Ortsbezogene Anwendungen und Dienste: 9. Fachgespräch der GI/ITG-Fachgruppe Kommunikation und Verteilte Systeme ; 13. & 14. September 2012

Der Aufenthaltsort eines mobilen Benutzers stellt eine wichtige Information für Anwendungen aus den Bereichen Mobile Computing, Wearable Computing oder Ubiquitous Computing dar. Ist ein mobiles Endgerät in der Lage, die aktuelle Position des Benutzers zu bestimmen, kann diese Information von der Anwendung berücksichtigt werden -- man spricht dabei allgemein von ortsbezogenen Anwendungen. Eng verknüpft mit dem Begriff der ortsbezogenen Anwendung ist der Begriff des ortsbezogenen Dienstes. Hierbei handelt es sich beispielsweise um einen Dienst, der Informationen über den aktuellen Standort übermittelt. Mittlerweile werden solche Dienste kommerziell eingesetzt und erlauben etwa, dass ein Reisender ein Hotel, eine Tankstelle oder eine Apotheke in der näheren Umgebung findet. Man erwartet, nicht zuletzt durch die Einführung von LTE, ein großes Potenzial ortsbezogener Anwendungen für die Zukunft. Das jährlich stattfindende Fachgespräch "Ortsbezogene Anwendungen und Dienste" der GI/ITG-Fachgruppe Kommunikation und Verteilte Systeme hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, aktuelle Entwicklungen dieses Fachgebiets in einem breiten Teilnehmerkreis aus Industrie und Wissenschaft zu diskutieren. Der vorliegende Konferenzband fasst die Ergebnisse des neunten Fachgesprächs zusammen.The location of a mobile user poses an important information for applications in the scope of Mobile Computung, Wearable Computing and Ubiquitous Computing. If a mobile device is able to determine the current location of its user, this information may be taken into account by an application. Such applications are called a location-based applications. Closely related to location-based applications are location-based services, which for example provides the user informations about his current location. Meanwhile such services are deployed commercially and enable travelers for example to find a hotel, a petrol station or a pharmacy in his vicinity. It is expected, not least because of the introduction of LTE, a great potential of locations-based applications in the future. The annual technical meeting "Location-based Applications and Services" of the GI/ITG specialized group "Communication and Dsitributed Systems" targets to discuss current evolutions in a broad group of participants assembling of industrial representatives and scientists. The present proceedings summarizes the result of the 9th annual meeting

Thinking- Skins

Under the guiding concept of a thinking skin, the research project examines the transferability of cyber-physical systems to the application field of façades. It thereby opens up potential increases in the performance of automated and adaptive façade systems and provides a conceptual framework for further research and development of intelligent building envelopes in the current age of digital transformation. The project is characterized by the influence of digital architectural design methods and the associated computational processing of information in the design process. The possible establishment of relationships and dependencies in an architecture understood as a system, in particular, are the starting point for the conducted investigation. With the available automation technologies, the possibility of movable building constructions, and existing computer-based control systems, the technical preconditions for the realisation of complex and active buildings exist today. Against this background, dynamic and responsive constructions that allow adaptations in the operation of the building are a current topic in architecture. In the application field of the building envelope, the need for such designs is evident, particularly with regards to the concrete field of adaptive façades. In its mediating role, the façade is confronted with the dynamic influences of the external microclimate of a building and the changing comfort demands of the indoor climate. The objective in the application of adaptive façades is to increase building efficiency by balancing dynamic influencing factors and requirements. Façade features are diverse and with the increasing integration of building services, both the scope of fulfilled façade functions and the complexity of today’s façades increase. One challenge is the coordination of adaptive functions to ensure effective reactions of the façade as a complete system. The ThinkingSkins research project identifies cyber-physical systems as a possible solution to this challenge. This involves the close integration of physical systems with their digital control. Important features are the decentralized organization of individual system constituents and their cooperation via an exchange of information. Developments in recent decades, such as the miniaturisation of computer technology and the availability of the Internet, have established the technical basis required for these developments. Cyber-physical systems are already employed in many fields of application. Examples are decentralized energy supply, or transportation systems with autonomous vehicles. The influence is particularly evident in the transformation of the industrial sector to Industry 4.0, where formerly mechatronic production plants are networked into intelligent technical systems with the aim of achieving higher and more flexible productivity. In the ThinkingSkins research project it is assumed that the implementation of cyber-physical systems based on the role model of cooperating production plants in IIndustry 4.0 can contribute to an increase in the performance of façades. Accordingly, the research work investigates a possible transfer of cyber-physical systems to the application field of building envelopes along the research question: How can cyber-physical systems be applied to façades, in order to enable coordinated adaptations of networked individual façade functions? To answer this question, four partial studies are carried out, which build upon each other. The first study is based on a literature review, in which the understanding and the state-of-the-art development of intelligent façade systems is examined in comparison to the exemplary field of application of cyber-physical systems in the manufacturing industry. In the following partial study, a second literature search identifies façade functions that can be considered as components of a cyber-physical façade due to their adaptive feasibility and their effect on the façade performance. For the evaluation of the adaptive capabilities, characteristics of their automated and adaptive implementation are assigned to the identified façade functions. The resulting superposition matrix serves as an organizational tool for the third investigation of the actual conditions in construction practice. In a multiple case study, realized façade projects in Germany are examined with regard to their degree of automation and adaptivity. The investigation includes interviews with experts involved in the projects as well as field studies on site. Finally, an experimental examination of the technical feasibility of cyber-physical façade systems is carried out through the development of a prototype. In the sense of an internet of façade functions, the automated adaptive façade functions ventilation, sun protection as well as heating and cooling are implemented in decentrally organized modules. They are connected to a digital twin and can exchange data with each other via a communication protocol. The research project shows that the application field of façades has not yet been exploited for the implementation of cyber-physical systems. With the automation technologies used in building practice, however, many technical preconditions for the development of cyber-physical façade systems already exist. Many features of such a system are successfully implemented within the study by the development of a prototype. The research project therefore comes to the conclusion that the application of cyber-physical systems to the façade is possible and offers a promising potential for the effective use of automation technologies. Due to the lack of artificial intelligence and machine learning strategies, the project does not achieve the goal of developing a façade in the sense of a true ThinkingSkin as the title indicates. A milestone is achieved by the close integration of the physical façade system with a decentralized and integrated control system. In this sense, the researched cyber-physical implementation of façades represents a conceptual framework for the realisation of corresponding systems in building practice, and a pioneer for further research of ThinkingSkins

ThinkingSkins:

New technologies and automation concepts emerge in the digitalization of our environment. This is, for example, reflected by intelligent production systems in Industry 4.0. A core aspect of such systems is their cyber-physical implementation, which aims to increase productivity and flexibility through embedded computing capacities and the cooperation of decentrally networked production plants. This development stage of automation has not yet been achieved in the current state-of-the-art of façades. Being responsible for the execution of adaptive measures, façade automation is part of hierarchically and centrally organised Building Automation Systems (BAS). The research project ThinkingSkins is guided by the hypothesis that, aiming at an enhanced overall building performance, façades can be implemented as cyber-physical systems. Accordingly, it addresses the research question: How can cyber-physical systems be applied to façades, in order to enable coordinated adaptations of networked individual façade functions? The question is approached in four partial investigations. First, a comprehensive understanding of intelligent systems in both application fields, façades and Industry 4.0, is elaborated by a literature review. Subsequently, relevant façade functions are identified by a second literature review in a superposition matrix, which also incorporates characteristics for a detailed assessment of each function’s adaptive capacities. The third investigation focuses on existing conditions in building practice by means of a multiple case study analysis. Finally, the technical feasibility of façades implemented as cyber-physical systems is investigated by developing a prototype. The research project identifies the possibility and promising potential of cyberphysical façades. As result, the doctoral dissertation provides a conceptual framework for the implementation of such systems in building practice and for further research

Neighborhood Localization Method for Locating Construction Resources Based on RFID and BIM

Construction sites are changing every day, which brings some difficulties for different contractors to do their tasks properly. One of the key points for all entities who work on the same site is the location of resources including materials, tools, and equipment. Therefore, the lack of an integrated localization system leads to increase the time wasted on searching for resources. In this research, a localization method which does not need infrastructure is proposed to overcome this problem. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as a localization technology is integrated with Building Information Modeling (BIM) as a method of creating, sharing, exchanging and managing the building information throughout the lifecycle among all stakeholders. In the first stage, a requirements’ gathering and conceptual design are performed to add new entities, data types, and properties to the BIM, and relationships between RFID tags and building assets are identified. Secondly, it is proposed to distribute fixed tags with known positions as reference tags for the RFID localization approach. Then, a clustering method chooses the appropriate reference tags to provide them to an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for further computations. Additionally, Virtual Reference Tags (VRTs) are added to the system to increase the resolution of localization while limiting the cost of the system deployment. Finally, different case studies and simulations are implemented and tested to explore the technical feasibility of the proposed approach

Models for Efficient Automated Site Data Acquisition

Accurate and timely data acquisition for tracking and progress reporting is essential for efficient management and successful project delivery. Considerable research work has been conducted to develop methods utilizing automated site data acquisition for tracking and progress reporting. However, these developments are challenged by: the dynamic and noisy nature of construction jobsites; the indoor localization accuracy; and the data processing and extraction of actionable information. Limited research work attempted to study and develop customized design of wireless sensor networks to meet the above challenges and overcome limitations of utilizing off-the-shelf technologies. The objective of this research is to study, design, configure and develop fully customized automated site data acquisition models, with a special focus on near real-time automated tracking and control of construction operations embracing cutting edge innovations in wireless and remote sensing technologies. In this context, wireless and remote sensing technologies are integrated in two customized prototypes to monitor and collect data from construction jobsites. This data is then processed and mined to generate meaningful and actionable information. The developed prototypes are expected to have wider scope of applications in construction management, such as improving construction safety, monitoring the condition of civil infrastructure and reducing energy consumption in buildings. Two families of prototypes were developed in this research; Sensor Aided GPS (SA-GPS) prototype, which is designed and developed for tracking outdoor construction operations such as earthmoving; and Self-Calibrated Wireless Sensor Network (SC-WSN), which is designed for indoor localization and tracking of construction resources (labor, materials and equipment). These prototypes along with their hardware and software are encapsulated in a computational framework. The framework houses a set of algorithms coded in C# to enable efficient data processing and fusion that support tracking and progress reporting. Both the hardware prototypes and software algorithms were progressively tested, evaluated and re-designed using Rapid Prototyping approach. The validation process of the developed prototypes encompasses three steps; (1) simulation to validate the prototypes’ design virtually using MATLAB, (2) laboratory experiments to evaluate prototypes’ functionality in real time, and (3) testing on scaled case studies after fine-tuning the prototype design based on the results obtained from the first two steps. The SA-GPS prototype consists of a microcontroller equipped with GPS module as well as a number of sensors such as accelerometer, barometric pressure sensor, Bluetooth proximity and strain gauges. The results of testing the developed SA-GPS prototype on scaled construction jobsite indicated that it was capable of estimating project progress within 3% mean absolute percentage error and 1% standard deviation on 16 trials, in comparison to the standalone GPS which had approximately 12% mean absolute percentage error and 2% standard deviation. The SC-WSN prototype incorporates two main features. The first is the use of the Kalman filtering and smoothing for the RSSI signal to provide more stable and predictable signal for estimating the distance between a reader and a tag. The second is the use of a developed dynamic path-loss model which continually optimizes its parameters to cope with the dynamically changing construction environment using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The laboratory testing indicated the improvement in location estimation, where the produced location estimates using SC_WSN had an average error of 0.66m in comparison to 1.67m using the raw RSSI signal. Also the results indicated 60% accuracy improvement in estimating locations using the developed dynamic model. The developed prototypes are not only expected to reduce the risk of project cost and duration overruns by timely and early detection of deviations from project plan, but also enables project managers to observe and oversee their project’s status in near real-time. It is expected that the accuracy of the developed hardware, can be achieved on large-scale real construction projects. This is attributed to the fact that the developed prototype does not require any scalable improvements on its hardware technology, nor does it require any additional computational changes to its developed algorithms and software

Recent Advances in Indoor Localization Systems and Technologies

Despite the enormous technical progress seen in the past few years, the maturity of indoor localization technologies has not yet reached the level of GNSS solutions. The 23 selected papers in this book present the recent advances and new developments in indoor localization systems and technologies, propose novel or improved methods with increased performance, provide insight into various aspects of quality control, and also introduce some unorthodox positioning methods