25,839 research outputs found
Middleware Architecture for Sensing as a Service
The Internet of Things is a concept that envisions the world as a smart space in which physical objects embedded with sensors, actuators, and network connectivity can communicate and react to their surroundings. Recent advancement in information and communication technologies make it possible to make the IoT vision a reality. However, IoT devices and consumers of data from these IoT devices can be owned by different entities which makes IoT data sharing a real challenge. Sensing as a Service is a concept that is influenced by the cloud computing term “Every Thing as a Service”. Sensing as a Service enables sensor data sharing. Sensing as a Service middleware enables IoT applications to access data generated by sensing devices owned by other entities. IoT applications are charged by the Sensing as a Service middleware for the amount of sensor data they use. This thesis addresses the architectural design of a cloud-based Sensing as Service middleware. The middleware enables sensor owners to sell their sensor data through the Internet. IoT applications can collect, and analyze sensors through the middleware API. We propose multitenancy algorithms for the middleware resource management. In addition, we propose a SQL-Like language that can be used by IoT applications for sensing service discovery, and sensor stream analytics. The evaluation of the middleware implementation shows the effectiveness of the algorithm
FORGE: An eLearning Framework for Remote Laboratory Experimentation on FIRE Testbed Infrastructure
The Forging Online Education through FIRE (FORGE) initiative provides educators and learners in higher education with access to world-class FIRE testbed infrastructure. FORGE supports experimentally driven research in an eLearning environment by complementing traditional classroom and online courses with interactive remote laboratory experiments. The project has achieved its objectives by defining and implementing a framework called FORGEBox. This framework offers the methodology, environment, tools and resources to support the creation of HTML-based online educational material capable accessing virtualized and physical FIRE testbed infrastruc- ture easily. FORGEBox also captures valuable quantitative and qualitative learning analytic information using questionnaires and Learning Analytics that can help optimise and support student learning. To date, FORGE has produced courses covering a wide range of networking and communication domains. These are freely available from FORGEBox.eu and have resulted in over 24,000 experiments undertaken by more than 1,800 students across
10 countries worldwide. This work has shown that the use of remote high- performance testbed facilities for hands-on remote experimentation can have a valuable impact on the learning experience for both educators and learners. Additionally, certain challenges in developing FIRE-based courseware have been identified, which has led to a set of recommendations in order to support the use of FIRE facilities for teaching and learning purposes
Empowering customer engagement by informative billing: a European approach
Programmes aimed at improving end-use energy efficiency are a keystone in the market strategies of leading distribution system operators (DSOs) and energy retail companies and are increasing in application, soon expected to become a mainstream practice. Informative services based on electricity meter data collected for billing are powerful tools for energy savings in scale and increase customer engagement with the energy suppliers enabling the deployment of demand response programmes helping to optimise distribution grid operation. These
services are completely in line with Europe’s 2020 strategy for overall energy performance improvement (cf. directives 2006/32/EC, 2009/72/EC, 2012/27/EU).
The Intelligent Energy Europe project EMPOWERING involves 4 European utilities and an international team of university researchers, social scientists and energy experts for developing and providing insight based services and tools for 344.000 residential customers in Austria, France, Italy and Spain. The project adopts a systematic iterative approach of service development based on envisaging the utilities’, customers’ and legal requirements, and incorporates the feedback from testing in the design process.
The technological solution provided by the leading partner CIMNE is scalable open source Big Data Analytics System coupled with the DSO’s information systems and delivering a range of value adding services for the customer, such as:
- comparison with similar households
- indications of performance improvements over time
- consumption-weather dependence
- detailed consumption visualisation and breakdown
- personalised energy saving tips
- alerts (high consumption, high bill, extreme temperature, etc.)
The paper presents the development approach, describes the ICT system architecture and analyses the legal and regulatory context for providing this kind of services in the European Community. The limitations for third party data access, customer consent and data privacy are discussed, and how these have been overcome with the implementation of the “privacy by design” principle is explained
- …