Sub-agent elements for control methods in multi-agent energy management system

Increased penetration of generation and decentralised control are considered to be feasible and effective solution for reducing cost and emissions and hence efficiency associated with power generation and distribution. Distributed generation in combination with the multi-agent technology are perfect candidates for this solution. Pro-active and autonomous nature of multi-agent systems can provide an effective platform for decentralised control whilst improving reliability and flexibility of the grid.

A two-dimensional X-ray scattering system for in-situ time-resolving studies of polymer structures subjected to controlled deformations

A two-dimensional X-ray scattering system developed around a CCD-based area detector is presented, both in terms of hardware employed and software designed and developed. An essential feature is the integration of hardware and software, detection and sample environment control which enables time-resolving in-situ wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements of global structural and orientational parameters of polymeric systems subjected to a variety of controlled external fields. The development and operation of a number of rheometers purpose-built for the application of such fields are described. Examples of the use of this system in monitoring degrees of shear-induced orientation in liquid-crystalline systems and crystallization of linear polymers subsequent to shear flow are presented.

The causal surface and its effect on distribution transparency in a distributed virtual environment

One goal in the development of distributed virtual environments (DVEs) is to create a system such that users are unaware of the distribution-the distribution should be transparent. The paper begins by discussing the general issues in DVEs that might make this possible, and a system that allows some level of distribution transparency is described. The system described suffers from effects of inconsistency, which in turn cause undesirable visual effects. The causal surface is introduced as a solution that removes these visual effects. The paper then introduces two determining factors of distribution transparency relating to user perception and performance. With regard to these factors, two hypotheses are stated relating to the causal surface. A user-trial on forty-five subjects is used to validate the hypotheses. A discussion of the results of the trial concludes that the causal surface solution does significantly improve the distribution transparency in a DVE.

Distortion in Distributed Virtual Environments

This paper proposes a solution to the problems associated with network latency within distributed virtual environments. It begins by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of synchronous and asynchronous distributed models, in the areas of user and object representation and user-to-user interaction. By introducing a hybrid solution, which utilises the concept of a causal surface, the advantages of both synchronous and asynchronous models are combined. Object distortion is a characteristic feature of the hybrid system, and this is proposed as a solution which facilitates dynamic real-time user collaboration. The final section covers implementation details, with reference to a prototype system available from the Internet.

Random-walk-based characterisation of multiple access interference in a DS/SSMA system

The problem of calculating the probability of error in a DS/SSMA system has been extensively studied for more than two decades. When random sequences are employed some conditioning must be done before the application of the central limit theorem is attempted, leading to a Gaussian distribution. The authors seek to characterise the multiple access interference as a random-walk with a random number of steps, for random and deterministic sequences. Using results from random-walk theory, they model the interference as a K-distributed random variable and use it to calculate the probability of error in the form of a series, for a DS/SSMA system with a coherent correlation receiver and BPSK modulation under Gaussian noise. The asymptotic properties of the proposed distribution agree with other analyses. This is, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first attempt to propose a non-Gaussian distribution for the interference. The modelling can be extended to consider multipath fading and general modulation

Grid computing solutions for distributed repositories of protein folding and unfolding simulations

The P-found protein folding and unfolding simulation repository is designed to allow scientists to perform analyses across large, distributed simulation data sets. There are two storage components in P-found: a primary repository of simulation data and a data warehouse. Here we demonstrate how grid technologies can support multiple, distributed P-found installations. In particular we look at two aspects, first how grid data management technologies can be used to access the distributed data warehouses; and secondly, how the grid can be used to transfer analysis programs to the primary repositories --- this is an important and challenging aspect of P-found because the data volumes involved are too large to be centralised. The grid technologies we are developing with the P-found system will allow new large data sets of protein folding simulations to be accessed and analysed in novel ways, with significant potential for enabling new scientific discoveries.

P-found: grid-enabling distributed repositories of protein folding and unfolding simulations for data mining

The P-found protein folding and unfolding simulation repository is designed to allow scientists to perform data mining and other analyses across large, distributed simulation data sets. There are two storage components in P-found: a primary repository of simulation data that is used to populate the second component, and a data warehouse that contains important molecular properties. These properties may be used for data mining studies. Here we demonstrate how grid technologies can support multiple, distributed P-found installations. In particular, we look at two aspects: firstly, how grid data management technologies can be used to access the distributed data warehouses; and secondly, how the grid can be used to transfer analysis programs to the primary repositories — this is an important and challenging aspect of P-found, due to the large data volumes involved and the desire of scientists to maintain control of their own data. The grid technologies we are developing with the P-found system will allow new large data sets of protein folding simulations to be accessed and analysed in novel ways, with significant potential for enabling scientific discovery.

Demand response — a different form of distributed storage?

Reduced flexibility of low carbon generation could pose new challenges for future energy systems. Both demand response and distributed storage may have a role to play in supporting future system balancing. This paper reviews how these technically different, but functionally similar approaches compare and compete with one another. Household survey data is used to test the effectiveness of price signals to deliver demand responses for appliances with a high degree of agency. The underlying unit of storage for different demand response options is discussed, with particular focus on the ability to enhance demand side flexibility in the residential sector. We conclude that a broad range of options, with different modes of storage, may need to be considered, if residential demand flexibility is to be maximised.

