Now showing 1 - 10 of 17
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Virtual Environment for the Mashing and Boiling Process in Craft Beer Production

2023 , Pogo S.I. , Granizo J. , Andaluz V.H. , Varela Aldas, José

Process automation allows to increase production and improve the quality of craft products. This paper presents the implementation of closed-loop control algorithms for a mashing and brewing plant of craft beer. The proposed control scheme is implemented through the HIL technique, for which a virtual environment that simulates the behavior of the industrial process and a control card where the control algorithms are implemented are considered. To represent the behavior of the plant level and temperature processes, the mathematical model of each process is obtained, this model is used for the design of the control algo-rhythms, and the plant is modeled in 3D and incorporated into the graphics engine also has effects of realism together with been 3D in order to increase the level of realism to the process. For user interaction with the environment, an HMI type mantle center is incorporated to visualize and control the process manually, semi-automatically, and automatically, in order to test the control algorithms safely and avoid the risk of instrumentation damage or loss of real materials. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Mobile Manipulator for Hospital Care Using Firebase

2022 , Varela Aldas, José , Buele, Jorge , Guerrero-Núñez S , Andaluz V.H.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the use of the technology in medicine is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. The use of the robotics in the treatment of diseases and physical therapies is limited in Latin America due to the high acquisition and maintenance costs. This document proposes the design, development, and evaluation of a robotic system for the guided monitoring of patients, through remote control using a mobile application. Within the methodology, four phases were proposed: planning, design, development, and evaluation. The 3D design is done using the Tinkercad software, which facilitates the construction of the pieces using 3D printing technology. The ESP32 board is the main element that receives the signals from the sensors and controls the actions of the actuators through the orders received from Firebase. For the development of the application, App inventor is used, building a friendly and easy-to-use interface. To validate this proposal, experimental tests were carried out with two patients in a medical center. In addition, a parameter compliance questionnaire was applied to the robot, obtaining a score of 92.6%, and the mobile application obtained 72.5% in the usability test. All this confirms an efficient care proposal, with a reduced investment. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Virtual Control of a Perfectly Stirred Reactor for Cyclopentene Production

2021 , Amores D.D. , Lema E.P. , Guerrero L.D. , Andaluz V.H. , García B.A. , Guanopatín A.V. , Varela Aldas, José

This article developed the implementation of a controller for a Perfectly Stirred Reactor (CSTR) for the production of Cyclopentene, through a 3D virtual environment, oriented to the teaching-learning process which allows an immersion to the industrial field. The non-linear process modeling is considered in order to implement a closed loop control algorithm and the simulation of the process through animations in the virtual environment, which is equipped with different elements that faithfully simulate the real process, such as: industrial instrumentation, surround sounds, catastrophic events, etc. Finally, the behavior of the system is validated against the nonlinear controller based on numerical methods with several experimental tests. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Modelling and control of a mobile manipulator for trajectory tracking

2018 , Varela Aldas, José , Andaluz V.H. , Chicaiza F.A.

This article presents the mathematical modelling of a mobile manipulator robot to describe its kinematic and dynamic behaviour; the kinematic model is used to design a control law that allows the autonomous tracking of trajectories in structured spaces; while the dynamic model is used to compensate for speed errors in the robot. Additionally, the stability of the proposed control systems is demonstrated, and finally, simulation and experimentation tests are carried out to validate the proper functioning of the controllers. © 2018 IEEE.

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Control of a Security Door Through the Internet of Things

2022 , Toapanta J. , Miranda M. , Andaluz V.H. , Palacios-Navarro G. , Varela Aldas, José

Home security has increased in recent years with the help of technology. Even more, the appearance of the internet of things (IoT) allows it to control and monitor devices from anywhere in the world. This work develops a proposal that alerts the user about the status of a door through a mobile application using low-cost devices. For the electronic design, a magnetic contact sensor has been used that detects if the door is open. An electric lock is also used to control the door with the mobile application from anywhere in the user. The electronic system is based on an ESP32 board that has WiFi communication, this board sends the door status data to the mobile application. The electric lock can be activated in three ways: manually from the door, automatically according to a programmed routine, and remotely using the mobile app. The platform used for the IoT is Firebase, which allows the exchange of information between the local site and the remote site. The tests carried out around the prototype have responded correctly, the installed sensor continuously reports on the status of the door, and the control is executed according to the orders sent through the cloud. In addition, an acceptance test is used that guarantees the correct operation of the proposal. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Monitoring System for Plants Based on a Smart Plant Pot

