forest monitoring, disaster management, home automation, factory automation, smart city, etc. However, various kinds of unexpected disturbances may cause node failure in the IoT, for example battery depletion, software/hardware malfunction issues and malicious attacks. So, it can be considered that the IoT is prone to failure. The ability of the network to recover from unexpected internal and external failures is known as "resilience" of the network. Resilience usually serves as an important non-functional requirement when designing IoT, which can further be broken down into "self-*" properties, such as self-adaptive, self-healing, self-configuring, self-optimization, etc. One of the consequences that node failure brings to the IoT is that some nodes may be disconnected from others, such that they are not capable of providing continuous services for other nodes, networks, and applications. In this sense, the main objective of this dissertation focuses on the IoT connectivity problem. A network is regarded as connected if any pair of different nodes can communicate with each other either directly or via a limited number of intermediate nodes. More specifically, this thesis focuses on the development of models for analysis and management of resilience, implemented through the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which is a challenging task. On the one hand, unlike other conventional network devices, nodes in the IoT are more likely to be disconnected from each other due to their deployment in a hostile or isolated environment. On the other hand, nodes are resource-constrained in terms of limited processing capability, storage and battery capacity, which requires that the design of the resilience management for IoT has to be lightweight, distributed and energy-efficient. In this context, the thesis presents self-adaptive techniques for IoT, with the aim of making the IoT resilient against node failures from the network topology control point of view. The fuzzy-logic and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control techniques are leveraged to improve the network connectivity of the IoT in response to node failures, meanwhile taking into consideration that energy consumption must be preserved as much as possible. The control algorithm itself is designed to be distributed, because the centralized approaches are usually not feasible in large scale IoT deployments. The thesis involves various aspects concerning network connectivity, including: creation and analysis of mathematical models describing the network, proposing self-adaptive control systems in response to node failures, control system parameter optimization, implementation using the software engineering approach, and evaluation in a real application. This thesis also justifies the relations between the "node degree" (the number of neighbor(s) of a node) and network connectivity through mathematic analysis, and proves the effectiveness of various types of controllers that can adjust power transmission of the IoT nodes in response to node failures. The controllers also take into consideration the energy consumption as part of the control goals. The evaluation is performed and comparison is made with other representative algorithms. The simulation results show that the proposals in this thesis can tolerate more random node failures and save more energy when compared with those representative algorithms. Additionally, the simulations demonstrate that the use of the bio-inspired algorithms allows optimizing the parameters of the controller. With respect to the implementation in a real system, the programming model called OSGi (Open Service Gateway Initiative) is integrated with the proposals in order to create a self-adaptive middleware, especially reconfiguring the software components at runtime when failures occur. The outcomes of this thesis contribute to theoretic research and practical applications of resilient topology control for large and distributed networks. The presented controller designs and optimization algorithms can be viewed as novel trials of the control and optimization techniques for the coming era of the IoT. The contributions of this thesis can be summarized as follows: (1) Mathematically, the fault-tolerant probability of a large-scale stochastic network is analyzed. It is studied how the probability of network connectivity depends on the communication range of the nodes, and what is the minimum number of neighbors to be added for network re-connection. (2) A fuzzy-logic control system is proposed, which obtains the desired node degree and in turn maintains the network connectivity when it is subject to node failures. There are different types of fuzzy-logic controllers evaluated by simulations, and the results demonstrate the improvement of fault-tolerant capability as compared to some other representative algorithms. (3) A simpler but more applicable approach, the two-loop control system is further investigated, and its control parameters are optimized by using some heuristic algorithms such as Cross Entropy (CE), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Differential Evolution (DE). (4) Most of the designs are evaluated by means of simulations, but part of the proposals are implemented and tested in a real-world application by combining the self-adaptive software technique and the control algorithms which are presented in this thesis.

Desarrollo de un m��todo estad��stico para la generaci��n de escenarios clim��ticos de alta resoluci��n a partir de simulaciones de baja resoluci��n de Modelos de Circulaci��n General: aplicaci��n a Espa��a

