Low-Cost Visual Sensor Node for BlueTooth-Based Measurement Networks

This paper proposes a wireless visual sensor comprising of a low-cost grayscale camera as the sensing hardware and a BlueTooth (BT) 100-m slave module as the transmission hardware. The latter enables the sensor to be inserted as a node in a medium-range BT measurement network. The proposed sensor, which is designed to satisfy precise specifications in terms of image-transfer rate and power consumption, represents a good image-acquisition solution in a wide range of applications where hardwiring between camera and image processor is undesired. This paper describes the hardware used and the overall operating principle behind the sensor, discusses the sensor-node performance, and reports the results of reliability tests

Sensitivity of water meters to small leakage

Abstract Water leakage beyond the meter at the household level is becoming an emerging problem in a world where water must be respected and saved. More than public awareness campaigns for citizens, automatic leakage detection could give in the future the best results. Domestic water consumption will be continuously monitored by smart meters able to distinguish between normal absorption and leakage. Nowadays, some research prototypes of smart water meters were designed for continuous monitoring aimed to collect measurements and send them to a central unit for developing statistics on consumptions and alarms. In this paper, the authors propose a battery-powered visual smart device that could be a good starting point to generate leakage alarms at the household level. After a brief description of state of the art, the paper at first faces the problem of the leakage detection dependence on meter sensitivity. Then, an image-based technique for automatic "null consumption detection" to be applied both to the register last digit and to a needle of water meters is tested on three different water meters. Finally, experimental results confirm that this image-based technique, allowing the automatic detection of Periods With Null Consumption, can be very useful for water leakage detection algorithms

Performance Characterization of a Wireless Instrumentation Bus

The architecture and operation of a wireless instrumentation bus based on the Bluetooth standard are presented together with a detailed characterization. The bus, via suitable wireless interface boards, allows measurement instruments equipped with standard RS232, IEEE488, universal serial bus, and local area network interface ports to be simply connected within the wireless area without any firmware modification. In addition, a comparison with traditional wired interface buses is carried out in terms of communication reliability and throughput with reference to some basic operating modes. Finally, the results of distance tests and a detailed evaluation of power consumption for each wireless interface module are reported. This will enable measurement system designers to evaluate the convenience of the solution for their application requirements

Measurement of Passive R, L, and C Components Under Nonsinusoidal Conditions: The Solution of Some Case Studies

This paper deals with the measurement of the R, L, and C parameters of passive components in nonsinusoidal conditions. Since these components usually work with voltage and current waveforms that are different from sinusoidal ones, nonsinusoidal characterization has to be made. The importance of nonsinusoidal characterization of passive components is highlighted through the analysis of two case studies: (1) the influence of distorted waveforms on the line impedance stabilizer network (LISN) passive component behaviors and (2) the influence of voltage and current harmonics on hybrid filter responses. In this paper, the authors propose and describe a measurement method based on linear system identification and model parameter estimation techniques. Then, the two case studies are analyzed and described with the help of some test results

A Statistical Approach for Improving the Performance of a Testing Methodology for Measurement Software

This paper describes the significant enhancements brought to an original methodology designed for testing measurement software. In a previous paper, the authors proposed a blackbox seven-step procedure that allows the functional verification of complex instrument software to be performed. The main features of the procedure are concerned with the following: 1) the ability of reproducing actual correlations among the software inputs and 2) the need for a limited number of test cases.Making use of innovative statistical techniques, themethodology performance and reliability have been enhanced. Two further steps have been added with the aim of improving the correlation coefficient assessments and providing the estimations with a confidence level. Finally, a new strategy has been studied to optimize the number of test cases. The effects of the new solutions on the performance of the methodology are evaluated by applying the procedure to a complex softwaremodule employed in an automotive system. A comparison with the previous methodology version is also reported

Software customization to provide digital oscilloscope with enhanced period-measurement features

