Wilfried Elmenreich

• Prof. Dr.
• Professor at Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt

This book chapter presents SwarmFabSim, an open-source simulation framework using NetLogo for agent-based simulation of a semiconductor production plant organized by the job-shop principle. It models the plant as a self-organizing system using swarm intelligence algorithms for bottom-up optimization. The model is composed of a set of agents, which...

Consumer's privacy is a main concern in Smart Grids (SGs) due to the sensitivity of energy data, particularly when used to train machine learning models for different services. These data-driven models often require huge amounts of data to achieve acceptable performance leading in most cases to risks of privacy leakage. By pushing the training to t...

Non-intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is becoming a paramount in both industrial and residential sectors to achieve efficient energy consumption. Thus, research on this matter flourished in recent years, where deep neural networks gained the highest interest from the research community, commonly referred to as neural NILM. As a predominant practice,...

This paper proposes a novel decentralize and asynchronous swarm robotic search algorithm integrated with game theory to better disperse robots in the environment while crossing obstacles and solving mazes. This prevents early convergence and improves the efficiency of the searches. In the proposed algorithm, individual robots, while searching, play...

When people learn from each other and change their behavior accordingly, this is called social learning. COVID-19 not only taught us new habits to limit contagion, imposed restrictions also limited people’s everyday practices and behavior. Our study aims to analyze how (much) the pandemic may have incidentally fostered social learning of sustainabi...

Supporting the elderly to maintain their independence, safety, and well-being through Active Assisted Living (AAL) technologies, is gaining increasing momentum. Recently, Non-intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) approaches have become the focus of these technologies due to their non-intrusiveness and reduced price. Whilst some research has been carried...

Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (nilm) techniques are increasingly becoming a key instrument for identifying the power consumption of individual appliances based on a single metering point. Particularly Deep learning models are gaining interest in this regard. However, the challenges brought by NILM datasets and the non-availability of common experim...

This paper describes the case of a university course addressing Sustainable Development (SD). This interdisciplinary and interfaculty elective course is meant to serve the purpose of teaching sustainability. At the same time, it is also intended to serve as an instrument for the implementation of sustainability at the University of Klagenfurt in Au...

Wireless Multi-Hop Networks (such as Mobile Ad hoc Networks, Wireless Sensor Networks, and Wireless Mesh Networks) promise improved flexibility, reliability, and performance compared to conventional Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) or sensor installations. They can be deployed quickly to provide network connectivity in areas without existing bac...

Time-triggered systems provide dependable and deterministic communication based on strict time boundaries for tasks and messages. On the other hand, event-triggered communication is less strict on requirements and more flexible, but it is difficult to provide fault isolation. Thus, the combination of time-triggered and event-triggered communication...

In distributed real-time communication systems, common knowledge of the global time is crucial. It prevents message violations on the bus and allows independent components to collaborate within a real-time system on a timely basis. Systems with hard real-time requirements need to have high precision and accuracy of time. This is achieved by hardwar...

Amongst all the renewable energy resources (RES), solar is the most popular form of energy source and is of particular interest for its widely integration into the power grid. However, due to the intermittent nature of solar source, it is of the greatest significance to forecast solar irradiance to ensure uninterrupted and reliable power supply to...

Amongst all the renewable energy resources (RES), solar is the most popular form of energy source and is of particular interest for its widely integration into the power grid. However, due to the intermittent nature of solar source, it is of the greatest significance to forecast solar irradiance to ensure uninterrupted and reliable power supply to...

Sustainability is not a single concept, but a bundle of concepts that has broadened significantly in recent decades. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) must therefore not only impart new knowledge but should also focus on supporting its students in acquiring new competences, both on a personal and an institutional level. Games and gamifica...

This paper addresses the estimation of household communities’ overall energy usage and solar energy production, considering different prediction horizons. Forecasting the electricity demand and energy generation of communities can help enrich the information available to energy grid operators to better plan their short-term supply. Moreover, househ...

Prudent and meaningful performance evaluation of algorithms is essential for the progression of any research field. In the field of Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM), performance evaluation can be conducted on real-world aggregate signals, provided by smart energy meters or artificial superpositions of individual load signals (i.e., denoised agg...

This paper presents a smartphone application game that aims to increase the awareness of preschoolers on renewable energy. The age of the selected preschoolers is in the range of 4-6 years. The game is called DAYSAM, and it aims to increase awareness regarding photovoltaic arrays, wind turbines, mini-hydropower stations, energy efficiency, and risk...

This paper describes the case of a university course addressing Sustainable Development (SD). This interdisciplinary and interfaculty elective course is meant to serve the purpose of teaching sustainability. At the same time, it is also intended to serve as an instrument for the implementation of sustainability at the University of Klagenfurt in Au...

Videogames allow us to immerse ourselves in worlds that are reflective of cultural phenomena. At the same time, games are in the process of occupying and utilising the real world as a part of the game. The book provides a combination of theoretical and practical approaches to mixed reality through the lenses of game studies and pedagogy. These nove...

The demand on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-educated and enthusiastic employees is growing continuously. It is well known that the challenge to motivate students for a technical study needs to be taken already during compulsory schooling. Hands-on robotic experiments, referring to a topic that is well-known and connected...

Prudent and meaningful algorithm performance evaluation is essential for the progression of any research field. In the field of Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM), performance evaluation can be conducted on real-world aggregate signals, provided by smart energy meters, or artificial superpositions of individual load signals (i.e., denoised aggreg...

Swarm Intelligence (SI) is a popular multi-agent framework that has been originally inspired by swarm behaviors observed in natural systems, such as ant and bee colonies. In a system designed after swarm intelligence, each agent acts autonomously, reacts on dynamic inputs, and, implicitly or explicitly, works collaboratively with other swarm member...

Demand response (DR) for smart grids, which intends to balance the required power demand with the available supply resources, has been gaining widespread attention. The growing demand for electricity has presented new opportunities for residential load scheduling systems to improve energy consumption by shifting or curtailing the demand required wi...

In swarm robotics multiple robots collectively solve problems by forming advantageous structures and behaviors similar to the ones observed in natural systems, such as swarms of bees, birds, or fish. However, the step to industrial applications has not yet been made successfully. Literature is light on real-world swarm applications that apply actua...

Research on smart grid technologies is expected to result in effective climate change mitigation. Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is seen as a key technique for enabling innovative smart-grid services. By breaking down the energy consumption of households and industrial facilities into its components, NILM techniques provide information on pre...

The need for reducing our energy consumption footprint and the increasing number of electric devices in today's homes is calling for new solutions that allow users to efficiently manage their energy consumption. Real-time feedback at device level would be of a significant benefit for this application. In addition, the aging population and their wis...

Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) comprises of a set of techniques that provide insights into the energy consumption of households and industrial facilities. Latest contributions show significant improvements in terms of accuracy and generalisation abilities. Despite all progress made concerning disaggregation techniques, performance evaluation...

To assess the performance of load disaggregation algorithms it is common practise to train a candidate algorithm on data from one or multiple households and subsequently apply cross-validation by evaluating the classification and energy estimation performance on unseen portions of the dataset derived from the same households. With an emerging discu...

This article addresses two research questions related to reproducibility within the context of research related to computer science. First, a survey on reproducibility addressed to researchers in the academic and private sectors is described and evaluated. The survey indicates a strong need for open and easily accessible results, in particular, rep...

A short game is a (computer) game that can be typically played and finished in one session. In comparison to typical commercial games, short games feature simpler assets, easy to learn gameplay and less content. By introducing experimental game features or interesting socially- or personally-relevant topics, short games can be attractive for gamers...

Real-world data sets are crucial to develop and test signal processing and machine learning algorithms to solve energy-related problems. Their scope and data resolution is, however, often limited to the means required to fulfill the experimenters' objectives and moreover governed by personal experience, budgetary and time constraints, and the avail...

Abstract The rising demand for sustainable energy requires to identify the sites for photovoltaic systems with the best performance. This paper tackles the question of feasibility of photovoltaic power plants at high altitude. A direct comparison between an alpine and an urban area site is conducted in the south of Austria. Two low-cost automatic p...

The increasing interactions among Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) lead to systems with emerging and unpredictable behaviors. Such an example is the domain of swarm robotics where the interactions among swarm members remain a complex topic especially in environments that are dynamically changing. However, CPSs �nd applications in a number of large-sca...

The project SWILT focuses on swarms of cyber-physical system (CPS)s in industrial plants (e.g., formed of products, machines, or equipment). CPSs find their application in many disciplines including Internet of Things (IoT), smart mobility, smart grids, Industry 4.0 and smart houses. Swarms of CPSs are even more complex, hard to control and program...

The demand for more spectrums in a smart grid communication network is a significant challenge in originally scarce spectrum resources. Cognitive radio (CR) is a powerful technique for solving the spectrum scarcity problem by adapting the transmission parameters according to predefined objectives in an active wireless communication network. This pa...

