scholarly journals Commissioning of the Controlled and Automatized Testing Facility for Human Behavior and Control (CASITA)

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 2829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽  
Aurora González Vidal ◽  
Alfonso Ramallo González ◽  
Miguel Zamora

Human behavior is one of the most challenging aspects in the understanding of building physics. The need to evaluate it requires controlled environments and facilities in which researchers can test their methods. In this paper, we present the commissioning of the Controlled and Automatized Testing Facility for Human Behavior (CASITA). This is a controlled space emulation of an office or flat, with more than 20 environmental sensors, 5 electrical meters, and 10 actuators. Our contribution shown in this paper is the development of an infrastructure-Artificial Intelligence (AI) model pair that is perfectly integrated for the study of a variety of human energy use aspects. This facility will help to perform studies about human behavior in a controlled space. To verify this, we have tested this emulation for 60 days, in which equipment was turned on and off, the settings of the conditioning system were modified remotely, and lighting operation was similar to that in real behaviors. This period of commissioning generated 74.4 GB of raw data including high-frequency measurements. This work has shown that CASITA performs beyond expectations and that sensors and actuators could enable research on a variety of disciplines related to building physics and human behavior. Also, we have tested the PROPHET software, which was previously used in other disciplines and found that it could be an excellent complement to CASITA for experiments that require the prediction of several pertinent variables in a given study. Our contribution has also been to proof that this package is an ideal “soft” addition to the infrastructure. A case study forecasting energy consumption has been performed, concluding that the facility and the software PROPHET have a great potential for research and an outstanding accuracy.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1674 (1) ◽  
pp. 012020
Author(s):  
R Prada-Núñez ◽  
E T Ayala ◽  
W R Avendaño-Castro

Abstract This article arises as a proposal in view of the need to evaluate the scientific competences promoted by teachers of the subject of physics at the level of basic secondary and secondary technical education. A valid questionnaire was designed from the application of scalar analysis, factorial analysis and content analysis, which is composed of 49 items evaluated by means of a Likert scale with five levels of response. It was applied in a sample of 249 students enrolled in a public educational institution during 2019, characterized by their good results in the area of physics in state tests. The results allowed the identification of strengths in the four dimensions proposed by the Ministerio de Educación Nacional, Colombia (pedagogical, didactic, disciplinary and behavioural), in contrast with some weaknesses within which the evaluation process stands out as the one with the greatest impact, since the students state that this process is assumed by the teacher as a mechanism of pressure and control. When investigating the teachers in a complementary way, positions were determined that were totally opposite to those held by the students, then it is suggested for future research to consider both the students and the teachers as informants and a supervision of the students’ notes as the end of triangulating the results to refine the conclusions, on which future improvement plans will depend.


Author(s):  
H. S. Tzou ◽  
R. Ye

Abstract Piezothermoelastic effects of distributed piezoelectric sensors and actuators are investigated. Vibration control of piezoelectric laminates subjected to a steady-state temperature field is studied. A new 3-D piezothermoelastic finite element with three internal degrees of freedom is formulated using a variational formulation. A system equation for the piezoelectric continuum exposed to combined elastic, electric, and thermal fields is formulated. Distributed sensing and control equations are derived. All these effects are studied in a case study.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 3643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abba ◽  
Namkusong ◽  
Lee ◽  
Crespo

Irrigation systems are becoming increasingly important, owing to the increase in human population, global warming, and food demand. This study aims to design a low-cost autonomous sensor interface to automate the monitoring and control of irrigation systems in remote locations, and to optimize water use for irrigation farming. An internet of things-based irrigation monitoring and control system, employing sensors and actuators, is designed to facilitate the autonomous supply of adequate water from a reservoir to domestic crops in a smart irrigation systems. System development lifecycle and waterfall model design methodologies have been employed in the development paradigm. The Proteus 8.5 design suite, Arduino integrated design environment, and embedded C programming language are commonly used to develop and implement a real working prototype. A pumping mechanism has been used to supply the water required by the soil. The prototype provides power supply, sensing, monitoring and control, and internet connectivity capabilities. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate the flexibility and practical applicability of the proposed system, and are of paramount importance, not only to farmers, but also for the expansion of economic activity. Furthermore, this system reduces the high level of supervision required to supply irrigation water, enabling remote monitoring and control.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1158
Author(s):  
Behrad Bezyan ◽  
Radu Zmeureanu

