Microcontroller-Based Seat Occupancy Detection and Classification

This paper presents a microcontroller-based measurement system to detect and confirm the presence of a subject in a chair. The system relies on a single Force Sensing Resistor (FSR), which may be arranged in the seat or backrest of the chair, that undergoes a sudden resistance change when a subject/object is seated/placed over the chair. In order to distinguish between a subject and an inanimate object, the system also monitors small-signal variations of the FSR resistance caused by respiration. These resistance variations are then directly measured by a low-cost general-purpose microcontroller without using either an analogue processing stage or an analogue-to-digital converter, thus resulting in a low-cost, low-power, compact design solution.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Measuring dynamic signals with direct sensor-to-microcontroller interfaces applied to a magnetoresistive sensor

This paper evaluates the performance of direct interface circuits (DIC), where the sensor is directly connected to a microcontroller, when a resistive sensor subjected to dynamic changes is measured. The theoretical analysis provides guidelines for the selection of the components taking into account both the desired resolution and the bandwidth of the input signal. Such an analysis reveals that there is a trade-off between the sampling frequency and the resolution of the measurement, and this depends on the selected value of the capacitor that forms the RC circuit together with the sensor resistance. This performance is then experimentally proved with a DIC measuring a magnetoresistive sensor exposed to a magnetic field of different frequencies, amplitudes, and waveforms. A sinusoidal magnetic field up to 1 kHz can be monitored with a resolution of eight bits and a sampling frequency of around 10 kSa/s. If a higher resolution is desired, the sampling frequency has to be lower, thus limiting the bandwidth of the dynamic signal under measurement. The DIC is also applied to measure an electrocardiogram-type signal and its QRS complex is well identified, which enables the estimation, for instance, of the heart rate.Postprint (published version

La política legislativa con relación a los indígenas en la región sur del Brasil durante la unión de las coronas (1580-1640)

This article studies the various laws regarding Brazilian Indians which were enacted as from the Union of Crowns (1580-1640). At that moment South Brazil became an important place within the political strategy of the Spanish Empire, as regards the development of a communication by land uniting Sao Paulo, Asunción and Potosí. This policy prospered between 1609 and 1616, but was interrupted when the war with the Low Countries recommenced.Este trabajo estudia las diferentes leyes que, con relación a los indios del Brasil, se dieron a partir del momento en que se realizó la unión de las Coronas (1580-1640). El sur del Brasil pasó a tener un lugar destacado dentro de la estrategia política del imperio español, buscando el desarrollo del camino terrestre entre São Paulo, Asunción y Potosí. Esa política, que encontró su auge entre los años 1609-1616, tuvo que ser interrumpida más tarde con la reanudación de la guerra con los Países Bajos

Modelado de procesos y desarrollo de sistemas software: integración entre UML y EPC.

Los objetivos de UML (Unified Modeling Language – Lenguaje Unificado de Modelado) y de la EPC (Event-driven Process Chain - Cadena de Procesos guiada por Eventos), están bien diferenciados: mientras que UML se enfoca al diseño de sistemas de información (SI), las EPCs se emplean para el modelado de procesos de negocios (BPM) dentro de la metodología ARIS. No obstante, es evidente la relación entre ambas técnicas: por una parte, un correcto diseño de SI debe basarse en los requisitos definidos por el modelo de procesos de negocio. Por otra parte, las mejoras de los procesos existentes a menudo deben llevarse a cabo mediante el desarrollo o modificación de los SI que soportan dichos procesos. En esta comunicación se analizan las posibilidades de integración de ambas técnicas de modelad

Performance assessment of an architecture with adaptative interfaces for people with special needs

People in industrial societies carry more and more portable electronic devices (e.g., smartphone or console) with some kind of wireles connectivity support. Interaction with auto-discovered target devices present in the environment (e.g., the air conditioning of a hotel) is not so easy since devices may provide inaccessible user interfaces (e.g., in a foreign language that the user cannot understand). Scalability for multiple concurrent users and response times are still problems in this domain. In this paper, we assess an interoperable architecture, which enables interaction between people with some kind of special need and their environment. The assessment, based on performance patterns and antipatterns, tries to detect performance issues and also tries to enhance the architecture design for improving system performance. As a result of the assessment, the initial design changed substantially. We refactorized the design according to the Fast Path pattern and The Ramp antipattern. Moreover, resources were correctly allocated. Finally, the required response time was fulfilled in all system scenarios. For a specific scenario, response time was reduced from 60 seconds to less than 6 seconds

