This paper considers on-demand WiFi wake-up where a wake-up receiver is installed into each WiFi device. The wake-up receiver detects a wake-up call by finding the predefined length of WiFi frames, which corresponds to a wake-up ID, through envelope detection with limited signal processing. Since each wake-up receiver continuously observes the WiFi channel, an adverse event of False Positive (FP), where a WiFi device is falsely turned on without actual wake-up calls, can occur when the length of non-wake-up, background data frames match with predefined length. In this paper, we suggest using the received signal strength (RSS) of WiFi frames to differentiate the real and false wake-up calls. The proposed scheme exploits the correlation among RSSs of WiFi frames received from a single station located in a fixed position. Using measured RSS data obtained under various settings and different degrees of mobility, we investigate not only the FP reduction rate but also its impact on the probability of detecting real wake-up calls. We also present experimental results obtained with our prototype in which the proposed scheme is implemented.

In elevator-group control, the average number of running cars should be finely adjusted by the dynamically controlling the number of running cars (DCNRC). Traffic demand in an office building varies throughout the day. In this paper, we propose a new energy-saving method for elevator-group control that adjusts the number of running cars according to the traffic demand, simulate the proposed energy-saving method under nearly real traffic demand conditions of an office building, and reduce the daily energy consumption to the target level after several days.

Energy conservation is one of the hot topics within the domain of traffic problems. It is well known that shortening the distance between vehicles reduces the aerodynamic drag of the lagging (or following) vehicle and leads to energy savings, which benefits the drivers. Recently, systems have been developed in which trucks or vehicles travel in a platoon with reduced headway from the preceding vehicle by using automated driving or driver assistance systems. The objective of the present study is to investigate how human factors, such as driving style, a driver's condition, or a driver's personal characteristics, influence the decision of a driver to close the gap with a preceding vehicle and obtain the benefit of aerodynamic drag reduction. We developed a realistic experimental paradigm for investigating the relationship between distance and several factors including the driver's personal characteristics and the size of preceding vehicle. Our experimental setup made use of real vehicles on a test track, as opposed to a vehicle simulator. We examined behavior of subjects that drove the following vehicle as well as subjects that sat in the passenger seat in the following vehicle. The experimental results demonstrate that all subjects attempted to reduce the distance to the preceding vehicle in order to gain the benefit. Based on the experimental and questionnaire results, we conclude that there are relationships between the category of subjects and subject's following distances.

Nowadays, with spreads of inexpensive small communication devices, a number of wireless local area networks (WLANs) have been deployed even in the same building for the Internet access services. Their wireless access-points (APs) are often independently installed and managed by different groups such as departments or laboratories in a university or a company. Then, a user host can access to multiple WLANs by detecting signals from their APs, which increases the energy consumption and the operational cost. It may also degrade the communication performance by increasing interferences. In this paper, we present an AP aggregation approach to solve these problems in multiple WLAN environments by aggregating deployed APs of different groups into limited ones using virtual APs. First, we formulate the AP aggregation problem as a combinatorial optimization problem and prove the NP-completeness of its decision problem. Then, we propose its heuristic algorithm composed of five phases. We verify the effectiveness through extensive simulations using the WIMNET simulator.

In the optimum design of contactors, it is important to analyze the dynamic behaviors. In this paper, it proposes a new computational approach for analyzing dynamic characteristic of the energy-saving and bouncing-reducing double-coil contactor. According to the contactor's unique characteristic that it has two transferable coils, the paper builds two different sets of equations. One describes the period before the transfer position, and the other describes the period after the transfer position. The equations deal with the electrical circuit, electromagnetic field that can be calculated by using 3-D finite element method and mechanical system considering the influence of friction. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed by experiment. Finally, the paper gives an optimum design for the transfer position of the two coils. The result of the optimum design reduces both of the first and the second bounces of the movable contact.