Swarms of cyber-physical systems can be used to tackle many challenges that traditional multi-robot systems fail to address. In particular, the self-organizing nature of swarms ensures they are both scalable and adaptable. Such benefits come at the cost of having a highly complex system that is extremely hard to design manually. Therefore, an autom...

In swarm robotics research, simulation is often used to avoid the difficulties of designing swarm behavior in the real world. However, designing the controller of swarm members remains a non-trivial task due to the complex interactions between members and the emerging behavior itself. In this paper, FRamework for EVOlutionary design (FREVO) is used...

Der Band bietet eine Zusammenschau theoretischer und praktischer Perspektiven, die sich rund um das Thema Videospiel, die Erhaltung von Information und die Beharrung auf traditionellen Designparadigmen ergeben. Die Beiträge gehen über ihre jeweiligen Disziplinen von der verbindenden Metapher des Savegames (Speicherstandes) hinaus, um unterschiedlic...

Fallopia japonica as an invasive alien species to Europe and North America presents a significant problem to the existing flora as well as to infrastructures and agricultural land. That is why measures and attempts to control the plant are increasing rapidly. However, conservationists are not yet able to agree on the most suitable method. In the re...

The difference between Fallopia japonica and Fallopia sachalinensis is clear when comparing size and hairiness of the leaves. Due to the hybridization of both species and its product Fallopia x bohemica, a solid phenological identification has become considerably harder and sometimes impossible. For a serious discussion about the plant and the deve...

The difference between Fallopia japonica and Fallopia sachalinensis is clear when comparing size and hairiness of the leaves. Due to the hybridization of both species and its product Fallopia x bohemica, a solid phenological identification has become considerably harder and sometimes impossible. For a serious discussion about the plant and the deve...

Computational methods for the enhancement ofenergy efficiency rely on a measurement process with sufficient ac-curacy and number of measurements. Networked energy meters,energy monitors, serve as vital link between energy consumptionof households and key insights that reveal strategies to achievesignificant energy savings. During the design of such...

One of the most important tools for the development of the smart grid is simulation. Therefore, analyzing, designing, modeling, and simulating the smart grid will allow to explore future scenarios and support decision making for the grid's development. In this paper, we compare two open source simulation tools for the smart grid, GridLAB-Distributi...

Photovoltaic (PV) systems have received much attention in recent years due to their ability of efficiently converting solar power into electricity, which offers important benefits to the environment. PV systems in regions with high solar irradiation can produce a higher output but the temperature affects their performance. This paper presents a stu...

This paper addresses two questions related to reproducibility within the context of research related to computer science. First, requirements on reproducibility are analyzed based on a survey addressed to researchers in the academic and private sector. The survey indicates a strong need for open but also easily accessible results, thus reproducing...

This paper addresses two questions related to reproducibility within the context of research related to computer science. First, requirements on reproducibility are analyzed based on a survey addressed to researchers in the academic and private sector. The survey indicates a strong need for open but also easily accessible results, thus reproducing...

Generation and provision of energy is an important cornerstone of our civilization. Star Trek also addresses the energy topic multiple times and sketches a modern and powerful energy system, which provides seemingly abundant energy but also comes with significant risk of harming its users. In this chapter, we will address the properties of energy g...

For 50 years, Star Trek has been an inspiration to its fans around the world, helping them to dream of a better future. This inspiration has entered our culture and helped to shape much of the technology of the early 21st Century. The contributors to this volume are researchers and teachers in a wide variety of disciplines; from Astrophysics to Eth...

One of the most important tools for the development of the smart grid is simulation. Therefore, analyzing, designing, modeling, and simulating the smart grid will allow to explore future scenarios and support decision making for the grid's development. In this paper, we compare two open source simulation tools for the smart grid, GridLAB-Distributi...

Photovoltaic (PV) systems have received much attention in recent years due to their ability of efficiently converting solar power into electricity, which offers important benefits to the environment. PV systems in regions with high solar irradiation can produce a higher output but the temperature affects their performance. This paper presents a stu...

Cyber physical systems (CPSs) find their application in different domains, including smart cities, Internet of Things (IoT), and Industry 4.0. The increasing degree of interaction among CPSs leads to unpredictable and partially unexpected behavior. The major steps to manage emerging behavior in CPSs are taken in the design process. Although a high...

Swarms of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) can be usedto tackle many challenges that traditional multi-robot systems failto address. In particular, the self-organizing nature of swarmsensures they are both scalable and adaptable. Such benefitscome at the cost of having a complex system that is extremelyhard to design manually. Therefore, an automated...