2022 , Salazar M. , Castillo F. , Andaluz V.H. , Palacios-Navarro G. , Varela Aldas, José

The occupations of the modern world neglect important things like the environment and sustainable development. This work develops a monitoring system for plants, based on a smart plant pot that can be supervised and configured through a mobile application. The electronic design consists of the use of two sensors that constantly send the temperature and humidity of the plant to the mobile application. In addition, a submersible pump provides water to the interior of the plant pot to monitor the condition of the plant. The optimal temperature and humidity settings will depend on the type of plant; these options can be configured remotely. Alerts are sent in the form of notifications or appear on the display of the plant pot when a different status than recommended is detected. Information is reflected locally on the plant pot display as facial expressions. The local operating code is designed so that the facial expression displayed on the screen changes automatically based on the conditions presented on the plant pot. As a result, adequate communication was obtained between the mobile application and all the devices installed in the smart plant pot. Finally, an acceptance test is applied that qualifies this proposal as suitable for domestic use. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Dynamics of a Unicycle-Type Wheeled Mobile Manipulator Robot

2020 , Varela Aldas, José , Chicaiza, F.A. , Andaluz V.H.

Mathematical modeling is widely used in robotics to display behaviors and design control algorithms; the dynamic model of a robot describes the movements considering the action of internal and external forces of the system. This paper presents the dynamics of a unicycle mobile manipulator robot using the Euler-Lagrange proposal and conditioning the model to obtain the output velocities in the robot from the desired velocities. Additionally, the dynamic model is complemented by the identification of parameters using experimental data obtained from the AKASHA robot. The results present the signals applied in the identification, the values of the dynamic constants are found and the validation data which indicate a correct performance of the proposal are graphically shown. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Virtual System for Industrial Processes: Distillation Towers

2021 , Jacome E.M. , Toaquiza J.F. , Mullo G.M. , Andaluz V.H. , Varela Aldas, José

In this paper a realistic and intuitive virtual environment of a distillation tower system is developed. The three-dimensional model of the system is based on a real system, which is replicated in Blender software to be later implemented in Unity, in order to simulate its behavior. By showing the evolution of the system, control and monitoring maneuvers are implemented, so that the virtual animation is similar to a real process. The application developed is intended to provide support in the learning process of an operator in the work area. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Temperature Control of an Electric Through Virtual Hardware in the Loop Technique

2022 , Mollocana J.D. , Jorque B.S. , Varela Aldas, José , Andaluz V.H.

This article presents the design of PID, fuzzy and MPC control algorithms for the temperature process of an electric oven with the objective of comparing operational and economic indexes. The controllers are implemented using the hardware in the loop technique that considers the virtualization of the process in the Unity 3D graphics engine. The development of the virtual environment incorporates 3D models that resemble a real environment of the brick manufacturing process, allowing the immersion and interaction of the user with the environment, in order to perform monitoring and control tasks of the industrial process. For the virtualization of the industrial process, it is considered to obtaining a mathematical model that represents the dynamics of the temperature plant. Finally, the experimental results achieved through the implementation of the hardware in the loop technique are presented, and a comparison of the controllers is performed in terms of power consumption, controller performance by visualizing the behavior of the temperature system and the evolution of the control errors. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Virtual Control of a Double Effect Evaporator for Teaching-Learning Processes

2021 , Garcés R.J. , Lomas J.F. , Pilatasig J.G. , Andaluz V.H. , Tutasig A.E. , Zambrano A.S. , Varela Aldas, José

This article presents the control and virtualisation of a double effect evaporator plant oriented to teaching-learning processes. A virtual process with similar characteristics to a real one is implemented using CAD tools and the Unity 3D graphic engine, with the aim of simulating the behaviour of an industrial process, specifically, a double effect evaporator; this allows the behaviour of the process to be evaluated and control manoeuvres to be implemented without putting the safety of the operator or the plant at risk. The result is an interactive and immersive virtual environment between the user and the industrial process. The dynamic modelling of the double effect evaporator is incorporated in the virtual environment, so that the virtual animation is similar to a real process. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.