Arnold C. Paglinawan

A Chaos-Enhanced Particle Swarm Optimization with Adaptive Parameters and Its Application in Maximum Power Point Tracking

This work proposes an enhanced particle swarm optimization scheme that improves upon the performance of the standard particle swarm optimization algorithm. The proposed algorithm is based on chaos search to solve the problems of stagnation, which is the problem of being trapped in a local optimum and with the risk of premature convergence. Type constriction is incorporated to help strengthen the stability and quality of convergence, and adaptive learning coefficients are utilized to intensify the exploitation and exploration search characteristics of the algorithm. Several well known benchmark functions are operated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The test performance of the proposed method is compared with those of other popular population-based algorithms in the literature. Simulation results clearly demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits faster convergence, escapes local minima, and avoids premature convergence and stagnation in a high-dimensional problem space. The validity of the proposed PSO algorithm is demonstrated using a fuzzy logic-based maximum power point tracking control model for a standalone solar photovoltaic system.

Hand tremor analyzer using accelerometry for preliminary diagnosis, classification and monitoring of selected movement disorders

In this paper, a system that is designed to analyze and monitor hand tremor which is to aid medical practitioners in classifying and diagnosing movement disorders in accordance to the frequency of the tremor. The tremor classifications fall into Parkinsons, Essential, and Drug Induced. Diagnosing the underlying cause of tremor does not necessarily lead to curing of the disease itself, but usually works on curing the symptom or lessening it. By maximizing the framework of the system, it can produce useful information about the tremors that is used for emergency and medical diagnosis. The tremors at least 3 Hz, at most 12 Hz can be detected. This device can be useful for the early detection of Parkinsons disease and other pathological tremors, aiding medical practitioners in terms in a time efficient way. The device can be used to monitor the progression of the tremor.

Full-wave AC-DC converter in CMOS 0.18 micron for vibration electromagnetic energy harvest

This paper presents the design and implementation of full-wave AC-DC converter in 0.18 micron CMOS technology. Five sample voltages were taken from vibration electromagnetic harvester technology (VEHT) and simulated in three operating temperatures of 0, 25, and 70 degrees Celsius. The simulation results yielded: a maximum average power efficiency of 95.02% at 0°C 95.61% at 25°C, and 91.05% at 70°C; and an average regulation percentage of 10.45% at 0°C, 24.91% at 25°C, and 10.15% at 70°C.

A novel dual-modulation design low input impedance current comparator

This paper presents a new current comparator with a novel dual-modulation concept. The dual modulation concept has the ability to increase the accuracy quite substantially. The output voltage range still reaches its maximum peak value of 1.2V when the differential current is only 0.6 nA with a 3.3 V supply voltage. In addition to high-accuracy, the design reduced the input impedance of the proposed current comparator to 1/(gm2ro) even without the use of an operational amplifier (OPA). Moreover, the novel current comparator was implemented using TSMC 0.35 μm Mixed-Signal 2P4M Polycide 3.3V models with an active area of 0.0024 mm2.

Real-time simulation of maximum power point tracking control using fuzzy logic for stand alone PV system

This paper proposes the design of maximum power point tracking based on fuzzy logic control for standalone PV system. A complete model of the fuzzy logic maximum power point tracking for standalone PV system is compiled and loaded on the eMEGAsim using the RT-Lab real-time simulation platform from Opal-RT. The effectiveness of the proposed fuzzy logic control has been compared with the perturbation and observation algorithm in tracking the maximum power point of the solar PV array. Real-time simulation studies are carried out in RT-Lab which allows real time control and the results are presented to verify the validity of the proposed control technique. Experiment results demonstrate that the fuzzy logic control scheme provides the system with maximum power, high dynamic performance, improve tracking performance, and better control for this application.

