Martin Pies

Radio Telemetry Unit for Online Monitoring System at Mining Dumps

The paper deals with the description of complex monitoring system for remote monitoring of thermal processes, concentration of toxic gases and dustiness of the atmosphere. Each of these quantities is measured and consequently processed by use of wireless modules communicating with supervisor system. It presents design of communication among particular sensors and further data processing and transfer to the dispatching center.

Analysis of the Appropriateness of the Use of Peltier Cells as Energy Sources

The article describes the possibilities of using Peltier cells as an energy source to power the telemetry units, which are used in large-scale monitoring systems as central units, ensuring the collection of data from sensors, processing, and sending to the database server. The article describes the various experiments that were carried out, their progress and results. Based on experiments evaluated, the paper also discusses the possibilities of using various types depending on the temperature difference of the cold and hot sides.

Application of PIL Approach for Automated Transportation Center

The paper describes the idea of design and implementation of Processor-in-the-loop (PIL) model of Automated Transportation Center (ATC) designed as a heavy laboratory operated by VSB-Technical University of Ostrava. It contains technical description of the real technology, the main concept of PIL model and its particular solution for ATC. As for means of design and implementation, the REX Control system was used as a real-time target running on ALIX system board that handles the software model of real technology while the real control system based on Simatic PLCs stays unchanged. The communication between PLCs and ALIX is provided by PROFINET protocol while all of the original I/O signals are re-mapped to match the PROFINET communication standard.

Simulation of MIT Rule-Based Adaptive Controller of a Power Plant Superheater

MIT rule is one of the basic techniques of adaptive control. It can be embedded into a general scheme of circuit with MRAC structure (reference adaptive controller). This paper deals with simulation of MRAC by use of MIT rule for a superheater which is a crucial part of a coal-fired power plant. A superheater has been chosen as a typical practical real plant with time-variant parameters and thus suitable to be controlled by adaptive control mechanism. The paper gives a comparison of adaptive control with MRAC and original PID control currently implemented in a chosen output superheater in Detmarovice power plant. Matlab&Simulink environment is used for a simulation of the control circuit described in this paper.

Conventional controller design based on Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy models

Although it is long since the first PID controller design method was developed, new methods are still being created and no general applicable method has been found. The paper extends the set of designing methods of PID controllers. Design methods can be divided into classic (analytical tuning methods, optimization methods etc.) and not so common fuzzy knowledge based methods. In this case, a conjunction of both methods is presented. The classic design methods (Ziegler-Nichols step response method and Chien, Hrones and Reswick design method) are used for achieving the knowledge of fuzzy knowledge based design methods. The fuzzy knowledge based design methods are based on Takagi-Sugeno model. It is defined as a class of systems for which - using the new proposed method - the settling time is shorter or the settling time is nearly the same but without overshoot, which could be also very useful. The proof of efficiency of the proposed methods and a numerical experiment is presented including a comparison with the conventional methods (simulated in the software environment Matlab-Simulink).

Using the IQRF Technology for the Internet of Things: Case Studies

This article focuses on describing the IQRF technology following modern trends in the Internet of Things. There is a brief overview of the IQRF technology and then selected examples of its use in areas such as Smart Cities, Smart Parking, Smart Lighting etc. Practical examples of the use of devices developed in conjunction with the Internet of Things are provided in more detail. From the field of systems based on Inernet of Things were chosen two use cases. First of them is monitoring of concentration of carbon monoxide in old mine dumps and second one is about of monitoring of building stability using a wireless inclinometer.

Monitoring Environmental Variables Through Intelligent Lamps

The article describes the design and realization of a smart streetlight prototype. The lamp is designed to implement a comprehensive system of Smart Cities and Smart Lighting in the research and development of IoT issues. In addition to the possibility of wireless switching, the lamp contains switching and dimming, as well as sensors for measuring temperature, humidity, and pressure, and it is equipped with a PIR sensor for switching the lamp when a person passes through its active field. All communication with the parental system, including the collection and processing of data is performed by IQRF technology. It also allows the creation of an extensive IQMESH network of these lamps.

Image Signal Processing, Analysis and Detection for Robotic System

This article describes the algorithm for searching the human face by the camera. This device is placed in a robotic head. This head should be used for the submission of information when entering into a building such as e.g. a museum. It is therefore necessary for the head to react to the stimuli. If a person appears in front of the head, the head must look at the person and react to the person. The received image is modified and converted to the matrix in which colors occurring on the human face are searched for. This way the adjusted matrix is put through to the search algorithm that is similar to the scanner. This determines whether or not the face is in the image and if it finds faces edges. If the face is discovered, it is calculated its center. The axis are then sent across the bus to the movable part of head.

Using MATLAB and COMSOL Multiphysics for Optimization of the Model of Underground Thermal Processes at Old Mining Dumps

The paper deals with the use of MATLAB and COMSOL Multiphysics environments for solution of optimization problem regarding underground thermal processes occurring at the old mining dumps affected by subsurface endogenous fires. It gives the description of measurement system and physical setup of the experimental borehole used to provide the real measured data for the model with the aim of its verification. The optimization problem is defined and solved by proposed computational technique that uses both MATLAB and COMSOL Multiphysics with the LiveLink tool that integrates these environments. Results of the optimization help to evaluate the total or relative heat power of the mass within mining dump.

Case studies on design, simulation and visualization of control and measurement applications using REX control system

REX Control System is a professional advanced tool for design and implementation of complex control systems that belongs to softPLC category. It covers the entire process starting from simulation of functionality of the application before deployment, through implementation on real-time target, towards analysis, diagnostics and visualization. Basically it consists of two parts: the development tools and the runtime system. It is also compatible with Simulink environment, and the way of implementation of control algorithm is very similar. The control scheme is finally compiled (using RexDraw utility) and uploaded into a chosen real-time target (using RexView utility). There is a wide variety of hardware platforms and real-time operating systems supported by REX Control System such as for example Windows Embedded, Linux, Linux/Xenomai deployed on SBC, IPC, PAC, Raspberry Pi and others with many I/O interfaces. It is modern system designed both for measurement and control applications, offering a lot of addit...