Hamid Vakilzadian

Optimal Energy Scheduling for a Smart Entity

Real-time availability of electricity prices via a smart power grid has a potential bilateral benefit to electricity users and suppliers. The users can reduce their costs by consuming energy during low-price hours and balancing their energy usage during other hours. This in turn benefits energy utility companies by reducing their peak power demand. This article describes an optimal shrinking horizon model for electricity-consuming units based on user preferences. The proposed model optimizes the end users electricity cost while meeting preferred comfort levels. The user can set preferences in the model using a tristate flexibility parameter for each electric-power-consuming unit. The electricity price model used in the optimization model is general and covers all pricing schemes in the electricity market today. The model derived can be described by a simple mixed integer linear program and solved by most optimization software in a short time. The most distinguishing characteristics of our proposed model are its simplicity, generality, comprehensibility, and ease of implementation. Simulation results are used to verify the models performance in reducing consumer electricity costs and satisfying comfort preferences.

The computer implementation of bilinear s-z transformation using new continued fraction algorithms

The application of continued fractions to the bilinear transformation of polynomials is introduced. The operations to perform the transformation are continued fraction expansion in the s domain and continued fraction inversion in the z domain. Novel algorithms and computer programs to implement the expansion and the inversion are presented. In particular, the expansion algorithm provides closed forms for the continued fraction quotients in terms of the corresponding rational function coefficients. It is shown that the computer implementation of this algorithm iteratively results in a simple procedure for evaluating the quotients by hand and saves considerable computation time. It is especially noted that the algorithmic character of continued fractions leads to a simple systematic computation scheme. The proposed method of bilinear transformation capitalizes on the knowledge gained in continuous-time stability theory and introduces the topic of z-domain continued fractions and their applications. Numerical examples and computer data are provided. >

Ubiquitous networks: Power line communication and Internet of things in smart home environments

Ubiquitous networks in home environments are expanding connectivity to electronic objects/things which can be used to build home network services. This approach uses thing-to-thing or thing-to-gateway connections to access the Internet of Things, allowing data to be stored for cross-referencing and accessing services, such as remote home sensors, etc. In order to make these ubiquitous networks available in the home, power line communication is used. These lines carry data simultaneously with AC electric power. Power lines connect heterogeneous devices through private electrical networks, allowing greater flexibility in the deployment of applications that require important data transfer. Broadband access and advancements in ubiquitous computing have fostered the development of power line communication offering integrated services through a reliable and robust system at the physical and data link layer of the open system interconnection (OSI) model. In this paper we describe application of ubiquitous networks in smart home environment.

Wireless communication in aviation through the Internet of Things and RFID

Continuous growth in passenger and freight volume in the air transport sector has resulted in an increase in luggage handling. The barcode system currently used for luggage identification repeatedly fails in regard to identification needs. This has led to interest in using the Internet of Things and radio frequency identification (RFID) as a potential replacement for the barcode system, and potentially in the optimization of luggage transportation/handling in aviation. This paper describes the essential work required to address this problem using RFID.

The investigation of dielectric barrier impact on the breakdown voltage in high voltage systems by modeling and simulation

Nonpressurized air is used extensively as a basic insulation medium in medium/high voltage equipment. An inherent problem of air-insulated designs is that the systems tend to become physically large. Application of dielectric barriers can increase the breakdown voltage and thereby decrease the size of the equipment. In this paper, the impact of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as dielectric barriers on breakdown voltage for DC and AC voltages were investigated by developing two geometric models. In the first model, it was assumed that a U-shaped electrode was covered with PVC dielectric. In the second model, it was assumed that PTFE dielectric was inserted in the air gap between electrodes. Both models were simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics software. The simulation results were verified by experimentation in the lab. The results show that a layer of PTFE and PVC dielectrics behaved as a mechanical obstacle, and they increased the voltage breakdown channel. In addition, the residual charges over the barrier changed the electric field distribution, resulting in a significant increase in the breakdown voltage.

Cyber-physical smart traffic light system

This paper introduces an international student project on a cyber-physical systems application with an area of concentration in smart traffic light systems. A smart traffic light takes into account the natural flow of traffic which results in a certain traffic rhythm. With this in mind, the smart traffic light control system as part of a cyber-physical system will have an important impact on the quality of urban living in cities. Therefore, the smart traffic light project also focuses on the requirements for using sensors, actuators, and communication technologies to calculate the arrival time of vehicles at a traffic light at a road intersection by monitoring the actual speed of the vehicles. Based on this calculation, it is assumed that the vehicles will arrive on time at the traffic light when it has changed from its red phase to the green phase.

Interconnection network front-end controller combining to reduce hot spots effects

Multistage interconnection networks are very promising for shared-memory multiprocessor systems. These networks offer flexibility, scalability, and good performance-cost ratio. However, under a non-uniform traffic pattern, the performance of multistage interconnection networks suffers greatly because of hot spot traffic contention. The potential performance degradation due to even moderate hot spot traffic was found to be very significant, severely reducing all memory access, not just to shared locations [1]. Several techniques have been proposed to reduce the effects of hot spot and tree saturation contentions in multistage interconnection networks. These include multibuffered switching nodes, multipath networks, and request combining [2]. Request combining strategy was found to be an effective method of reducing the tree saturation problem [1]. Some request combining approaches have been proposed [1,3-5]. This paper proposes a new request combining based architecture to reduce the hot spot performance degradation. This approach is referred to as interconnection network front-end controller combining (IN-FEC). In IN-FEC, the interconnection network combines requests to the shared memory location, and the memory front-end controllers are used to decombine the combined request and distribute the results. Simulation results show considerable throughput enhancement under IN-FEC for an Omega network.

Cyber-physical vehicle tracking system: Requirements for using a radio frequency identification technique

This paper introduces cyber-physical vehicle tracking and the essential requirements with regard to radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. With the advent of the Internet of Things, the dissemination of RFID technology has been constantly increasing in various applications. Thus, RFID and vehicle tracking can open a broad range of opportunities for applications in the transportation and logistics domain. Therefore, this paper is a systematic consideration of specific requirements inherent to the field of vehicle tracking with the help of RFID technology as part of a cyber-physical systems approach.

Cyber-physical systems in smart transportation

Cyber-physical systems offer a new approach to the application of information technology to improve the performance of a transportation system. This paper focuses on transportation system processes and the information technology requirements for applying cyber-physical systems to on-road transport systems. Traffic flow simulation studies consisting of vehicles and roads were conducted in order to understand real world transportation system dynamics. The requirements of cyber-physical systems in transportation are introduced as the basis for smart transportation systems applications and their development. Therefore, the paper also focuses on modeling cyber-physical environments that provide fidelity, while the components of such systems increasingly combine physical and digital subsystems, as shown in the use case example.

Cyber-physical remote access lab: Analysis and design of embedded systems

This paper launches the idea of a cyber-physical remote access laboratory approach for analysis and design experiments in embedded computing systems, independent of time and location. The approach integrates the possibilities introduced by using the Internet to access learning objects, such as course materials and laboratory analysis and design experiments, from outside the campus, outside the country, and/or outside the continent. Remote access usually requires individual authorization codes giving users the flexibility to access and control course material and projects stored on local computers from anywhere and at any time, Embedded system components, as part of a cyber-physical system, can be developed and installed to monitor and control process behavior, depending on the constraints of different real-world scenarios.