The function of remote sensing in support of environmental policy

Limited awareness of environmental remote sensing’s potential ability to support environmental policy development constrains the technology’s utilization. This paper reviews the potential of earth observation from the perspective of environmental policy. A literature review of “remote sensing and policy” revealed that while the number of publications in this field increased almost twice as rapidly as that of remote sensing literature as a whole (15.3 versus 8.8% yr−1), there is apparently little academic interest in the societal contribution of environmental remote sensing. This is because none of the more than 300 peer reviewed papers described actual policy support. This paper describes and discusses the potential, actual support, and limitations of earth observation with respect to supporting the various stages of environmental policy development. Examples are given of the use of remote sensing in problem identification and policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy control and evaluation. While initially, remote sensing contributed primarily to the identification of environmental problems and policy implementation, more recently, interest expanded to applications in policy control and evaluation. The paper concludes that the potential of earth observation to control and evaluate, and thus assess the efficiency and effectiveness of policy, offers the possibility of strengthening governance

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

SUBSTATION MONITORING USING IoT

In the current era of automation, ensuring the safe supply of electricity to consumers is crucial, and monitoring and controlling substations play a vital role in this task. However, the risk of blackouts, brownouts, and fires is on the rise due to outdated distribution grid configurations and the lack of automation systems to monitor critical conditions within substations. Substations comprise various electronic components like transformers, breakers, and relays, making them susceptible to issues like overheating, transformer fluid leakage, and insulation breakdown. The conventional approach of manual system checks is both imprecise and time-consuming, especially for substations in urban areas. To address these challenges, we propose a cost-effective, user-friendly substation monitoring system that operates in automatic mode, eliminating the need for manual labor and reducing electricity loss. Our system offers various ways to display the results, ensuring that multiple individuals can monitor and control the parameters for safety and protection reasons. Notably, the uniqueness of our system lies in its ability to simultaneously display results on both desktop and mobile devices. To validate the system's performance in real-time monitoring, data logging, and controlling, we have successfully tested it on the CAYENNE platform. The positive outcomes of this test affirm the effectiveness of our proposed system

Operator interfaces for the lifecycle support of component based automation systems

Current manufacturing automation systems (specifically the powertrain sector) have been facing challenges with constant pressures of globalisation, environmental concerns and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) innovations. These challenges instigate new demands for shorter product lifecycles and require customised products to be manufactured as efficiently as possible. Manufacturing systems must therefore be agile to remain competitive by supporting frequent reconfigurations involving distributed engineering activities. [Continues.

Capital markets and e-fraud: policy note and concept paper for future study

The technological dependency of securities exchanges on internet-based (IP) platforms has dramatically increased the industry's exposure to reputation, market, and operational risks. In addition, the convergence of several innovations in the market are adding stress to these systems. These innovations affect everything from software to system design and architecture. These include the use of XML (extensible markup language) as the industry IP language, STP or straight through processing of data, pervasive or diffuse computing and grid computing, as well as the increased use of Internet and wireless. The fraud is not new, rather, the magnitude and speed by which fraud can be committed has grown exponentially due to the convergence of once private networks on-line. It is imperative that senior management of securities markets and brokerage houses be properly informed of the negative externalities associated with e-brokerage and the possible critical points of failure that exist in today's digitized financial sector as they grow into tomorrow's exchanges. The overwhelming issue regarding e-finance is to determine the true level of understanding that senior management has about on-line platforms, including the inherent risks and the depth of the need to use it wisely. Kellermann and McNevin attempt to highlight the various risks that have been magnified by the increasing digitalization of processes within the brokerage arena and explain the need for concerted research and analysis of these as well as the profound consequences that may entail without proper planning. An effective legal, regulatory, and enforcement framework is essential for creating the right incentive structure for market participants. The legal and regulatory framework should focus on the improvement of internal monitoring of risks and vulnerabilities, greater information sharing about these risks and vulnerabilities, education and training on the care and use of these technologies, and better reporting of risks and responses. Public/private partnerships and collaborations also are needed to create an electronic commerce (e-commerce) environment that is safe and sound.Environmental Economics&Policies,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Financial Intermediation,ICT Policy and Strategies,Banks&Banking Reform

