Computational composition strategies in audiovisual laptop performance

We live in a cultural environment in which computer based musical performances have become ubiquitous. Particularly the use of laptops as instruments is a thriving practice in many genres and subcultures. The opportunity to command the most intricate level of control on the smallest of time scales in music composition and computer graphics introduces a number of complexities and dilemmas for the performer working with algorithms. Writing computer code to create audiovisuals offers abundant opportunities for discovering new ways of expression in live performance while simultaneously introducing challenges and presenting the user with difficult choices. There are a host of computational strategies that can be employed in live situations to assist the performer, including artificially intelligent performance agents who operate according to predefined algorithmic rules. This thesis describes four software systems for real time multimodal improvisation and composition in which a number of computational strategies for audiovisual laptop performances is explored and which were used in creation of a portfolio of accompanying audiovisual compositions

Reed canary grass cultivation’s energy efficiency and fuel quality

ArticleThe article discusses the energy yield and yield capacity of reed canary grass stands in semi-natural and cultivated meadows with edaphic conditions most favourable for species growing on fertile soil. Energy grass production yields have been assessed with respect to the issues of precipitation, sunshine, and frozen ground. In Estonia, a dried matter level of 4.2– 8.5 t ha-1 of reed canary grass may produce 72.91–147.56 GJ ha-1 gross energy by using 1.48– 3.06 GJ ha-1 input energy, which consequently nets 71.44–1,445.00 GJ ha-1 . The above finding indicates that 1 MJ input energy enables the production of 2.8 kg dry matter. The efficiency of energy production (ratio of energy returned on energy invested) depends on the amount of input energy used to grow and harvest reed canary grass. The input energy payback ratio for the given case was 48.2–49.4, which was higher than cases with lower and higher dry matter yield levels. Precipitation during the second part of the Estonian summer, heavy winter snow cover and a simultaneous frequent lack of frozen ground reduce the productivity of reed canary grass as energy hay because the winter or early spring harvest cannot be used

Hajaenergeetika lahenduse planeerimine lähtudes tuule- ja päikeseenergiast toodetud elektri kohapealse otsetarbimise osakaalu suurendamisest

A Thesis for applying the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering SciencesThis doctoral thesis presents six original papers, which are used to demonstrate the design possibilities for increasing the local renewable energy consumption of buildings equipped with renewable energy production devices. The findings and visualisations can be used for educational purposes as well as for the practical engineering of building based energy systems. The findings from papers can be used to decrease the necessary grid connection capacity of buildings. It was found in the thesis that nominal or high power consumption and production occurs only for a very small fraction of the time. This is evident from the output power data of large wind parks as well as small wind turbines. On the basis of that it was proposed in the thesis that the inverter size of small wind turbines can be reduced significantly, when the pre-inverter energy is utilized for heating purposes. High resolution and quality data is necessary for some the optimization processes. It was found that the data from wind turbine nacelle anemometers is biased by the rotor and therefore empirical correction factors were found during the studies. High resolution measurements enable to apply demand side management in the near future. The demand side management can decrease the standard deviation of the consumption curve which increases the locally consumed renewable energy and decreases the energy exchange with the electrical grid. The application of energy storage and the combination of different energy sources like wind- and solar energy has similar effects. In cases when the self-sufficiency is low, like in buildings with high energy demand (for example in industries), and the supply and demand coincide then there is no need for demand side management. The increase of fR can vary to a big extent dependant on the applied method and the case. The best case showed an increase of up to 36% in the renewable fraction.Antud doktoritöö käsitleb taastuvenergia tootmise ja kohapeal otsetarbimise osakaalu suurendamise võimalusi hoonetes. Töö põhineb kuuel autori publikatsioonil, milles on leitud, et taastuvenergia osakaalu tõstmise juures on oluline roll süsteemi ülesehituse sobitamisel energiatarbimise ajastuse ning ilmastikuoludega. Nii elektritarbimise kui ka taastuvenergia toodanguandmed näitavad, et täisvõimsusel või selle lähedasel võimsusel tarbimist ja tootmist esineb ainult väga väikesel osal ajast . Näiteks toodanguandmete puhul on selline seaduspära täheldatav nii suurte (2 MW) kui ka väikeste (10 kW) tuulegeneraatorite väljundvõimsuse andmetest. Selle tõttu on töös välja pakutud, et väiketuulikute inverteri suurust võiks oluliselt vähendada, kui kasutada inverteri-eelset elektrienergiat osaliselt tarbevee soojendamiseks, mis suurendab kohapeal tarbitava taastuvenergia osakaalu. Tuuleparkidel jällegi aitab tipuenergia soojuseks kasutamine vähendada energiatootmise prognoosiviga. Selleks, et optimeerida inverteri võimsust on vaja kõrge resolutsiooniga andmeid. Leiti, et tuulikute anemomeetritelt pärinevate tuuleandmete kasutamiseks ja õigeks tõlgendamiseks on vaja parandustegureid, mis leiti antud töö uuringute käigus referentsmõõtmiste abil. Suure tihedusega mõõdetud andmed esitavad mõõte- ja andmehõiveseadmetele suuremaid nõudmisi, kuid võimaldavad tulevikus rakendada muuhulgas reaalajas elektritarbimise juhtimist elektrihinna järgi. Tarbimise juhtimine võimaldab taastuvenergia tootmisseadmetega varustatud majapidamistes vähendada elektritarbimise standardhälvet, mis suurendab samuti kohapeal tarbitud taastuvenergia osakaalu ja väheneb energiavahetust elektrivõrguga. Sarnane mõju on ka energiasalvestite kasutamisel ning erinevate energialiikide, nagu tuule- ja päikeseenergia kombineerimisel. Juhtudel, kui hoone tarbimisvõimsus on taastuvenergia tootmisvõimsusest oluliselt suurem ning need langevad ajaliselt kokku, ei ole tarbimise juhtimise kasutamine otstarbekas. Selline olukord võib esineda eelkõige suure energiatarbega hoonetel, nagu tööstusobjektid.Eesti Maaülikooli teadur Alo Allik pälvis oma doktoritöö eest Maailma Energeetikanõukogu 2016. aasta üliõpilastööde konkursi I preemia

