"Projects on Smart Cities and Internet of Things involve the various ISCTE-IUL schools and are being developed in the scope of Master's and Doctorate degrees, besides partnerships with companies and other entities.
João Ferreira - ISTAR Researcher
When I make intelligent and efficient use of the lighting or air conditioning system in my home, I have a clear reward by reducing the bill I pay at the end of the month. When a city council does the same in the lighting network of a city, the municipal budget benefits from this policy. But what happens in spaces, such as hospitals, public offices or universities, where users are not individually rewarded for efficient behavior? What mechanisms can lead these very diverse users to behave with greater environmental responsibility and also with greater energy efficiency and, therefore, economic efficiency?
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INTERNET OF THINGS, IoT
Digitization, the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G communications can be powerful tools to achieve this behavior change. They allow collecting and processing huge amounts of data, in real time, and from them establishing patterns and trends. But what to do with this data, if we are dealing with a set of diverse users, to whom it is not possible to propose systematic and structured solutions?
To answer this question, specialists in Information Science and Technology need the support of other scientific knowledge, such as sociology or psychology, capable of studying and standardizing collective and individual behaviors, but above all, of advancing with the necessary tools to propose behavioral change models oriented to specific users. And this is precisely what is being done at the Iscte's Center for Research in Information Sciences, Technologies and Architecture (ISTAR).
"ISTAR bets on multidisciplinarity to find innovative solutions to the current challenges in the areas of intelligent cities, digital transformation and societal challenges, always focusing on sustainable development, both ecological and social and economic," says Sara Eloy, director of the Center.
The project, coordinated by João Ferreira, from ISTAR, and financed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, is using Iscte's facilities as a research field, by monitoring the use, from the energy point of view, of areas such as classrooms, auditoriums and administrative spaces. Through sensors and the transmission of data in real time it is possible to have context data of the reality that surrounds us, be it temperature, humidity, luminosity, energy consumption, noise, air quality or the simple presence of people. This data, in addition to providing a snapshot of reality, allows, through further analysis, to identify inefficiencies and waste and thus reduce costs.
The project uses an application for mobile devices, with data representation in 3D models, introduced by the multidisciplinary team in which the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) played a very important role with the Building Information Modeling (BIM) models. This visually appealing environment allows modeling individual behaviors, through the suggestion of personalized actions based on previous behaviors, aiming at a more sustainable collective behavior, through the reduction of energy consumption in shared spaces. In order to know the effectiveness of this application, in addition to the consumption measurements, two user surveys are carried out, at the beginning and at the end of the research, which will allow observing the behavioral evolution.
Sílvia Luís, researcher at the Iscte's Center for Research and Social Intervention (CIS), considers that "the use of engineering and IoT gives psychology specialists the possibility of a more targeted intervention adapted to the characteristics of each person. We know, case by case and with great detail, the reason for each behavior, for example, if it is motivated by lack of knowledge about the way to act, or if it is due to the devaluation of the resulting benefits. And, according to these motivations, it is possible to propose measures and suggestions for improvement".
The research project will culminate in the development of a manual of energy efficiency recommendations and best practices for shared buildings, especially universities. The multidisciplinary nature of this project benefits from the fact that, on the same campus of the Iscte, researchers and lecturers from various fields, from architecture to engineering, from management to social sciences and public policies, develop their activities.
One of the concerns, in this as in other ongoing investigations where mobile devices are used and a great deal of information is collected, relates to the protection of the personal data of those involved. In addition to all research being carried out with voluntary participants and with informed consent, the data is properly anonymized and subject to confidentiality rules. In addition, these activities are monitored by the Iscte Ethics Committee.
WINTER SCHOOL
Along with this multidisciplinary project for behavior change in public spaces, ISTAR develops a wide range of activities in the area of smart cities, having held, in the summer of 2019, a summer school and an international conference on the subject, which brought together several national and foreign experts. At the center of the debates were the new emerging computing paradigms, new services linked to IoT, as well as the opportunities that, from an architectural and urbanistic point of view, can lead to the achievement of more efficient, sustainable cities with a better quality of life.
Taking into account the success of the July 2019 summer school, a new version will be held in February 2020 (winter school), in which the blockchain theme will also be addressed, with the participation of foreign researchers, universities from the Lisbon region and also representatives of the business environment.
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"ISTAR bets on multidisciplinarity to find innovative solutions to the current challenges in the areas of intelligent cities, digital transformation and societal challenges, always focusing on a sustainable development, both ecological and social and economic".
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OTHER PROJECTS IN THE AREA OF SMART CITIES
The smart cities and IoT are at the center of several projects, which involve several researchers from ISTAR and also teachers and students from the School of Technology and Architecture of ISCTE-IUL, either in the laboratory or in the context of partnerships with companies.
> Collaboration in the project to install 14 thousand intelligent lighting stations in Tomar, which began in September 2019. It is the installation of led lamps with layers of intelligence, sensors to measure temperature, intensity and brightness according to the environment, with remote control. Iscte, in collaboration with Cisco, developed all the communications part, previously based on GSM, which is now performed through LoRa (Long Range) communications, which allows a very low transmission rate, low energy consumption, and which is being used to remotely perform the firmware updates of the entire system. This project will allow the saving of 700 thousand euros per year in energy. As a result of this collaboration, two LoRa illuminators will be installed at Iscte, which will allow reducing the energy bill. Two master theses have been developed as part of this project.
> Collaboration with the company Evox in a monitoring and waste management system, which will use sensors that will indicate in real time the level of the containers spread throughout the city. ISTAR worked on the optimization of the installed capacity, so that the collection is uniform, with a pre-defined periodicity, allowing to reduce operational costs by 30%. The pilot experience takes place in the city of Castelo Branco.
> Project on the loading of electric cars in condominiums, or other spaces where energy is shared. It is a IoT system with sensors for energy measurement and authentication through a mobile device. This work began with a master's thesis, then a PhD, and is now being tested for eventual commercialization in public charging stations using blockchain, dispensing with charging cards.
> Project on energy saving in a daycare center in the Lisbon region, carried out by a master student. The work consisted of monitoring consumption related to lighting and air conditioning in the establishment and developing standardized visualization and action templates, which allowed for savings of 20% in the energy bill.
> Participation in the Open Data Laboratory of the Lisbon City Hall, through which university and research institutions are invited to solve challenges, namely related to mobility and energy, from the data provided by various entities operating in the city. Several projects are being developed, in the scope of the Master in Integrated Business Intelligence Systems.
> Solution to reduce the tourist congestion in the historical areas of the city of Lisbon. A mobile phone activity detection system allows collecting data on the abnormal concentration of people in certain areas of the city, especially those most frequented by tourists. This information is transmitted to a cell phone application, providing information to tourists and tour operators about the areas to avoid. This system, in a very advanced stage of development, will allow a more efficient and sustainable management of tourism activity in the Portuguese capital.
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Sílvia Luís - CIS Researcher
The use of engineering and IoT gives psychology specialists the possibility of a more targeted intervention adapted to the characteristics of each person. We know the reason for each behavior and its motivations.
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