NILM techniques for intelligent home energy management and ambient assisted living: a review

The ongoing deployment of smart meters and different commercial devices has made electricity disaggregation feasible in buildings and households, based on a single measure of the current and, sometimes, of the voltage. Energy disaggregation is intended to separate the total power consumption into specific appliance loads, which can be achieved by applying Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) techniques with a minimum invasion of privacy. NILM techniques are becoming more and more widespread in recent years, as a consequence of the interest companies and consumers have in efficient energy consumption and management. This work presents a detailed review of NILM methods, focusing particularly on recent proposals and their applications, particularly in the areas of Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), where the ability to determine the on/off status of certain devices can provide key information for making further decisions. As well as complementing previous reviews on the NILM field and providing a discussion of the applications of NILM in HEMS and AAL, this paper provides guidelines for future research in these topics.Agência financiadora: Programa Operacional Portugal 2020 and Programa Operacional Regional do Algarve 01/SAICT/2018/39578 Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through IDMEC, under LAETA: SFRH/BSAB/142998/2018 SFRH/BSAB/142997/2018 UID/EMS/50022/2019 Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La-Mancha, Spain: SBPLY/17/180501/000392 Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (SOC-PLC project): TEC2015-64835-C3-2-R MINECO/FEDERinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Designing robust forecasting ensembles of Data-Driven Models with a Multi-Objective Formulation: An application to Home Energy Management Systems

This work proposes a procedure for the multi-objective design of a robust forecasting ensemble of data-driven models. Starting with a data-selection algorithm, a multi-objective genetic algorithm is then executed, performing topology and feature selection, as well as parameter estimation. From the set of non-dominated or preferential models, a smaller sub-set is chosen to form the ensemble. Prediction intervals for the ensemble are obtained using the covariance method. This procedure is illustrated in the design of four different models, required for energy management systems. Excellent results were obtained by this methodology, superseding the existing alternatives. Further research will incorporate a robustness criterion in MOGA, and will incorporate the prediction intervals in predictive control techniques.Grant number 72581/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Forecasting electricity demand in households using MOGA-designed artificial neural networks

The prediction of electricity demand plays an essential role in the building environment. It strongly contributes to making the building more energy-efficient, having the potential to increase both thermal and visual comfort of the occupants, while reducing energy consumption, by allowing the use of model predictive control. The present article focuses on the use of computational intelligence methods for prediction of the power consumption of a case study residential building, during a horizon of 12 hours. Two exogeneous variables (ambient temperature and day code) are used in the NARX model Two different time steps were considered in the simulations, as well as constrained and unconstrained model design. The study concluded that the smaller timestep and the constrained model design obtain the best power demand prediction performance. The results obtained compare very favourably with similar approaches in the literature Copyright (C) 2020 The Authors.UIDB/50022/2020, 01/SAICT/2018info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Recent techniques used in home energy management systems: a review

Power systems are going through a transition period. Consumers want more active participation in electric system management, namely assuming the role of producers–consumers, prosumers in short. The prosumers’ energy production is heavily based on renewable energy sources, which, besides recognized environmental benefits, entails energy management challenges. For instance, energy consumption of appliances in a home can lead to misleading patterns. Another challenge is related to energy costs since inefficient systems or unbalanced energy control may represent economic loss to the prosumer. The so-called home energy management systems (HEMS) emerge as a solution. When well-designed HEMS allow prosumers to reach higher levels of energy management, this ensures optimal management of assets and appliances. This paper aims to present a comprehensive systematic review of the literature on optimization techniques recently used in the development of HEMS, also taking into account the key factors that can influence the development of HEMS at a technical and computational level. The systematic review covers the period 2018–2021. As a result of the review, the major developments in the field of HEMS in recent years are presented in an integrated manner. In addition, the techniques are divided into four broad categories: traditional techniques, model predictive control, heuristics and metaheuristics, and other techniques.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Design of ensemble forecasting models for home energy management systems

The increasing levels of energy consumption worldwide is raising issues with respect to surpassing supply limits, causing severe effects on the environment, and the exhaustion of energy resources. Buildings are one of the most relevant sectors in terms of energy consumption; as such, efficient Home or Building Management Systems are an important topic of research. This study discusses the use of ensemble techniques in order to improve the performance of artificial neural networks models used for energy forecasting in residential houses. The case study is a residential house, located in Portugal, that is equipped with PV generation and battery storage and controlled by a Home Energy Management System (HEMS). It has been shown that the ensemble forecasting results are superior to single selected models, which were already excellent. A simple procedure was proposed for selecting the models to be used in the ensemble, together with a heuristic to determine the number of models.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Non-intrusive load monitoring of household devices using a hybrid deep learning model through convex hull-based data selection

The availability of smart meters and IoT technology has opened new opportunities, ranging from monitoring electrical energy to extracting various types of information related to household occupancy, and with the frequency of usage of different appliances. Non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) allows users to disaggregate the usage of each device in the house using the total aggregated power signals collected from a smart meter that is typically installed in the household. It enables the monitoring of domestic appliance use without the need to install individual sensors for each device, thus minimizing electrical system complexities and associated costs. This paper proposes an NILM framework based on low frequency power data using a convex hull data selection approach and hybrid deep learning architecture. It employs a sliding window of aggregated active and reactive powers sampled at 1 Hz. A randomized approximation convex hull data selection approach performs the selection of the most informative vertices of the real convex hull. The hybrid deep learning architecture is composed of two models: a classification model based on a convolutional neural network trained with a regression model based on a bidirectional long-term memory neural network. The results obtained on the test dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, achieving F1 values ranging from 0.95 to 0.99 for the four devices considered and estimation accuracy values between 0.88 and 0.98. These results compare favorably with the performance of existing approaches.This research was funded by Programa Operacional Portugal 2020 and Operational Program CRESC Algarve 2020, grant numbers 39578/2018 and 72581/2020. Antonio Ruano also acknowledges the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, grant UID/EMS/50022/2020, through IDMEC under LAETAinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Selfactoria : subversion of the selfie. Spatial analysis tool of the media - social phenomenon of the selfie for the conception of spaces in Architecture

"El ojo no ve cosas sino figuras de cosas que significan otras cosas.” -Italo Calvino. La producción de espacios instagrameables que son aprobados por el fenómeno mediático-social de la “selfie”, consecuencia de la revolución tecnológica y la industrialización acelerada, bajo modelos altamente contaminantes y capitalistas, han creado nuevos hábitos de consumo y ha hecho debatirse la condición del hombre en relación con su espacio/tiempo, del cómo habitamos estos nuevos espacios entendiendo la sociedad acelerada en la que nos encontramos enmarcados y cómo repercute en la arquitectura contemporánea y el dialogo que entabla de manera multidimensional. El siguiente Trabajo de Grado empieza por problematizar desde una mirada critica de la “selfie” como un fenómeno naturalmente urbano que está alterando los modos de vivir y hacer la arquitectura y que ha sido resultado de un interés por indagar en la imagen de si mismo (self) para estetizar una consciencia de época, lo que convierte a la “selfie” en un artificie de un mundo de espacios con intenciones temporales, superficiales y mediáticas, que tienen como objetivo atraer a un publico con un deseo de consumir. De este modo la intención de este documento es que a partir de una reflexión académica, proponer un campo de estudio en el “self expandido”, aludiendo a la escena trasera de la imagen, producida en la interacción de un sujeto con una máquina capturándose a si mismo, permitiendo analizar las cualidades espaciales que se puedan encontrar en el contexto espacial de la mirada inconsciente del que retrata y es retratado (self). Esta imagen, resultado de la selfie ya no es únicamente la búsqueda de la verdad y el deseo de retener el tiempo o conservar la memoria, se ha convertido en objeto de comunicación, expresión, y problematización, lo cual ha sido posible por la inclusión de los nuevos medios no solo tecnológicos sino también de difusión como Instagram o Facebook causando un efecto espacio/tiempo en cómo habitamos, lo que Paul Virilio llamaría “apartamiento” sobre menos distancia en el espacio que el de la distancia-tiempo, que afectan también en aspectos sensoriales y emotivos en los usuarios. Es por eso que tiene gran validez la investigación de la fotografía “selfie” (el resultado físico/ virtual de la imagen con el contenido del self) como narración de una sociedad que genera una serie de valores hacia el espacio, convirtiendo el mismo acto de la toma de la selfie en un juicio o valoración del espacio mismo. Así que uno de mis intereses es generar vínculos entre distintas áreas de conocimiento tanto desde una Herramienta de Análisis Espacial desde el concepto de self expandido, implica un método mixto, con la convergencia de disciplinas como la filosofía, las artes visuales, la escenografía, la museografía, entre otras, que pueden aportarle una reflexión crítica y sensible, al modo de cómo se esta pensando y produciendo la arquitectura como herramienta de aprendizaje en arquitectos en formación, como también una reivindicación de quien diseña desde la conciencia de nuevos modelos tecnológicos y de relación; y la interpretación del self en la concepción de espacios dentro de un contexto educativo. Como hipótesis se espera introducir la presencia del arquitecto bajo un lenguaje performativo y útil para la identificación de espacios “instagrameables” o de gran interés a nivel social capaces de ser captados en fotografías. Estos nos ayudará a conocer el desarrollo de nuevas tendencias e interpretaciones del self hacia la arquitectura, superando la concepción de self como elemento individual y abordando más el análisis a partir de la intersubjetividad. Reuniendo la experiencia del self como un punto de partida para concebir su potencial comunicativo desde una perspectiva cultural y como práctica social dentro un lenguaje de red. Con el interés de entender la incidencia de la lectura de la arquitectura por medio de imágenes. Para emprender este recorrido, es necesario entender que la metodología de trabajo que se utilizó no fue de manera lineal, sino que fue un proceso que surgió de una indagación personal por una intuición asociada a la selfie, que toma elementos del sujeto (self). Así mismo fue necesario realizar un recuento histórico de las implicaciones que ha tenido el considerar autorretratarse y las herramientas y tecnologías que han hecho posible materializar la participación del individuo en panoramas existentes arquitectónicos, pero por una elección inconsciente, y así poder llegar al problema que se plantea a través de toda la investigación. Es por ello, que se va a exponer a lo largo del trabajo el efecto reciproco que se encuentra dentro del interaccionismo del cuerpo, el espacio y la máquina, lo cual en este trabajo se denomina performance o método performativo. De esta manera se pretende evidenciar los modos de producción de la subjetividad del espacio que no se revelan de manera tan evidente. Con ayuda del concepto de self expandido será posible la construcción de unas nuevas topologías sensibles de paisaje a partir de un mapeo performativo. La selfie por su naturaleza de inmediatez y universalidad, y su carácter de observación y selección dentro de su proceso de difusión a través de redes sociales, le permiten a este Proyecto de Grado realizar una lectura colectiva y compleja del espacio inconsciente pero significativo que hay detrás del self. Por tal razón nace la creación de la “Selfactoria: subversión de la selfie” ubicada en el Design Factory”. Un ejercicio experimental que identifica cómo ésta generación tiene acceso a una cantidad de tecnología y de éste modo encontrar un gran potencial al desarrollo de una Herramienta de Análisis Espacial desde la imagen de la selfie. Esta herramienta, va a proponer un método mixto de análisis, que se va a componer de dos casos de comprobación, el primero se realizará sobre un estudio de imágenes en la ciudad de Bogotá tomadas de Instagram y el segundo a partir de una herramienta física, que se acercará como prototipo de la aplicación."The eye sees nothing but figures of things that mean other things." -Italo Calvin. The production of instagramable spaces that are approved by the social-media phenomenon of the “selfie”, consequence of the technological revolution and accelerated industrialization, under highly polluting and capitalist models, have created new consumption habits and the condition of the man in relation to his space / time, of how we inhabit these new spaces, understanding the accelerated society in which we are framed and how it affects contemporary architecture and the dialogue that it engages in a multidimensional way. The following Degree Work begins by problematizing from a critical view of the “selfie” as a naturally urban phenomenon that is altering the ways of living and doing architecture and that has been the result of an interest in investigating the image of oneself ( self) to aesthetize a period consciousness, which makes the "selfie" an artifice of a world of spaces with temporal, superficial and media intentions, which aim to attract an audience with a desire to consume. Thus, the intention of this document is that from an academic reflection, propose a field of study in the “expanded self”, referring to the back scene of the image, produced in the interaction of a subject with a machine capturing itself, allowing to analyze the spatial qualities that can be found in the spatial context of the unconscious gaze of the one who portrays and is portrayed (self). This image, the result of the selfie is no longer solely the search for truth and the desire to retain time or conserve memory, has become an object of communication, expression, and problematization, which has been made possible by the inclusion of the new media not only technological but also of diffusion such as Instagram or Facebook causing a space / time effect on how we live, what Paul Virilio would call "apart" over less distance in space than that of distance-time, which also affect sensory and emotional aspects in users. That is why the investigation of “selfie” photography (the physical / virtual result of the image with the content of the self) as a narration of a society that generates a series of values ​​towards space, converting the same act of taking the selfie in a trial or valuation of the space itself. So one of my interests is to generate links between different areas of knowledge both from a Spatial Analysis Tool from the concept of expanded self, it implies a mixed method, with the convergence of disciplines such as philosophy, visual arts, set design, museology, among others, that can give you a critical and sensitive reflection, in the way in which you are thinking and producing architecture as a learning tool in architects in training, as well as a claim of who designs from the awareness of new technological models and relationship; and the interpretation of the self in the conception of spaces within an educational context. As a hypothesis, it is expected to introduce the presence of the architect under a performative and useful language for the identification of “instagramable” spaces or of great interest at a social level capable of being captured in photographs. These will help us to know the development of new tendencies and interpretations of the self towards architecture, overcoming the conception of self as an individual element and addressing more the analysis from intersubjectivity. Gathering the experience of the self as a starting point to conceive its communicative potential from a cultural perspective and as a social practice within a network language. With the interest of understanding the incidence of reading architecture through images. To undertake this journey, it is necessary to understand that the work methodology that was used was not linear, but that it was a process that arose from a personal inquiry by an intuition associated with the selfie, which takes elements of the subject (self). It was also necessary to make a historical account of the implications that have been considered to consider self-portrait and the tools and technologies that have made it possible to materialize the participation of the individual in existing architectural scenarios, but by an unconscious choice, and thus be able to reach the problem that is poses throughout the investigation. It is for this reason that the reciprocal effect that is within the interaction of the body, space and the machine will be exposed throughout the work, which in this work is called performance or performative method. In this way it is intended to demonstrate the modes of production of the subjectivity of space that are not revealed so clearly. With the help of the concept of expanded self it will be possible to build new sensitive landscape topologies from a performative mapping.  The selfie for its nature of immediacy and universality, and its character of observation and selection within its diffusion process through social networks, allow this Degree Project to make a collective and complex reading of the unconscious but significant space behind of the self. For this reason, the creation of the “Selfactoria: subversion of the selfie” located in the Design Factory was born. An experimental exercise that identifies how this generation has access to a quantity of technology and thus find great potential for the development of a Spatial Analysis Tool from the selfie image. This tool will propose a mixed method of analysis, which will consist of two verification cases, the first will be carried out on a study of images in the city of Bogotá taken from Instagram and the second from a physical tool, which will approach as a prototype of the application.  Arquitecto (a)Pregrad

Selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation of superficial placental anastomoses for the treatment of severe twin-twin transfusion syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To report our initial institutional experience with fetoscopic laser photocoagulation of placental anastomoses in severe twin-twin transfusion syndrome using a 1.0 mm endoscope. METHODS: Between July 2006 and June 2008, 19 monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies complicated by severe TTTS (Quintero stages III and IV) underwent fetoscopic laser therapy. Perinatal data were prospectively collected and compared according to the Quintero stages. RESULTS: Nine patients were classified as stage III and ten as stage IV. The Mean gestational ages at diagnosis and procedure were 20 (range: 17-25) and 22.0 (range: 19.0-26.0) weeks, respectively, with no statistical difference between the two groups. Preterm premature rupture of the membranes occurred in two cases (10.5%), and spontaneous preterm delivery in eight (42.1%). Overall mean gestational age at delivery was 32.1 (range: 26.0-38.0) weeks. Prematurity was more severe in stage IV patients (p<0.01). Among all cases, the overall survival rate was 52.6%, and the percentages of pregnancies with survival of both babies and at least one twin were 26.3% and 78.9%, respectively. In the case of stage III patients, the overall survival rate was 61.1%. Of the stage III pregnancies, 33.3% resulted in both babies surviving, and 88.9% of these pregnancies resulted in at least one surviving twin. For stage IV, as the corresponding statistics were 45.0%, 20.0% and 70.0% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our initial institutional experience with 1.0 mm fetoscopic laser therapy for severe TTTS showed results similar to those reported in the literature for larger endoscopes

