Controller Design and Experimental Validation of a Solar Powered E-bike Charging Station

Electric Vehicles (EV) have gained interest over the past decade. Because of this, to support EV technology installation of charging stations are required. Charging EVs from renewable energy provides a sustainable means of transport. E-bikes can help mitigate some mobility problems, particularly in large cities and metropolitan areas. This paper shows the development and implementation of a solar e-bike charging station with photovoltaic production, with energy storage system. The implemented system has a centralized control and allow an efficient management of the various resources and contemplates the possibility of four simultaneous e- bikes where user identification is performed by RFID. Finally, it is provided a user interface through an HMI panel and a web page where it will be possible to access the DataLog to consult the user activity and all charging parameters. Keywords: Renewable energy, Solar charging station, Programmable logic controller &nbsp

A concept for application of integrated digital technologies to enhance future smart agricultural systems

Future agricultural systems should increase productivity and sustainability of food production and supply. For this, integrated and efficient capture, management, sharing, and use of agricultural and environmental data from multiple sources is essential. However, there are challenges to understand and efficiently use different types of agricultural and environmental data from multiple sources, which differ in format and time interval. In this regard, the role of emerging technologies is considered to be significant for integrated data gathering, analyses and efficient use. In this study, a concept was developed to facilitate the full integration of digital technologies to enhance future smart and sustainable agricultural systems. The concept has been developed based on the results of a literature review and diverse experiences and expertise which enabled the identification of stat-of-the-art smart technologies, challenges and knowledge gaps. The features of the proposed solution include: data collection methodologies using smart digital tools; platforms for data handling and sharing; application of Artificial Intelligent for data integration and analysis; edge and cloud computing; application of Blockchain, decision support system; and a governance and data security system. The study identified the potential positive implications i.e. the implementation of the concept could increase data value, farm productivity, effectiveness in monitoring of farm operations and decision making, and provide innovative farm business models. The concept could contribute to an overall increase in the competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of the agricultural sector as well as digital transformation in agriculture and rural areas. This study also provided future research direction in relation to the proposed concept. The results will benefit researchers, practitioners, developers of smart tools, and policy makers supporting the transition to smarter and more sustainable agriculture systems

Reusable framework for web application development

Web application (WA) is among the mainstream enterprise-level software solutions. One of the reasons for this trend was due to the presence of Web application framework (WAF) that in many ways has helped web developer to implement WA as an enterprise system. However, there are complexity issues faced by the developers when using existing WAFs as reported by the developers themselves. This study is proposed to find a solution to this particular issue by investigating generic issues that arise when developers utilize Web as a platform to deliver enterprise-level application. The investigation involves the identification of problems and challenges imposed by the architecture and technology of the Web itself, study of software engineering (SE) knowledge adaptation for WA development, determination of factors that contribute to the complexity of WAF implementation, and study of existing solutions for WA development proposed by previous works. To better understand the real issues faced by the developers, handson experiment was conducted through development testing performed on selected WAFs. A new highly reusable WAF is proposed, which is derived from the experience of developing several WAs case studies guided by the theoretical and technical knowledge previously established in the study. The proposed WAF was quantitatively and statistically evaluated in terms of its reusability and usability to gain insight into the complexity of the development approach proposed by the WAF. Reuse analysis results demonstrated that the proposed WAF has exceeded the minimum target of 75% reuse at both the component and system levels while the usability study results showed that almost all (15 out of 16) of the questionnaire items used to measure users’ attitudes towards the WAF were rated at least moderately by the respondents

Climate impacts, water quality and citizen science in coastal southern Connecticut: A review of factors supporting practical public health engagement - A qualitative study on citizen science & climate change.

Reflecting trends across the United States and globally, Connecticut’s coastal communities are facing climate change impacts. There is an agreed need to prepare for further, more substantial effects of climate change, including water quality impacts in Long Island Sound. This thesis examines citizen science's effectiveness in addressing local climate change and water quality impacts on shoreline communities. Through a retrospective analysis, the dissertation examines and extensively scrutinises five study outputs plus one U.S. Patent in order to explore the best strategies for community understanding and participation. The thesis discusses established public health frameworks and models and associated themes. It moves on to investigate linkages between stakeholder participation and education, and examines the relationship between community engagement on the one hand and successful public health practical epidemiology and academic work on the other hand. Through an inductive approach, this qualitative research also investigates a range of root cause strategies for creating public interest and building community resilience in a transparent and trustworthy manner, in the context of addressing climate change impacts and improving water quality. An exploratory approach examines best practice models and frameworks within the public health literature with the aim of explaining and understanding the relationships between successful public health implementation and the challenges and barriers faced. Study results demonstrate the use and capacity of citizen science, where using innovation is an effective collaborative approach that can empower local communities to address environmental concerns such as climate change and water quality issues. The thesis takes account of the boundaries and limitations to community engagement work, both as observed within the study outputs and as cited in academic literature

A concept for application of integrated digital technologies to enhance future smart agricultural systems

Publication history: Accepted - 16 may 2023; Published - 17 May 2023.Future agricultural systems should increase productivity and sustainability of food production and supply. For this, integrated and efficient capture, management, sharing, and use of agricultural and environmental data from multiple sources is essential. However, there are challenges to understand and efficiently use different types of agricultural and environmental data from multiple sources, which differ in format and time interval. In this regard, the role of emerging technologies is considered to be significant for integrated data gathering, analyses and efficient use. In this study, a concept was developed to facilitate the full integration of digital technologies to enhance future smart and sustainable agricultural systems. The concept has been developed based on the results of a literature review and diverse experiences and expertise which enabled the identification of stat-of-the-art smart technologies, challenges and knowledge gaps. The features of the proposed solution include: data collection methodologies using smart digital tools; platforms for data handling and sharing; application of Artificial Intelligent for data integration and analysis; edge and cloud computing; application of Blockchain, decision support system; and a governance and data security system. The study identified the potential positive implications i.e. the implementation of the concept could increase data value, farm productivity, effectiveness in monitoring of farm operations and decision making, and provide innovative farm business models. The concept could contribute to an overall increase in the competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of the agricultural sector as well as digital transformation in agriculture and rural areas. This study also provided future research direction in relation to the proposed concept. The results will benefit researchers, practitioners, developers of smart tools, and policy makers supporting the transition to smarter and more sustainable agriculture systems

Volume 34, Number 3, September 2014 OLAC Newsletter

Digitized September 2014 issue of the OLAC Newsletter

A Transparency Index Framework for Machine Learning powered AI in Education

The increase in the use of AI systems in our daily lives, brings calls for more ethical AI development from different sectors including, finance, the judiciary and to an increasing extent education. A number of AI ethics checklists and frameworks have been proposed focusing on different dimensions of ethical AI, such as fairness, explainability and safety. However, the abstract nature of these existing ethical AI guidelines often makes them difficult to operationalise in real-world contexts. The inadequacy of the existing situation with respect to ethical guidance is further complicated by the paucity of work to develop transparent machine learning powered AI systems for real-world. This is particularly true for AI applied in education and training. In this thesis, a Transparency Index Framework is presented as a tool to forefront the importance of transparency and aid the contextualisation of ethical guidance for the education and training sector. The transparency index framework presented here has been developed in three iterative phases. In phase one, an extensive literature review of the real-world AI development pipelines was conducted. In phase two, an AI-powered tool for use in an educational and training setting was developed. The initial version of the Transparency Index Framework was prepared after phase two. And in phase three, a revised version of the Transparency Index Framework was co- designed that integrates learning from phases one and two. The co-design process engaged a range of different AI in education stakeholders, including educators, ed-tech experts and AI practitioners. The Transparency Index Framework presented in this thesis maps the requirements of transparency for different categories of AI in education stakeholders, and shows how transparency considerations can be ingrained throughout the AI development process, from initial data collection to deployment in the world, including continuing iterative improvements. Transparency is shown to enable the implementation of other ethical AI dimensions, such as interpretability, accountability and safety. The 3 optimisation of transparency from the perspective of end-users and ed-tech companies who are developing AI systems is discussed and the importance of conceptualising transparency in developing AI powered ed-tech products is highlighted. In particular, the potential for transparency to bridge the gap between the machine learning and learning science communities is noted. For example, through the use of datasheets, model cards and factsheets adapted and contextualised for education through a range of stakeholder perspectives, including educators, ed-tech experts and AI practitioners