Caratterizzazione e progettazione di un sistema di comunicazione con ultra low power long range transceiver

Lo sviluppo di nuove tecnologie sempre più innovative e all’avanguardia ha portato ad un processo di costante rivisitazione e miglioramento di sistemi tecnologici già esistenti. L’esempio di Internet risulta, a questo proposito, interessante da analizzare: strumento quotidiano ormai diventato alla portata di tutti, il suo processo di rivisitazione ha portato allo sviluppo dell’Internet Of Things (IoT), neologismo utilizzato per descrivere l'estensione di Internet a tutto ciò che può essere trasformato in un sistema elettronico, controllato attraverso la rete mondiale che oggi può essere facilmente fruibile grazie all’utilizzo di Smartphone sempre più performanti. Lo scopo di questa grande trasformazione è quello di creare una rete ad-hoc (non necessariamente con un accesso diretto alla rete internet tramite protocolli wired o wireless standard) al fine di stabilire un maggior controllo ed una maggiore sicurezza, alla quale è possibile interfacciare oggetti dotati di opportuni sensori di diverso tipo, in maniera tale da condividere dati e ricevere comandi da un operatore esterno. Un possibile scenario applicativo della tecnologia IoT, è il campo dell'efficienza energetica e degli Smart Meter. La possibilità di modificare i vecchi contatori del gas e dell’acqua, tutt’oggi funzionanti grazie ad una tecnologia che possiamo definire obsoleta, trasformandoli in opportuni sistemi di metring che hanno la capacità di trasmettere alla centrale le letture o i dati del cliente, di eseguire operazioni di chiusura e di apertura del servizio, nonché operazioni sulla valutazione dei consumi, permetterebbe al cliente di avere sotto controllo i consumi giornalieri. Per costruire il sistema di comunicazione si è utilizzato il modem Semtech SX1276, che oltre ad essere low-power, possiede due caratteristiche rivoluzionarie e all’avanguardia: utilizza una modulazione del segnale da trasmettere innovativa e una grande capacità di rilevare segnali immersi in forti fonti di rumore ; la possibilità di utilizzare due frequenze di trasmissione diverse, 169 MHz e 868MHz.

Impact of automatic meetering infrastructure on multiutility business models

In the last decade energy utility sector has undergone major changes in terms of liberalization, increased competition, efforts in improving energy efficiency, and in new technological solution such as smart meter and grid operations. There are new information technology solutions (e.g. Advanced Metering Infrastructure /AMI ) on the horizon that will not only introduce new technical and organizational concepts, but have a very strong potential to radically change modus operandi of utility companies. Coordinated, multi-utility programs can help accelerate the development and market success of new high-efficiency technologies. These programs provide opportunities for researchers to develop new high-efficiency equipment for manufacturers to sell this new equipment with utility help, for utilities to increase the amount of energy they save from incentive programs, and for consumers to benefit from lower utility bills and a cleaner environment (as energy is reduced, pollutants produced at power plants decline).

Von der Minderheit zur Mehrheit? Psycho-soziale Einflüsse bei der Verbreitung klima-schonender Innovationen

