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Energy Saving Butler


A group of students is working on the design of a system that would control the consumption of electric energy in a house. This software should minimize the cost of energy while behaving like the perfect butler, i.e. it should:

  • Know what needs to be done (dishwasher loaded, laundry, heating)
  • Learn the household preferences
  • Detect changes in the routines
  • Be told of changes from normal schedule
  • Supervise the appliances
  • Negotiate with the suppliers (i.e. the retailers of electrical energy)
  • Be discrete
  • Do some things without having to be told what needs to be done
  • Have a brief daily meeting with his boss to receive instructions and bring up things that it has noticed
  • Take instructions over the phone when needed.
Click here to download a copy of the presentation that they gave at the May 2012 Undergraduate Research Symposium.