Abstract:This paper describes a model-driven decision-support system (software tool) implementing a model-based methodology for on-line leakage detection and localization which is useful for a large class of water distribution networks. Since these methods present a certain degree of complexity which limits their use to experts, the proposed software tool focuses on the integration of a method emphasizing its use by water network managers as a decision support system. The proposed software tool integrates a model-based leakage localization methodology based on the use of on-line telemetry information, as well as a water network calibrated hydraulic model. The application of the resulting decision support software tool in a district metered area (DMA) of the Barcelona distribution network is provided and discussed. The obtained results show that the leakage detection and localization may be performed efficiently reducing the required time.

This paper presents a fully autonomous navigation solution for urban, pedestrian environments. The task at hand, undertaken within the context of the European project URUS, was to enable two urban service robots, based on Segway RMP200 platforms and using planar lasers as primary sensors, to navigate around a known, large (10,000 m 2 ), pedestrian-only environment with poor global positioning system coverage. Special consideration is given to the nature of our robots, highly mobile but two-wheeled, self-balancing, and inherently unstable. Our approach allows us to tackle locations with large variations in height, featuring ramps and staircases, thanks to a three-dimensional, map-based particle filter for localization and to surface traversability inference for low-level navigation. This solution was tested in two different urban settings, the experimental zone devised for the project, a university campus, and a very crowded public avenue, both located in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Our results total more than 6 km of autonomous navigation, with a success rate on go-to requests of nearly 99%. The paper presents our system, examines its overall performance, and discusses the lessons learned throughout development. C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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