GeoAware: A Hybrid Indoor and Outdoor Localization Agent for Smart Buildings

Localizing, identifying and authenticating the individual occupants is of paramount importance for the future intelligent buildings. Although the performance of outdoor positioning systems is sufficiently good, the indoor ones have still to converge to a universal interoperable technology. This paper proposes a hybrid, unified localization architecture for indoor and outdoor tracking of the building occupants. By taking advantage of the smartphones and their recent near field communication (NFC) capabilities; a low cost, accurate and scalable localization solution is proposed. This system is a module of an existing, modern building management system (BMS) to which it offers location-aware, energy and comfort management capabilities. The solution is currently deployed as a medium scale trial; therefore, the self-energy use, reliability, ease of use and the privacy requirements are of paramount importance. The system analysis in this paper additionally includes accuracy and battery impact assessment in real-world use cases and location-aware building management operations.

Optimal Process Design for Power Production from Wet Waste Biomass by Hydrothermal Gasification coupled to a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

This report presents a system analysis of the production of electricity from wet waste biomass. A system of Hydrothermal Gasification is coupled with a Hybrid Cycle composed by a SOFC and two Gas Turbines, driven in an inverted Brayton--‐Joule cycle. A thermodynamic optimization approach, based on the system energy integration, is used to analyze several configuration options. The influence of the process design on performances is discussed for the most representative scenario that highlights the key aspects of the system. Optimization results prove that a systematic system design may reaches efficiencies higher than 60%.

2011

Distributed Intelligent Modules System Using Power-line Communication for Electrical Appliance Automation

Thierry Barras, Laurent Fabre, Maher Kayal, Fabrizio Lo Conte

In a first aspect the invention provides a system that comprising a plurality of electronic modules, each one of the electronic modules configured for enabling automation of an electrical appliance to be connected to the electronic module. Each electronic module comprises at least a communication sub-part configured to enable communication over a power-line network with other modules, at least an acting means configured to act on an electrical voltage to be applied to the electrical appliance, at least a measurement means configured to measure a power consumption to be consumed by the electrical appliance, and an embedded intel ligence means configured to process signals providing from or going to the at least one communication sub-part, the at least one acting means and the at least one measurement means. Each one of the plurality of electronic modules is enabled for communication with the others of the plurality of electronic modules over the power-line network by means of its at least one communication sub-part. In each one of the plurality of electronic modules the embedded intelligence means further comprises outgoing message sending means configured to send an outgoing message over the power-line network to at least one of the others of the plurality of electronic modules, ingoing message receiving means configured to receive an ingoing message over the power-line network from at least one of the others of the plurality of electronic modules, identifying means configured to identify an ingoing message relevant to the electronic module, presentation means configured to prepare a presentation message to be sent as outgoing message, the presentation message containing presentation information related to an identity of the electronic module, hierarchical ordering means configured to generate an ordered list of the plurality of modules that comprises the electronic module and the others of the plurality of electronic modules, depending on presentation information from the electronic module and presentation information received from the others of the plurality of electronic modules, and electing means for electing from the ordered list a president electronic module. The presentation means, the hierarchical ordering means and the electing means are configured such that the electing means in each of the plurality of electronic modules find the same president electronic module. The embedded intelligence means are further configured to handle information included an ingoing message sent from the president electronic module according to a determined priority protocol.

2016

Distributed Intelligent Modules System Using Power-line Communication for Electrical Appliance Automation

Thierry Barras, Laurent Fabre, Maher Kayal, Fabrizio Lo Conte

2016