Distributed lightning monitoring: an affordable proposal

In theaters and the filmmaking industry, video streams, images, audio streams and scalar data are commonly used. In these fields, one of the most important magnitudes to be collected and controlled is the light intensity in different scene spots. So, it is extremely important to be able to deploy a network of light sensors which are usually integrated in a more general Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network (WMSN). If many light measurements have to be acquired, the simpler and cheaper the sensor, the more affordable theWMSN will be. In this paper we propose the use of a set of very cheap light sensors (photodiodes) and to spectrally and directionally correct their measurements using mathematical methods. A real testing of the proposed solution has been accomplished, obtaining quite accurate light measurements. Testing results are also presented throughout the paper.Telefonica Chair "Intelligence in Networks" of the University of Seville (Spain

Low cost multimedia sensor networks for obtaining lighting maps

In many applications, video streams, images, audio streams and scalar data are commonly used. In these fields, one of the most important magnitudes to be collected and controlled is the light intensity in different spots. So, it is extremely important to be able to deploy a network of light sensors which are usually integrated in a more general Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network (WMSN). Light control systems have increasing applications in many places like streets, roads, buildings, theaters, etc. In these situations having a dense grid of sensing spots significantly enhances measuring precision and control performance. When a great number of measuring spots are required, the cost of the sensor becomes a very important concern. In this paper the use of very low cost light sensors is proposed and it is shown how to overcome its limited performance by directionally correcting its results. A correction factor is derived for several lighting conditions. The proposed method is firstly applied to measure light in a single spot. Additionally a prototype of a sensor network is employed to draw the lighting map of a surface. Finally the sensor grid is employed to estimate the position and power of a set of light sources in a certain region of interest (street, building,…). These three applications have shown that using low cost sensors instead of luxmeters is a feasible approach to estimate illuminance levels in a room and to derive light sources maps. The obtained error measuring spots illuminance or estimating lamp emittances are quite acceptable in many practical applications.Telefonica Chair "Intelligence in Networks" of the University of Seville (Spain

Enhanced manufacturing storage management using data mining prediction techniques

Performing an efficient storage management is a key issue for reducing costs in the manufacturing process. And the first step to accomplish this task is to have good estimations of the consumption of every storage component. For making accurate consumption estimations two main approaches are possible: using past utilization values (time series); and/or considering other external factors affecting the spending rates. Time series forecasting is the most common approach due to the fact that not always is clear the causes affecting consumption. Several classical methods have extensively been used, mainly ARIMA models. As an alternative, in this paper it is proposed to use prediction techniques based on the data mining realm. The use of consumption prediction algorithms clearly increases the storage management efficiency. The predictors based on data mining can offer enhanced solutions in many cases.Telefónica, through the “Cátedra de Telefónica Inteligencia en la Red”Paloma Luna Garrid

A search for X-ray absorbed sources in the 3XMM catalogue using photometric redshifts and Bayesian spectral fits

Since its launch in 1999, the XMM-Newton mission has compiled the largest catalogue of serendipitous X-ray sources, with the 3XMM being the third version of this catalogue. This was possible thanks to the combination of a large effective area (5000 cm2 at 1 keV) and a wide field of view (30 arcmin). The 3XMM-DR6 catalogue contains about 470 000 unique X-ray sources over an area of 982 deg2. A significant fraction of these (100 178 sources) have reliable optical, near-(NIR), and mid-infrared (MIR) counterparts in the SDSS, PANSTARRS, VIDEO, UKIDSS, and WISE surveys. In a previous paper we presented photometric redshifts for these sources using the TPZ machine-learning algorithm. About a quarter of these (22 677) have adequate photon statistics, meaning that a reliable X-ray spectrum can be extracted. Owing to both the X-ray counts selection and the optical counterpart constraint, the sample above is biased towards the bright sources. Here, we present XMMFITCAT-Z: a spectral fit catalogue for these sources using the Bayesian X-ray Analysis technique. To demonstrate the potential of the present catalogue, we comment on the optical and MIR colours of the 765 X-ray absorbed sources with NH?> ?1022?cm?2. We show that a considerable fraction of X-ray-selected AGNs would not be classified as AGNs following the MIR W1?W2 versus W2 selection criterion. These are AGNs with lower luminosities, where the contribution of the host galaxy to the MIR emission is non-negligible. Only one-third of obscured AGNs in X-rays present red colours or r?W2 > 6. Also, it appears that the r?W2 criterion, often used in the literature for the selection of obscured AGNs, produces very different X-ray absorbed AGN samples compared to the standard X-ray selection criteria.This work is part of the Enhanced XMM-Newton Spectral-fit Database project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) under the PRODEX program. AR acknowledges support of this work by the PROTEAS II project (MIS 5002515), which is implemented under the “Reinforcement of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure” action, funded by the “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” operational programme (NSRF 2014-2020) and co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund). AC acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry MCIU under project RTI2018-096686-B-C21 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER/UE), cofunded by FEDER funds and from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Unidad de Excelencia María de Maeztu, ref. MDM-2017-0765. This research has made use of data obtained from the 3XMM XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue compiled by the 10 institutes of the XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre selected by ESA. This work is based on observations made with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and NASA. Funding for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the US Department of Energy Office of Science, and the Participating Institutions. SDSS-IV acknowledges support and resources from the Center for High-Performance Computing at the University of Utah. The SDSS web site is www.sdss.org. SDSS-IV is managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the Participating Institutions of the SDSS Collaboration including the Brazilian Participation Group, the Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Mellon University, the Chilean Participation Group, the French Participation Group, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, The Johns Hopkins University, Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU)/University of Tokyo, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Leibniz Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (MPIA Heidelberg), Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik (MPA Garching), Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), National Astronomical Observatories of China, New Mexico State University, New York University, University of Notre Dame, Observatário Nacional/MCTI, The Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, United Kingdom Participation Group, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of Arizona, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Oxford, University of Portsmouth, University of Utah, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University, and Yale University. This publication makes use of data products from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, which is a joint project of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This research made use of Astropy, a community-developed core Python package for Astronomy (Astropy Collaboration 2012)

