Ilkka Seilonen

Optimized Control of Price-Based Demand Response With Electric Storage Space Heating

The increased uncertainty of the electric grid due to the penetration of renewable energy sources and deregulation of the electric market is aimed to be alleviated by demand response (DR) in the future smart grid. The demand-side resources can be incentivized to alter their consumption patterns by varying their electricity price over time. A major residential energy demand contribution is from electric heating, which, when combined with smart energy storage using water heaters, could be utilized to defer consumption to more inexpensive periods without affecting the customers thermal quality of service. The objective is to optimize the consumer electricity price of electric storage space heating customers, in order to maximize the profit of the retailer. This approach of varying the customer electricity prices leads to a game-theoretic scenario, where the procurement and consumption profiles of the retailer and consumer agents are based on the set electricity price. The optimization of the consumer electricity price is shown to offer lesser expense for the retailer. In addition, hourly load-following can be improved by offering further discounts for the consumers.

XML‐based supply chain integration: a case study

This paper describes experiences gained from the implementation and evaluation of an XML‐based integration system in a real case. The prototype was designed to support electronic data exchange in a supply chain. The purpose of the prototype was to study the properties of the integration system from both a development and usage perspective. In particular, the study outlined how and in which circumstances XML facilitates supply chain integration. EDI provided a point of comparison. This information is useful both for the developers and users of integration systems.

Multi-agent based information access services for condition monitoring in process automation

This paper studies issues concerning the application of goal-oriented information agents to condition monitoring tasks in process automation. In the presented approach, an agent-based information access layer is operating as a mediator for various types of process-related information. The agent system may be seen as an active partner for human users in this information intensive application domain. In the future, more and more automation related information will be available in electronic form. Physical sensors provide not only measurements but also reliability information, and numerous configuration details are available in electronic form. The challenge is to integrate as much of the available information as possible, and to automate the processing of this information to enable easy decision-making for end users.

Extending process automation systems with multi-agent techniques

This paper presents a design of a process automation system extended with multi-agent systems (MAS) and experiments with its implementation. According to this design, MAS can be used to extend the functionality of ordinary process automation systems at higher levels of control. Anticipated benefits of this include enhanced reconfigurability, responsiveness and flexibility of the resulting automation system. The design also takes into account particular characteristics of process automation. An agent platform for process automation is presented as a basis for applying MAS. A FIPA-compliant agent platform is extended with process automation specific functionality. The platform utilizes a hierarchical agent organization and a BDI-agent model. Two applications are implemented using the platform. One of these shows how the techniques of distributed planning can be applied in discrete control. The other provides a model for supervisory continuous control using the techniques of distributed search. Experiments performed with a laboratory test environment using the applications are presented. They are able to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach in test scenarios.

SOA-Based integration for batch process management with OPC UA and ISA-88/95

OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) is a new standard for communication between information and automation systems and devices. An important application area for OPC UA is communication between Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Process Control Systems (PCS). In this paper an approach is presented for utilizing OPC UA in conjunction with SOA-based middleware and ISA-88/95 standards for integration between MES and PCS in the context of batch process management. First, the requirements of communication are identified and then a software design combining the mentioned technologies is proposed. The design is evaluated with the help of an experimental implementation and test scenarios.

A concept of an agent-augmented process automation system

This paper studies issues concerning the application of agent technology to process automation systems. We present an approach to achieve increased flexibility and fault-tolerance in process control operations, as well as enhanced systems configuration and maintenance. A functional specification of an agent based system as an extension to traditional process automation systems is described. The software architecture for the implementation of the required functionality is also presented. Furthermore, the connection of a novel type of mobile instrumentation to this concept is presented.

OWL based information agent services for process monitoring

To determine the operational situation of a monitored industrial process, an operator needs efficient access to a wide range of information. Measurement data alone does not encapsulate the overall situation, but pieces of information have to be searched from different plant IT systems that unfortunately often have varying interfaces and data formats. Information agent and semantic Web techniques address similar challenges in the context of the Internet by annotating heterogeneous data with formal semantics provided by ontology languages like OWL, and by providing human users with autonomous assistants for information retrieval. This paper presents an agent based concept for process automation that provides operators with easily configured information retrieval and monitoring services, releasing them from tedious data harvesting tasks.

Agent-based modeling and simulation of a smart grid: A case study of communication effects on frequency control

Abstract A smart grid is the next generation power grid focused on providing increased reliability and efficiency in the wake of integration of volatile distributed energy resources. For the development of the smart grid, the modeling and simulation infrastructure is an important concern. This study presents an agent-based model for simulating different smart grid frequency control schemes, such as demand response. The model can be used for combined simulation of electrical, communication and control dynamics. The model structure is presented in detail, and the applicability of the model is evaluated with four distinct simulation case examples. The study confirms that an agent-based modeling and simulation approach is suitable for modeling frequency control in the smart grid. Additionally, the simulations indicate that demand response could be a viable alternative for providing primary control capabilities to the smart grid, even when faced with communication constraints.

Agent-Based Architecture for Information Handling in Automation Systems

This paper studies issues concerning the application of cooperative information agents to information handling in automation systems. The suggested approach utilizes agent-based layer as an extension to ordinary automation system, thus offering new functions without the need of replacing the existing a utomation system. The proposed architecture u ses a gent-based cooperation methods to enable flexible integration of heterogeneous and distributed data sources and functional or spatial hierarchical division for data abstraction and information filtering. In this case, information agents use BDI-model based manager and data handling modules for information processing. The approach is described with real-life inspired test scenario.

Reactive and deliberative control and cooperation in multi-agent system based process automation

An approach to intelligent process automation based on a society of BDI-agents is presented in this paper. According to this approach a higher-level multi-agent systems based automation layer supervises an ordinary process automation system. The purpose of the agent layer is to monitor the operation of the lower-level automation system and semi-autonomously reconfigure its control logic when needed. The agent layer operates as a multi-agent system consisting of BDI-agents, which cooperatively create and run reconfiguration sequences on the ordinary automation system in order to adapt its control logic to various situations. The adaptation process may take place both in reactive and deliberative fashion. In this way the approach aims to increase the flexibility and responsiveness properties of the automation system. The approach is demonstrated with a laboratory test process where process startup and fault recovery experiments have been performed. Results from the experiments are described.