Esta tesis doctoral presenta el desarrollo, verificaci��n y aplicaci��n de un m��todo original de regionalizaci��n estad��stica para generar escenarios locales de clima futuro de temperatura y precipitaci��n diarias, que combina dos pasos. El primer paso es un m��todo de an��logos: los "n" d��as cuya configuraci��n atmosf��rica de baja resoluci��n es m��s parecida a la del d��a problema, se seleccionan de un banco de datos de referencia del pasado. En el segundo paso, se realiza un an��lisis de regresi��n m��ltiple sobre los "n" d��as m��s an��logos para la temperatura, mientras que para la precipitaci��n se utiliza la distribuci��n de probabilidad de esos "n" d��as an��logos para obtener la estima de precipitaci��n. La verificaci��n de este m��todo se ha llevado a cabo para la Espa��a peninsular y las Islas Baleares. Los resultados muestran unas buenas prestaciones para temperatura (BIAS cerca de 0.1��C y media de errores absolutos alrededor de 1.9��C); y unas prestaciones aceptables para la precipitaci��n (BIAS razonablemente bajo con una media de -18%; error medio absoluto menor que para una simulaci��n de referencia (la persistencia); y una distribuci��n de probabilidad simulada similar a la observada seg��n dos test no-param��tricos de similitud). Para mostrar la aplicabilidad de la metodolog��a desarrollada, se ha aplicado en detalle en un caso de estudio. El m��todo se aplic�� a cuatro modelos clim��ticos bajo diferentes escenarios futuros de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, para la regi��n de Arag��n, produciendo as�� proyecciones futuras de precipitaci��n y temperaturas m��ximas y m��nimas diarias. La fiabilidad de la t��cnica de regionalizaci��n fue evaluada de nuevo para el caso de estudio mediante un proceso de verificaci��n. Para determinar la capacidad de los modelos clim��ticos para simular el clima real, sus simulaciones del pasado (la denominada salida 20C3M) se regionalizaron y luego se compararon con el clima observado (los resultados son bastante robustos para la temperatura y menos concluyentes para la precipitaci��n). Las proyecciones futuras a escala local presentan un aumento significativo durante todo el siglo XXI de las temperaturas m��ximas y m��nimas para todos los futuros escenarios de emisiones considerados. Las simulaciones de precipitaci��n presentan mayores incertidumbres. Adem��s, la aplicabilidad pr��ctica del m��todo se demostr�� tambi��n mediante su utilizaci��n para producir escenarios clim��ticos futuros para otros casos de estudio en los distintos sectores y regiones del mundo. Se ha prestado especial atenci��n a una aplicaci��n en Centroam��rica, una regi��n que ya est�� sufriendo importantes impactos del cambio clim��tico y que tiene un clima muy diferente. ABSTRACT This doctoral thesis presents the development, verification and application of an original downscaling method for daily temperature and precipitation, which combines two statistical approaches. The first step is an analogue approach: the ���n��� days most similar to the day to be downscaled are selected. In the second step, a multiple regression analysis using the ���n��� most analogous days is performed for temperature, whereas for precipitation the probability distribution of the ���n��� analogous days is used to obtain the amount of precipitation. Verification of this method has been carried out for the Spanish Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Results show good performance for temperature (BIAS close to 0.1��C and Mean Absolute Errors around 1.9��C); and an acceptable skill for precipitation (reasonably low BIAS with a mean of - 18%, Mean Absolute Error lower than for a reference simulation, i.e. persistence, and a well-simulated probability distribution according to two non-parametric tests of similarity). To show the applicability of the method, a study case has been analyzed. The method was applied to four climate models under different future emission scenarios for the region of Arag��n, thus producing future projections of daily precipitation and maximum and minimum temperatures. The reliability of the downscaling technique was re-assessed for the study case by a verification process. To determine the ability of the climate models to simulate the real climate, their simulations of the past (the 20C3M output) were downscaled and then compared with the observed climate ��� the results are quite robust for temperature and less conclusive for the precipitation. The downscaled future projections exhibit a significant increase during the entire 21st century of the maximum and minimum temperatures for all the considered future emission scenarios. Precipitation simulations exhibit greater uncertainties. Furthermore, the practical applicability of the method was demonstrated also by using it to produce future climate scenarios for some other study cases in different sectors and regions of the world. Special attention was paid to an application of the method in Central America, a region that is already suffering from significant climate change impacts and that has a very different climate from others where the method was previously applied.

El centro comercial : una teor��a tipol��gica : claves para el reconocimiento de una arquitectura ignorada

Existe en el panorama edificado un patrimonio construido que se reconoce como Centro Comercial. Un conjunto entendido, en sentido gen��rico, como familia arquitect��nica que tiene caracter��sticas propias y espec��ficas que la identifican. El objeto de la presente tesis doctoral consiste en argumentar que este conjunto constituye un nuevo tipo en el panorama de las tipolog��as arquitect��nicas. Un tipo con entidad propia, que se conecta a una forma diferente de entender la idea de modelo. Un concepto que va m��s all�� de la consideraci��n tradicional del t��rmino. Modelo virtual. Este tipo, que surge de una estructura te��rica que hemos denominado teor��a tipol��gica, se constituye en una herramienta m��s para el estudio y el desarrollo proyectual de los espacios arquitect��nicos, tanto del propio Centro Comercial como del conjunto de la disciplina arquitect��nica, como referencia leg��tima. El presente trabajo de tesis se inicia con un bloque introductorio denominado M��todo. Definimos en ��l una metodolog��a que hemos llamado emocional. Trata de la oportunidad de la tesis. Del porqu�� de un t��tulo que recoge la palabra ignorada. Del inter��s que suscita el asunto en el contexto del momento presente. Oportunidad e inter��s en base a una vida profesional dedicada al mundo del Centro Comercial y a la importancia del patrimonio elegido como objeto de estudio. Tambi��n ha sido un aliciente detectar como las planificaciones del territorio y de los ��mbitos de las relaciones colectivas no han sido capaces de integrar un resultado satisfactorio. Quiz��s por no considerar la complejidad de sus muchas facetas. En consecuencia, el texto busca la esencia del Centro Comercial como soporte para la cr��tica de su impacto en los nuevos escenarios de relaci��n que la sociedad y el entorno f��sico imponen. ��mbitos donde los mecanismos hist��ricos del asociacionismo tradicional han dado paso a otros, como el Centro Comercial, de exaltaci��n del individualismo, pero demandados por una sociedad que se identifica con