Hybrid modeling of renewable energy systems and its application to a hot water solar plant

IFAC - CONFERENCE ON CONTROL METHODOLOGIES AND TECHNOLOGY FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY 29/03/2010 Vilamoura, PortugalA family of models that can be applied to various types of renewable energy plants is proposed. The methodology is used to model a solar plant for the production of sanitary water (the hot water production system installed at the “Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío”, Seville, Spain). A detailed examination of the behavior of the plant has produced a model which has served to identify niches of inefficiency in the operation. The model is later used to tune the parameters of a controller to improve operation.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología DPI 2007-66718-C04-01Junta de Andalucía TEP-0272

Cultural differences across countries and access of woman to boards of directors

Nuestro estudio pretende comparar el nivel de representación de las mujeres en los consejos de administración de cinco países, analizando especialmente si la cultura que prevalece en el país puede estar afectando a la capacidad de la mujer de acceder a los puestos, tradicionalmente reservados a los hombres, de los consejos de administración. Sirviéndonos de las dimensiones culturales de Hofstede (1980) y de GLOBE (House et al., 2004) nuestro estudio revela que la cultura del país, con independencia de la métrica que se utilice, tiene capacidad para explicar el diferente nivel de representación de las mujeres en los consejos de administración. En particular, tres de las cuatro dimensiones culturales se revelan como significativas: distancia en el poder, aversión a la incertidumbre y masculinidad.The purpose of this paper is to compare the levels of representation of women on boards of directors in five countries, and especially to determine if the culture of a country is a factor that influences the possibility of women achieving positions on boards of directors. We use the cultural dimensions of Hofstede (1980) and GLOBE (House et al., 2004), and the results show that the culture of a country can be a factor in explaining the different levels of representation of women at board of directors. In particular, three of the four cultural dimensions are seen to be significant: power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación ECO2010-21627, Junta de Andalucía Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa PO8-SJ-0395

Estimation of the Interaction Forces in a Compliant pHRI Gripper

Physical human–robot interaction (pHRI) is an essential skill for robots expected to work with humans, such as assistive or rescue robots. However, due to hard safety and compliance constraints, pHRI is still underdeveloped in practice. Tactile sensing is vital for pHRI, as constant occlusions while grasping make it hard to rely on vision or range sensors alone. More specifically, measuring interaction forces in the gripper is crucial to avoid injuries, predict user intention and perform successful collaborative movements. This work exploits the inherent compliance of a gripper with four underactuated fingers which was previously designed by the authors and designed to manipulate human limbs. A new analytical model is proposed to calculate the external interaction forces by combining all finger forces, which are estimated by using the gripper proprioceptive sensor readings uniquely. An experimental evaluation of the method and an example application in a control system with active compliance have been included to evaluate performance. The results prove that the proposed finger arrangement offers good performance at measuring the lateral interaction forces and torque around the gripper’s Z-axis, providing a convenient and efficient way of implementing adaptive and compliant grasping for pHRI applications.This work was supported by the Universidad de Málaga, project UMA20-FEDERJA-052. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Plan de negocio: MyWebMotor (Parte 2).

