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Abstract Automatic vehicle tracking systems ease the completion of numerous tasks in different fields. Moreover they can automatically capture information, this feature allows to perform location tasks. These systems can be implemented at airports, in shopping centers and in other large buildings; in this way, wireless network scans will serve as a basis for the creation of signal maps that can be used in indoor location systems. This work proposes an automatic people tracking system which also allows to map Wi-Fi networks in order to localize people indoor. In order to operate the system, information on vehicle movement was used to capture signal maps, with the aim of reducing the need to perform manual calibration and thus, improving the updating of information. The final location is determined by combining information provided by wireless networks, Bayesian networks are employed for this task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Devices in a smart home should be connected in an optimal way; this helps save energy and money. Among numerous optimization models that can be found in the literature, we would like to highlight artificial immune systems, which use special bioinspired algorithms to solve optimization problems effectively. The aim of this work is to present the application of an artificial immune system in the context of different energy optimization problems. Likewise, a case study is performed in which an artificial immune system is incorporated in order to solve an energy management problem in a domestic environment. A thorough analysis of the different strategies is carried out to demonstrate the ability of an artificial immune system to find a successful optima which satisfies the problem constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The control of consumption in homes and workplaces is an increasingly important aspect if we consider the growing popularity of smart cities, the increasing use of renewable energies, and the policies of the European Union on using energy in an efficient and clean way. These factors make it necessary to have a system that is capable of predicting what devices are connected to an electrical network. For demand management, the system must also be able to control the power supply to these devices. To this end, we propose the use of a multiagent system that includes agents with advanced reasoning and learning capacities. More specifically, the agents incorporate a case-based reasoning system and machine learning techniques. Besides, the multiagent system includes agents that are specialized in the management of the data acquired and the electrical devices. The aim is to adjust the consumption of electricity in networks to the electrical demand, and this will be done by acting automatically on the detected devices. The proposed system provides promising results; it is capable of predicting what devices are connected to the power grid at a high success rate. The accuracy of the system makes it possible to act according to the device preferences established in the system. This allows for adjusting the consumption to the current demand situation, without the risk of important home appliances being switched off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization problems often require the use of optimization methods that permit the minimization or maximization of certain objective functions. Occasionally, the problems that must be optimized are not linear or polynomial; they cannot be precisely resolved, and they must be approximated. In these cases, it is necessary to apply heuristics, which are able to resolve these kinds of problems. Some algorithms linearize the restrictions and objective functions at a specific point of the space by applying derivatives and partial derivatives for some cases, while in other cases evolutionary algorithms are used to approximate the solution. This work proposes the use of artificial neural networks to approximate the objective function in optimization problems to make it possible to apply other techniques to resolve the problem. The objective function is approximated by a non-linear regression that can be used to resolve an optimization problem. The derivate of the new objective function should be polynomial so that the solution of the optimization problem can be calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring mechanisms that ensure efficient crop growth are essential on many farms, especially in certain areas of the planet where water is scarce. Most farmers must assume the high cost of the required equipment in order to be able to streamline natural resources on their farms. Considering that many farmers cannot afford to install this equipment, it is necessary to look for more effective solutions that would be cheaper to implement. The objective of this study is to build virtual organizations of agents that can communicate between each other while monitoring crops. A low cost sensor architecture allows farmers to monitor and optimize the growth of their crops by streamlining the amount of resources the crops need at every moment. Since the hardware has limited processing and communication capabilities, our approach uses the PANGEA architecture to overcome this limitation. Specifically, we will design a system that is capable of collecting heterogeneous information from its environment, using sensors for temperature, solar radiation, humidity, pH, moisture and wind. A major outcome of our approach is that our solution is able to merge heterogeneous data from sensors and produce a response adapted to the context. In order to validate the proposed system, we present a case study in which farmers are provided with a tool that allows us to monitor the condition of crops on a TV screen using a low cost device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-nose systems are becoming increasingly important instruments across all industries, especially the fields of food and beverages and biomedicine. Given the inaccurate, unsafe and unreliable dependency on the human nose to detect smells that are highly risky and hazardous to human health, e-nose systems offer a tremendous advantage. E-noses are convenient, highly efficient and can be used in real life to detect various types of odors. This paper presents a virtual organization of agents that integrates different classification techniques and neural networks to perform information fusion from parameters retrieved by the E-nose. The integral brain in e-noses is the data processing system, which classifies odors that have been detected by the detection part of its system. The system mimics how a human brain classifies odors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context-awareness in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) relies mainly on the position of objects and humans. The provision of this positional information becomes challenging in the