This paper tackles the problem of signal period measurements by means of oscilloscopes. First, the performance of two last-generation scopes, implementing a zero-crossing algorithm, is evaluated. Then, after a brief resume of alternative measurement techniques, a solution to enhance the period-measurement capability of scopes is proposed and implemented in the LeCroy WaveMaster 8620A software. Finally, the results of the tests carried out on different signal waveforms are reported and analyzed

Smart Devices and Services for Smart City

Citizen quality of life can be improved through facilities and services that have been thought to ease citizen interaction with municipal authorities, offices and structures. All technologies and devices, used for developing these facilities, are the pillars of the Smart City idea: a City that adapts itself, at least in part, to citizens’ needs. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) could become the backbone of all the smart city projects. Other public services can be loaded on AMI’s to be smart and thus helping to find the affordability of investments. The paper deals with this topic by describing devices and results of a pilot project, which has been carried out in an Italian middle city (Salerno), to experience the use of RF 169MHz wM-bus based AMI. Experimental results regarding a set of about 2500 installed devices for gas and water metering, car parking management and elder tele-assistance, will be reported in detail to show convenience and problems of this approach

Mixed Graph of Terms: Beyond the bags of words representation of a text

The main purpose of text mining techniques is to identify common patterns through the observation of vectors of features and then to use such patterns to make predictions. Vectors of features are usually made up of weighted words, as well as those used in the text retrieval field, which are obtained thanks to the assumption that considers a document as a "bag of words". However, in this paper we demonstrate that, to obtain more accuracy in the analysis and revelation of common patterns, we could employ (observe) more complex features than simple weighted words. The proposed vector of features considers a hierarchical structure, named a mixed Graph of Terms, composed of a directed and an undirected sub-graph of words, that can be automatically constructed from a small set of documents through the probabilistic Topic Model. The graph has demonstrated its efficiency in a classic "ad-hoc" text retrieval problem. Here we consider expanding the initial query with this new structured vector of features

Intelligent Systems 3. Knowledge Engineering 4. Collaborative Filtering 5. System Thinking 1 Full Professor of Computer Science, Salerno University, [email protected]. 2 Full Professor of Electrical and Electronic Measurements

ABSTRACT Purpose -The general concept of a Service System is now used to refer to those complex systems composed of heterogeneous entities, including people, technology and business operations, which interact through the exchange of services. The aim of this paper is to introduce the concept of Knowledge Based Service Systems and demonstrate that the way to make an economic, managerial, organizational, industrial, computer system smarter, which means that the system evolves by adapting to the needs and changing conditions thereby reducing the mismatch and loss of resources, is to consider such a system as a Service System based on the management and manipulation of Knowledge. Methodology/approach -To achieve a dynamic and adaptive system, we need a description of the system, entities and services, as well as a definition of the structured knowledge based on ontologies, metadata, taxonomies and thesauri, and so a kind of Knowledge Representation which contains both the raw data, obtained by recording the behavior of the system, and the knowledge gained through the study of the domain. Consequently, we need to design a Data Mining and Knowledge, Inference and Learning system, that is capable of working on both the raw and structured data and so bringing both understanding and prediction, with the aim of making the system able to adaptively evolve thereby reducing the mismatch in the services exchange mechanism. Findings -It will be fundamental to exploit results obtained by the scientific community in the field of probabilistic methods for Collaborative Filtering which are based on techniques suitable for handling data belonging to the lowest level of the knowledge hierarchy (memory based), at the intermediate level (content based) and at the highest level (hybrid). Research implications -This work can be considered as a Service Research advance in Knowledge based Service Systems. Practical implications -Such a system could be implemented in every context in order to improve the management of available resources. Originality/value -What is asserted in this paper could be interesting when it is necessary to reduce the mismatch in the service exchange process: management of alternative and/or sustainable energy systems, of agriculture and the environment, of heritage and artistic systems, of sustainable mobility, of homeland security, of health and life sciences