ellos. Espacios que, con Galbraith, existen por de la perversidad intr��nseca del binomio consumo-producci��n que inducen la perplejidad. ��sta pasa a formar parte de la esencia del nuevo espacio comercial, como qued�� de manifiesto en el Congreso de Minnesota de 1997, sobre el Centro Comercial. Una sociedad que ha girado hacia el logro material en t��rminos de culto, ocasionando creciente valor significante del consumo. Raz��n ��ltima de la humanidad al decir de Rem Koolhaas. Culto que desemboca en la urgencia de alcanzar niveles de estatus y de identificaci��n con el grupo. Dos par��metros que marcan la relaci��n con el otro. Relaci��n de comparaci��n que excita la necesidad de posesi��n de objetos que llevaban a recrear en el consumidor la ilusi��n de ser especiales, de no pasar desapercibidos. El producto de consumo, el objeto, se eleva a la consideraci��n de valor social. En el Centro Comercial se venden valores. Marketing de valores. El deseo del individuo, no la necesidad, queda involucrado en el proceso. La oportunidad y el inter��s de este estudio surgen adem��s para aclarar el significado de un espacio que sirve al consumidor y a su entorno. Un significado que alcanza sentido, entre otros, por la aparici��n de un nuevo contexto tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Suburbanizaci��n, autom��vil, nivel de vida, un nuevo papel de la mujer. La Era del Consumo. Una era que genera la paradoja de un individuo con autodeterminaci��n y autosuficiencia crecientes, en un mundo cada vez m��s condicionado y controlado por din��micas de ofertas mediatizadas e ilimitadas. La arquitectura en este contexto ha de juzgarse por su relaci��n con un hombre contempor��neo que camina hacia una progresiva excepcionalidad. Cerramos la presentaci��n justificando el t��rmino ignorada que aparece en el T��tulo de la Tesis. Subrayamos la escasa existencia de estudios estructurados que relacionen Centro Comercial y arquitectura. Realidad que se constata partiendo del libro de Pevsner, Historia de las Tipolog��as Arquitect��nicas, de 1976. Analizamos tambi��n la aceptaci��n que el Centro Comercial, valorado en algunos ��mbitos como arquitectura populista. Primer Cap��tulo, los antecedentes. Se propone un recorrido hist��rico por la arquitectura comercial de todos los tiempos. El Documento busca concretar las caracter��sticas de la arquitectura comercial a lo largo de la historia para determinar relaciones entre ella y el Centro Comercial. Estas correspondencias van a permitir contestar la pregunta ret��rica que nos hacemos al inicio del Cap��tulo: ��Es la arquitectura del Centro Comercial una arquitectura subsidiaria, o tiene personalidad propia independiente de la del mundo comercial? Con Zevi40, queremos dejar constancia que la relaci��n arquitectura-historia es imprescindible en la tarea proyectual. Un an��lisis novedoso solo es posible desde la b��squeda de unas ra��ces aut��nticas. As�� mismo, con Guy de Maupassant, estamos convencidos que ���La arquitectura, a trav��s de los siglos, ha tenido el privilegio de dar un s��mbolo a cada una de las ��pocas, de resumir con un peque����simo n��mero de monumentos t��picos, el modo de pensar, de so��ar de una raza y de una civilizaci��n���. Este recorrido se inicia interpretando la arquitectura comercial minoica. Llegaremos, paso a paso, hasta el siglo XX, los grandes itinerarios comerciales y el Centro Comercial. Se descubren una serie de invariantes que permiten comparar y extraer conclusiones. Resulta novedoso constatar que el Centro Comercial nace para dar respuesta al hombre contempor��neo en su af��n consumista. Tambi��n lo es la r��pida implantaci��n y evoluci��n del Centro Comercial en un corto periodo de sesenta a��os frente al ritmo sosegado de otras soluciones comerciales. Novedad es ver como el comercio y sus arquitecturas nacen abiertos, bajo tenderetes y el Centro Comercial se presenta cerrado. As�� mismo, las referencias sacras constituyen un elemento de novedad para la reflexi��n, en un contexto materialista. Y tantas otras. En Minos, la ��ptica comercial ofrece otra visi��n de su legendaria cultura. ��Palacio o plataforma log��stica?, gesti��n centralizada del intercambio, ��vida p��blica y vida privada? As��, hasta llegar al siglo XIX. Sus las galer��as y sus pasajes acristalados concebidos en primera instancia como medida de recomposici��n urbana. Espacio entendido desde lo p��blico-privado, desde lo interior-exterior, desde el dentro-afuera, desde lo cerrado-abierto. Con los nuevos mercados de abastos, representan una revoluci��n en el ��mbito de la funcionalidad, de la m��quina, de la gesti��n moderna y de las relaciones del ciudadano con la ciudad apoyado en base al intercambio de bienes de consumo. El Centro Comercial es heredero de esta transformaci��n. El Gran Almac��n, por otra parte, es el reflejo de otra gran revoluci��n. La que va ligada a la producci��n y comercializaci��n en masa, las comunicaciones, el precio fijo y el aumento del nivel de vida. El Centro Comercial reinterpreta estas situaciones insert��ndolas en un nuevo modelo de gesti��n. En el siglo XX, maestro en t��cnicas de venta, aparece el hipermercado. El H��per, con su carga de pedagog��a, se incorpora al esquema org��nico del Centro Comercial. La tienda en si misma constituye la pieza base de dicho puzle org��nico. Es en esta ��poca cuando la tienda empieza su despegue aut��nomo como arquitectura, aportando su experiencia. Tras ello, llegamos a las grandes rutas comerciales, que proponemos como met��fora del shopping. Cerramos el cap��tulo concluyendo con Eugenio Ferrer que ���si establecemos una relaci��n entre el espacio y el capitalismo, entonces podemos inferir que los espacios del consumo de masas (ECM) son configuraciones nuevas respecto al pasado (...), pero el sistema que lo introduce no lo es del todo���. Segundo Cap��tulo. B��squeda de claves que permitan el reconocimiento del Centro Comercial. Llegados a este punto y con la perspectiva del tiempo cabe preguntarnos, ��qu�� entendemos pues por Centro Comercial? ��C��mo lo percibimos? Abordamos ahora el problema de la percepci��n del Centro Comercial y su significado. Adem��s de constituirse en s��mbolo, referencia siempre presente, la eficacia del Shopping es una de las principales causas de su poder de atracci��n. El Centro Comercial resulta de la s��ntesis de la revoluci��n del consumo y de la revoluci��n de la gesti��n. Espacio eficaz del entretenimiento como destino. El usuario resuelve su vida cotidiana dentro de un h��bitat que considera propio y que se entiende como el lugar hiperb��lico de la transacci��n comercial. Espacio de la abundancia para el disfrute. Una arquitectura involucrada en esta eficacia. Su sentido del lugar no es otro que el Shopping, que se desenvuelve de forma an��loga en todas partes. El hogar del consumidor. Las nuevas catedrales. Las catedrales del consumo. Destino m��stico. Lugar de peregrinaci��n para el consumidor fervoroso. Espacio sagrado que integra al usuario en la cultura dominante. Cultura del consumo. Templos, donde el tiempo ha perdido su sentido. Para��so. Un espacio donde la altura, la luz natural, la dimensi��n general refuerzan el car��cter sacro de un espacio para una nueva religi��n laica. Un espacio seguro, protegido que nos acerca a ideas como la de ��tero materno, con su carga de calidez y de significaci��n er��tica aplicado al encuentro compra-comprador y, ligado a ello, la literatura especializada habla del Centro Comercial como nave espacial hiperesterilizada o de agujero negro que absorbe la energ��a cultural. M��s all��, la simulaci��n, donde se percibe un simulacro de ciudad. Simulacro coherente con todo lo que el Shopping desencadena a su alrededor. El lugar de los sue��os, de la fantas��a. Aqu�� los productos se han metamorfoseado en fetiches, en significados. Televisi��n tridimensional, donde el usuario act��a guiado por una pulsi��n similar al zapping. Espacio l��dico de la fascinaci��n por comprar o de imaginar que se compra. Espacio de simulaciones que llevan a la enso��aci��n. Un nuevo lugar que sustituye al espacio cotidiano, con el se��uelo de la protecci��n, en un contexto imaginariamente p��blico. Espacio de la hiperrealidad donde no se distingue la realidad de la fantas��a, donde tras episodios de confusi��n y desconcierto, se borran las fronteras con lo imaginario. Espacio m��gico, escenario del gran espect��culo del consumo, controlado milim��tricamente, al modo de la visita a un gran monumento, que ha de sobrevivir a los tiempos para dar testimonio de nuestro momento. Un icono, un s��mbolo que transmite un mensaje, que solo el consumidor es capaz de interpretar. Una agitada mezcla, sin precedentes, de percepciones que hablan de perplejidad y asombro ante el fen��meno del Centro Comercial, su espacio y las reacciones del hombre contempor��neo. ��Cu��les ser��an las claves que nos permitir��an reconocer la calidad esencial de un Centro Comercial, en esta concurrencia de perplejidades? Primero, la funci��n de servicio. Un espacio donde ocurren muchas m��s cosas que lo obvio, que la compra. Un edificio que se involucra con el entorno de la mano de lo inesperado, la sorpresa y las expectativas. Esta vocaci��n de servicio conecta Centro Comercial y naturaleza arquitect��nica. Funci��n que sugiere percepciones ligadas a la experiencia de compra. Organismo que vive y late al un��sono con su visitante, coloc��ndose al servicio de sus necesidades, de su af��n de consumo, del que vive. Segundo, la comunidad servida. El Centro comercial sirve a una sociedad concreta. La sociedad consumista. Una nueva sociedad que se identifica con el edificio desarrollando un sentido de comunidad al nivel de sus deseos. Esta comunidad que se configura a su alrededor, constituye el activo m��s poderoso para el ��xito de su realidad cotidiana y de su futuro. Tercero, un compromiso de car��cter hol��stico. La econom��a de la experiencia aplicada al af��n consumista de una sociedad identificada con su Centro, da lugar a una experiencia hol��stica planificada. Dise��o emocional. Colaboraci��n para el ��xito de un conjunto de establecimientos comerciales que participan en la aventura espacio-comercial del Centro Comercial. Ellos son los inductores primarios del consumo. Pero esta colaboraci��n tiene su culminaci��n en la amplificaci��n del mensaje, como un inmenso altavoz, que proviene de la unidad configurada por todos ellos. El reflejo de esta amplificaci��n de mensajes, desde la poderosa unidad constituida, es el aumento de la rentabilidad, fin ��ltimo de la operaci��n. Cuarto, la forma a trav��s de una identificaci��n de car��cter gest��ltico. Desde la lectura gest��ltica que hacemos de la unidad hol��stica, se advierte una poderosa capacidad de comunicaci��n del sistema con su contexto. Centro y entorno se tornan entonces c��mplices que complementan sus realidades. El Centro Comercial, arquitectura estructurada como sistema se percibe ���ha de percibirse- como forma unitaria que procede de una mirada de ra��z gest��ltica que continuamente la recompone desde una ��ptica espacial y f��sica, ligada a la experiencia individual. Esta unidad formal, m��s all�� de la forma real, se constituye en esencia de de su arquitectura. Quinto, el Centro Comercial como sistema. Un sistema soportado por la Teor��a General de Sistemas. La consideraci��n del Centro Comercial como sistema es consecuencia de su estructura hol��stica. El todo no se comporta como la suma de las partes y estas no lo hacen como lo har��an en solitario. De aqu�� surge la necesidad de di��logo permanente entre la comercializaci��n ���proceso de incorporaci��n de partes- y su traducci��n al mundo del dise��o ���proceso de articular arquitect��nicamente las partes. Como sistema as�� configurado, el Centro Comercial se inserta en el paradigma contempor��neo, lo que genera realidades duales que no son excluyentes y reacciones de perplejidad e incertidumbre que el sistema corrige con su capacidad de autorregulaci��n. Aparece tambi��n el espectador cu��ntico, el visitante, el consumidor, que interact��a con el sistema. Desde las herramientas que nos aporta la idea de sistema complejo, afrontamos el Mix Comercial -en definitiva la eficaz localizaci��n de las piezas en orden a sus relaciones y al organismo resultante- y su incidencia en la arquitectura que estamos concibiendo. Una arquitectura impredecible por lo mutable, que se erige en reto de la operaci��n y del dise��ador. Dise��o que, de la mano del concepto de sistema se convierte en herramienta a mayor gloria de la operaci��n global. El debate del estilismo no ser�� m��s que el resultado del an��lisis en busca del ��xito de esta operaci��n. Sexto, una arquitectura de la negociaci��n. Negociaci��n como mecanismo proyectual y como resultado. La soluci��n de proyecto nunca resulta evidente en el Centro Comercial como consecuencia de lo imprevisible del propio proceso de configuraci��n. Su concreci��n solo puede ser fruto del compromiso de todos los agentes por conseguir el objetivo de la operaci��n. Esto se consigue desde el equilibrio de intereses. Comerciales y de dise��o. Un compromiso con la negociaci��n y una negociaci��n ��ntimamente ligada a la coordinaci��n. S��ptimo, el espacio y el tiempo. El debate espacio-tiempo condiciona y estructura la percepci��n del Centro Comercial. Introducimos conceptos como cronotopo ���el instante y el lugar donde ocurre algo- y paradoja ���incoherencia de la relaci��n causa efecto- que sit��an el v��nculo entre el tiempo y el espacio del Centro Comercial en un contexto de Shopping. En el discurrir paralelo del tiempo hist��rico ���el tiempo de fuera- y del tiempo interior, el de dentro del Centro Comercial ���tiempo presente o intemporalidad-, se produce el triunfo social del Centro Comercial que se traduce en haber sabido resolver en el espacio y en el tiempo las paradojas postmodernas del hombre contempor��neo. Octavo, de lo global. Globalidad que no es ajena a lo local. Una arquitectura que insertada en la din��mica de una econom��a de ��mbito mundial, refleja las contradicciones que ella impone, fundamentalmente en los procesos de inclusi��n y exclusi��n, afectando de manera decisiva al debate de lo local, que el Centro Comercial debe incorporar como herramienta ineludible de reconocimiento. Terminamos el cap��tulo segundo manifestando como estas ocho claves, asumidas en su conjunto, confirman que el Centro Comercial puede aparecer como un todo conceptual cohesionado, pasando a formar parte de una familia arquitect��nica coherente, cuya estructura funcional somos capaces de establecer. El Cap��tulo Tercero presenta con detalle la figura del arquitecto V��ctor Gruen, creador reconocido del moderno Centro Comercial. Presentamos su trayectoria profesional observando como las diferentes claves analizadas en cap��tulos anteriores van apareciendo de manera natural a lo largo de ella "Victor Gruen may well have been the most influential architect of the twentieth century." Malcolm Gladwell. The Terrazo Jungle. Fifty Years Ago, The Mall Was Born. America Never Would Be The Same. 2004. In The New Yorker. Hombre complejo, conflictivo. Las paradojas a lo largo de su carrera fueron notables. Sin embargo siempre apareci�� como un hombre recto. Garret Eckbo, reconocido paisajista y colaborador de Gruen en el Centro Comercial peatonal del Centro urbano de Fresno, California, se asombraba de que alguien como Gruen hubiese sido capaz de combinar cortes��a y humanidad en la carrera de ratas (sic) en la que se convirti�� el universo de la comercializaci��n americana y mantener la integridad542. Philip Johnson, en 1962, ponderando las muchas habilidades de Gruen manifest�� que no estaba seguro si alguno de ellos, arquitectos artistas, hubiera sido capaz de hacer lo que Gruen hizo. A m��s, sobre Gruen, manifest�� lo siguiente: "... El va m��s all�� de la creaci��n de un bello edificio. En jugar con la gente y sugerir lo que tienen que hacer, es un maestro. Y obtiene buenos resultados como hace la escultura. El suyo es un arte c��vico, un sentido c��vico.... ��l es capaz de sentarse y poner cosas juntas. No es pomposo ni vano. Yo no me reunir��a con ��l para hablar del dise��o (de edificios). V��ctor siente que cuando se habla de dise��o se est�� ignorando todo el contexto... Su arquitectura es poderosamente limpia, no vuela la fantas��a. Pero cuando te haces con su complejidad, ves que has descubierto algo m��s all�� del dise��o.... No puedes decir que haya alguien como ��l. La arquitectura tiene la suerte de tenerle como arquitecto..." Philip Johnson. Article in Fortune Review. 1962. El Documento de tesis cierra la visi��n de Gruen realizando un recorrido por los diferentes cap��tulos de su libro esencial, Shopping Towns Usa: The Planning of Shopping Centers. Solo su ��ndice resulta un monumento al proceso de gestaci��n del Centro Comercial. El libro, aqu�� simplemente mostrado en su estructura b��sica como un silencioso testigo, es la referencia can��nica los Centros Comerciales contempor��neos, desde su aparici��n. . El Cuarto Cap��tulo del Documento de tesis es una recapitulaci��n del trabajo anterior, en el que se sintetizan los conceptos de funci��n y estilo relacionados con el Centro Comercial, se define en qu�� consiste cada uno de ellos y como, a partir de ah��, podemos afirmar que nos encontramos ante un tipo arquitect��nico nuevo en el panorama de la disciplina arquitect��nica. Terminamos el Cap��tulo integrando el Centro Comercial con un cuerpo te��rico de referencias que se remiten a un tipo arquitect��nico concreto y particular, acogiendo su singularidad como fen��meno arquitect��nico aut��nomo. Como Conclusi��n de la tesis, resultado de todo lo anterior es decir, como consecuencia de la integraci��n de un torrente de percepciones e intuiciones en un cuerpo te��rico de referencias, deducidas de la existencia de unas claves que estructuran y penetran la esencia del singular modelo estudiado, haci��ndolo detectable y seductor, resultan las caracter��sticas de un tipo arquitect��nico con entidad propia que ordena, orienta y supedita la realidad y la existencia de esta nueva arquitectura. Una arquitectura nunca antes definida como tal, en el panorama tipol��gico de la disciplina. Teor��a tipol��gica para una nueva arquitectura, que hemos ido proponiendo a lo largo del trabajo y que es coherente con los diferentes par��metros que se han analizado. Un conjunto edificado que, desde el estudio de sus claves esenciales y de sus invariantes perceptibles, aparece ahora m��s cercano, m��s familiar. Tanto que es posible destilar desde este conocimiento cercano e ��ntimo, una s��ntesis ��til como referencia proyectual y como referencia para las grandes cuestiones que preocupan al discurrir del debate arquitect��nico y sus ideas. El debate de la disciplina. El objeto de esta tesis, que consist��a en establecer que el conjunto edificado que conocemos como Centro Comercial se constituye en un nuevo tipo en el panorama de las tipolog��as arquitect��nicas, entendido el Centro Comercial en sentido gen��rico como familia arquitect��nica con caracter��sticas propias y espec��ficas que la hacen aut��noma y reconocible, queda a nuestro juicio argumentado y justificado. ABSTRACT Within the frame of the built heritage there is a construction that is recognized as Shopping Center. An ensemble understood as an architectural family with its own specific recognizable characteristics. This thesis aims to explain that this building complex constitutes a new type in the panorama of architectural typology. This typology, with its singular identity, is connected to a way of understanding the idea of the model beyond an orthodox conception of the term understood as virtual model. This typology comes from a theoretical structure that we called typological theory, and it serves as yet another tool to reference the study and development design of the architectural spaces. In this first section, the Method, we emotionally explore the opportunities of this thesis. Why this typology has been ignored and the interest this work has in the present moment. An opportunity and an interest explained from an experience of a life dedicated to the world of Shopping Centers. The text then introduces the need for a rigorous knowledge of the Shopping Center���s essence in order to understand its impact in the frame of a new society and a new physical environment. A frame time where the historical mechanisms of association of civic community have given way to other gathering spaces like the Shopping Center, which encourages individualism, but is demanded by a society that relates to them. Spaces that, according to Galbraith, are a result of the intrinsic perversity of the unstoppable movement of the wheel of consumption-production. A society that has turned to worship of material achievement. Worship that provokes the appearance of an increasing value of consumption, according to Koolhaas, the only goal of humanity. Worship that ends in the need to reach certain status levels in the plane of a permanent comparison where the need of possession excites the consumer and gives them the illusion of being special. The product of consumption rises up to consideration of social values, entering a dynamic of marketing values, not only objects, but the desire of the individual remains. The study appears also to clarify the meaning of a space that serves the consumer and its context. A meaning that makes sense with the appearance of the suburbanization, the massive utilization of the car, the increase of living standards and the new role of women in the society after the Second World War, giving rise to the Age of Consumption. A world now determined and controlled by media and unlimited offers, where it���s necessary to place them in the context of the ordinary. An architecture that has to be judged precisely for its relation with this specific contemporary man. This section ends justifying the term ignored that appears in the Title of the Thesis, considering it in relation with the lack of studies structured about the Shopping Center and its architecture, drawing from Pevsner's work, A history of building types, 1976. Finally, the Shopping Center is analyzed with the most critical of thoughts, which considers it as populist architecture. The First Chapter, Precedents, proposes an historical tour of the commercial architecture throughout history. The Document looks to place on record the characteristics of the commercial architecture to set the connection between them and the Mall itself. These correspondences are going to allow us to answer the rhetorical question: is it the architecture of the Shopping Center a subsidiary architecture, or does it have its own personality independent from that of the commercial world? The reason of this historical search, citing Bruno Zevi, is that it is indispensable to establish the relationship between architecture and history, understating that an analysis is only possible when researching for their roots. Moreover, according to Guy de Maupassant, we are sure that architecture has had the privilege, across the centuries, of symbolizing as it were each age(���), through the harmony of lines and the charm of ornamentation all the grace and grandeur of an epoch. This historical reading, inseparable from a consistent design action, begins interpreting the commercial architecture of the Minoan to the 20th Century. Though this analysis of the big commercial itineraries and the study of the Shopping Center itself. A reading where we have found a series of constants that make it possible to draw conclusions from this comparison. The Mall appears to give response to the needs of a consumerist society. Comparing to the calm pace of the evolution of other commercial solutions, it is relevant its fast implantation and evolution in a short period of sixty years. Though via different solutions, the commercial spaces are considered taking into account the public-private relation, the interior-exterior, the inside-out, the closed-opened. Through that, the 19th century galleries and the food markets represent a revolution in functionality, in the machine, the modern management and the relations of the citizen within the city. All of this, the Mall inheritor feels. Likewise, the Department Store is the reflection of another great revolution. Production and commercialization en-mass, communications, the fixed price and increase of the living standard. The Mall reinterprets these situations inserting them in a new model of management. Already in the 20th century Mall and mass technologies of sale, the hypermarket is enthusiastically incorporated into the configuration of this organic scheme, constituting the base of one of the models, the French, that will be highly developed in the European continent. The shop itself constitutes, on the other hand, the key piece that completes the puzzle of the Mall and is in this epoch when it starts taking off as architecture, has an autonomous character. After all this, finally, we come to the big commercial routes, which we propose as metaphor of the shopping. Citing Eugenio Ferrer we can conclude that ���If we establish a relation between the space and the capitalism, then we can infer that the spaces of the consumption of masses (ECM) are new configurations with regard to the past (...), but the system that introduces it it is not completely��� Now we arrive at this point and with the perspective of time it is necessary to ask us, what do we understand about the Shopping Center? How do we perceive it? The second Chapter approaches the problem of the perception of the Mall and from this it is possible to detect and to identify key drivers that orientate the architectural comprehension of the space. The efficiency of the Shopping Center is its main power of attraction. A world that has ensued from the synthesis