myWebMotor es un producto software desarrollo por el Departamento de "Desarrollo Software y Diseño Gráfico" de la joven empresa almeriense Grupo Almería Formación, SLL. La citada empresa posee varios departamentos, con sus propias líneas de negocio como: "Servicio a empresas" y "Formación". myWebMotor nace con la intención de ser el gestor de contenidos más fácil e intuitivo del mundo. Es el primer proyecto de este departamento. Se trata de una gran base de datos que va almacenando la información de los páginas Web de clientes, junto con la plantilla que las mostrará al visitar su Web. El usuario, que consulta cualquiera de estas páginas, lo que en realidad hace es sacar información de nuestra base de datos. Lo que nos diferencia de la competencia es la versatilidad que se le ofrece al administrador de la Web, dándole más libertad que nuestra competencia directa. La facilidad de uso es otro de nuestro potencial y, por último, pero no menos importante, sino más bien, lo que más, es la atención personalizada que damos, a través de nuestros distribuidores. Ahora mismo estamos en disposición de competir en precios, ya que somos los que tenemos el precio de mercado más bajo, en la facilidad de uso y la versatilidad. Nuestra misión es mejorar la rentabilidad de las empresas y el crecimiento de pequeñas y medianas empresas para ser un buen proveedor de soluciones por Internet. Trabajamos para equipar a cada dueño de negocio con la oportunidad de fortalecer su marca, incrementar el conocimiento de su mercado y mejorar la eficiencia operativa. Nuestra visión es conseguir que la gran mayoría de PYMES en el mundo usen myWebMotor como su herramienta para crear y mantener su Web corporativa. Tener distribuidores en todo el mundo nos facilitará dicha visión futura. La idea de negocio surge de la experiencia de uno de los socios, haciendo páginas Web para empresas que pronto quedaban obsoletas debido a que en éstas no existía personal cualificado para modificarlas. Con este gestor de contenidos esos problemas ya no existen, debido a que cualquier persona, con conocimientos básico de un procesador de textos, puede ser el administrador de la web. A corto plazo, tenemos los siguientes objetivos: Seguir mejorando myWebMotor para suplir las deficiencias que tiene con respecto a la competencia, a la vez que incorporan herramientas innovadores, que mejores la diferenciación de nuestro producto. ¡myWebMotor está en continua evolución y mejora! Dar soporte a nuestra red de distribuidores, para que se posiciones en el mercado con el mayor éxito y consigan una penetración en el mismo con nuestro gestor de contenidos. Captar la mayor cantidad de distribuidores a nivel mundial. Para ello, es indispensable el montar una infraestructura web que publicite myWebMotor y hacer un buen plan de Marketing. En el medio plazo, tenemos, como principal objetivo, la homologación para ser proveedor oficial de WSI a nivel mundial, como ya lo somos localmente. Las estrategias irán enfocadas, sobre todo, a las ventas y a la captación de los distribuidores. El equipo de trabajo inicial que se propone para la puesta en funcionamiento del negocio es el siguiente: en el Departamento Software tendremos un Director de área, un Director de Sistemas y dos Programadores. También contaremos con tres Comerciales, de venta directa, y tres Distribuidores externos. El responsable de RRHH, Administración y Contabilidad y una Auxiliar Administrativa, cerrarán la plantilla base. La inversiones requerida no es demasiado elevada, ya que el proyecto software nace en una empresa ya constituida y sólo requerirá la compra de material informático relacionado. La principal inversión será la que constituyan las nóminas de los trabajadores del proyecto.Dicha inversión se acometerá con capital propio al 100 %. Tras realizar un estudio con los principales indicadores de rentabilidad, como veremos en el capítulo 9, hemos podido comprobar la viabilidad tanto económica como financiera del proyecto. Todo ello corroborado con un estudio de mercado que avala dicha iniciativa, debido a la necesidad candente de este tipo de tecnologías y de que la empresa use Internet como herramienta de su día a día. 9 Como conclusión, nos hemos fijado en cuáles son los principales descubrimientos que este Plan de Negocio ha desencadenado y serán tenidos en cuenta en el futuro desarrollo del producto. Podemos destacar: En el análisis comparativo de myWebMotor, frente a su competencia directa hemos advertido que la principal de ellas es la atención personalizada, la cercanía y el asesoramiento que podemos ofrecer, gracias a la venta a través de distribuidores. La realización del Análisis DAFO también ha enriquecido nuestra visión general del producto y el mercado. Como ejemplo, pensábamos que poseíamos diversas fortalezas, como precios más bajos, pero, realmente, nos hemos dado cuenta de que eran ventajas coyunturales, ya que tenemos mayores costes que la competencia. Una vez enfocada nuestra principal ventaja competitiva, pudimos plantear las acciones de marketing al destinatario objetivo: empresas distribuidoras de myWebMotor. En lo que respecta a los Recursos Humanos, hemos priorizado la formación de los distribuidores, para que estén en disposición de aportar nuestro valor añadido