Vehículos eléctricos : hacia la sostenibilidad en la movilidad

Los automoviles de propulsión convencional están destinados a desaparecer hacia 2050 y a ser sustituidos por alternativas mucho más eficientes. La electricidad, de momento y a pesar de que aún queda mucho por pulir, ha tomado ventaja y es la apuesta más firme que baraja Europa de cara al futuro

Mobile Robot Lab Project to Introduce Engineering Students to Fault Diagnosis in Mechatronic Systems

This document is a self-archiving copy of the accepted version of the paper. Please find the final published version in IEEEXplore: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TE.2014.2358551This paper proposes lab work for learning fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) in mechatronic systems. These skills are important for engineering education because FDD is a key capability of competitive processes and products. The intended outcome of the lab work is that students become aware of the importance of faulty conditions and learn to design FDD strategies for a real system. To this end, the paper proposes a lab project where students are requested to develop a discrete event dynamic system (DEDS) diagnosis to cope with two faulty conditions in an autonomous mobile robot task. A sample solution is discussed for LEGO Mindstorms NXT robots with LabVIEW. This innovative practice is relevant to higher education engineering courses related to mechatronics, robotics, or DEDS. Results are also given of the application of this strategy as part of a postgraduate course on fault-tolerant mechatronic systems.This work was supported in part by the Spanish CICYT under Project DPI2011-22443

Design of Electric Racing Vehicles: An experience of interdisciplinary project-based education in engineering

This paper describes a project based learning program carried out in the E.T.S.I.I. of the University of Malaga, Spain, whose main objective is the organization of a team for the development of experimental electric racing vehicles and their evaluation in competitive races. It is shown the work done during the first two years of the project, highlighting the most important aspects of the experience: the training focused on senior students (capstone courses), the training focused on freshmen (cornerstone courses) and the university-industry collaboration for the manufacture of the prototypes and equipment designed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Ingeniería Basada en Modelos en Prácticas de Robótica

Muñoz-Ramírez, A.J., Fernández-Lozano, J.J. y Gómez-de-Gabriel, J.M. (2015), "Ingeniería Basada en Modelos en Prácticas de Robótica", XXXVI Jornadas de Automática CEA/IFAC, Bilbao 2015.En este artículo se recoge la experiencia de usar una herramienta de desarrollo de ingeniería basada en modelos ó MDE (Model-Driven Engineering) para la realización de clases prácticas de robótica. La principal característica de los enfoques es que se prescinde de la fase de programación, por lo que se puede pasar del diseño a la implementación de manera autom´atica permitiendo dedicar más tiempo a los objetivos del aprendizaje. Para determinar la eficiencia de estas herramientas se ha utilizado una plataforma robótica móvil y se han realizado experimentos con alumnos utilizando Simulink con generación de código de Arduino y se han medido los resultados de manera subjetiva y objetiva.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Enabling Remote Responder Bio-Signal Monitoring in a Cooperative Human–Robot Architecture for Search and Rescue

The roles of emergency responders are challenging and often physically demanding, so it is essential that their duties are performed safely and effectively. In this article, we address real-time bio-signal sensor monitoring for responders in disaster scenarios. In particular, we propose the integration of a set of health monitoring sensors suitable for detecting stress, anxiety and physical fatigue in an Internet of Cooperative Agents architecture for search and rescue (SAR) missions (SAR-IoCA), which allows remote control and communication between human and robotic agents and the mission control center. With this purpose, we performed proof-of-concept experiments with a bio-signal sensor suite worn by firefighters in two high-fidelity SAR exercises. Moreover, we conducted a survey, distributed to end-users through the Fire Brigade consortium of the Provincial Council of Málaga, in order to analyze the firefighters’ opinion about biological signals monitoring while on duty. As a result of this methodology, we propose a wearable sensor suite design with the aim of providing some easy-to-wear integrated-sensor garments, which are suitable for emergency worker activity. The article offers discussion of user acceptance, performance results and learned lessons.This work has been partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España, projects RTI2018-093421-B-I00 and PID2021-122944OB-I00. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Sistema móvil de información basado en una red de sensores inalámbricos aplicado a la movilidad urbana

La movilidad en las ciudades se ve comprometida por un tráfico cada vez más elevado y unas infraestructuras que no pueden ampliarse. Por tanto, la mejora de la movilidad y su sostenibilidad deben venir de la mano de una mejor gestión de los recursos, con la incorporación de estrategias de control del tráfico que se adapten en cada momento a sus condiciones. El principal obstáculo está en la obtención de esa información. Una posibilidad son las redes de sensores inalámbricos, que pueden aportar información sobre las condiciones en una zona de interés, con vistas a una planificación más eficiente y al despliegue de algoritmos de control más elaborados.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Agencia de Obra Pública de la Junta de Andalucía (proyecto GI3000/IDIZ, con apoyo financiaero de los fondos FEDER

Fuzzy logic tuning of a PI controller to improve the performance of a wind turbine on a semi-submersible platform under different wind scenarios