of the revolution of consumption and management. An effective cavern-like place of entertainment where the user, the consumer, the postmodern man solves his daily life inside a considered habitat. The hyperbolic place of commercial transaction. An abundance of space, that makes us perceive it as destination of entertainment. An architecture has evolved this efficiency, where the sense of place is at one with the sense of the Shopping. The home of the consumer. The new cathedrals. The cathedral of consumption. The place of peregrination for the fervent consumer. A sacred space that integrates the user in the dominant culture. A temple, where time itself has stopped existing. In this paroxysm, an expression of the Garden of Eden or Paradise itself. A space where the height, the natural daylight and the spatial dimension reinforce the sacred character of a new lay religion. Another common perception is that of a protected area, which leads to metaphors and considerations that suggest the idea of maternal womb, with its weight of erotic meaning, referring to the encounter of the shopper making a purchase. The literature also tells us about its perception as a sterile space capsule, a black hole that absorbs all cultural energy. Likewise, a world simulation where a mock city is perceived at first instance. Consistent with all that shopping triggers inside. A city, a space conceived as a place of dreams, fantasy, where the products have been metamorphosed into fetishes. Entertaining a television, three-dimensional television, where the user acts guided by a drive similar to zapping. A play area where the latest fascination is in the act of buying. Space simulations that unite and transcend creating atmospheres that lead to reverie. A new space replacing the daily space with the lure of safe space in a public context. A hyper-reality space with reality and fantasy, where borders are erased with imaginary episodes of confusion and bewilderment, without distinction. The charm and fascination of a space that reads like magic. The magic of a space which is defined as stage extravaganza, the large theatre, the consumer surveys in the fine control mode in which you visit a national monument. The shopping center has to survive the times to be a testimony of our time. An icon, a symbol that conveys a message, the message reads ���consumer���. In short, a Shopping Center is a mix of unprecedented insights that speak of a widespread phenomenon of bewilderment. Its space and the reactions of contemporary man unfold in it like a fish in water. What are the key aspects which allow us to recognize the essential quality of a shopping center in this concurrence of perplexities? First, we want to record a service function of space much deeper than the immediately obvious, i.e. a purchase occurs. A building that appears to be involved with the environment and its people from the hand of the unexpected circumstances; surprise and attention. And that, in turn, also involves the visitor beyond the purchase. This dedication to service closely links the mall with its architectural nature. It is not the function of a lifeless machine. It is a feature that suggests unsuspected perceptions linked to the purchase, which speaks of an organism that lives and breathes in unison with the visitor. Second, in addition to the vocation of service-oriented desire for consumption, the Mall environment serves a particular society - The consumer society. A new society which relates to building a sense of community developed to the level of their desires. This community also constitutes the most powerful asset to the success of the daily life of the Shopping Center. Third, we emphasize that the so called economy of the experience is combined with the consumer zeal of a company that is identified by the Shopping Center. It connects to form a holistic and planned experience. This experience takes shape in the entity that ensues from the premeditated association and synergy, in the sense of a collaboration for success. A set of concrete commercial and independent establishments, take part in the spatial and commercial adventure that is the Mall and they are the instigators of the consumption. This holistic behavior finds culmination in the amplification of a claim that becomes unitary, like an immense force that leads to an increased profitability to all the levels. Consummation is a reference of one human being overturned in an architecture assimilated into a legitimate, emotional design with stability. A holistic quality is born of the essence of the building - and by virtue of the Conditions of Alexander, Christopher Alexander, determines the system condition of the Shopping Center. Fourth, we propose to establish what character the Mall will form when joined with the concept of its typology. This is going to allow the architectural work to be formed. As a result of the holistic structure that we see, the Mall is perceived as a system whose parts have their own function, justifying their existence in the ecosystem. Across a gestalt there is a powerful capacity of communication between the system and its context. We visualize on the one that stands out our building, turning both, Center and environment, in accomplices of a few special relations who complement each other in his realities. This relationship within a complex and diverse environment gives the Mall a range of unique spatial perceptions, the result of disparate experiences, which because of its root origin of gestalt, are integrated into a unified and coordinated manner fully intelligible and organized. This is the final formal essence of the Shopping Center. We can conclude here that the Mall as architecture is a structured system and should be perceived as a unit both from a physical and spatial perspective as this is the essence of its architecture. Fifth, the Mall as a system. A system which is being supported by a broad theoretical corpus, the General Systems Theory, which offers sufficient methodology to descend into consideration and give an enlightened conclusion on the overall understanding of the Mall. Consideration of the Mall as a system is a result of its holistic structure. The whole does not behave like any of the parties and they do not behave the way they used to before belonging to the whole, because they inhibit many of their qualities to their advantage. It arises the need for an ongoing dialogue between marketing processes and its