Rui Pitarma

An Indoor Monitoring System for Ambient Assisted Living Based on Internet of Things Architecture.

The study of systems and architectures for ambient assisted living (AAL) is undoubtedly a topic of great relevance given the aging of the world population. The AAL technologies are designed to meet the needs of the aging population in order to maintain their independence as long as possible. As people typically spend more than 90% of their time in indoor environments, indoor air quality (iAQ) is perceived as an imperative variable to be controlled for the inhabitants’ wellbeing and comfort. Advances in networking, sensors, and embedded devices have made it possible to monitor and provide assistance to people in their homes. The continuous technological advancements make it possible to build smart objects with great capabilities for sensing and connecting several possible advancements in ambient assisted living systems architectures. Indoor environments are characterized by several pollutant sources. Most of the monitoring frameworks instantly accessible are exceptionally costly and only permit the gathering of arbitrary examples. iAQ is an indoor air quality system based on an Internet of Things paradigm that incorporates in its construction Arduino, ESP8266, and XBee technologies for processing and data transmission and micro sensors for data acquisition. It also allows access to data collected through web access and through a mobile application in real time, and this data can be accessed by doctors in order to support medical diagnostics. Five smaller scale sensors of natural parameters (air temperature, moistness, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and glow) were utilized. Different sensors can be included to check for particular contamination. The results reveal that the system can give a viable indoor air quality appraisal in order to anticipate technical interventions for improving indoor air quality. Indeed indoor air quality might be distinctively contrasted with what is normal for a quality living environment.

Detailed CFD modelling of open refrigerated display cabinets

A comprehensive and detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) modelling of air flow and heat transfer in an open refrigerated display cabinet (ORDC) is performed in this study. The physical-mathematical model considers the flow through the internal ducts, across fans and evaporator, and includes the thermal response of food products. The air humidity effect and thermal radiation heat transfer between surfaces are taken into account. Experimental tests were performed to characterize the phenomena near physical extremities and to validate the numerical predictions of air temperature, relative humidity, and velocity. Numerical and experimental results comparison reveals the predictive capabilities of the computational model for the optimized conception and development of this type of equipments. Numerical predictions are used to propose geometrical and functional parametric studies that improve thermal performance of the ORDC and consequently food safety.

Three-Dimensional CFD Modelling and Analysis of the Thermal Entrainment in Open Refrigerated Display Cabinets

This study presents a three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation of the air flow pattern and the temperature distribution in a refrigerated display cabinet. The thermal entrainment is evaluated by the variations of the mass flow rate and thermal power along and across the air curtain considering the numerical predictions of abovementioned properties. The evaluation on the ambient air velocity for the three-dimensional (3D) effects in the pattern of this type of turbulent air flow is obtained. Additionally, it is verified that the longitudinal air flow oscillations and the length extremity effects have a considerable influence in the overall thermal performance of the equipment. The non uniform distribution of the air temperature and velocity throughout the re-circulated air curtain determine the temperature differences in the linear display space and inside the food products, affecting the refrigeration power of display cabinets. The numerical predictions have been validated by comparison with experimental tests performed in accordance with the climatic class n.o 3 of EN 441 Standard (Tamb = 25 oC, φamb = 60%; vamb = 0,2 m s -1 ). These tests were conducted using the point measuring technique for the air temperature, air relative humidity and air velocity throughout the air curtain, the display area of conservation of food products and nearby the inlets/outlets of the air mass flow.

Monitoring Indoor Air Quality for Enhanced Occupational Health

Indoor environments are characterized by several pollutant sources. Because people spend more than 90% of their time in indoor environments, several studies have pointed out the impact of indoor air quality on the etiopathogenesis of a wide number of non-specific symptoms which characterizes the “Sick Building Syndrome”, involving the skin, the upper and lower respiratory tract, the eyes and the nervous system, as well as many building related diseases. Thus, indoor air quality (IAQ) is recognized as an important factor to be controlled for the occupants’ health and comfort. The majority of the monitoring systems presently available is very expensive and only allow to collect random samples. This work describes the system (iAQ), a low-cost indoor air quality monitoring wireless sensor network system, developed using Arduino, XBee modules and micro sensors, for storage and availability of monitoring data on a web portal in real time. Five micro sensors of environmental parameters (air temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and luminosity) were used. Other sensors can be added for monitoring specific pollutants. The results reveal that the system can provide an effective indoor air quality assessment to prevent exposure risk. In fact, the indoor air quality may be extremely different compared to what is expected for a quality living environment. Systems like this would have benefit as public health interventions to reduce the burden of symptoms and diseases related to “sick buildings”.

Computational fluid dynamics: An advanced active tool in environmental management and education

The improvement in the quality of life together with thermal comfort, air quality, health, workplace security and energy conservation measures justify the integral education of environmental (outdoor and/or indoor) phenomena. Environmental education, through the appropriate tool, can play an important and vital role in this domain. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is the analysis of systems involving fluid flow, heat transfer and associated phenomena such as distribution of pollutants by means of computer‐based simulation. This technique, allowing the simulation and the visualization of environmental problems, represents a powerful tool to motivate, guide and educate on the environment. The main objective of this paper is to introduce this new advanced active tool in environmental education, directed to indoor‐environment quality, that permits the prediction and visualization of air movement, air temperature and air contaminant (such as tobacco smoke) distribution in rooms. With suitable mathematical models and boundary conditions, a computational code has been developed to predict and visualize these phenomena. In order to demonstrate its applicability, the simulation of air contamination distribution in an office room with a smoker was performed.

