Open Access
Enabling anything to anything connectivity within urban environments towards cognitive frameworks
(IEEE, 2024-08-23) Picallo Guembe, Imanol; Klaina, Hicham; López Iturri, Peio; Azpilicueta Fernández de las Heras, Leyre; Celaya Echarri, Mikel; Astrain Escola, José Javier; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Falcone Lanas, Francisco; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Ciencias; Zientziak; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
The evolution from Smart Cities towards Cognitive Cities is enabled, among others, by the use of flexible and adaptive communication systems, capable of providing high levels of interactivity among multiple systems and users. In this work, wireless connectivity in full volumetric scale is analyzed, in order to provide wireless links between any device/user within the scenario, spanning to different applications from vehicular connectivity at different levels or infrastructure related communications, among others.
Open Access
An IoT framework for SDN based city mobility
(Springer, 2021) Al-Rahamneh, Anas; Astrain Escola, José Javier; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Klaina, Hicham; Picallo Guembe, Imanol; López Iturri, Peio; Falcone Lanas, Francisco; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming more widespread, with global application in a wide range of commercial sectors, utilizing a variety of technologies for customized use in specific environments. The combinationof applications and protocolsand the unique requirements of each environment present a significant challenge for IoT applications, necessitating communication and message exchange support. This paper presents a proposed SDN-based edge smart bypass/ multiprotocol switching for bicycle networks that supports functionalities of coordination of various wireless transmission protocols. A performance assessment will be presented, addressing a comparison between the different protocols (LoRaWAN vs. Sigfox) in terms radio coverage.
Open Access
Smart charging station with photovoltaic and energy storage for supplying electric buses
(IEEE, 2022) Berrueta Irigoyen, Alberto; Astrain Escola, José Javier; Puy Pérez de Laborda, Guillermo; El Hamzaoui, Ismail; Ursúa Rubio, Alfredo; Sanchis Gúrpide, Pablo; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Falcone Lanas, Francisco; López Martín, Antonio; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
A Smart Charging Station (SCS) has been installed in the Public University of Navarre, Spain, in the framework of the H2020 Smart City Lighthouse STARDUST project. The SCS consists of a high-power electric bus charging point (300 kW), a 100 kW photovoltaic system, a 84 kWh support energy storage system based on a second-life lithiumion battery, and a monitoring and control system that allows the safe storage and convenient access to operation data. This SCS operates as a Smart Grid, being able to provide the power peaks required by the electric bus charger, reducing and smoothing the power demanded from the distribution grid and increasing the renewable energy self-consumption rate. This contribution presents a novel monitoring and control system, which is a key tool to integrate this SCS in the data infrastructure of a Smart City, as well as an energy management system able to operate the SCS to achieve the above-mentioned technical requirements. The crucial role of the monitoring and control system and the energy management system becomes evident in this work.
Open Access
An interdisciplinary design of an interactive cultural heritage visit for in-situ, mixed reality and affective experiences
(MDPI, 2022) Olaz Moratinos, Xabier; García Marreros, Ricardo M.; Ortiz Nicolás, Amalia; Marichalar Baraibar, Sebastian Roberto; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Ardaiz Villanueva, Óscar; Marzo Pérez, Asier; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Interactive technologies, such as mixed-reality and natural interactions with avatars, can enhance cultural heritage and the experience of visiting a museum. In this paper, we present the design rationale of an interactive experience for a cultural heritage place in the church of Roncesvalles at the beginning of Camino de Santiago. We followed a participatory design with a multidisciplinary team which resulted in the design of a spatial augmented reality system that employs 3D projection mapping and a conversational agent acting as the storyteller. Multiple features were identified as desirable for an interactive experience: interdisciplinary design team; in-situ; mixed reality; interactive digital storytelling; avatar; tangible objects; gestures; emotions and groups. The findings from a workshop are presented for guiding other interactive cultural heritage experiences. © 2022 by the authors.
Open Access
Distributed opportunistic wireless mapping system towards smart city service provision
(IEEE, 2021) Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Falcone Lanas, Francisco; López Martín, Antonio; Astrain Escola, José Javier; Sanchis Gúrpide, Pablo; Matías Maestro, Ignacio; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
The knowledge of wireless signal distribution within an urban scenario can provide useful information to users as well as to enhance connectivity and device operation or to perform municipal logistics based on crowd density and user mobility patterns. In this work, a distributed wireless mapping system, based on a combination of opportunistic nodes such as smartphones which map geolocated WiFi access point connection and received power levels, and a cloud-based information gathering architecture is described. The proposed system has been tested in the framework of the Smart City platform of the city of Pamplona, providing signal distribution heat maps, which can be used for multiple municipal services.