Wireless power transfer using near-field communication for mobile devices

The increasing number of mobile devices are the main reason for the development of a power bank. However, it needs a physical connection with the portable device in order to transfer power. In recent years, efforts were made to eliminate the need of cords and cables for charging devices. Bluetooth can be used for wireless power transfer. However, the mobile device should be powered-on. In this research paper, the near field communication technique was used to implement power transfer. Transceiver circuit was developed and mobile charging devices with lithium-ion batteries were used. Statistical methods using t-test analysis were used to analyze the obtained data. Results shows that wireless power transfer was achieved using NFC.

Electrical performance analysis of biogas fuelled generator with purifier

The paper focuses on the evaluation of locally-made biogas-powered generators to determine its electrical performance efficiency using the purified fuel. Since the demand of energy in the world is greatly increasing, the efficiency and financial concerns of the system is a major aspect. Locally-made biogas generator was chosen for the study due to its availability and abundance in the Philippines. The data on technical specifications of the generator, the biogas consumption of the system (m3/hr), the biogas fuel at the initial and purified percentage concentration, and the electrical output (kW) were collected in operating unit. For the locally-made biogas generator, the average flow rate was found to be 6.0 m3/hr with the biogas initial concentration of 66% to 4.9 m3/hr with the biogas initial concentration of 84% with the purifier. The overall filtration efficiencies were found to increase the biogas concentration by 18%. The efficiency of the operating unit was influenced by the system efficiency and engine efficiency. The filtered biogas in a locally-made generator was found viable with an annual operating cost of PhP 1.75 per kWh as compared to the PhP 2.02 per kWh of the unfiltered fuel.

Development of a graphics processing unit accelerated stereo vision system for depth estimation

Stereo vision is an important computer vision technique which estimates depth information from two images - similar to how human vision works. However, the computational intensity of stereo vision deters implementation in real-time systems. Recently, massively parallel processors called Graphics Processing Units or GPUs are gaining traction as an acceleration platform to offload compute-intensive tasks to. This paper presents the development of a GPU-accelerated stereo vision system called DepthStream. The DepthStream algorithm uses a combined absolute difference and census cost, cross-based cost aggregation and bitwise fast region voting to achieve error rates up to 3.7× lower than Block-Matching based algorithms in mainstream libraries. Leveraging the parallel processing power that GPUs offer enables the DepthStream algorithm to achieve processing times up to 3.12× faster than Semi-Global Matching based implementations in the same libraries. The study also includes measurements of the accuracy of the estimated distances of the developed stereo vision system. Results show that the estimated depths of the DepthStream stereo vision system are within 4% of the true value for distances less than 6m. Statistical analysis also indicate that there is no significant difference between the stereo vision systems estimated distances and the actual value.

Gamified teaching and learning platform for Christian Academy of Manila

The traditional teaching and learning method has already brought good results in the students of Christian Academy of Manila; however, a new approach is welcome. This project is for a class in Christian Academy of Manila, whose educators seek to have another approach in teaching Technology and Livelihood Education. The focus is covering a specific topic which is basic electronics, which has need not only for theories but also application. The development of this new teaching and learning experience involves gamification which is the application of game elements in the academe, needing for the construction of a website and a training kit. Unit testing and usability testing was done in order to assess the platform, both the website and the training kit. Gathered data and results demonstrated the efficiency of the project by showing the correctness of every function, which led to the attainment of this projects significance.

Soil infiltration rate as a parameter for soil moisture and temperature based Irrigation System

Irrigation systems are frequently used in farm to provide efficient and effective cultivation of plants and vegetables. Low to high end irrigation systems requires electricity to increase its efficiency. Irrigation systems usually obtain their source of water deep underground or to rivers nearby. Providing such resource with the use of pumps without controlling the duration of irrigation require high electricity, thus having high power consumption. An Irrigation System Automated by using sensors and automated valve is designed so that there is a control in irrigation, which also reduce the systems power consumption. The use of sensors for the moisture and temperature of the soil is used to determine when to trigger the irrigation. Another parameter, which is the soil infiltration rate, is determined to control the flow rate of the irrigator depending on the current infiltration rate of the soil. An improvised automated infiltrometer is created, tested, and used for the actual irrigation. Results showed reduced overall power consumption.