Vor dem Hintergrund des Klimawandels und weiterer Zukunftsherausforderungen stellt sich in drängenderem Maße die Frage, wie der Wandel zu einer nachhaltigen Gesellschaft gelingen kann. Im Zuge dessen rücken zunehmend solche Lösungsansätze in den Fokus, die an der Schnittstelle von technischen und sozialen Systemen nachhaltige und klimaschonende Innovationen entwickeln. Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigte sich in diesem Kontext mit der Frage, welche psychologischen und sozialen Faktoren und Mechanismen bei der individuellen Übernahme (Adoption) klimaschonender Innovationen von Bedeutung und für deren weitere Verbreitung (Diffusion) förderlich sind. Auf theoretischer und konzeptioneller Ebene wurden einerseits persönliche Eigenschaften von Adoptern wie der eigene Lebens- und Informationsverarbeitungsstil und andererseits die Charakteristika klimaschonender Innovationen und deren individuelle Wahrnehmung und Bewertung betrachtet und in einem umfassenden Modell integriert. Die Arbeit untersuchte zunächst mit Hilfe einer breit angelegten Fragebogenstudie (N = 778), wie weit die Innovationen Bezug von Ökostrom und Beteiligung an Bürger-Solaranlagen in verschiedenen sozialen Milieus bereits verbreitet waren und wie diese in milieuspezifischer Perspektive beurteilt und kommunikativ rezipiert wurden. Mittels Strukturgleichungsmodellierung wurde untersucht, inwiefern sich die Bewertungs- und Entscheidungsstrukturen von frühen und späteren Adoptern unterschieden. Es zeigten sich klare milieuspezifische Schwerpunkte: Personen aus dem postmateriellen und den hedonistischen Milieus bewerteten diese Innovationen positiver und waren häufiger unter den Adoptern zu finden als traditionelle und Mainstream-Milieus. Zudem deuteten die Ergebnisse auf eine stärker deliberativ ausgeprägte Entscheidungsstruktur bei frühen Adoptern hin – zumindest hinsichtlich des Bezugs von Ökostrom, der zum Zeitpunkt der Untersuchung bereits weiter verbreitet war als die Beteiligung an Bürger-Solaranlagen. In einer ergänzenden experimentellen Erhebung (N = 356) wurden die Teilnehmende zufällig einer von drei Untersuchungsbedingungen zugeordnet: In einem Informationstext über Smart Meter war eine (fingierte) entweder starke soziale Norm (Mehrheitsbedingung), eine schwache soziale Norm (Minderheitsbedingung) oder keine derartige soziale Information (Kontrollbedingung) enthalten. In einem nachfolgenden Test auf Wissenstransfer – als Indikator der Informationsverarbeitungstiefe – schnitten Personen mit geringerem Interesse an Smart Metern (also solche, die keine weiteren Informationen nachfragten) in der Mehrheitsbedingung am besten ab, wohingegen Personen mit größerem Interesse (fragten weitere Informationen nach) in der Minderheitsbedingung die beste Leistung erzielten. Auch diese Ergebnisse deuten auf unterschiedliche Informationsverarbeitungs- und Entscheidungsstrukturen je nach Wahrnehmung des bisherigen Verbreitungsgrads in Interaktion mit persönlichen Dispositionen hin. Aus den Ergebnissen lassen sich vielfältige Implikationen für ein verbessertes Marketing klimaschonender Innovationen, die umweltpolitische Praxis und für die weitere Forschung ableiten. Es wird empfohlen, bei der Kommunikation (z.B. im Rahmen zielgruppenspezifischer Kampagnen) soziale Normen und deren differentielle Wirkung auf die Verarbeitung innovationsbezogener Informationen gezielter zu nutzen. Da unter den aktuellen Rahmenbedingungen mit keiner hundertprozentigen Diffusion der betrachteten Innovationen in alle gesellschaftlichen Gruppen hinein zu rechnen ist, werden auf politischer Ebene neben „weichen“ politischen Instrumenten auch fiskalische oder ordnungsrechtliche Maßnahmen erforderlich sein. Schließlich erscheint es sinnvoll, sich in der weiteren Forschung stärker mit kommunikativen Prozessen wie beispielsweise Meinungsführerschaft oder dem Einfluss von Medienkampagnen und medialer Berichterstattung auseinander zu setzen.

Meter data management for smart monitoring power networks

The electrical power distribution and commercialization scenario is evolving worldwide, and electricity companies, faced with the challenge of new information requirements, are demanding IT solutions to deal with the smart monitoring of power networks. Two main challenges arise from data management and smart monitoring of power networks: real-time data acquisition and big data processing over short time periods. We present a solution in the form of a system architecture that conveys real time issues and has the capacity for big data management.

Planning smart cities using wireless low energy monitoring systems

Thesis to obtain the Master Degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering

Strategic Noise Mapping with GIS for the Universitat Jaume I Smart Campus: best methodology practices

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Calibration, selection and mosaicing of SMART-1 AMIE images

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores

Contributions towards smart cities : exploring block level census data for the characterization of change in Lisbon

