In this paper, we propose a 3D model to characterize the field scattered by an urban area, which is composed of a group of buildings, for both monostatic and bistatic radar configurations. This model is based on a ray-tracing technique combined with the Uniform Theory of Diffraction (UTD). It is useful not only in elucidating mechanisms of ray propagation through the observed area, but also in ...

Natural language generation technology is mature enough for implementing an NLG system in a commercial environment, but the circumstances differ significantly from building a research system. This paper describes the challenges and rewards of building a commercial NLG component for an electronic medical records system. While the resulting NLG system has been successfully completed, the path to ...

Buildings form an essential part of modern life; people spend a significant amount of their time in them, and they consume large amounts of energy. A variety of systems provide services such as lighting, air conditioning and security which are managed using Building Management Systems (BMS) by building operators. To better understand the capability of current BMS and characterize common practic...

Empirical evidence is provided to show that peer effects have statistically significant and positive impacts on the diffusion of green building certificates. Application and approval records of green certificates by commercial buildings in NY and AZ are used. The challenge of self-selection is addressed by the usage of fixed effects and the challenge of reflection is addressed by the time lag d...

With the introduction of volatile renewable energy sources into the grid, the need for inexpensive ancillary service increases. We propose a method to provide ancillary service by using the flexibility of demand in commercial building HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) systems. In particular, we show how a regulation command transmitted by a balancing authority can be tracked by vary...

Automated demand response can be a valuable resource for ancillary services in the power grid. This paper illustrates this value with the first experimental demonstration of frequency regulation from commercial building Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. The experiments were conducted in a 40,000 sq. ft. commercial building located at the University of Florida campus. Deta...

Past research of predictive optimal control of active and passive building thermal storage inventory has confirmed the importance of accuracy in the employed building model. In a subsequent investigation of modelfree learning control for the same application, a hybrid model-based/model-free control scheme based on simulated reinforcement learning has been proposed. Experimentation validated thi...