Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions

Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers, involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems. SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues, challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems

Smart cities air pollution monitoring system - Developing a potential data collecting platform based on Raspberry Pi

>Magister Scientiae - MScAir pollution is becoming a challenging issue in our daily lives due to advanced industrialization. This thesis presents a solution to collection and dissemination of pollution data. Most of the devices that monitor air quality are costly and have limited features. The aim of this study is to revisit the issue of pollution in cities with the aim of providing a cheaper and scalable solution to the challenge of pollution data collection and dissemination. The solution proposed in this paper uses Raspberry Pi and Arduino micro-controller boards as the foundation, combined with specific sensors to facilitate the collection and transfer of pollution data reliably and effectively. While most traditional air pollution monitoring equipment and similar projects use memory cards as a medium for data storage, the system proposed in this research is built around a new network selection model that transfers data to the server by using either Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GSM, or the LoRa protocol. The connectivity protocol is selected automatically and opportunistically by the network selection algorithm defined in the micro-controller board. The final data will be presented to the user through a mobile application and website interface effectively and intuitively after being processed in the server. This data transfer system can effectively reduce the cost and input of human resources. It is a viable solution. For other environmental research, this system can provide an air quality data support for analysis and reference. Modularity and cost-effectiveness are fully considered when designing the system. It is a viable solution. We can generalize the system by slightly changing the data transmission modules. In other case, it can be used as a platform for similar data transmission and offer help for other research directions

Edge of the network device for a low power wide area network

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e ComputadoresThe widespread of Internet connection, particularly on small devices (embedded systems), has allowed the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) concept, due to the connection of these devices to web micro services (Cloud), and has had a major role in Industry 4.0 [1]. Through the advances of wireless technologies, these devices were able to have an Internet connection, becoming available everywhere. The creation of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) has enabled the use of networks composed of independent devices (nodes or edge devices), equipped with sensors and actuators, and made it possible to collect information about the environment where they are deployed [2]. The growing necessity of having a wider coverage area for Wireless Sensor Networks, along with the demanding low power requirements on devices has enabled Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technologies to arise. These technologies are able to reach further coverage than conventional wireless technologies (such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee etc), as well as raising the energy autonomy of the devices [3], which makes LPWA technologies ideal for wider areas. The recent tragedies of wildfires in Portugal, in both 2017 and 2018, had great impact on economic and social levels. Early detection and alerts about wildfires are crucial to prevent them from spreading [4]. Therefore, by using LPWA technologies in forests, a case study can be made for the wildfire occurrences in forests. Through the use of independent devices equipped with sensors, data can be collected from the environment that might detect that a fire is starting, and then send alerts to fire fighting units. In this Master’s thesis it was developed the architecture of sensor nodes, to be integrated in a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). By using the LoRa technology to achieve a long range between the sensor nodes and the network coordinator, it is possible for edge devices to collect and send data to upper levels of the network. It was possible to gather information about the environment and further understand LoRa’s potential for sending all the data to the upper levels of the network.A proliferação da conexão à Internet, especialmente em pequenos dispositivos (sistemas embebidos), permitiu o desenvolvimento do conceito Internet of Things (IoT), devido à possibilidade de ligação destes a micro serviços web (Cloud), tendo um papel crucial no desenrolar da Indústria 4.0 [1]. Tendo como principal impulsionador o avanço tecnológico das redes sem fios, foi possível ligar estes dispositivos à Internet, tornando-os acessíveis em qualquer lado. Assim, surgiram as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), através da utilização de redes de dispositivos independentes (nós ou edge devices), equipados com sensores e atuadores, possibilitando a recolha de informação sobre o meio onde estão colocados [2]. A crescente necessidade de cobrir áreas cada vez maiores para este tipo de redes, associada a requisitos mais exigentes de consumo energético reduzido nos dispositivos, abriu caminho para o aparecimento das tecnologias Low Power Wide Area (LPWA). Este tipo de tecnologias consegue alcances superiores em relação às redes sem fios convencionais (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, entre outros), permitindo maior autonomia dos nós sensores [3], tornando-se assim ideais para a sua utilização em áreas alargadas. As recentes tragédias de incêndios que ocorreram em Portugal, em particular nos anos de 2017 e 2018, tiveram grande impacto tanto a nível económico como social. A deteção e alerta precoce de incêndios são fatores cruciais para evitar a sua propagação [4]. Utilizando as tecnologias LPWA em contexto florestal poderá criar-se um caso de estudo para a ocorrência de incêndios em florestas. Através da utilização de edge devices, poderá ser possível recolher dados provenientes deste meio que indiquem a existência de um incêndio a deflagrar, e enviar alertas para as unidades de combate a incêndios. Nesta dissertação foi desenvolvida a arquitetura dos nós sensores, a serem integrados numa Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). Utilizando tecnologia LoRa para obter um longo alcance entre os nós e o coordenador da rede, poderá desta forma ser possível os nós sensores recolherem e enviarem dados para as camadas superiores. Foi possível, com a utilização de sensores nos nós, recolher informações sobre o ambiente e perceber o potencial da tecnologia LoRa para o envio destes dados para as camadas superiores