The interest in using information to improve the quality of living in large urban areas and its governance efficiency has been around for decades. Nevertheless, the improvements in Information and Communications Technology has sparked a new dynamic in academic research, usually under the umbrella term of Smart Cities. This concept of Smart City can probably be translated, in a simplified version, into cities that are lived, managed and developed in an information-saturated environment. While it makes perfect sense and we can easily foresee the benefits of such a concept, presently there are still several significant challenges that need to be tackled before we can materialize this vision. In this work we aim at providing a small contribution in this direction, which maximizes the relevancy of the available information resources. One of the most detailed and geographically relevant information resource available, for the study of cities, is the census, more specifically the data available at block level (Subsecção Estatística). In this work, we use Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) and the variant Geo-SOM to explore the block level data from the Portuguese census of Lisbon city, for the years of 2001 and 2011. We focus on gauging change, proposing ways that allow the comparison of the two time periods, which have two different underlying geographical bases. We proceed with the analysis of the data using different SOM variants, aiming at producing a two-fold portrait: one, of the evolution of Lisbon during the first decade of the XXI century, another, of how the census dataset and SOM’s can be used to produce an informational framework for the study of cities.

Semantic and fuzzy modelling for human behaviour recognition in smart spaces : a case study on ambient assisted living.

Human activity recognition in everyday environments is a critical, but challenging task in Ambient Intelligence applications to achieve proper Ambient Assisted Living, and key challenges still remain to be dealt with to realize robust methods. One of the major limitations of the Ambient Intelligence systems today is the lack of semantic models of those activities on the environment, so that the system can recognize the speci c activity being performed by the user(s) and act accordingly. In this context, this thesis addresses the general problem of knowledge representation in Smart Spaces. The main objective is to develop knowledge-based models, equipped with semantics to learn, infer and monitor human behaviours in Smart Spaces. Moreover, it is easy to recognize that some aspects of this problem have a high degree of uncertainty, and therefore, the developed models must be equipped with mechanisms to manage this type of information. A fuzzy ontology and a semantic hybrid system are presented to allow modelling and recognition of a set of complex real-life scenarios where vagueness and uncertainty are inherent to the human nature of the users that perform it. The handling of uncertain, incomplete and vague data (i.e., missing sensor readings and activity execution variations, since human behaviour is non-deterministic) is approached for the rst time through a fuzzy ontology validated on real-time settings within a hybrid data-driven and knowledgebased architecture. The semantics of activities, sub-activities and real-time object interaction are taken into consideration. The proposed framework consists of two main modules: the low-level sub-activity recognizer and the high-level activity recognizer. The rst module detects sub-activities (i.e., actions or basic activities) that take input data directly from a depth sensor (Kinect). The main contribution of this thesis tackles the second component of the hybrid system, which lays on top of the previous one, in a superior level of abstraction, and acquires the input data from the rst module's output, and executes ontological inference to provide users, activities and their in uence in the environment, with semantics. This component is thus knowledge-based, and a fuzzy ontology was designed to model the high-level activities. Since activity recognition requires context-awareness and the ability to discriminate among activities in di erent environments, the semantic framework allows for modelling common-sense knowledge in the form of a rule-based system that supports expressions close to natural language in the form of fuzzy linguistic labels. The framework advantages have been evaluated with a challenging and new public dataset, CAD-120, achieving an accuracy of 90.1% and 91.1% respectively for low and high-level activities. This entails an improvement over both, entirely data-driven approaches, and merely ontology-based approaches. As an added value, for the system to be su ciently simple and exible to be managed by non-expert users, and thus, facilitate the transfer of research to industry, a development framework composed by a programming toolbox, a hybrid crisp and fuzzy architecture, and graphical models to represent and con gure human behaviour in Smart Spaces, were developed in order to provide the framework with more usability in the nal application. As a result, human behaviour recognition can help assisting people with special needs such as in healthcare, independent elderly living, in remote rehabilitation monitoring, industrial process guideline control, and many other cases. This thesis shows use cases in these areas.

Power quality, smart meters and additional information from different power terms

This paper shows how the detailed examination of active and nonactive power components may produce new information for modern smart meters. For this purpose, a prototype of electronic power meter has been implemented and applied to the evaluation of the Conservative Power Theory (CPT). Considering five sorts of loads, under four different operating conditions, the experimental results indicate that the CPT is able to provide a good methodology for load characterization, which could possibly benefits consumers and power utilities in several different ways. The results also show that depending on the situation, the analysis of nonactive power terms may be more important than the observation of traditional power quality indices, such as total harmonic distortion, unbalance factors or the fundamental positive sequence power factor.

