For the equipment connected to the three-phase or single-phase grid, the power factor represents an efficiency measure for the usage of electrical energy. The power factor improvement through correction methods reduces the load on the transformers and power conductors, leading to a reduction of losses in the mains power supply and a sustainable grid system. The implications at the financial level are also important. An example of load that generates a small power factor is represented by a motor without mechanical load or having a small mechanical load. Given the power factor correction (PFC), the costs are reduced through the elimination of penalties, applying only in the common coupling point (CCP). The advantages of using equipment for the power factor correction are related also to their long operation duration and the easiness of their installation. The device presented in this article takes advantage of the advances in information and communication technology (ICT) to create a new approach for telemetry and remote configuration of a PFC. This approach has flexibility and versatility, such that it can be adapted to many loads, easily changing the capacitance steps and settings of the power factor correction device.

Sensor-Cloud Systems (SCS) are designed to link sensor networks and cloud applications, in order to gather and process information. While this is a hot topic for both academia and industry, with a large number of implementations, not much effort was put towards analysing the reliability of these systems. This article presents an experimental implementation of a system in the field of intelligent products and explores reliability improving techniques in five main areas of the SCS: network communication performance, auto recovery, local backup, automated software testing and system security. They all play an important role in determining the level of reliability of the novel Internet of Things (IoT) architecture framework for intelligent products presented in the article. A new formula is proposed for assessing the reliability of a SCS based on metrics from each of the five areas. Metrics used to assess the system reliability are presented, along with comparisons between operating with improvement techniques and without them. The results show that the reliability of the implemented SCS is improved considerably by implementing a deliberate reliability policy using an original five level tiered approach.

The value attributed to the forests in developed countries has shifted from commercial wood production towards carbon reduction, habitat for wildlife, scenery and recreation. With the increasing perceived benefits came more concern and effort towards better forest management. There are many research and development initiatives aimed at effectively using the latest technologies to monitor forest environment, forest wildlife, forest incidents such as fires, illegal logging, poaching etc. This paper presents an expert system that we designed, developed and tested for forest environmental protection applications. The system includes remote sensing hubs and a central cloud server with several capabilities that are briefly presented. We detail a new approach of using Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors placed at ground level to acquire useful data from forest environments. Implementation details and considerations are presented together with test results obtained in a forest environment.

Nowadays, communication networks and wireless technologies offer an ever higher transport capacity. Following the trend, there is an increasing need for high bandwidth technologies in the last mile. Free space optic networks are a viable solution as they can provide high bandwidth without the need for expensive and more difficult to deploy cable infrastructure [1][2]. However, FSO transmissions pose new problems, such as maintaining the alignment between the transmitter and the receiver [3], especially for a thin, weakly divergent laser signal. This article presents a novel solution for the automatic alignment of the receiver with the transmitter, using servo-electric mechanisms. It begins with a brief overview of free space optics and then presents the general system design, with emphasis on the servo-electric mechanisms. The text presents several misalignment situations and outlines the control system derived from these situations. Included are some tests to prove that the system works as intended.

The paper describes a cyber-physical approach to resolve the automation of quality and reliability enforcement in a manufacturing environment. The approach is based on an architecture of distributed sensors array connected to a local minicomputer, which further communicates using a secured internet connection with an industry 4.0 facilitator hub. The proposed architecture creates an extensible framework to support multi-domain requirements. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated in the case of a composite materials manufacturing installation.

Atmospheric temperature and humidity are parameters of great interest in precision agriculture or air quality assessment in urban agglomerations. The emergent technology of Internet of Things comes with the possibility of obtaining information from the field using low power consumption devices equipped with sensors and communication circuits. A device for measuring atmospheric temperature and humidity was built and housed in an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material. Due to the solar irradiance, the body of the enclosure gets warm and could alter the measurements by thermal conductivity and radiant energy. The study investigates the influence on the measurements of these parameters by the colour of the shelter since there are tendencies to cover it with different paints for artistic design reasons. Three different colours were taken into consideration, white, grey and black. Experiments have to be performed simultaneously in order to meet the same input conditions for solar radiation and air humidity.