Towards Smart Sensing Systems: A New Approach to Environmental Monitoring Systems by Using LoRaWAN

The proliferation of monitoring in unpredictable environments has aided the world in solving challenges that were previously thought to be insurmountable. Drastic advancement has been pinpointed in the way we live, work, and play; however, the data odyssey has yet started. From sensing to monitoring, the endless possibility enabled by LoRa, the long-range low power solution has made its mark on the technological world. With the adoption of the LoRaWAN, the long-range low power wide area network has appeared in existence to cope with the constraints associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure. This paper presents a practical experiment for sensing the environmental condition using the LoRaWAN solution. The proposed work allows the users to check the environmental effects (temperature, and humidity) online. Furthermore, the signal behavior has been recorded and cross-verified by using MATLAB software implementation

Real Time Performance Testing of LoRa-LPWAN Based Environmental Monitoring UAV System

Aerial drones are emerging in industrial and environmental monitoring as they are effective tools that are able to reach far and isolated areas. However, the regularity communication developments have not grown as fast as the technology needs. Either due to the lack of communication coverage or power inefficiency. As a result, some other solution should be proposed such as the internet of things. Internet of Things technology has a great potential of becoming a leading industry since it makes objects able to communicate with each other. IOT/M2M (Internet of Things/Machine-to-machine) communication could be used in a wide range of applications such as environmental surveillance and monitoring systems. These systems could be fixed ends or moving ends like an Unmanned Ariel vehicle (UAV). In this case, LoRa/LPWAN (Long Range Communication) / (Low Power Wide Area Network) is selected to be the best candidate, since it provides a wide coverage area and power efficient systems. This thesis develops and tests a communication scheme prototype for environmental UAV monitoring system using LoRa-LPWAN. Also, a functional testbed for testing the prototype is proposed as well. The prototype was tested in different environmental sites such as line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight environments. The developed scheme performs successfully in harsh environments and its readings were fully documented throughout this thesis

Sistema de comunicação sem fios de suporte à monitorização ambiental

Poor indoor air quality in classrooms can lead to decreased students’ performance, and affect the health and comfort of the occupants. The purpose of this dissertation is to deploy a system for environmental monitoring support through wireless communications technologies and long range networks. The prototype developed allows to collect continuous measurement of temperature, relative humidity, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), air pressure, oxygen and carbon dioxide. Evaluations were done using LoRaWAN protocol in selected classrooms during the winter semester at University of Aveiro. It demonstrates how to collect, integrate, analyse, and visualize real-time air quality data collected.A má qualidade do ar no interior das salas de aula pode levar à diminuição do desempenho dos alunos, uma vez que a qualidade do ar é um factor fundamental a ser controlado para garantir a saúde e o conforto dos ocupantes. Esta dissertação tem como objectivo desenvolver um sistema de suporte à monitorização ambiental através de tecnologias de comunicação sem fios e de redes de longo alcance. O protótipo desenvolvido permite recolher medições contínuas de temperatura, humidade relativa, Compostos Orgânicos Voláteis (VOC), pressão do ar, oxigénio e dióxido de carbono. Foram realizados testes em salas de aulas selecionadas durante o semestre de inverno na Universidade de Aveiro usando o protocolo LoRaWAN. É demonstrado como recolher, integrar, analisar e visualizar em tempo real os dados obtidos.Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e Telemátic