This study presents a prediction technique for the output current of a photovoltaic grid-connected system by using random forests technique. Experimental data of a photovoltaic grid-connected system are used to train and validate the proposed model. Three statistical error values, namely root mean square error, mean bias error, and mean absolute pe...

Communication systems utilise correlation filters to detect waveforms. In a broader sense, these filters examine the amount of resemblance between a template pattern and the input pattern. In the domain of smart grids, many applications require the detection of active electrical appliances, their condition as well as their current state of operatio...

This paper presents a design for a low-cost research robot based on the small size of the Hexbug Spider toy. Our basic modification replaces the robot head with a 3D-printed adapter, consisting of two parts to provide space for sensors, a larger battery, and a printed circuit board (PCB) with Arduino microcontroller, Wi-Fi module, and motor control...

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) find applications in a number of large-scale, safety-critical domains e.g. transportation, smart cities, etc. As a matter of fact, the increasing interactions amongst different CPS are starting to generate unpredictable behaviors and emerging properties, often leading to unforeseen and/or undesired results. Rather than...

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) nd applications in a number of large-scale, safety-critical domains e.g. transportation, smart cities, etc. As a matter of fact, the increasing interactions amongst diierent CPS are starting to generate unpredictable behaviors and emerging properties, often leading to unforeseen and/or undesired results. Rather than bei...

In this paper, an efficient testing system for measuring a PV module's I-V curve is proposed. The proposed system is based on a controlled DC-DC boost converter. The advantage of using a DC-DC converter is that this converter is typically used in PV systems to track the maximum power point and to control the charging of the battery. Consequently, t...

Demand response provides utilities with a mechanism to share with end users the stochasticity resulting from the use of renewable sources. Pricing is accordingly used to reflect energy availability, to allocate such a limited resource to those loads that value it most. However, the strictly competitive mechanism can result in service interruption i...

Demand response aims to change the energy consumption patterns of normal customers in response to changes in price rate or incentive offers. This process reduces peak loads and in turn potentially lowers the energy cost for customers. In this study, we propose a new demand response scheme on the basis of an adaptive consumption level pricing scheme...

In order to understand the complexity of the concepts related to sustainable development it is necessary to develop the ability to look at an issue from different perspectives, to understand the logic of all subsystems and to develop a perspective by integrating different disciplines. Our team at the Alpen-Adria-UniversitätKlagenfurt strives to imp...

A solar cell is modeled as a p-n junction with nonlinear characteristics to describe its electrical response. To analyze these characteristics, a mathematical model of the solar cell is derived from mathematical equations in terms of solar cell inputs and outputs. For all applications, the one-half volt produced by a single solar cell is inadequate...

In photovoltaic (PV) systems, the PV array is considered as the main energy source. However, in order to increase the availability of PV systems, auxiliary energy sources need to be combined with the PV array. These energy sources can be energy-generating sources such as wind turbines, diesel generators, or energy storage units like batteries. In a...

There is a need for modeling of the solar source considering solar astronomy and geometry principles. Moreover, the measured solar radiation values can be used for developing solar radiation models that describe the mathematical relations between the solar radiation and the meteorological variables such as ambient temperature, humidity, and sunshin...

A smart grid will not only have to integrate distributed renewable energy sources but will also have to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) for management and control while considering social, ecological, and economical effects of the new system. The introduction of photovoltaic-based distributed generation units (PVDG) in th...

The size and performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems depend on meteorological variables such as solar energy, wind speed, and ambient temperature, and therefore, to optimize and control PV systems, accurate models must be developed in order to simulate system's performance. PV system models can be divided into two types of energy flow models and c...

This chapter shows an important application of photovoltaic (PV) system modeling, which is PV system size optimization by discussing three examples, which are stand-alone PV (SAPV) system, hybrid PV/diesel generator/wind system, and PV water pumping system (PVPS). SAPV systems are used in the remote areas where there is no access to the electricity...

Demand response provides utilities with a mechanism to share with end users the stochasticity resulting from the use of renewable sources. Pricing is accordingly used to reflect energy availability, to allocate such a limited resource to those loads that value it most. However, the strictly competitive mechanism can result in service interruption i...

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) enable a great opportunity to develop the residential demand response that is relevant in smart grid applications. Demand response (DR) aims to manage the required demand to match the available energy resources without adding new generation capacity. Expanding the DR to cover the resident...