Valutazione sperimentale delle prestazioni di un sistema di smart metering a 169 Mhz in ambiente urbano

Sono state valutate sperimentalmente le prestazioni di tre diversi collegamenti di Smart Metering in tre ambienti (urbano, sub-urbano e urbano denso) alla frequenza di 169 MHz. Grazie al calcolo del valore di Building Penetration Loss e dei valori di Path Loss è stato possibile stabilire le distanze massime di collegamento accentratore-meter al variare della probabilità di copertura.

Comprehensive measures of sound exposures in cinemas using smart phones

OBJECTIVES Sensorineural hearing loss from sound overexposure has a considerable prevalence. Identification of sound hazards is crucial, as prevention, due to a lack of definitive therapies, is the sole alternative to hearing aids. One subjectively loud, yet little studied, potential sound hazard is movie theaters. This study uses smart phones to evaluate their applicability as a widely available, validated sound pressure level (SPL) meter. Therefore, this study measures sound levels in movie theaters to determine whether sound levels exceed safe occupational noise exposure limits and whether sound levels in movie theaters differ as a function of movie, movie theater, presentation time, and seat location within the theater. DESIGN Six smart phones with an SPL meter software application were calibrated with a precision SPL meter and validated as an SPL meter. Additionally, three different smart phone generations were measured in comparison to an integrating SPL meter. Two different movies, an action movie and a children's movie, were measured six times each in 10 different venues (n = 117). To maximize representativeness, movies were selected focusing on large release productions with probable high attendance. Movie theaters were selected in the San Francisco, CA, area based on whether they screened both chosen movies and to represent the largest variety of theater proprietors. Measurements were analyzed in regard to differences between theaters, location within the theater, movie, as well as presentation time and day as indirect indicator of film attendance. RESULTS The smart phone measurements demonstrated high accuracy and reliability. Overall, sound levels in movie theaters do not exceed safe exposure limits by occupational standards. Sound levels vary significantly across theaters and demonstrated statistically significant higher sound levels and exposures in the action movie compared to the children's movie. Sound levels decrease with distance from the screen. However, no influence on time of day or day of the week as indirect indicator of film attendance could be found. CONCLUSIONS Calibrated smart phones with an appropriate software application as used in this study can be utilized as a validated SPL meter. Because of the wide availability, smart phones in combination with the software application can provide high quantity recreational sound exposure measurements, which can facilitate the identification of potential noise hazards. Sound levels in movie theaters decrease with distance to the screen, but do not exceed safe occupational noise exposure limits. Additionally, there are significant differences in sound levels across movie theaters and movies, but not in presentation time.

Evaluation of Three State-of-the-Art Classifiers for Recognition of Activities of Daily Living from Smart Home Ambient Data

Smart homes for the aging population have recently started attracting the attention of the research community. The "health state" of smart homes is comprised of many different levels; starting with the physical health of citizens, it also includes longer-term health norms and outcomes, as well as the arena of positive behavior changes. One of the problems of interest is to monitor the activities of daily living (ADL) of the elderly, aiming at their protection and well-being. For this purpose, we installed passive infrared (PIR) sensors to detect motion in a specific area inside a smart apartment and used them to collect a set of ADL. In a novel approach, we describe a technology that allows the ground truth collected in one smart home to train activity recognition systems for other smart homes. We asked the users to label all instances of all ADL only once and subsequently applied data mining techniques to cluster in-home sensor firings. Each cluster would therefore represent the instances of the same activity. Once the clusters were associated to their corresponding activities, our system was able to recognize future activities. To improve the activity recognition accuracy, our system preprocessed raw sensor data by identifying overlapping activities. To evaluate the recognition performance from a 200-day dataset, we implemented three different active learning classification algorithms and compared their performance: naive Bayesian (NB), support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF). Based on our results, the RF classifier recognized activities with an average specificity of 96.53%, a sensitivity of 68.49%, a precision of 74.41% and an F-measure of 71.33%, outperforming both the NB and SVM classifiers. Further clustering markedly improved the results of the RF classifier. An activity recognition system based on PIR sensors in conjunction with a clustering classification approach was able to detect ADL from datasets collected from different homes. Thus, our PIR-based smart home technology could improve care and provide valuable information to better understand the functioning of our societies, as well as to inform both individual and collective action in a smart city scenario.