Software X10-UPNP Bridge

IADIS MULTI CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 2008 Amsterdam, The Netherlands JULY 22 - 24, 2008In a future of smart houses where multiple heterogeneous devices will be interconnected to provide new functionalities and to ease everyday tasks, several issues will challenge the research, including interoperability and interfaces between different systems. The work presented in this paper describes a software bridge that exposes X10 devices as UPnP devices to UPnP control points, banking on the networks integration and alternatives to create mixed installations that are optimized for ease, reliability and functionality

On the Design of Ambient Intelligent Systems in the Context of Assistive Technologies

The design of Ambient Intelligent Systems (AISs) is discussed in the context of assistive technologies. The main issues include ubiquitous communications, context awareness, natural interactions and heterogeneity, which are analyzed using some examples. A layered architecture is proposed for heterogeneous sub-systems integration with three levels of interactions that may be used as a framework to design assistive AISs.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC2001-1868-C0

Switchable Genetic Oscillator Operating in Quasi-Stable Mode

Ring topologies of repressing genes have qualitatively different long-term dynamics if the number of genes is odd (they oscillate) or even (they exhibit bistability). However, these attractors may not fully explain the observed behavior in transient and stochastic environments such as the cell. We show here that even repressilators possess quasi-stable, travelling-wave periodic solutions that are reachable, long-lived and robust to parameter changes. These solutions underlie the sustained oscillations observed in even rings in the stochastic regime, even if these circuits are expected to behave as switches. The existence of such solutions can also be exploited for control purposes: operation of the system around the quasi-stable orbit allows us to turn on and off the oscillations reliably and on demand. We illustrate these ideas with a simple protocol based on optical interference that can induce oscillations robustly both in the stochastic and deterministic regimes.Comment: 24 pages, 5 main figure

Chemical Power for Microscopic Robots in Capillaries

The power available to microscopic robots (nanorobots) that oxidize bloodstream glucose while aggregated in circumferential rings on capillary walls is evaluated with a numerical model using axial symmetry and time-averaged release of oxygen from passing red blood cells. Robots about one micron in size can produce up to several tens of picowatts, in steady-state, if they fully use oxygen reaching their surface from the blood plasma. Robots with pumps and tanks for onboard oxygen storage could collect oxygen to support burst power demands two to three orders of magnitude larger. We evaluate effects of oxygen depletion and local heating on surrounding tissue. These results give the power constraints when robots rely entirely on ambient available oxygen and identify aspects of the robot design significantly affecting available power. More generally, our numerical model provides an approach to evaluating robot design choices for nanomedicine treatments in and near capillaries.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure

Control automatizado de instalaciones domóticas

La introducción de la tecnología en los edificios de uso no residencial ha sido mucho más temprana que en las viviendas. Lo que ocurre es que hasta no hace muchos años, coincidiendo con la fuerte implantación de las telecomunicaciones y sobre todo de la informática, las instalaciones en los edificios eran gestionadas de forma individual y siempre con soluciones de tipo industrial. Es a finales de los años 70, cuando las empresas empiezan a desarrollar algunos productos pensando en la edificación. El grado de desarrollo actual de la Domótica en España y el mundo, es considerable sobre todo si se tiene en cuenta su reciente historia. Es posible destacar hoy la existencia de un buen número de sistemas y productos con prestaciones domóticas para el hogar que evidencian la evolución seguida por este mercado. Aunque el número no parezca, a priori, demasiado elevado, se estima su novedad como muy significativo. La oferta actual se caracteriza por ser suficientemente atractiva y por adaptarse a cualquier tipología de edificio. En este trabajo se mostrará un análisis de los diferentes buses, estándares, protocolos o tecnologías más representativos del mundo Domótico / Inmótico, de manera que se muestre el estado del arte de las mismas, en un sector claramente emergente, como es la inclusión de la tecnología en la edificació