Antonio Camara

Optimal control of the activated sludge process: effect of sludge storage

Abstract This paper describes an application of an optimal control method in the regulation of the activated sludge process including a biological reactor, a variable volume sludge storage tank and a settler. The control variables represent flowrates (1) from the settler to the storage tank, (2) from the storage tank to the biological reactor and (3) from the storage tank to wastage. The control problem is to determine optimal control variable sequences that minimize effluent organics variability on a daily horizon. The results indicate that the presence of the storage tank significantly improves process regulation with the relative control efficiency reduced with increasing storage capacity. The researched methodology lends itself to on-line process control implementation.

Interfacing system dynamics and multiobjective programming for regional water resources planning

A preliminary planning methodology is presented. This approach relies upon a strategy identification mechanism, a system dynamics model to simulate the behaviour of the identified strategies and multiobjective programming formulations to evaluate them. An application to regional water resources planning in the Guadiana basin is included to illustrate the methodology.

Mobile Augmented Reality for Environmental Management (MARE)

Access to real-time data while in field observations is often a requested issue in environmental management. Additionally, it is easier to see that information spatially distributed where it makes sense, leveraging users of the task of searching for the context where the retrieved information can be applied. Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that allows the superimposition of synthetic images over real images, providing augmented knowledge about the environment in the user’s vicinity. AR will also make the task more pleasant and effective for the user, since the required information is spatially superimposed over real information related to it. This short paper describes ANTS (Augmented Environments), an AR project for environmental management providing geo-referenced information to the user. The system’s architecture has a flexible design based on a client/server model, where several independent, but functionally interdependent modules are articulated. Therefore, modules can be moved from the server side to the client side or vice-versa, according to the client processing capacity. The system is being deployed in laptop computers and work is in progress to deploy the system using Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices. A 3D model and a geo-referenced database are used in the server for user positioning, and presentation components are used in the client to superimpose synthetic information over real images. Several applications for the system are being developed and will also be discussed in this short paper.

Innovations in pervasive computing

Pervasive computing is a broad term that may have different meanings. In this talk, we will focus on its ubiquitous and persistent dimensions. Fundamental methods and conventional applications of pervasive computing are briefly reviewed considering the most common technologies (hardware and software) and user interfaces.Two innovative applications of pervasive computing are presented: Undercover2, a persistent world location based multi-player mobile game; and L-INK, a ubiquitous computing application based on photo-chemical principles.Undercover2 is an application that shows how to mix virtual and real worlds in a mobile environment. The design of its interface, game engine, messaging, positioning and billing system is described herein. Future developments of the game and related applications derived from the current market experience are also discussed.L-INK is an application where one attempts to escape traditional computation by either pre-programming or triggering a chain of photo-chemical reactions. One can then visualize the computing efforts in non-electronic surfaces such as textiles, wood and paper. L-INK is limited to pictorial calculus formulations. With this approach, images are not decoded numerically or verbally. It is shown that these formulations may be sufficient for a broad range of applications. They include interactive T-shirts, tables and paper maps.Innovation is invention translated into products that the consumer is willing to pay. The management of this translation for Undercover and L-INK, two pioneer applications of pervasive computing, is paradigmatic of the challenges facing a spin-off from university research. The log of the events that went from early brainstorms to products available in the market is presented for illustrative purposes.

Flexible augmented reality architecture applied to environmental management

Environmental management often requires in loco observation of the area under analysis. Augmented Reality (AR) technologies allow real time superimposition of synthetic objects on real images, providing augmented knowledge about the surrounding world. Users of an AR system can visualize the real surrounding world together with additional data generated in real time in a contextual way. The work reported in this paper was done in the scope of ANTS (Augmented Environments) project. ANTS is an AR project that explores the development of an augmented reality technological infrastructure for environmental management. This paper presents the architecture and the most relevant modules of ANTS. The system’s architecture follows the client-server model and is based on several independent, but functionally interdependent modules. It has a flexible design, which allows the transfer of some modules to and from the client side, according to the available processing capacities of the client device and the application’s requirements. It combines several techniques to identify the user’s position and orientation allowing the system to adapt to the particular characteristics of each environment. The determination of the data associated to a certain location involves the use of both a 3D Model of the location and the multimedia geo-referenced database.

Pictorial Modeling of Dynamic Systems

tial equations, which are then solved using finite difference schemes. However, it has been questioned whether differential equations make the best starting point for dynamic modeling, as they lead to concrete numerical computation at least three levels removed from the physical world they attempt to represent. To replace differential equation based models, Toffoli and Margolus [1] have proposed cellular