Diseño de material educativo para apoyar los proceso de mediación artística del Creatorio Artístico Pedagógico -CAP-, en la ciudad de Guatemala.

Organiza y diagrama el material editorial institucional de Creatorio Artístico Pedagógico (CAP) para la divulgación de un kit de enseñanza-aprendizaje artística para el reforzamiento cognitivo y expresivo del niño. Integra guías cuya codificación, cromática, iconográfica, tipográfica y reticular muestran su orientación didáctica y con la ayuda de los personajes se fortalezca la intercomunicación educativa

De evoluciones y retos en la investigación traductológica del siglo XXI

This article will analyse some of the key developments and challenges in recent translation research. Beginning with an overview of the state of the art and the main debates that prevailed in the field of translation studies at the turn of the century, three main trends will be identified as common denominators of research on translation in the first two decades of the 21st century: a clear commitment to interdisciplinary research which proactively aims at influencing other fields of knowledge and society in general; an understanding of translation as a ubiquitous, multifaceted and chameleon-like phenomenon pervading the societies of the digital and globalised era, and a call to adopt new non-binary theoretical and methodological frameworks in order to shed light on the complex and vast heterogeneity of translation practices which take place at multiple intersections among the inherently plural languages, cultures and identities coexisting in the superdiverse societies of our day and age.En este artículo se analizarán algunas de las principales evoluciones y retos perceptibles en las investigaciones más recientes sobre traducción. A partir de una mirada retrospectiva al estado y los debates del ámbito en torno al cambio de siglo, se identificarán tres destacadas tendencias como denominadores comunes de las investigaciones traductológicas de las dos últimas décadas. En concreto, como rasgos característicos de los estudios sobre la traducción en el siglo XXI se detectan un marcado compromiso con una interdisciplinariedad proactiva y una voluntad de influir en otros ámbitos de conocimiento y en la sociedad en general; un reconocimiento de la traducción como fenómeno ubicuo, tan multiforme como camaleónico, en las sociedades de la era digital y globalizada, y una llamada a adoptar nuevos marcos teóricos y metodológicos, alejados de los binarismos, que permitan arrojar luz sobre la compleja e inmensa heterogeneidad de prácticas traductoras que operan en las múltiples intersecciones entre las lenguas, culturas e identidades plurales que conviven en las sociedades superdiversas contemporánea