Contribuciones al desarrollo de laboratorios virtuales y remotos en robótica

Esta tesis cubre un amplio rango de conceptos desde la automática antigua hasta los laboratorios virtuales y remotos, pasando por los vehículos y manipuladores robóticos. La Tesis está estructurada para que pueda utilizarse como ejemplo de un conjunto de prácticas docentes desarrolladas alrededor de la robótica pedagógica. La idea inicial fue la de construir VANTER (Vehículo Autónomo No Tripulado Especializado en Reconocimiento). Este prototipo robótico ha servido de multiplataforma con el objetivo de desarrollar hardware y probar distintos sistemas. Como consecuencia, se han llevado a cabo varios desarrollos entre los que se incluye un instrumento virtual educacional denominado 3D Robotic Arm Simulator (3D-RAS). De esta forma surgió el Laboratorio de Ensayo de Robots (LER), con el propósito de crear un entorno virtual en el que tanto profesores como alumnos pudieran manejar instrumentos reales accesibles desde Internet.____________________________________________________________This Thesis covers a wide range of concepts from old Automatic to the virtual and remote laboratorios, going through robotic vehicles and manipulators. The Thesis is structured so that it can serve as an example of a set of educational practices developed around pedagogical robotics. The initial idea was building VANTER (Spanish acronym of Autonomous Vehicle Not Manned Specialized in Recognition). This robotic prototype has served as multiplatform with the objective of developing hardware and testing different systems. As consequence, several developments have been carried out among an educational virtual instrument (VI) denominated 3D Robotic Arm Simulator (3D-RAS) is included. Thus the Laboratory of e-Learning for Robots (LER) arose with the purpose of creating a virtual environment in which teachers as well as students could manage accessible real instruments from Internet

Method for characterizing obstacles on the road to evaluate their impact on pollution

Traffic calming measures combat speeding and other unsafe behavior by drivers, proving effectiveness in reducing the frequency and severity of accidents. However, some measures include road bumpers that cause negative impact on the environment. This work analyzes the repercussion of reducing the vehicle speed on contaminating emissions and fuel consumption (FC) when driving over a bump. To do this, this paper presents a procedure based on two methods applied to RDVs. The first, based on an application, measures the physical impact on a vehicle from acceleration taken with the IMU of a smartphone in a direction perpendicular to the chassis. The second infers the increase in emissions and FC by taking the speed-time profile of a road. The experimentation with a standard two-passenger vehicle circulating on a road with RDV of trapezoidal and circular sections vs without RDV found a significant physical impact in both scenarios, increasing the emissions of CO, HC, NOX, CO2 and FC by decreasing 10 and 10 km/h. This demonstrates the generalization and usefulness of the method to study the increase in emissions and FC of «traffic calming» measures.Las medidas de «traffic calming» combaten el exceso de velocidad y otras conductas inseguras de los conductores, demostrando eficacia para reducir frecuencia y gravedad de los accidentes. Sin embargo, algunas medidas incluyen resaltos en la vía que causan impacto negativo en el medio ambiente. Este trabajo analiza la repercusión que tiene aminorar la velocidad de un vehículo sobre emisiones contaminantes y consumo de combustible (FC) al aproximarse a un resalto. Para ello, este artículo presenta un procedimiento basado en dos métodos aplicados a RDVs. El primero, basado en una app, mide el impacto físico sobre un vehículo a partir de la aceleración tomada con la IMU de un smartphone en dirección perpendicular al chasis. El segundo infiere el aumento de emisiones y FC tomando el perfil de velocidad-tiempo del trayecto. La experimentación con un vehículo estándar de dos pasajeros circulando sobre un tramo con RDV de sección trapezoidal y circular frente al mismo tramo sin RDV encontró un impacto físico significativo en ambos escenarios, aumentando las emisiones de CO, HC, NOX, CO2 y FC al disminuir la velocidad en 10 y 20 km/h. Ello demuestra la generalización y utilidad del método para estudiar el aumento de emisiones y FC con medidas de «traffic calming»

Design and stabilization of a Coandă effect-based UAV: Comparative study between fuzzy logic and PID control approaches

