Tailored gamification and serious game framework based on fuzzy logic for saving energy in connected thermostats

Connected thermostats (CTs) often save less energy than predicted because consumers may not know how to use them and may not be engaged in saving energy. Additionally, several models perform contrary to consumers’ expectations and are thus not used the way they are intended to. As a result, CTs save less energy and are underused in households. This paper reviews aspects of gamification and serious games focused on engaging consumers. A gamification and serious games framework is proposed for saving energy that is tailored by a fuzzy logic system to motivate connected thermostat consumers. This intelligent gamification framework can be used to customize the gamification and serious game strategy to each consumer so that fuzzy logic systems can be adapted according to the requirements of each consumer. The framework is designed to teach, engage, and motivate consumers while helping them save electrical energy when using their thermostats. It is described the proposed framework as well as a mockup that can be run on a cellphone. Although this framework is designed to be implemented in CTs, it can be translated to their energy devices in smart homes

Multi-Agent Systems Applications in Energy Optimization Problems: A State-of-the-Art Review

[EN] This article reviews the state-of-the-art developments in Multi-Agent Systems (MASs) and their application to energy optimization problems. This methodology and related tools have contributed to changes in various paradigms used in energy optimization. Behavior and interactions between agents are key elements that must be understood in order to model energy optimization solutions that are robust, scalable and context-aware. The concept of MAS is introduced in this paper and it is compared with traditional approaches in the development of energy optimization solutions. The different types of agent-based architectures are described, the role played by the environment is analysed and we look at how MAS recognizes the characteristics of the environment to adapt to it. Moreover, it is discussed how MAS can be used as tools that simulate the results of different actions aimed at reducing energy consumption. Then, we look at MAS as a tool that makes it easy to model and simulate certain behaviors. This modeling and simulation is easily extrapolated to the energy field, and can even evolve further within this field by using the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. Therefore, we can argue that MAS is a widespread approach in the field of energy optimization and that it is commonly used due to its capacity for the communication, coordination, cooperation of agents and the robustness that this methodology gives in assigning different tasks to agents. Finally, this article considers how MASs can be used for various purposes, from capturing sensor data to decision-making. We propose some research perspectives on the development of electrical optimization solutions through their development using MASs. In conclusion, we argue that researchers in the field of energy optimization should use multi-agent systems at those junctures where it is necessary to model energy efficiency solutions that involve a wide range of factors, as well as context independence that they can achieve through the addition of new agents or agent organizations, enabling the development of energy-efficient solutions for smart cities and intelligent buildings

Conversational Agents for Energy Awareness and Efficiency: A Survey

The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote energy efficiency is crucial to achieve the energy transition and sustainable development goals. The availability of tools that provide clear information on energy consumption plays a key role in this transition, enabling users to monitor, manage, and optimize their energy use. This process, commonly referred to as energy feedback or eco-feedback, involves delivering information regarding energy usage and potentially suggesting more sustainable practices. Within the range of available tools, conversational agents can represent a valuable channel to receive detailed information about energy consumption and tailored advice for improving energy efficiency. The aim of this article is thus to explore the application of conversational agents, focusing on eco-feedback, as these tools are primarily devised to foster user awareness of energy usage and enhance more participatory conservation strategies. To this end, we conducted a keyword-based search of major scientific article databases, applying strict criteria to select relevant studies. The results of the collection showed that there is a very diverse landscape with respect to this topic. The surveyed works exhibit a high versatility in feedback goals. Furthermore, while predominantly applied domestically, they also show potential in commercial and industrial settings. Implementation choices also vary to a great extent, while evaluation practices lack a systematic approach and highlight the need for greater consistency. In light of these remarks, we also outline possible future extensions of this type of application, exploring in particular the emerging challenges associated with the increased use of renewable sources and the rise of local decentralized energy communities

Data fusion strategies for energy efficiency in buildings: Overview, challenges and novel orientations