Scaling up data mining techniques to large datasets using parallel and distributed processing

Advances in hardware and software technology enable us to collect, store and distribute large quantities of data on a very large scale. Automatically discovering and extracting hidden knowledge in the form of patterns from these large data volumes is known as data mining. Data mining technology is not only a part of business intelligence, but is also used in many other application areas such as research, marketing and financial analytics. For example medical scientists can use patterns extracted from historic patient data in order to determine if a new patient is likely to respond positively to a particular treatment or not; marketing analysts can use extracted patterns from customer data for future advertisement campaigns; finance experts have an interest in patterns that forecast the development of certain stock market shares for investment recommendations. However, extracting knowledge in the form of patterns from massive data volumes imposes a number of computational challenges in terms of processing time, memory, bandwidth and power consumption. These challenges have led to the development of parallel and distributed data analysis approaches and the utilisation of Grid and Cloud computing. This chapter gives an overview of parallel and distributed computing approaches and how they can be used to scale up data mining to large datasets.

FACSGen 2.0 animation software: generating three-dimensional FACS-valid facial expressions for emotion research

In this article, we present FACSGen 2.0, new animation software for creating static and dynamic threedimensional facial expressions on the basis of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). FACSGen permits total control over the action units (AUs), which can be animated at all levels of intensity and applied alone or in combination to an infinite number of faces. In two studies, we tested the validity of the software for the AU appearance defined in the FACS manual and the conveyed emotionality of FACSGen expressions. In Experiment 1, four FACS-certified coders evaluated the complete set of 35 single AUs and 54 AU combinations for AU presence or absence, appearance quality, intensity, and asymmetry. In Experiment 2, lay participants performed a recognition task on emotional expressions created with FACSGen software and rated the similarity of expressions displayed by human and FACSGen faces. Results showed good to excellent classification levels for all AUs by the four FACS coders, suggesting that the AUs are valid exemplars of FACS specifications. Lay participants’ recognition rates for nine emotions were high, and comparisons of human and FACSGen expressions were very similar. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the software in producing reliable and emotionally valid expressions, and suggest its application in numerous scientific areas, including perception, emotion, and clinical and euroscience research.

The ICL CAFS-ISP System

Special issue of the ICL Technical Journal on the theme of the Content-Addressable File Store: editor Guy Haworth. Twelve invited papers covering hardware, software, system integration, patents, applications and futures.

Massive Science with VO and Grids

There is a growing need for massive computational resources for the analysis of new astronomical datasets. To tackle this problem, we present here our first steps towards marrying two new and emerging technologies; the Virtual Observatory (e.g, AstroGrid) and the computa- tional grid (e.g. TeraGrid, COSMOS etc.). We discuss the construction of VOTechBroker, which is a modular software tool designed to abstract the tasks of submission and management of a large number of compu- tational jobs to a distributed computer system. The broker will also interact with the AstroGrid workflow and MySpace environments. We discuss our planned usages of the VOTechBroker in computing a huge number of n–point correlation functions from the SDSS data and mas- sive model-fitting of millions of CMBfast models to WMAP data. We also discuss other applications including the determination of the XMM Cluster Survey selection function and the construction of new WMAP maps.

Statistical computations with AstroGrid and the Grid

We outline our first steps towards marrying two new and emerging technologies; the Virtual Observatory (e.g, Astro- Grid) and the computational grid. We discuss the construction of VOTechBroker, which is a modular software tool designed to abstract the tasks of submission and management of a large number of computational jobs to a distributed computer system. The broker will also interact with the AstroGrid workflow and MySpace environments. We present our planned usage of the VOTechBroker in computing a huge number of n–point correlation functions from the SDSS, as well as fitting over a million CMBfast models to the WMAP data.

Assessing the performance of a building integrated BP c-Si PV system

In this study, the performance, yield and characteristics of a 16 year old photovoltaic (PV) system installation have been investigated. The technology, BP Saturn modules which were steel-blue polycrystalline silicon cells are no longer in production. A bespoke monitoring system has been designed to monitor the characteristics of 6 refurbished strings, of 18 modules connected in series. The total output of the system is configured to 6.5 kWp (series to parallel configuration). In addition to experimental results, the performance ratio (PR) of known values was simulated using PVSyst, a simulation software package. From calculations using experimental values, the PV system showed approximately 10% inferior power outputs to what would have been expected as standard test conditions. However, efficiency values in comparison to standard test conditions and the performance ratio (w75% from PVSyst simulations) over the past decade have remained practically the same. This output though very relevant to the possible performance and stability of aging cells, requires additional parametric studies to develop a more robust argument. The result presented in this paper is part of an on-going investigation into PV system aging effects.

Cost function for sub-agent elements in multi-agent energy management system

Distributed generation plays a key role in reducing CO2 emissions and losses in transmission of power. However, due to the nature of renewable resources, distributed generation requires suitable control strategies to assure reliability and optimality for the grid. Multi-agent systems are perfect candidates for providing distributed control of distributed generation stations as well as providing reliability and flexibility for the grid integration. The proposed multi-agent energy management system consists of single-type agents who control one or more gird entities, which are represented as generic sub-agent elements. The agent applies one control algorithm across all elements and uses a cost function to evaluate the suitability of the element as a supplier. The behavior set by the agent's user defines which parameters of an element have greater weight in the cost function, which allows the user to specify the preference on suppliers dynamically. This study shows the ability of the multi-agent energy management system to select suppliers according to the selection behavior given by the user. The optimality of the supplier for the required demand is ensured by the cost function based on the parameters of the element.