Analysis of Distribution Transformer Physiological and Electrical Fault Detection - A Smart Grid Application

  Power grids transport electricity from the point of generation to the market. Power conversion from HV to LV and vice versa occurs in grids, also known as substations. These substations or power grids can be accessible or situated in remote locations. Transformers are used to convert power; they are an essential part of transmission and distribution networks. The method of grid monitoring and maintenance is essentially a very monotonous one. Monitoring the health of the transformers to maintain an uninterrupted power supply to the customers is difficult in such circumstances. Overvoltage, load currents, oil temperature, transformer oil level, and other parameters are monitored. The condition of the distribution transformer’s is evaluated in this article using real-time data from the transformer and specific sensors connected to Raspberry pi and artificial neural networks, are used to analyse the situation and make decisions regarding the health of the transformer. A model has been proposed for continuous monitoring consistent vigilance and swift actions against any faulty situations

Converged IP-over-standard ethernet progress control networks for hydrocarbon process automation applications controllers

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The maturity level of Internet Protocol (IP) and the emergence of standard Ethernet interfaces of Hydrocarbon Process Automation Application (HPAA) present a real opportunity to combine independent industrial applications onto an integrated IP based network platform. Quality of Service (QoS) for IP over Ethernet has the strength to regulate traffic mix and support timely delivery. The combinations of these technologies lend themselves to provide a platform to support HPAA applications across Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) networks. HPAA systems are composed of sensors, actuators, and logic solvers networked together to form independent control system network platforms. They support hydrocarbon plants operating under critical conditions that — if not controlled — could become dangerous to people, assets and the environment. This demands high speed networking which is triggered by the need to capture data with higher frequency rate at a finer granularity. Nevertheless, existing HPAA network infrastructure is based on unique autonomous systems, which has resulted in multiple, parallel and separate networks with limited interconnectivity supporting different functions. This created increased complexity in integrating various applications and resulted higher costs in the technology life cycle total ownership. To date, the concept of consolidating HPAA into a converged IP network over standard Ethernet has not yet been explored. This research aims to explore and develop the HPAA Process Control Systems (PCS) in a Converged Internet Protocol (CIP) using experimental and simulated networks case studies. Results from experimental and simulation work showed encouraging outcomes and provided a good argument for supporting the co-existence of HPAA and non-HPAA applications taking into consideration timeliness and reliability requirements. This was achieved by invoking priority based scheduling with the highest priority being awarded to PCS among other supported services such as voice, multimedia streams and other applications. HPAA can benefit from utilizing CIP over Ethernet by reducing the number of interdependent HPAA PCS networks to a single uniform and standard network. In addition, this integrated infrastructure offers a platform for additional support services such as multimedia streaming, voice, and data. This network‐based model manifests itself to be integrated with remote control system platform capabilities at the end user's desktop independent of space and time resulting in the concept of plant virtualization

UNDERGROUND CRUDE OIL PIPELINE LEAKAGE DETECTION USING DEXINED DEEP LEARNING TECHNIQUES AND LAB COLOR SPACE

Computer vision plays a big role in pipeline leakage detection systems and is one of the latest techniques. Still, it requires a powerful image-processing algorithm to detect objects. The purpose of this work is to develop and implement spill detection in oil pipes caused by leakage using images taken by a drone equipped with a Raspberry Pi 4. The acquired images are sent to the base station along with the global positioning system (GPS) location of the captured images via the message queuing telemetry transport Internet of Things (MQTT IoT) protocol. At the base station, images are processed to identify contours by dense extreme inception networks for edge detection(DexiNed) deep learning techniques based on holistically-nested edge detection(HED) and extreme inception (Xception) networks. This algorithm is capable of finding many contours in images. To find a contour with black color, the CIELAB color space (LAB) has been used. The proposed algorithm removes small contours and computes the area of the remaining contours. If the contour is above the threshold value, it is considered a spill; otherwise, it will be saved in a database for further inspection. For testing purposes, three different spill areas were implemented with spill sizes of (1 m^2,2 m^2 ,and 3 m^2). Images have been captured at three different heights (5 m, 10 m, and 15 m) by the drone used to capture the images. The result shows that effective detection has been obtained at 10 meters high. To monitor the entire system, a web application has been integrated into the base station