translation into the physical world, the design. The system generates multiple perceptions to be integrated into a body which is to be understood as unitary. As a system, the Mall is inserted into the contemporary paradigm, creating dual realities that are not exclusive and are reactions of uncertainty that the system be properly designed at all levels, faced with their ability to self-regulate. Likewise, considering the visitor, the customer, like the quantum spectator who interacts with the system permanently. Moreover, a complex system confronts us with the Commercial mix, the effective location of parts in order to relate to the body and its importance in the architecture we are conceiving. Unpredictable architecture, which stands as the challenge of the operation and the designer. Design that becomes the tool of the system to create success for the overall operation. The discussion of the styling is merely the result of analysis that also seeks the success of the system, i.e. the styling should send the right message for the environment to ensure its survival. Sixth, the idea of negotiation as an architecture project, a mechanism inherent to the status of the proposed system. The project solution is never evident at the Shopping Center because of the unpredictability of the process itself. It can only be the fruit of the commitment of all stakeholders to achieve the objective of the operation. This is achieved from the balance of interests, of commercial and design. A commitment to negotiation and a negotiation linked to coordination. The pursuit of stability is key, as instability is always present and constantly requires strategies to build the object you are configuring. Seventh, proposes space-time itself as a circumstance that determines and structures the perception of the Mall in a singular way. We introduce concepts as chronotope and paradox to help us place the relationship between time and space within the Mall in the context of shopping. A consequence of the parallel flow of historical time - the time outside - and the time inside the Mall, the big shopping center formula is precisely that of having the feeling of timelessness in the space. The social triumph of the mall is the ability to resolve in space and in time all postmodern paradoxes and, beyond that, of contemporary man, condensing into a small space and time an enormous amount of cultural symbols, often contradictory, but they attract the practice of consumerism. Eighth, global level. Globalization which doesn���t ignore the local level. Architecture that is inserted into the dynamics of a global economy, reflects the contradictions that it imposes, mainly in the processes of inclusion and exclusion. Inclusion and exclusion affect the debate of the local level, which the Mall must incorporate as an unavoidable tool of recognition. The eight fundamental principles, when applied as a whole, confirm that the built heritage, which corresponds to the general Mall idea, can be presented as a cohesive conceptual whole. This becomes part of a coherent architectural family, whose functional structures are able to be established. The Third chapter presents in a detailed way the figure of the architect Victor Gruen, recognized as the creator of the modern Mall. Studying his professional experience, it is shown how the different keys analyzed in previous chapters are appearing in a natural way. "Victor Gruen may well have been the most influential architect of the twentieth century." Malcolm Gladwell. The Terrazo Jungle. Fifty Years Ago, The Mall Was Born. America Never Would Be The Same. 2004. In The New Yorker. He was a complex, troubled man and the paradoxes along his career were notable. Nevertheless, always he appeared as a straight man. Garret Eckbo, the recognized landscape painter and collaborator of Gruen was astonished how Gruen had been capable of combining comity and humanity in this career of rates, into that the American commercialization turned, Johnson, in 1962, weighting many Gruen's skills demonstrated that he was not sure if anyone of them, architects artists, had been capable of doing what Gruen did. He goes beyond just the creation of a beautiful building. In playing on people and suggesting what they ought to do, he is a master. (���) his architecture is clean - hardly architecture, no flights of fancy. But when you get hold of its complexity, you've got something beyond the design... You can't say there's someone like him. Architecture is lucky to have him as an architect." Philip Johnson. Article in Fortune Review. 1962. The Document of the thesis closes with Gruen's vision of realizing a tour through the different chapters of his essential book, Shopping towns USA: The Planning of Shopping Centers. It���s mere index turns out to be a monument to the process of the gestation of the Mall. The book, simply acted in its basic structure as a silent witness, as the canonical reference for the contemporary Malls. The Fourth Chapter of the Document of the thesis is a recapitulation of the previous work, which synthesizes the concepts of function and style related to the Shopping Center, and clearly defines how they are defined so we can conclude that we have found an architectural new type in the panorama of the architectural discipline. Therefore, the Conclusion of the thesis integrates this development in a theoretical body of references that relate to an architectural specific and particular type, which receives the singularity of the Shopping Center as an architectural independent phenomenon as it has tried to demonstrate from the beginning of the work. To conclude, as a result of the integrative process and the development of the theoretical body of references, the essential characteristics of the order and concept of the architectural typology form the existence of a new architecture; architecture never before defined as such, in the theoretical typology of the discipline. A theoretical typology for a new architecture is proposed throughout the discussed research and forms a conclusion of the different parameters that have been analysed. As a building complex, from the study of the essential characteristics and of the perceptible constants, the typology is more clearly defined and thus, becomes a useful tool and precedent for the consideration of the discipline. The thesis then justifies how the building complex known as Shopping Center constitutes a new type of architectural typology.