Integrated Satellite-terrestrial networks for IoT: LoRaWAN as a Flying Gateway

When the Internet of Things (IoT) was introduced, it causes an immense change in human life. Recently, different IoT emerging use cases, which will involve an even higher number of connected devices aimed at collecting and sending data with different purposes and over different application scenarios, such as smart city, smart factory, and smart agriculture. In some cases, the terrestrial infrastructure is not enough to guarantee the typical performance indicators due to its design and intrinsic limitations. Coverage is an example, where the terrestrial infrastructure is not able to cover certain areas such as remote and rural areas. Flying technologies, such as communication satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), can contribute to overcome the limitations of the terrestrial infrastructure, offering wider coverage, higher resilience and availability, and improving user\u2019s Quality of Experience (QoE). IoT can benefit from the UAVs and satellite integration in many ways, also beyond the coverage extension and the increase of the available bandwidth that these objects can offer. This thesis proposes the integration of both IoT and UAVs to guarantee the increased coverage in hard to reach and out of coverage areas. Its core focus addresses the development of the IoT flying gateway and data mule and testing both approaches to show their feasibility. The first approach for the integration of IoT and UAV results in the implementing of LoRa flying gateway with the aim of increasing the IoT communication protocols\u2019 coverage area to reach remote and rural areas. This flying gateway examines the feasibility for extending the coverage in a remote area and transmitting the data to the IoT cloud in real-time. Moreover, it considers the presence of a satellite between the gateway and the final destination for areas with no Internet connectivity and communication means such as WiFi, Ethernet, 4G, or LTE. The experimental results have shown that deploying a LoRa gateway on board a flying drone is an ideal option for the extension of the IoT network coverage in rural and remote areas. The second approach for the integration of the aforementioned technologies is the deployment of IoT data mule concept for LoRa networks. The difference here is the storage of the data on board of the gateway and not transmitting the data to the IoT cloud in real time. The aim of this approach is to receive the data from the LoRa sensors installed in a remote area, store them in the gateway up until this flying gateway is connected to the Internet. The experimental results have shown the feasibility of our flying data mule in terms of signal quality, data delivery, power consumption and gateway status. The third approach considers the security aspect in LoRa networks. The possible physical attacks that can be performed on any LoRa device can be performed once its location is revealed. Position estimation was carried out using one of the LoRa signal features: RSSI. The values of RSSI are fed to the Trilateration localization algorithm to estimate the device\u2019s position. Different outdoor tests were done with and without the drone, and the results have shown that RSSI is a low cost option for position estimation that can result in a slight error due to different environmental conditions that affect the signal quality. In conclusion, by adopting both IoT technology and UAV, this thesis advances the development of flying LoRa gateway and LoRa data mule for the aim of increasing the coverage of LoRa networks to reach rural and remote areas. Moreover, this research could be considered as the first step towards the development of high quality and performance LoRa flying gateway to be tested and used in massive LoRa IoT networks in rural and remote areas

AUTOMATED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE UTILITY SECTOR BASED ON WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

The subject of this study is methods, tools and automated resource management systems for the housing and communal sector. The object of research is the process of controlling resource consumption at housing and communal facilities. The aim of the study is to develop an automated resource management system for the utility sector based on wireless sensor networks. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved: a review and analysis of existing methods, tools and automated resource management systems; selection of system components based on technical requirements and taking into account the selected LoRaWAN wireless connection technology; development of a structural diagram and algorithm for the operation of an automated resource management system based on wireless sensor networks; modelling of the process of managing the resources of the utility sector using a wireless sensor network based on t The following methods are used in the work: critical analysis of LoRa technology and other wireless IoT technologies, FOREL and -means clustering methods. The following results were obtained: a general description of the automated resource management system was carried out, its composition and main tasks were determined, and technical requirements for it were established, wireless data transmission technology was selected, on the basis of which the automated resource management system was built, an in-depth comparative analysis of the most effective modern wireless technologies – LoRaWAN and NB-IoT – was carried out, system components were selected, a structural diagram and algorithm for the automated resource management system were developed, and the process of the automated resource management system was modelled. Conclusions: the application of the proposed automated resource management system provides high-quality control of energy consumption at the facilities of the housing and communal sector, makes it possible to control their volume, monitor and analyse energy consumption data, and manage the entire energy supply network as a single system, which is especially necessary in martial law. This approachallows rationalising the consumption of resources by household consumers, which means that the financial costs of energy supply will decrease and the level of energy savings in the country will increase

Development of an internet of things based customer water-meter reading system at Arusha city

Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Embedded and Mobile Systems of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyWater management is a fundamental factor that helps to make sure that water is available and well utilized. Meter reading process is required by Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (AUWSA) so as to be able to bill the clients according to their water usage. Currently, the process of meter reading is manual which require at the end of each month, meter reading officials from AUWSA have to read all the meters in Arusha, the process which cost AUWSA time and financial resources. The objective of this project was therefore, to develop an IoT based customer water meter system where meter readings can be automated and the readings sent to the cloud. The AUWSA then receives the readings on a weekly basis and can continue with reading verification and billing. The Method used on the development of this system is a Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM) which is one of the methods in Agile methodology. The system is recommended to solve the existing challenges of reading of water meters and improve customer satisfaction in water service and management. Preliminary results of the prototype testing indicate that the system would send readings data to the server as well as the nodes receiving the instructions from the server. The developed prototype would also send weekly messages to customers about their weekly usage. This communication allows any billing issues to be resolved timely. Also, the system would highlight the readings which are doubtful for example zero readings for easily notification and verification