Open Access
Basketball player on-body biophysical and environmental parameter monitoring based on wireless sensor network integration
(IEEE, 2021) Picallo Guembe, Imanol; López Iturri, Peio; Astrain Escola, José Javier; Aguirre Gallego, Erik; Azpilicueta Fernández de las Heras, Leyre; Celaya Echarri, Mikel; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Falcone Lanas, Francisco; Matematika eta Informatika Ingeniaritza; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniería Matemática e Informática; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación
Sport activities have benefited in recent years from the progressive adoption of different technological assets in order to improve individual as well as group training, collect different statistics or enhance the spectator experiences. The progressive adoption of Internet of Things paradigms can also be considered within the scope of sport activities, providing high levels of user interactivity as well as enabling cloud-based data storage and processing. In this work, a system for monitoring biophysical, kinematic and environmental parameters within the development of basketball training is presented. A set of on-body nodes with multiple sensors and wireless body area network capabilities have been designed, implemented and tested under real training conditions during a match. Wireless channel analysis results have been obtained with the aid of in house implemented deterministic 3D ray launching algorithm, providing accurate coverage/capacity estimations in relation with human body consideration in the field as well as in the stadium. Measurement results give relevant information in relation with individual player characteristics as well as with team characteristics, providing a flexible tool to improve training development of basketball.
Open Access
On constructing efficient UAV aerodynamic surrogate models for digital twins
(IEEE, 2024-07-31) Aláez Gómez, Daniel; Prieto Míguez, Manuel; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Astrain Escola, José Javier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Aerodynamic modeling and optimization for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are complex and computationally intensive tasks. Surrogate models have emerged as a powerful tool for increasing efficiency in the aircraft design and optimization process. We review and evaluate some modeling techniques, such as artificial neural networks and support vector regression, showing that Gaussian process regression generally provides a well-performing solution to this type of problem. We propose an active learning algorithm based on the relevance factor, that combines bias estimated from nearest-neighbor Euclidean distance and variance, to achieve higher accuracy with fewer compuational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The obtained performance is evaluated using four 2-D test functions and an experimental CFD case, indicating that the proposed active learning approach outperforms classical random sampling techniques. Thanks to this architecture, the development process of a new commercial UAV can be significantly streamlined by expediting the testing phase through the use of DTs modeled more efficiently.
Open Access
Towards a heat-resistant tethered micro-aerial vehicle for structure fire sensing
(MDPI, 2025-02-23) Aláez Gómez, Daniel; Prieto Míguez, Manuel; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Astrain Escola, José Javier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
The collapse of structures during firefighter intervention is one of the greatest risks that firefighters must face when entering buildings. To reduce these risks, situational awareness is key. Although many advances have already been developed in wildland and outdoor fires, there is still room for improvement in structure fires. The development of a heat-resistant micro-aerial vehicle for indoor fires poses a series of challenges such as component cooling, battery management, and protection from impacts. In this paper, a heat-resistant tethered micro-aerial vehicle is designed, modeled through thermal analysis, and successfully tested in real-world conditions. This platform has been equipped with a micro-sized thermal sensing camera and first-person-view (FPV) camera, optimized for thermal management, to allow for situational awareness in structure fires.
Open Access
Digital twin modelling of open category UAV radio communications: a case study
(Elsevier, 2024) Aláez Gómez, Daniel; López Iturri, Peio; Celaya Echarri, Mikel; Azpilicueta Fernández de las Heras, Leyre; Falcone Lanas, Francisco; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Astrain Escola, José Javier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
The modeling of radio links plays a crucial role in achieving mission success of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). By simulating and analyzing communication performance, operators can anticipate and address potential challenges. In this paper, we propose a full-featured UAV software-in-the-loop digital twin (SITL-DT) for a heavy-lifting hexacopter that integrates a radio link module based on an experimental path loss model for ‘Open’ category Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) conditions and drone-antenna radiation diagrams obtained via electromagnetic simulation. The main purpose of integrating and simulating a radio link is to characterize when the communication link can be conflicting due to distance, the attitude of the aircraft relative to the pilot, and other phenomena. The system architecture, including the communications module, is implemented and validated based upon experimental flight data.
Open Access
UAVradio: Radio link path loss estimation for UAVs
(Elsevier, 2024) Aláez Gómez, Daniel; Celaya Echarri, Mikel; Azpilicueta Fernández de las Heras, Leyre; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
The UAVRadio Python module is a comprehensive toolkit designed to facilitate the analysis and prediction of radio signal path loss in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) communication scenarios. The module encompasses a range of path loss models referenced from established literature, offering users a powerful and flexible framework for estimating signal attenuation in different UAV communication links. It is a versatile and modular tool that enables simple integration for optimizing UAV communication systems and ensuring reliable wireless connectivity in a variety of operational scenarios. The utility of this package is demonstrated through two relevant examples: an experimentally fit model comparison with other implemented models, and a UAV digital twin implementation example comparing different available models and frequencies. The examples are provided in the code repository along with comprehensive documentation.