Recent years have experienced a notable surge in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) research, prompting exploration into innovative concepts. This paper introduces a compact UAV harnessing the Coand˘a effect, an underexplored phenomenon in fluid mechanics. Featuring a single lift motor and two types of flaps, this UAV offers exceptional maneuverability, presenting significant challenges compared to conventional multi-rotor UAVs. To address these challenges, we explore the theoretical study, mechatronic design, and manufacturing complexities of the Coand˘a UAV. Emphasizing the distinctiveness of our work, we assess a Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) for UAV stabilization, marking the first application of such techniques to a Coand˘a-effect UAV, in contrast to the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control employed by other researchers. This innovative application of Fuzzy logic, particularly the Sugeno model, proves advantageous, offering faster and more robust control in uncertain or noisy environments. The proposed FLC strategy is systematically compared against a classical PID control approach, formulated based on the Mamdani and Sugeno models, optimized and manually tuned using a genetic algorithm. Our results showcase a significantly improved settling time of 0.417 s with the FLC strategy, surpassing the PID control approach by 35.23%. To substantiate our findings, we present comprehensive experimentation conducted at both software and hardware levels using Matlab® and Simulink for a microcontroller-based UAV. This groundbreaking fusion of novel design and advanced control techniques not only addresses the unique challenges posed by the Coand˘a UAV’s aerodynamics but also contributes significantly to the field of UAV research.Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica, de Sistemas Informáticos y Automátic

Optimal Modeling of Wireless LANs: A Decision-Making Multiobjective Approach

Communication infrastructure planning is a critical design task that typically requires handling complex concepts on networking aimed at optimizing performance and resources, thus demanding high analytical and problem-solving skills to engineers. To reduce this gap, this paper describes an optimization algorithm—based on evolutionary strategy—created as an aid for decision-making prior to the real deployment of wireless LANs. The developed algorithm allows automating the design process, traditionally handmade by network technicians, in order to save time and cost by improving the WLAN arrangement. To this end, we implemented a multiobjective genetic algorithm (MOGA) with the purpose of meeting two simultaneous design objectives, namely, to minimize the number of APs while maximizing the coverage signal over a whole planning area. Such approach provides efficient and scalable solutions closer to the best network design, so that we integrated the developed algorithm into an engineering tool with the goal of modelling the behavior of WLANs in ICT infrastructures. Called WiFiSim, it allows the investigation of various complex issues concerning the design of IEEE 802.11-based WLANs, thereby facilitating design of the study and design and optimal deployment of wireless LANs through complete modelling software. As a result, we comparatively evaluated three target applications considering small, medium, and large scenarios with a previous approach developed, a monoobjective genetic algorithm

New Approach to Intelligent Pedestrian Detection and Signaling on Crosswalks

Traffic signaling systems play a crucial role in improving driver attention and reducing road speed. Nevertheless, most available solutions face challenges such as limited commercial availability, high infrastructure costs, lack of intelligence, and incomplete coverage for all road users. To address these obstacles and bolster road safety, this manuscript introduces an innovative intelligent crosswalk featuring speed bumps with integrated light signaling, facilitating precise pedestrian detection through artificial intelligence. The design methodology incorporates resins, aggregates, and reinforcing fibers, cold-injected into an aluminum mold. Notably, the system operates autonomously on solar power, ensuring sustainability and robust protection against environmental elements. To validate the crosswalk, quantitative indicators of road safety improvement are compared against a conventional crosswalk and a prior system based on fuzzy logic. A comprehensive ROC analysis of the implemented machine learning techniques revealed an accuracy rate of 99.11% in pedestrian detection, representing a substantial leap forward in road safety. In addition, a study assessing the system’s impact on user behavior found a 46.5% improvement in pedestrian trajectory, along with speed reductions observed for both pedestrians (10.24%) and drivers (32.83% during the day, and 70.6% at night). The study was further completed with an analysis of the opinion of users who perceived a significant improvement in safety and compliance with regulations with the intelligent crosswalk, highlighting the potential of the system to significantly contribute to the enhancement of road safet

A Decade of GRB Follow-Up by BOOTES in Spain (2003–2013)

This article covers ten years of GRB follow-ups by the Spanish BOOTES stations: 71 follow-ups providing 23 detections. Follow-ups by BOOTES-1B from 2005 to 2008 were given in a previous article and are here reviewed and updated, and additional detection data points are included as the former articlemerely stated their existence. The all-sky cameras CASSANDRA have not yet detected any GRB optical afterglows, but limits are reported where available.The authors appreciate the auspices of INTA, IHSM-UMA/CSIC, and UMA as well as the financial support by the Junta de Andaluca and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Research Projects P07-TIC-03094, P12-TIC2839, AYA2009-14000-C03-01, AYA 2010-39727-C03-01, and AYA-2015-71718-R. Martin Jelinek was supported by the postdoctoral fellowship of the Czech Academy of Sciences. This study was carried out in the framework of the Unidad Asociada IAA-CSIC at the Group of Planetary Science of ETSI-UPV/EHU. This work was supported by the Ikerbasque Foundation for Science. The Czech CVUT FEL team acknowledges the support by GA CR Grant 13-33324S

Actas de las V Jornadas ScienCity 2022. Fomento de la Cultura Científica, Tecnológica y de Innovación en Ciudades Inteligentes