Recently, tremendous interest has been devoted to develop data fusion strategies for energy efficiency in buildings, where various kinds of information can be processed. However, applying the appropriate data fusion strategy to design an efficient energy efficiency system is not straightforward; it requires a priori knowledge of existing fusion strategies, their applications and their properties. To this regard, seeking to provide the energy research community with a better understanding of data fusion strategies in building energy saving systems, their principles, advantages, and potential applications, this paper proposes an extensive survey of existing data fusion mechanisms deployed to reduce excessive consumption and promote sustainability. We investigate their conceptualizations, advantages, challenges and drawbacks, as well as performing a taxonomy of existing data fusion strategies and other contributing factors. Following, a comprehensive comparison of the state-of-the-art data fusion based energy efficiency frameworks is conducted using various parameters, including data fusion level, data fusion techniques, behavioral change influencer, behavioral change incentive, recorded data, platform architecture, IoT technology and application scenario. Moreover, a novel method for electrical appliance identification is proposed based on the fusion of 2D local texture descriptors, where 1D power signals are transformed into 2D space and treated as images. The empirical evaluation, conducted on three real datasets, shows promising performance, in which up to 99.68% accuracy and 99.52% F1 score have been attained. In addition, various open research challenges and future orientations to improve data fusion based energy efficiency ecosystems are explored

Increasing the Capacity of Primary Care Through Enabling Technology.

Primary care is the foundation of effective and high-quality health care. The role of primary care clinicians has expanded to encompass coordination of care across multiple providers and management of more patients with complex conditions. Enabling technology has the potential to expand the capacity for primary care clinicians to provide integrated, accessible care that channels expertise to the patient and brings specialty consultations into the primary care clinic. Furthermore, technology offers opportunities to engage patients in advancing their health through improved communication and enhanced self-management of chronic conditions. This paper describes enabling technologies in four domains (the body, the home, the community, and the primary care clinic) that can support the critical role primary care clinicians play in the health care system. It also identifies challenges to incorporating these technologies into primary care clinics, care processes, and workflow

Review of Serious Energy Games : Objectives, Approaches, Applications, Data Integration, and Performance Assessment

In recent years, serious energy games (SEGs) garnered increasing attention as an innovative and effective approach to tackling energy-related challenges. This review delves into the multifaceted landscape of SEG, specifically focusing on their wide-ranging applications in various contexts. The study investigates potential enhancements in user engagement achieved through integrating social connections, personalization, and data integration. Among the main challenges identified, previous studies overlooked the full potential of serious games in addressing emerging needs in energy systems, opting for oversimplified approaches. Further, these studies exhibit limited scalability and constrained generalizability, which poses challenges in applying their findings to larger energy systems and diverse scenarios. By incorporating lessons learned from prior experiences, this review aims to propel the development of SEG toward more innovative and impactful directions. It is firmly believed that positive behavior changes among individuals can be effectively encouraged by using SEG

Smart City Ontologies and Their Applications: A Systematic Literature Review

The increasing interconnections of city services, the explosion of available urban data, and the need for multidisciplinary analysis and decision making for city sustainability require new technological solutions to cope with such complexity. Ontologies have become viable and effective tools to practitioners for developing applications requiring data and process interoperability, big data management, and automated reasoning on knowledge. We investigate how and to what extent ontologies have been used to support smart city services and we provide a comprehensive reference on what problems have been addressed and what has been achieved so far with ontology-based applications. To this purpose, we conducted a systematic literature review finalized to presenting the ontologies, and the methods and technological systems where ontologies play a relevant role in shaping current smart cities. Based on the result of the review process, we also propose a classification of the sub-domains of the city addressed by the ontologies we found, and the research issues that have been considered so far by the scientific community. We highlight those for which semantic technologies have been mostly demonstrated to be effective to enhance the smart city concept and, finally, discuss in more details about some open problems