harsh environmental conditions where WSNs are commonly deployed. With an antagonistic philosophy of design, fingerprinting and ranging have emerged as the key technologies underpinning wireless localization in harsh environments. Fingerprinting primarily focuses on accurate estimation at the expense of exhaustive calibration. Ranging mainly pursues an easy-to-deploy solution at the expense of moderate performance. In this paper, we present a resilient framework for sustained localization based on accurate fingerprinting in critical areas and light ranging in noncritical spaces. Such framework is conceived from the Bayesian perspective that facilitates the specification of recursive algorithms for real-time operation. In comparison to conventional implementations, we assessed the proposed framework in an indoor scenario with measurements gathered by commercial devices. The presented techniques noticeably outperform current approaches, enabling a flexible adaptation to the fluctuating conditions of harsh environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of heterogeneous distributed sensor networks requires new solutions that can address the problem of automatically fusing the information coming from different sources in an efficient and effective manner. In the literature it is possible to find different types of data fusion and information fusion techniques in use today, but it is still a challenge to obtain systems that allow the automation or semiautomation of information processing and fusion. In this paper, we present a multiagent system that based on the organizational theory proposes a new model to automatically process and fuse information in heterogeneous distributed sensor networks. The proposed architecture is applied to a case study for indoor location where information is taken from different heterogeneous sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient intelligence has advanced significantly during the last few years. The incorporation of image processing and artificial intelligence techniques have opened the possibility for such aspects as pattern recognition, thus allowing for a better adaptation of these systems. This study presents a new model of an embedded agent especially designed to be implemented in sensing devices with resource constraints. This new model of an agent is integrated within the PANGEA (Platform for the Automatic Construction of Organiztions of Intelligent Agents) platform, an organizational-based platform, defining a new sensor role in the system and aimed at providing contextual information and interacting with the environment. A case study was developed over the PANGEA platform and designed using different agents and sensors responsible for providing user support at home in the event of incidents or emergencies. The system presented in the case study incorporates agents in Arduino hardware devices with recognition modules and illuminated bands; it also incorporates IP cameras programmed for automatic tracking, which can connect remotely in the event of emergencies. The user wears a bracelet, which contains a simple vibration sensor that can receive notifications about the emergency situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring and tracking people at home usually requires high cost hardware installations, which implies they are not affordable in many situations. This study/paper proposes a monitoring and tracking system for people with medical problems. A virtual organization of agents based on the PANGEA platform, which allows the easy integration of different devices, was created for this study. In this case, a virtual organization was implemented to track and monitor patients carrying a Holter monitor. The system includes the hardware and software required to perform: ECG measurements, monitoring through accelerometers and WiFi networks. Furthermore, the use of interactive television can moderate interactivity with the user. The system makes it possible to merge the information and facilitates patient tracking efficiently with low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early detection and monitoring of kidney disease continues being an important problem in medicine. The diagnosis and treatment of patients with this disease usually require expensive medical equipment that is difficult to install. Patients or medical centers may not always be able to afford such equipment. This work proposes the creation of a wireless sensor network for medical environments; it will assist medical professionals in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with renal symptomatology. This work will focus on the analysis of symptoms that accompany this disease and the design of a system which will help determine types of kidney diseases. The proposed system will incorporate new hardware mechanisms and an intelligent system. It will be designed through a multi-agent architecture based on virtual organizations. This architecture will include a new model of agents, specifically designed to be incorporated into computationally limited devices. This hardware will be characterized by its low cost and ease of use. A case study has been carried out in order to validate the proposed architecture. In order to validate the proposed architecture, we designed a case study that aims to provide a technological tool for medical professionals and makes it possible to determine any diseases related to diuresis. The initial results are promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of electric bikes (e-bikes) has grown in popularity, especially in large cities where overcrowding and traffic congestion are common. This paper proposes an intelligent engine management system for e-bikes which uses the information collected from sensors to optimize battery energy and time. The intelligent engine management system consists of a built-in network of sensors in the e-bike, which is used for multi-sensor data fusion; the collected data is analysed and fused and on the basis of this information the system can provide the user with optimal and personalized assistance. The user is given recommendations related to battery consumption, sensors, and other parameters associated with the route travelled, such as duration, speed, or variation in altitude. To provide a user with these recommendations, artificial neural networks are used to estimate speed and consumption for each of the segments of a route. These estimates are incorporated into evolutionary algorithms in order to make the optimizations. A comparative analysis of the results obtained has been conducted for when routes were travelled with and without the optimization system. From the experiments, it is evident that the use of an engine management system results in significant energy and time savings. Moreover, user satisfaction increases as the level of assistance adapts to user behavior and the characteristics of the route., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.