The Smart environment provides a test-bed for implementing and evaluating a large number of different automatic search and retrieval processes. In this chapter, the basic parameters underlying the Smart system design are briefly outlined, and a comparison is made with the characteristics of more conventional retrieval systems. The principal lessons learned from the Smart experiments are describ...

Our research team is developing an agent-based test bed for the integrated study of retail and wholesale power markets operating over transmission and distribution networks with smart-grid functionality. The test bed will seam together two existing test beds, the AMES Wholesale Power Market Test Bed developed by a group of researchers at Iowa State University and the GridLAB-D electric energy d...

As the manufacturing tasks become more individualized and more flexible, the machines in smart factory are required to do variable tasks collaboratively without reprogramming. This paper for the first time discusses the similarity between smart manufacturing systems and the ubiquitous robotic systems and makes an effort on deploying ubiquitous robotic technology to the smart factory. Specifical...

We describe a measurement method of respiration and heartbeat using a Smart Rubber sensor, a rubber-based flexible tactile sensor sheet that we developed. This method is useful for unconstrained recording of a person sleeping soundly, sleeping lightly, lying down, sitting on a bed, and so on. Our goal is to monitor those who require nursing care. The proposed method measures respiration and hea...

Systematic exercise is required for patients with degenerative joint conditions and the elderly in need of others' help. In this study, the authors developed 30 bed rehabilitation exercises for the elderly to conduct easily on a bed using their upper extremity muscles and fine motor muscles. However, the rehabilitation exercises are effective only if those who do them have the will to continue ...

Owing to the progress of wired and wireless home networking, sensor networks, networked appliances , mechanical and control engineering and computers themselves, we can realize smart homes nowadays and many smart home projects are proceeding in the world What we have to be careful is not to repeat the same thing as the h ome automation technologies that were booming in 1970’s. That is to say, a...

In this paper, we investigate the development, implementation and testing of an inexpensive scaledprototype “Smart Car” test bed. The test bed consists of retrofitting a commercially available Radio-Control (RC) truck with a PC/104 based computer, various embedded sensorand actuator-subsystems together with multiple modes of communication. The overall goal of our work is the creation of an inex...

This chapter focuses on the usage of wireless sensor and actuator networks to provide data connectivity in smart grids. In particular, we discuss the configuration adopted for the implementation of the sensor network test-bed deployed at the Information Engineering Department of the University of Padova, Italy. The test-bed has been designed to reproduce typical deployment scenarios in an urban...

This paper explores the main challenges to be tackled for more accessible, and easy to use, Smart Spaces. We propose to use Semantic Web principles of interoperability and flexibility to build an end-user graphical model for rapid prototyping of Smart Spaces applications. This approach is implemented as a visual rule-based system that can be mapped into SPARQL queries. In addition, we add suppo...

Two primary simulations have been developed and are being updated for the Mars Smart Lander Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL). The high fidelity engineering end-to-end EDL simulation that is based on NASA Langley’s Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST) and the end-to-end real-time, hardware-in-the-loop simulation test bed, which is based on NASA JPL’s Dynamics Simulator for Entry, D...