af-ontology.pdf

<div> <div> <div> <p>Feature extraction algorithms in Music Informatics aim at deriving statistical and semantic information directly from audio signals. These may be ranging from energies in several frequency bands to musical information such as key, chords or rhythm. There is an increasing diversity and complexity of features and algorithms in this domain and applications call for a common structured representation to facilitate interoperability, reproducibility and machine interpretability. We propose a solution relying on Semantic Web technologies that is designed to serve a dual purpose (1) to represent computational workflows of audio features and (2) to provide a common structure for feature data to enable the use of Open Linked Data principles and technologies in Music Informatics. The Audio Feature Ontology is based on the analysis of existing tools and music informatics literature, which was instrumental in guiding the ontology engineering process. The ontology provides a descriptive framework for expressing different conceptualisations of the audio feature extraction domain and enables designing linked data formats for representing feature data. In this paper, we discuss important modelling decisions and introduce a harmonised ontology library consisting of modular interlinked ontologies that describe the different entities and activities involved in music creation, production and publishing. </p> </div> </div> </div

myMoodplay: An interactive mood-based music discovery app

Presented at the 2nd Web Audio Conference (WAC), April 4-6, 2016, Atlanta, Georgia.myMoodplay is a web app that allows users to interactively discover music by selecting desired emotions. The application uses the Web Audio API, JavaScript animation for visualisation, linked data formats and affective computing technologies. We explore how artificial intelligence, the Semantic Web and audio synthesis can be combined to provide new personalised online musical experiences. Users can choose degrees of energy and pleasantness to shape the desired musical mood trajectory. Semantic Web technologies have been embedded in the system to query mood coordinates from a triple store using a SPARQL endpoint and to connect to external linked data sources for metadata

Increasing Solar Energy Usage for Dwelling Heating, Using Solar Collectors and Medium Sized Vacuum Insulated Storage Tank

This article describes a method for increasing the solar heat energy share in the heating of a dwelling. Solar irradiation is high in summer, in early autumn, and in spring, but during that same time, the heat demand of dwellings is low. This article describes a solution for storing solar heat energy in summertime as well as the calculations of the heat energy balance of such a storage system. The solar heat energy is stored in a thermally insulated water tank and used in the heating period. The heat is also stored in the ground if necessary, using the ground loop of the heat pump if the water tank&rsquo;s temperature rises above a certain threshold. The stored heat energy is used directly for heating if the heat carrier temperature inside the tank is sufficient. If the temperature is too low for direct heating, then the heat pump can be used to extract the stored energy. The calculations are based on the solar irradiation measurements and heating demand data of a sample dwelling. The seasonal storing of solar heat energy can increase the solar heat energy usage and decrease the heat pump working time. The long-term storage tank capacity of 15 m3 can increase the direct heating from solar by 41%. The direct heating system efficiency is 51%

Mitigation of peak loads with solar energy in an enterprise

The electricity consumption in enterprises has a significant share in the overall energy consumption. One of the main changes for the electricity consumers in Estonia has been the hourly-based billing that for larger electricity consumers (usually industries) was implemented from April 2010. What is more, these consumers usually have to make contracts with power companies with specific conditions. One of the conditions usually applied is, that the larger electricity consumers have a consumption-based threshold: when the energy consumption in a single hour exceeds a certain limit, a higher price has to be paid for the electricity consumed over the before mentioned limit. This above-normal demand from the electrical grid during a short period of time can also be described as a peak load. In the current paper renewable electricity that would be generated on-site using PV-panels is considered for the mitigation of these peak loads in enterprises. An enterprise that is located in a rural area in Central-Estonia and is connected to the main Estonian Electricity Network Operator was chosen as an example case for the analysis. The simulated renewable energy system is connected to the grid and therefore has no need for storage equipmentVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

Power balancing possibilities for a small wind-PV panel hybrid system for a nearly autonomous unit consumer

Wind is, compared to solar irradiation, a highly stochastic energy source. Nevertheless, both are usable (to some degree) almost everywhere and therefore are very convenient energy sources. There are several possible configurations for a system with renewable energy sources, for example standalone and grid connected. In the current paper we estimate a small wind-PVpanel hybrid system connected to the grid, with or without storage equipment. It is important to find correlation between the rated capacities of wind and solar PV equipment. Besides, sizing storage equipment is important, as it is expensive. The main goal of estimation is minimizing the amount of electrical energy from the grid by using the minimal amount of storage equipment. In the calculations, the weather data acquired from meteorological databases (hourly time series data over 6 years from several locations), a 1 kW unit consumer, normalised wind generators, standard PV-panels and batteries are usedVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij