Modeling & Automatic Control
Functional unit description
This Research Group is composed by researchers of the group “Automatic Control, Robotics and Mechatronics (TEP197, arm.ual.es) of the University of Almería (UAL) and the Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA). The group has among its areas of interest: intensive agriculture, solar energy, biotechnology and bioengineering, in addition to control education, mechanization and robotics in general. The group also has a research line linked to applications of control systems to achieve thermal, visual and air quality comfort and energy efficiency in buildings. Collaborative activities between the group and the PSA have been developing continuously over the past 25 years, with remarkable participation of UAL researchers in developing some of the SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system involved in test facilities located in the PSA.
Main research line
- Modeling and control of thermosolar plants.
- Modeling, control and robotics in agro-industry.
- Energy efficiency and comfort control in buildings.
- Engineering education.
- Modeling and control of photobioreactors.
- Energy smart grids and electric vehicles
- Predictive, hierarchical and robust control.
- Supervisory systems and industrial communications.
- Artificial intelligence in solar energy applications.
- State estimators
MAIN RESEARCHERS
Jose Domingo Álvarez Hervás
ORCID ID = 0000-0003-2791-8105 Scopus Author ID 16303147700
José Domingo Álvarez is an Associate Professor (Profesor Titular de Universidad) at the University of Almería, Spain. He received the Computer Science Engineering degree from the University of Almería in 2003. In 2008, he obtained, from the same university, the Ph.D. degree focused on Automatic Control in Solar Plants which was performed in a leading research centre in this field: la Plataforma Solar de Almería (Solar Platform of Almería). After finishing his Ph.D., he was employed as a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Almería under the framework of the singular strategic project about bioclimatic architecture and solar cooling (PSE-ARFRISOL). Then, he spent two years in the University of Seville (Spain) with a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral grant. After that, he had a Ramón y Cajal postdoctoral grant in the University of Almería. Currently, he has been promoted to Associate Professor (Profesor Titular de Universidad) in the same university. His research interests are focused on the fields of repetitive control, predictive control and classical PID control with applications to solar power plants, microgrids and energy efficient buildings. In the last ten years, as a result of his work in these research lines, it is possible to highlight his co-authored in the book Comfort Control in Buildings (Springer, 2014). He is co-author of 47 regular papers published in referred journals, and more than 50 papers in international and national conferences. H-index: 21 (Google Scholar), 17 (Scopus), 15 (Web of Science). He has been director of 3 Ph.D. Thesis and has participated in several national and international R&D projects with public and private funding. Currently, he is a member of the “Automatic control, Robotics and Mechatronics” research group (https://arm.ual.es/arm-group/). He is also a member of the Comité Español de Automática (main Spanish Association in Automatic Control). He was one of the co-organizers of the XXVII Jornadas de Automática (the annual meeting of the Spanish Automatic Control Committee) in 2006, the II Simposio Nacional de Ingeniería Hortícola in 2016 and the XVI Simposio CEA de Ingeniería de Control in 2018. He is the coordinator of the Máster en Energía Solar in the UAL and the person in charge of the Modelling and Control functional unit in the CIESOL centre. He is reviewer of more than 20 renowned international journals (more than 100 reviews), ANEP, and ANECA. He is member of: i) the editorial board of the journal ‘Mathematical Problems in Engineering’ (1.305 JCR index), ii) the topic board of ‘Energies’ journal (3.004 JCR index) and, iii) the RP2 review panel of COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) actions.
Lidia Roca Sobrino
ORCID ID = 0000-0002-8724-5136 Scopus Author 23467603800
Lidia Roca holds a researcher contract at CIEMAT since 2012. She received the academic degree in Electronic Engineering by the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Granada (2004), Master’s in Solar Energy by the University of Almería (2007) and the PhD. degree in the University of Almería (2009), granted by the Extraordinary Doctorate Award in Engineering. Currently she belongs to the Solar Thermal Applications Unit at the Plataforma Solar de Almería. She has published 42 papers in scientific journals with impact index, 42 contributions to international conferences and 2 books. Her main research lines are the modelling, control and optimisation of systems powered by solar thermal energy, with more than 10 years of experience in this field and developing her activity through participation in 20 national and international R&D projects.