The integration of renewable energy sources in power systems, specially wind energy, is growing as environmental concerns arise in society. Nevertheless, the low amount of viable sites onshore or in shallow waters restricts the use of wind energy. In this sense, offshore semi-submersible platforms appear as an option, which in addition enables the integration of complementary elements, for instance wave energy converters. However, the complexity of the system increases due to the interactions between the platform movements and the wind turbine, and traditional control techniques do not enable to cope with these interactions in an easy way, hence limiting the efficiency of energy harvesting. Intelligent control techniques are an option with a great potential to take full account of the said interactions and to improve energy production efficiency. Still, it is required to have simulation models including those effects beforehand, so that the effects of a designed controller on the system can be evaluated. This paper presents an original fuzzy logic controller that tunes a reference controller, improving its performance according to a developed methodology that allows evaluation of controllers for wind turbines in semi-submersible platforms. The resulting fuzzy logic controller allows higher efficiency concerning mechanical loads in the system, electric energy production and tracking error of the speed reference.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Integration of a Canine Agent in a Wireless Sensor Network for Information Gathering in Search and Rescue Missions

Search and rescue operations in the context of emergency response to human or natural disasters have the major goal of finding potential victims in the shortest possible time. Multi-agent teams, which can include specialized human respondents, robots and canine units, complement the strengths and weaknesses of each agent, like all-terrain mobility or capability to locate human beings. However, efficient coordination of heterogeneous agents requires specific means to locate the agents, and to provide them with the information they require to complete their mission. The major contribution of this work is an application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) to gather information from a multi-agent team and to make it available to the rest of the agents while keeping coverage. In particular, a canine agent has been equipped with a mobile node installed on a harness, providing information about the dog’s location as well as gas levels. The configuration of the mobile node allows for flexible arrangement of the system, being able to integrate static as well as mobile nodes. The gathered information is available at an external database, so that the rest of the agents and the control center can use it in real time. The proposed scheme has been tested in realistic scenarios during search and rescue exercises

Development and Evaluation of Fuzzy Logic Controllers for Improving Performance of Wind Turbines on Semi-Submersible Platforms under Different Wind Scenarios

Among renewable energy technologies, wind energy features one of the best possibilities for large-scale integration into power systems. However, there are specific restrictions regarding the installation areas for this technology, thus resulting in a growing, yet restricted, rate of penetration of the technology because of the limited viable sites onshore or in shallow waters. In this context, the use of offshore semi-submersible platforms appears as a promising option, which additionally enables the incorporation of other elements, such as wave energy converters or aquaculture. Nevertheless, this kind of offshore facility involves interactions between platform movements and the wind turbine, increasing the complexity of the system, causing traditional control techniques to not be able to fully cope with the dynamics of the system, and thus limiting the efficiency of energy extraction. On the contrary, the use of intelligent control techniques is an interesting option to take full account of the said interactions and to improve energy capture efficiency through the control of the pitch of the blades, especially under turbulent, above-rated wind profiles. This work presents an original fuzzy logic controller that has been validated by comparing it with previously validated controllers, following a developed methodology that allows comparison of controllers for wind turbines in semi-submersible platforms using performance indexes.This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Government of Spain) and European Union (RTC-2016-5712-3); by the European Union, CDTI (Spain) and BEISS (UK) through the call H2020 ERA-NET DEMOWIND (WIP10+ project); by the Regional Government of Andalusia and European Union (UMA-CEIATECH-18); and finally, by partial funding for open access charge from the Universidad de Málaga. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Close detection robotic platform for Search And Rescue missions based on Bluetooth Low Energy

Improvements in telecommunications and digitalization directly improve the efficacy of a wide variety of processes. Recently, detection systems have received considerable attention because of the importance of tracking infected people contacts during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Such implementations can be useful in the task of finding potential victims in the context of emergency response, especially in situations where GPS is not available or inspection by imaging is not practical. Radio signals come into play, and specifically from devices that transmit periodically and with low power consumption. With the rise of Internet of Things over the last years, the number of wearable devices that support BLE, such as smartbands, smartwatches or smartphones, has been increasing constantly, as well as the number of users that carry them. Those devices can provide considerable assistance in locating injured or unconscious people. This work presents a system for detecting victims by means of a terrestrial search and rescue (SAR) robot. A real implementation of a close detection robotic platform based on BLE for SAR interventions is laid out. To estimate the distance between a robotic agent and potential victims within an experimental area, a Log-distance path loss model is presented. The proposed scheme has been tested in realistic scenarios during SAR exercises.This work was partially funded by the Spanish project RTI2018-093421-B-I00. It has been also performed in the framework of the Horizon 2020 project LOCUS (ICT-871249) receiving funds from the European Union. This work has been also partially funded by Junta de Andalucía and ERDF projects: Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades, Proyecto de Excelencia PENTA, P18-FR-4647; postdoctoral grant (Ref., DOC 01154, “selección de personal investigador doctor convocado mediante Resolución de 21 de mayo de 2020”, PAIDI 2020) and the I Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica of the University of Málaga. The authors want to thank the collaboration of the Chair for Safety, Emergencies and Disasters of the University of Malaga, led by Prof. Jesús Miranda, as well as Javier Serón Barba for his support during the experiments. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech