A novel target following solution for the electric powered hospital bed

© 2015 IEEE. The paper proposes a novel target following solution for an electric powered hospital bed. First, an improved real-time decoupling multivariable control strategy is introduced to stabilize the overall system during its operation. Environment laser-based data are then collected and pre-processed before engaging a neural network classifier for target detection. Finally, a high-level control algorithm is implemented to guarantee safety condition while the hospital bed tracks its target. The proposed solution is successfully validated through real-time experiments

Screening of energy efficient technologies for industrial buildings' retrofit

This chapter discusses screening of energy efficient technologies for industrial buildings' retrofit

Index to 1981 NASA Tech Briefs, volume 6, numbers 1-4

Short announcements of new technology derived from the R&D activities of NASA are presented. These briefs emphasize information considered likely to be transferrable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. This index for 1981 Tech Briefs contains abstracts and four indexes: subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief Number. The following areas are covered: electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, life sciences, mechanics, machinery, fabrication technology, and mathematics and information sciences

Solar thermal heating and cooling. A bibliography with abstracts

This bibliographic series cites and abstracts the literature and technical papers on the heating and cooling of buildings with solar thermal energy. Over 650 citations are arranged in the following categories: space heating and cooling systems; space heating and cooling models; building energy conservation; architectural considerations, thermal load computations; thermal load measurements, domestic hot water, solar and atmospheric radiation, swimming pools; and economics

Solar-Powered Rankine Cycle Assisted by an Innovative Calcium Looping Process as an Energy Storage System

Solar energy is an intermittent resource, and thus an energy storage system is required for practical applications of the collected solar irradiance. This work deals with the integration of a thermo-chemical energy storage (TCES) system based on the calcium looping (CaL) process with a concentrated solar tower power (CSP) plant. The objective of this work is the integration of a conventional 320 MWe Rankine cycle with a direct calcination for energy harvesting. Particularly, this work addresses the use of CO2 as the working fluid of a compressed-gas energy storage (CGES) system for hybrid energy storage with the CaL process. The hybrid TC/CG-ES (thermo-chemical/compressed-gas energy storage) system can increase the competitiveness of the CSP with respect to conventional fossil-based power plants leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions. The thermal integration with the calcium looping (CaL) system is optimized by means of the pinch analysis methodology. The obtained results show a reduction in the electrical efficiency of about four percentage points with respect to the conventional Rankine power cycle without the CSP unit: the net electrical efficiency reduces from 43.7% to 39.5% while the global (thermal and electrical) efficiency of the plant reaches the peak value of 51.5% when low enthalpy energy is recovered (e.g., district heating network, district cooling network). This paper highlights the importance of the thermochemical CaO based material. With a conversion of CaO to CaCO3 of 80% the storage efficiency is defined as the ratio of the energy released during the carbonation and the CO2 expansion to the energy collected by the solar field and required during the CO2 compression, which is 87.3%

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 182, July 1978

This bibliography lists 165 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in June 1978

Smart Devices and Systems for Wearable Applications

Wearable technologies need a smooth and unobtrusive integration of electronics and smart materials into textiles. The integration of sensors, actuators and computing technologies able to sense, react and adapt to external stimuli, is the expression of a new generation of wearable devices. The vision of wearable computing describes a system made by embedded, low power and wireless electronics coupled with smart and reliable sensors - as an integrated part of textile structure or directly in contact with the human body. Therefore, such system must maintain its sensing capabilities under the demand of normal clothing or textile substrate, which can impose severe mechanical deformation to the underlying garment/substrate. The objective of this thesis is to introduce a novel technological contribution for the next generation of wearable devices adopting a multidisciplinary approach in which knowledge of circuit design with Ultra-Wide Band and Bluetooth Low Energy technology, realization of smart piezoresistive / piezocapacitive and electro-active material, electro-mechanical characterization, design of read-out circuits and system integration find a fundamental and necessary synergy. The context and the results presented in this thesis follow an “applications driven” method in terms of wearable technology. A proof of concept has been designed and developed for each addressed issue. The solutions proposed are aimed to demonstrate the integration of a touch/pressure sensor into a fabric for space debris detection (CApture DEorbiting Target project), the effectiveness of the Ultra-Wide Band technology as an ultra-low power data transmission option compared with well known Bluetooth (IR-UWB data transmission project) and to solve issues concerning human proximity estimation (IR-UWB Face-to-Face Interaction and Proximity Sensor), wearable actuator for medical applications (EAPtics project) and aerospace physiology countermeasure (Gravity Loading Countermeasure Skinsuit project)

Selected Papers from SDEWES 2017: The 12th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems

EU energy policy is more and more promoting a resilient, efficient and sustainable energy system. Several agreements have been signed in the last few months that set ambitious goals in terms of energy efficiency and emission reductions and to reduce the energy consumption in buildings. These actions are expected to fulfill the goals negotiated at the Paris Agreement in 2015. The successful development of this ambitious energy policy needs to be supported by scientific knowledge: a huge effort must be made in order to develop more efficient energy conversion technologies based both on renewables and fossil fuels. Similarly, researchers are also expected to work on the integration of conventional and novel systems, also taking into account the needs for the management of the novel energy systems in terms of energy storage and devices management. Therefore, a multi-disciplinary approach is required in order to achieve these goals. To ensure that the scientists belonging to the different disciplines are aware of the scientific progress in the other research areas, specific Conferences are periodically organized. One of the most popular conferences in this area is the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Series Conference. The 12th Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Conference was recently held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The present Special Issue of Energies, specifically dedicated to the 12th SDEWES Conference, is focused on five main fields: energy policy and energy efficiency in smart energy systems, polygeneration and district heating, advanced combustion techniques and fuels, biomass and building efficiency