In most cases, the benchmarking models of energy use in houses are developed based on current and past data, and they continue to be used without any update. This paper proposes the method of retraining of benchmarking models by applying machine learning techniques when new measurements are made available. The method uses as a case study the measurements of heating energy demand from two semi-detached houses of Northern Canada. The results of the prediction of heating energy demand using static or augmented window techniques are compared with measurements. The daily energy signature is used as a benchmarking model due to its simplicity and performance. However, the proposed retraining method can be applied to any form of benchmarking model. The method should be applied in all possible situations, and be an integral part of intelligent building automation and control systems (BACS) for the ongoing commissioning for building energy-related applications.


Author(s):  
Gustave J. Rath ◽  
William P. Allman

This paper discusses the use of computing machines in the biological and social sciences, namely the ultilization of computerized behavior analysis systems in the quantification of human behavior. Only systems of which living human organisms are a part are considered. Some specific functional uses of computers for stimulus preparation and presentation, response collection, and apparatus scheduling and control are presented. All of these functions may be performed by automated systems characterized by the amount of experimental integration and control performed by the computer. Systems types include on-line open-loop, on-line closed loop single or multiple purpose, and off-line. The multiple-man, multiple-purpose system which permits numerous automated investigations upon different source subjects to occur simultaneously is highlighted as the culmination of current automated behavioral analysis systems. But the possibility of behavioral scientists “tapping” into operating systems is presented as possibly having revolutionary consequences with respect to the data gathering of human behaviour. Finally, a general automated behavioral analysis system schematic assists in discussing current advantages, potential advances, and impending limitations of contributions of computers to the quantification of human behavior.


Author(s):  
Md. Abdullah Al Harun Khan Chowdhury

In Bangladesh, transport sectors are developing rapidly to meet the increasing demand for transporting passengers and freight inside and outside the country. But there is not such development in railway transport system. The Bangladesh Railway transport system is still using an old technology to monitor and control signalling, scheduling, operations etc. This paper describes various problems in the existing systems and also solutions have been provided considering the existing railway transport systems of Bangladesh. A new system has been developed to control and monitor the total railway transport system from remote locations. While designing the system, various sensors and actuators have been introduced and also Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been applied in the field of railway transport. So a Machatronics aspect of system has been designed to ensure a collision free, safe and efficient operation and management of railway transport system. This system is not only for monitoring and controlling of railway transport but also ensures efficient asset management. As a result face-to-face accidents, cross-road accidents and accidents due to railway line displacements or breakage can be avoided and there will be no loss of assets and valuable human lives.


1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mahdavi ◽  
P. Mathew ◽  
S. Kumar ◽  
V. Hartkopf ◽  
V. Loftness

Author(s):  
Tahereh Mirmohammadi ◽  
Arun K. Misra ◽  
Dan Mateescu

In the recent years, using piezoelectric material as sensors and actuators has drawn significant attention in vibration analysis and control of structures. In the present paper, bonded piezoelectric sensors and actuators have been used to control the aeroelastic oscillations of a cantilever wing under the effects of three-dimensional unsteady subsonic aerodynamic loading. An aerodynamic model using a numerical panel method is developed and validated to calculate the three-dimensional unsteady aerodynamic loading and finite element formulation is applied to model the wing structure as a cantilever plate undergoing small transverse oscillations. The structural and aerodynamic models are combined to simulate the aeroelastic oscillations and interchange the data simultaneously. An active feedback control method to suppress the oscillations is presented and investigated. Finally, an analysis is performed to examine the effects of actuator placement on the wing surface in suppression of oscillations.


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