Last mile delivery

Last mile delivery is one of the most complex processes in the whole logistics process. This is because it involves many uncertainties, such as weather conditions, road conditions, traffic, car accidents, delivery vehicle anomalies, choice of route, avoiding parcel damage and delivery errors, and communication with the retailer or the recipient of the parcel; all this makes the successful delivery of parcels at the customers’ doorstep difficult. In addition, today’s consumers have much greater expectations regarding delivery services, they demand to receive their parcels much faster or be able to choose the time and place of delivery. All this increases the cost of last mile delivery, accounting for 40% of overall supply chain costs. E-commerce giants such as Amazon can invest a large number of resources into creating optimal last mile delivery solutions, establish numerous warehouses throughout countries which enable them to store the parcels as close to the end user as possible. However, companies that do not have as many resources may find it difficult to satisfy the delivery expectations of their customers; longer and inflexible waiting times, as well as additional payment for delivery may cause companies to quickly lose competitiveness on the market. This means that companies must turn to technological solutions that are going to help them to improve their last mile delivery effectively but at a reasonably low price. Big Data are the basis of all smart solutions. This is because collecting large amounts of data makes it possible to extract information and make future predictions on the basis of past patterns

Collaboration of Smart IoT Devices Exemplified With Smart Cupboards

[EN] The variety of smart things connected to Internet hampers the possibility of having a standalone solution for service-centric provisioning in the Internet of Things (IoT). The different features of smart objects in processing capabilities, memory, and size make it difficult for final users to learn the installation and usage of all these devices in collaboration with other IoT objects, hindering the user experience. In this context, we propose a collaboration mechanism for IoT devices based on the multi-agent systems with mobile agents. This paper illustrates the current approach with smart cupboards for potentially tracking memory losses. The user study revealed that users found working products of this approach usable, easy-to-learn and useful, and they agreed that the current approach could provide a high quality of experience not only in the specific case of service-centric IoT devices for tracking memory losses but also in other domains. The learning capability by means of this approach was showed with significant reductions of reaction times and number of errors over the first and second tests with the current approach. System response timesThis work was supported in part by the Dpto. de Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidad del Gobierno de Aragon through the program FEDER Aragon 2014-2020 Construyendo Europa desde Aragon under Grant T49_17R, in part by the University of Zaragoza and the Foundation Ibercaja through the Research Project Construccion de un framework para agilizar el desarrollo de aplicaciones moviles en el ambito de la salud under Grant JIUZ-2017-TEC-03, in part by the Estancias de movilidad en el extranjero Jose Castillejo para jovenes doctores Program, Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, under Grant CAS17/00005, in part by the Universidad de Zaragoza, Fundacion Bancaria Ibercaja and Fundacion CAI, Programa Ibercaja-CAI de Estancias de Investigacion, under Grant IT24/16 and Grant IT1/18, in part by the Research Project Desarrollo Colaborativo de Soluciones AAL, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, under Grant TIN2014-57028-R, in part by the Organismo Autonomo Programas Educativos Europeos under Grant 2013-1-CZ1-GRU06-14277, and in part by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad through the Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnica de Excelencia, Subprograma Estatal de Generacion de Conocimiento, under Grant TIN2017-84802-C2-1-P.García-Magariño, I.; González-Landero, F.; Amariglio, R.; Lloret, J. (2019). Collaboration of Smart IoT Devices Exemplified With Smart Cupboards. IEEE Access. 7:9881-9892. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2890393S98819892

Supporting active and healthy aging with advanced robotics integrated in smart environment

The technological advances in the robotic and ICT fields represent an effective solution to address specific societal problems to support ageing and independent life. One of the key factors for these technologies is the integration of service robotics for optimising social services and improving quality of life of the elderly population. This chapter aims to underline the barriers of the state of the art, furthermore the authors present their concrete experiences to overcome these barriers gained at the RoboTown Living Lab of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna within past and current projects. They analyse and discuss the results in order to give recommendations based on their experiences. Furthermore, this work highlights the trend of development from stand-alone solutions to cloud computing architecture, describing the future research directions