Advances in a DSL for Application Integration

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) is currently one of the big challenges for Software Engineering. According to a recent report, for each dollar spent on developing an application, companies usually spend from 5 to 20 dollars to integrate it. In this paper, we propose a Domain Specific Language (DSL) for designing application integration solutions. It builds on our experience on two real-world integration projects

The Diary of a Nursing Student in Clinical Practice Compared Diaries Kept in Other Disciplines. An Inclusive Review

El presente artículo es una revisión integradora de la literatura cuyo objetivo fue identificar, en revistas nacionales e internacionales indexadas en las bases de datos Isi Web of Knowledge, Eric, PubMed, EbscoHost, Scopus, SciELO, Cuiden, Cuidatge y Scirus, en el periodo comprendido entre 1995 y 2011, datos que contribuyeran a determinar cómo la escritura del diario reflexivo ayuda al estudiante de enfermería durante sus prácticas clínicas, así como a establecer diferencias y similitudes con los diarios realizados por estudiantes de otras disciplinas. Se llevó a cabo una revisión amplia de la cual se seleccionaron 54 artículos científicos con base en criterios de inclusión y exclusión, sin descartar ninguna metodología de investigación e incluyendo aquellos que analizaran el diario del estudiante, fueran o no del ámbito de la enfermería. Se concluye que la escritura del diario reflexivo que realiza el estudiante de enfermería durante sus prácticas clínicas tiene beneficios tales como la mejora de la comunicación con el paciente, fundamental para el cuidado. La escritura del diario debería ser incluida en todos los planes de estudio de grado en el ámbito de las prácticas clínicas.This article is an inclusive literature review intended to identify data in national and international journals indexed in several databases between 1995 and 2011. The databases consulted were Isi Web of Knowledge, Eric, PubMed, EbscoHost, Scopus, SciELO, Cuiden, Cuidatge and Scirus. The objective was to help determine how writing an introspective journal is of assistance to student nurses during their clinical practice, and to identify differences and similarities with the diaries kept by students in other disciplines. A broad review was conducted and 54 scientific articles were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria, without ruling out any research methodology and including those that analyze student journals, in nursing or otherwise. It was concluded that writing an introspective diary during clinical practice has a number of benefits for nursing students, such as improved communication with the patient, which is fundamental for care. Keeping a diary should be part of all undergraduate curricula in the field of clinical practice

Revisión de los sistemas de control de la producción basados en tarjetas

Los sistemas de control de la producción han sido clasificados tradicionalmente en dos grandes grupos: sistemas push y sistemas pull. Sin embargo algunos autores han demostrado que sistemas considerado habitualmente de tipo pull contienen características de tipo push y viceversa [1]. En el presente trabajo nos centramos en los sistemas de control de la producción basados en tarjetas, tradicionalmente considerados de tipo pull. Desde el original Kanban hasta nuestros días han surgido gran cantidad de sistemas controlados por tarjetas. Muchos autores han partido de sistemas existentes modificando algunas características de éstos, e incluso existen varias versiones sobre el funcionamiento de un mismo sistema. El objeto de este trabajo es realizar una revisión y clasificación sobre los distintos mecanismos en los sistemas de control de la producción basados en tarjetas, con el objeto de clarificar el funcionamiento de cada unos de ellos y poder explorar otros sistemas en futuras líneas de investigación.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología DPI2001-311

La crisis en España

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Hybridizing humans and robots: An RPA horizon envisaged from the trenches

After the initial hype on RPA, companies have more realistic expectations of this technology. Its current mature vision relegates the end-to-end robotic automation to a less suitable place and considers the human-robot collaboration as the most natural way for automating robotic processes in real-world settings. This hybrid RPA implies a vertical segmentation of process activities, i.e., some activities are conducted by humans while robots do others. The literature lacks a general method that considers the technical aspect of the solution, the psychological impact of the automation, and the governance mechanisms that a running hybrid process requires. In this sense, this paper proposes an iterative method dealing with all these aspects and results from a series of industrial experiences. Additionally, the paper deeply discusses the role of process mining in this kind of method and how it can continuously boost its iterations. The initial validation of the method in real-world processes reports substantial benefits in terms of efficiencyMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PID2019-105455GB-C31Junta de Andalucía CEI-12-TIC02