CFD parametric studies for global performance improvement of open refrigerated display cabinets

A detailed CFD modelling of an open refrigerated display cabinet has been formulated in a previous study. Some modifications are introduced in order to perform parametric studies dealing with low-cost geometrical and functional characteristics for improvement of the global performance and energy efficiency. The parametric studies are devoted to the analysis of the thermal response and behaviour inside the food conservation space influenced by (1) air flow rate through the evaporator heat exchanger; (2) air curtain behaviour; (3) hole dimensions and distribution of the back panel; (4) discharge and return grilles angles; and (5) flow deflectors inside the internal duct. The analysis of the numerical predictions from the parametric studies allows the development of an optimized model for the conception of an open refrigerated display cabinet with a more adequate configuration. The numerical predictions of the optimized model show lower product temperature and reduced electrical energy consumption, allowing the improvement of the food safety and the energy rationalization of the refrigeration equipment.

Health informatics for indoor air quality monitoring

Indoor environments are characterized by the existence of various pollutant sources. Moreover, at present, people spend more than 90% of their time inside buildings. Thus, the indoor air quality is undoubtedly a key factor to be controlled to ensure the health and comfort of the occupants. Most of the air quality monitoring systems on the market are very expensive and only allow to collect random samples. This paper describes iAQ, a monitoring system that uses a low cost wireless sensor network, to collect indoor air quality information. This system was developed using Arduino, XBee modules and micro sensors, for storage and availability of monitoring data in real-time. This data can be accessed through a Web portal and through a Android mobile application requiring only an internet connection. Five sensors are used for the acquisition of environmental parameters (air temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and luminosity). Other sensors can be added to monitor specific pollutants. The results show that the indoor air quality may be, in some cases, quite different than expected values. The proposed system can provide effective indoor air quality assessment in order to avoid the risk of exposure to pollutant sources.

Horizontal and Vertical Handheld Pointing Devices Comparison for Increasing Human Systems Integration at the Design Stage

In addition to postural and biomechanical aspects related to usage of handheld pointing devices it is also important to perform usability assessment. The paper reports on an experimental study comparing two computer pointing devices, a standard horizontal PC mouse and a vertical device (for neutral pronation of the forearm), both commercially available. The standardized tasks implemented by software and performed by 20 experienced computer mouse users included pointing, dragging and steering. The usability parameters of effectiveness and efficiency were calculated and the participants subjectively assessed their discomfort, effort and ease of use in relation to each device in each task. Efficiency and effectiveness were higher for the horizontal device. Assessments of discomfort, effort and ease of use across the different tasks also supported the consideration of preference for the horizontal device in detriment of the vertical model. The results suggest that designing hybrid configurations may configure a better compromise.

Monitoring Health Factors in Indoor Living Environments Using Internet of Things

Indoor air quality parameters are extremely important to create a productive and healthy indoor environment however in many cases the air quality parameters are very different from those defined as healthy values. Considering that we spend about 90% of our lives indoors, it is extremely important to monitor the indoor air quality in real time to detect problems in the quality of air and plan interventions in the building, or in the ventilation systems in order to improve air quality. This paper aims to present a solution for indoor air quality monitoring based in Internet of Things Architecture (IoT). This solution is composed by a hardware prototype for ambient data collection and a web and smartphone compatibility for data consulting. This system, denominated by iAQ Wi-Fi, is based on open-source technologies. It is a totality Wi-Fi system, with several advantages compared to existing systems, such as its modularity, scalability, low cost and easy installation. This system performs real-time data collection that is stored in a ThingSpeak platform. The system has smartphone compatibility which allow easier access to data in real time. In this application, the user can check the latest data collected by the system and access to the history of the air quality parameters in graphical representation. iAQ Wi-Fi uses a open-source Arduino UNO as processing unit, a ESP8266 for Wi-Fi 2.4 GHZ as communication unit and incorporates an temperature and humidity sensor, a CO2 sensor, a dust sensor and a digital light sensor as sensing unit.

Monitoring Indoor Air Quality to Improve Occupational Health

Indoor environments are characterized by several pollutant sources. As people typically spend more than 90 % of their time in indoor environments. Thus, indoor air quality (iAQ) is recognized as an important factor to be controlled for the occupants’ health and comfort. The majority of the monitoring systems presently available is very expensive and only allow to collect random samples. This work describes the system (iAQ), a low-cost indoor air quality monitoring wireless sensor network system, developed using Arduino, XBee modules and micro sensors, for storage and availability of monitoring data on a web portal in real time. Five micro sensors of environmental parameters (air temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and luminosity) were used. Other sensors can be added for monitoring specific pollutants. The results reveal that the system can provide an effective indoor air quality assessment to prevent exposure risk. In fact, the indoor air quality may be extremely different compared to what is expected for a quality living environment.