Josu Etxaniz

Practical aspects of PID controllers: An industrial experience

The main objective of this paper is to present a software application developed for the practical training in programming, handling, and tuning industrial PID regulators. Because of the wide spread use of the PID control it is highly desirable that the professional qualification in PID control should be focused on achieving a practical training closely related to industrial practice. Some comments relating to industrial practice are offered in this context.

Modeling of the data transportation network of a multi-hop data-content-sharing home network

This paper demonstrates the implementation of indoor Bluetooth communication multi-hop networks. Since the performance of such networks determines the range of applications that they can support, the performance of Bluetooth wireless multi-hop networks is a common topic of interest. Communication network models are widely used to estimate the performance of networks in many different aspects. This paper focuses on one of the aspects, i.e., the time performance of the data transportation network of a Bluetooth multi-hop home network, and provides a novel empirical model for latency in multi-hop networks with asynchronous links when links are active. The model offers a sharp estimation of the latency added with every hop in the communication such that electronics product designers and network managers can effectively run time-constrained applications in this type of network. The model is based on the results from experiments carried out on a real test bed. The test bed includes Bluetooth nodes and proprietary middleware at the HCI (Host Controller Interface) level of communication. The experimental results show that the time performance worsens with an increasing number of hops in the communication and additionally provide evidence of the quadratic dependence on the number of hops exhibited by the latency 1.

Automation and control issues applied to a heat exchanger prototype

The main objective of this paper is to present an innovative equipment for practical teaching in control engineering, paying special attention to its conceptualisation and its possibilities for the theoretical-practical training. The role of the control and automation issues applied to this prototype is discussed. A distributed control system (DCS) applied to this prototype and its possibilities will be introduced

Proposal of Health Care Monitoring by Wireless Ad-Hoc Networking

This paper introduces a proposal for health care monitoring. This application has been implemented by purely wireless ad-hoc networking with gateway devices implemented with a Bluetooth communications module controlled with a programmable microprocessor. This communication system is suggested, for instance, to compose electronic health records (EHR), or to be a part of a Hospital Information System (HIS). The aim of this paper is the presentation of the physical implementation of the wireless network. Prototype boards have been developed and first networking trials will be done.

The electronic production: A notable absence from the university

The goal of the study presented in this paper is to emphasize the importance of the knowledge of the manufacturing processes to the engineering students. Printed circuit board manufacturing and circuit assembly are essential issues in the electronics field. Below, some previous experiences are introduced, and the necessary knowledge and planning of a subject in the new curriculum are also proposed.

Analysis of the data transportation multi-hop network for an intelligent environment

The recent advent of ambient intelligence is enabled by parallel technological advancements in sensing, context recognition, embedded systems and communications. This paper focuses on the communication issues of embedded systems, particularly the latency Quality of Service (QoS) metric and the multi-hop communications with Bluetooth standard, to examine the viability of communications of embedded systems in AmI environments and applications. Bluetooth is a worldwide radio license-free technology that enables the creation of low-power multi-hop networks interconnecting multiple devices. Bluetooth sets the procedure to establish piconets (point-to-point and point-to-multipoint links) and scatternets (multi-hop communications), and hence, Bluetooth nodes can be interconnected to form wireless networks. This paper presents research on multi-hop latency that was conducted using a custom-built test platform. Moreover, an empirical model is derived to calculate the latency over asynchronous links when links in scatternets are always active or in sniff mode. The designers of ambient intelligent devices and networks can take advantage of the model and the estimation of the delay in Bluetooth multi-hop networks presented in this paper.

New proposal for bogie-mounted sensors using energy harvesting and wireless communications

The goal of the research presented in this paper is to design and incorporate new technologies into railway bogie-mounted sensors. It is often impossible to connect the mounted systems to physical wires due to their location in an inaccessible position or the distance to the energy source. Therefore, another power source must be used to solve this problem. Energy harvesting technology is an increasingly popular solution that extracts energy from the ambient environment and transforms it into electrical energy. Using piezoelectric transducers, it is possible to transform the vibrations experienced by the bogie into energy that can be used to power the sensors. A prototype with multiple piezoelectric transducers has been designed, built and subjected to tests to validate the technology. The experimental results for all of the different configurations tested and levels of energy collected are presented.

Design of printed circuit boards in university

This paper focuses and analyzes the importance of introducing and teaching the design of Printed Circuit Board at university. Usually this subject is not taught, but it has a great relevance in the final electronic product. In the paper some previous experiences are presented and the methodology and planning of a subject is proposed.

Influence of the the Distance between Bluetooth 2.0 Nodes and Their Link Mode with the Communication Delay

In this paper, the relationship of the distance between Bluetooth 2.0 nodes and their link mode with the delay in a monitoring wireless network is analyzed. The carried out measurements have demonstrated that within medium distances, from 6 to 24 meters, the overall time delay keeps nearly constant, but RSSI reading changes significantly. There has also been estimated the time delay each communication hop adds to the overall delay for some link modes a Bluetooth node can be in, i.e., active, sniff and park. These measured low values for time delay in this Bluetooth 2.0 wireless network allow some real time applications as, for example, those in the areas of avionics, domotics, health or industrial monitoring.

Bluetooth Low Power Modes Applied to the Data Transportation Network in Home Automation Systems

Even though home automation is a well-known research and development area, recent technological improvements in different areas such as context recognition, sensing, wireless communications or embedded systems have boosted wireless smart homes. This paper focuses on some of those areas related to home automation. The paper draws attention to wireless communications issues on embedded systems. Specifically, the paper discusses the multi-hop networking together with Bluetooth technology and latency, as a quality of service (QoS) metric. Bluetooth is a worldwide standard that provides low power multi-hop networking. It is a radio license free technology and establishes point-to-point and point-to-multipoint links, known as piconets, or multi-hop networks, known as scatternets. This way, many Bluetooth nodes can be interconnected to deploy ambient intelligent networks. This paper introduces the research on multi-hop latency done with park and sniff low power modes of Bluetooth over the test platform developed. Besides, an empirical model is obtained to calculate the latency of Bluetooth multi-hop communications over asynchronous links when links in scatternets are always in sniff or the park mode. Smart home devices and networks designers would take advantage of the models and the estimation of the delay they provide in communications along Bluetooth multi-hop networks.