ScienCity es una actividad que viene siendo continuada desde 2018 con el objetivo de dar a conocer los conocimientos y tecnologías emergentes siendo investigados en las universidades, informar de experiencias, servicios e iniciativas puestas ya en marcha por instituciones y empresas, llegar hasta decisores políticos que podrían crear sinergias, incentivar la creación de ideas y posibilidades de desarrollo conjuntas, implicar y provocar la participación ciudadana, así como gestar una red internacional multidisciplinar de investigadores que garantice la continuación de futuras ediciones. En 2022 se recibieron un total de 48 trabajos repartidos en 25 ponencias y 24 pósteres pertenecientes a 98 autores de 14 instituciones distintas de España, Portugal, Polonia y Países Bajos.Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología-Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; Consejería de la Presidencia, Administración Pública e Interior de la Junta de Andalucía; Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia de la Universidad de Huelva; Cátedra de Innovación Social de Aguas de Huelva; Cátedra de la Provincia; Grupo de investigación TEP-192 de Control y Robótica; Centro de Investigación en Tecnología, Energía y Sostenibilidad (CITES

Enhancing Security in Industrial Application Development: Case Study on Self-Generating Artificial Intelligence Tools

The emergence of security vulnerabilities and risks in software development assisted by self-generated tools, particularly with regard to the generation of code that lacks due consideration of security measures, could have significant consequences for industry and its organizations. This manuscript aims to demonstrate how such self-generative vulnerabilities manifest in software programming, through a case study. To this end, this work undertakes a methodology that illustrates a practical example of vulnerability existing in the code generated using an AI model such as ChatGPT, showcasing the creation of a web application database, SQL queries, and PHP server-side. At the same time, the experimentation details a step-by-step SQL injection attack process, highlighting the hacker’s actions to exploit the vulnerability in the website’s database structure, through iterative testing and executing SQL commands to gain access to sensitive data. Recommendations on effective prevention strategies include training programs, error analysis, responsible attitude, integration of tools and audits in software development, and collaboration with third parties. As a result, this manuscript discusses compliance with regulatory frameworks such as GDPR and HIPAA, along with the adoption of standards such as ISO/IEC 27002 or ISA/IEC 62443, for industrial applications. Such measures lead to the conclusion that incorporating secure coding standards and guideline—from organizations such as OWASP and CERT training programs—further strengthens defenses against vulnerabilities introduced by AI-generated code and novice programming errors, ultimately improving overall security and regulatory compliance

Walking Secure: Safe Routing Planning Algorithm and Pedestrian’s Crossing Intention Detector Based on Fuzzy Logic App

Improving road safety through artificial intelligence is now crucial to achieving more secure smart cities. With this objective, a mobile app based on the integration of the smartphone sensors and a fuzzy logic strategy to determine the pedestrian’s crossing intention around crosswalks is presented. The app developed also allows the calculation, tracing and guidance of safe routes thanks to an optimization algorithm that includes pedestrian areas on the paths generated over the whole city through a cloud database (i.e., zebra crossings, pedestrian streets and walkways). The experimentation carried out consisted in testing the fuzzy logic strategy with a total of 31 volunteers crossing and walking around a crosswalk. For that, the fuzzy logic approach was subjected to a total of 3120 samples generated by the volunteers. It has been proven that a smartphone can be successfully used as a crossing intention detector system with an accuracy of 98.63%, obtaining a true positive rate of 98.27% and a specificity of 99.39% according to a receiver operating characteristic analysis. Finally, a total of 30 routes were calculated by the proposed algorithm and compared with Google Maps considering the values of time, distance and safety along the routes. As a result, the routes generated by the proposed algorithm were safer than the routes obtained with Google Maps, achieving an increase in the use of safe pedestrian areas of at least 183%

Review on V2X, I2X, and P2X Communications and Their Applications: A Comprehensive Analysis over Time

Smart cities are ecosystems where novel ideas and emerging technologies meet to improve economy, environment, governance, living, and mobility. One of the pillars of smart cities is transport, with the improvement of mobility and the reduction of tra c accidents being some of the current key challenges. With this purpose, this manuscript reviews the state-of-the-art of communications and applications in which di erent actors of the road are involved. Thus, the objectives of this survey are intended to determine who, when, and about what is being researched around smart cities. Particularly, the goal is to situate the focus of scientific and industrial progress on V2X, I2X, and P2X communication to establish a taxonomy that reduces ambiguous acronyms around the communication between vehicles, infrastructure, and pedestrians, as well as to determine what the trends and future technologies are that will lead to more powerful applications. To this end, this literature review article presents a comprehensive study including a representative collection of the 100 most cited papers and patents published in the literature together with a statistical bibliometric analysis of 14,364 keywords over 3422 contributions between 1997 and 2018. As a result, this work provides a technological profile considering di erent dimensions along the paper, such as the type of communication, use case, country, organization, terminology, and year.The APC was funded by the research group "TEP-192" of the University of Huelva