Future cities and autonomous vehicles:analysis of the barriers to full adoption

The inevitable upcoming technology of autonomous vehicles(AVs)will affect our cities and several aspects of our lives.The widespread adoption of AVs repose at crossing distinct barriers that prevent their full adoption.This paper presents a critical review of recent debates about AVs and analyse the key barriers to their full adoption.This study has employed a mixed research methodology on a selected database of recently published research works.Thus,the outcomes of this review integrate the barriers into two main categories;(1)User/Government perspectives that include(i)Users’acceptance and behaviour,(ii)Safety,and(iii)Legislation.(2)Information and Communication Technologies(ICT)which include(i)Computer software and hardware,(ii)Communication systems V2X,and(iii)accurate positioning and mapping.Furthermore,a framework of barriers and their relations to AVs system architecture has been suggested to support future research and technology development.

Enhancing the sustainability and energy conservation in heritage buildings:The case of Nottingham Playhouse

Today,there is a growing interest in developing energy efficient buildings since it is estimated that buildings account for about 40%of the total primary energy consumption in the world.In relation to existing buildings,energy efficiency retrofits have become an important opportunity to upgrade the energy performance of commercial,public and residential buildings that may reduce the energy consumption,demand and cost.In this paper we cover the energy efficiency deep retrofit process that has been carried out for Nottingham Playhouse theatre building for the aim of enhancing its environmental performance and analysing the energy efficiency gained after implementing certain proposed modifications.It is a nationally protected historic building,listed as Grade II*on The National Heritage List for England(NHLE).The building has had insulation enhancement,doors modifications,solar energy installations,energy-saving lights,in addition to improved heating and air conditioning system.The paper presents a novel methodology;and its results indicate significant improvements in the building’s energy performance which is demonstrated using infrared thermographic images and data logger sensors where significant energy savings to the building’s thermal performance are obtained.The energy saving measures have been completed while maintaining the heritage building’s general appearance and architectural features,which have received a Commendation Certificate from The Nottingham Civic Society for this achievement.

The environmental and financial implications of expanding the use of electric cars-A Case study of Scotland

This paper investigates the expansion of electric cars and their impact on the environment and the user;assuming a future scenario where all of the light-duty vehicles that use an internal combustion engine will be replaced by electric cars in Scotland.The idea is to investigate the impact on the environment and the financial effect on the user.The methodology is based on analysing the most common electric and conventional vehicles to estimate the amount of additional electricity that would be needed to charge that expansion.The paper has also looked at the running costs.The results show that approximately 4 GWh per annum of additional electricity will be needed to compensate for such growth in electricity demand.With the rise in electricity production,the amount of carbon emissions from the electrical grid is expected to increase slightly by 0.47 megatons CO_(2)per annum.Given that the carbon dioxide generated by the light internal combustion vehicles at the moment is 3.6 megatons of CO_(2)per year,it is concluded that the total amount of greenhouse gases from the electricity grid will decrease by circa 33.7%if all conventional cars in Scotland are replaced by electric cars.The initial cost of an electric car is found to be higher than conventional diesel or petrol one,but in the long term,the cost to power an electric vehicle is expected to be much cheaper.However,electric cars still have their own drawbacks as they need significant time to be charged,and will consume significant energy for heating the interior and windscreens to prevent condensation in cold weather leading to an estimated reduction in range of approximately 28%in some situations.

An innovative approach towards enhancing energy conservation in buildings via public engagement using DIY infrared thermography surveys

Energy consumption in urban environment in the EU accounts for about 40%of the total energy consumption,and the majority of this energy is utilised for heating and air conditioning of buildings.Hence the process of insulating and retrofitting of relatively old buildings is essential to enhance the thermal performance and hence contribute to energy and carbon emission reduction.There is a need to enhance people’s engagement and education in relation to such issues to inspire and encourage positive actions and investment from the public.This paper presents an approach of combining a novel training process using a low-cost infrared thermal camera with small scale building model to promote DIY(Do-It-Yourself)infrared survey for the public to evaluate the performance of their own homes in order to identify any issues related to insulation or air leaks from the building envelop to encourage them to take corrective actions.The work included the engagement of 50 people to survey their own homes to capture the technical findings as well as their personal reaction and feedback.The results show that 88%of participants have found the educational session helpful to understand the infrared thermography;and 92%have considered the infrared camera to be an effective tool to indicate location of heat losses.Additionally,90%of participants trust that the thermal camera has helped them to identify insulation defects that cause heat losses in their homes.Moreover,84%believe that the thermal imaging has convinced them to think more seriously about the heat losses of their homes and what they could do to improve that.The experimental thermography surveys have shown that many houses have limitations in terms of thermal insulation which have been identified by the participants.This DIY interaction has provided enhanced public engagement and energy awareness via the use of the technology.The financial issues are also found to be critical,as none of the participants would have done the survey if they had to pay for it.Hence,this paper provides a solution for households with limited budgets.

Evaluation tool for the thermal performance of retrofitted buildings using an integrated approach of deep learning artificial neural networks and infrared thermography

In most countries,buildings are responsible for significant energy consumption where space heating and air conditioning is responsible for the majority of this energy use.To reduce this massive consumption and decrease carbon emission,thermal insulation of buildings can play an important role.The estimation of energy savings following the improvement of a building’s insulation remains a key area of research in order to calculate the cost savings and the payback period.In this paper,a case study has been presented where deep retrofitting has been introduced to an existing building to bring it closer to a Passivhaus standard with the introduction of insulation and solar photovoltaic panels.The thermal performance of the building with its improved insulation has been evaluated using infrared thermography.Artificial intelligence using deep learning neural networks is implemented to predict the thermal performance of the building and the expected energy savings.The prediction of neural networks is compared with the actual savings calculated using historical weather data.The results of the neural network show high accuracy of predicting the actual energy savings with success rate of about 82%when compared with the calculated values.The results show that this suggested approach can be used to rapidly predict energy savings from retrofitting of buildings with reasonable accuracy,hence providing a practical rapid tool for the building industry and communities to estimate energy savings.A mathematical model has been also developed which has indicated a life-long monitoring will be needed to precisely estimate the benefits of energy savings in retrofitting due to the change in weather conditions and people’s behaviour.