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Are Blockchain-Based Smart Metering Systems Already Available? With the growing interest in smart grids, Internet of Things (IoT), and energy transparency, many researchers have explored the use of blockchain technology in smart metering . This article explains what already exists in the literature and where new solutions can still contribute. Q1: Are there existing blockchain-based smart metering systems? Yes. Several studies have proposed blockchain-enabled smart metering architectures to improve billing transparency, data integrity, and privacy protection . Existing research can be grouped into three main areas: Secure smart meter data logging and billing: Blockchain can be used to aggregate meter readings securely and enable dynamic billing while preventing data tampering and fraud [1]. IoT–blockchain smart energy monitoring: Research integrates smart meters, IoT communication, and blockchain to enable scalable and real-time monitoring of energy systems [2]. ...
Can Learning Java Help You Become an Embedded Engineer? A Practical Guide As technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), smart infrastructure, and edge computing continue to evolve, many students and researchers ask an important question: Can improving my Java development skills help me become an embedded engineer? The short answer is yes—but with some important clarifications . Java alone is not enough for embedded engineering, but it can play a valuable role when combined with other key skills. Understanding Embedded Engineering Embedded engineering focuses on building systems where hardware and software work closely together. Examples include smart meters, IoT sensors, robotics, and industrial controllers. In most real-world projects, embedded engineers work with: Microcontrollers such as Arduino, ESP32, or STM32 Sensors and actuators Communication protocols like UART, SPI, and I2C Low-level programming, usually in C or C++ These skills are essential be...
Traditional Energy Meters vs Smart Meters Traditional Energy Meters vs Smart Meters Electricity metering plays a critical role in monitoring, billing, and managing power consumption. Traditional energy meters were primarily designed for basic usage measurement and manual billing. With advancements in communication and embedded systems, smart meters have become an important component of modern power grids. Unlike traditional meters, smart meters can communicate and process data automatically. This enables real-time and high-resolution monitoring of electricity consumption, as well as advanced services such as efficient appliance control and demand-side management [1] . Key Differences at a Glance Feature Traditional Energy Meter Smart Energy Meter ...
How Vehicles Can Act Like Mobile Batteries for the Power Grid How Vehicles Can Act Like Mobile Batteries for the Power Grid 🚗⚡ When we think about cars, we usually think about transportation — getting from one place to another. But modern vehicles, especially electric vehicles (EVs) , are starting to play a much bigger role in our energy system. In fact, vehicles can now act like mobile batteries that help support the power grid. Let’s break this down in a simple and easy way. What Does “Vehicle as a Mobile Energy Storage” Mean? Electric vehicles come with large built-in batteries. Most of the time, these batteries are only used to power the car. However, cars are parked for most of the day, which means a lot of stored energy goes unused. With modern energy technology, vehicles can: Charge electricity from the power grid ...
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Stabilizers, Photonics, and Machine Learning in Quantum Communication An intuitive guide for students and early researchers 1. What Are Stabilizers in Quantum Computing? In quantum systems, qubits are extremely sensitive to noise and errors caused by decoherence, imperfect gates, and environmental disturbances. Stabilizers are mathematical operators used to describe and monitor quantum states without directly measuring (and collapsing) them. A stabilizer is an operator that leaves a quantum state unchanged. If a quantum state is an eigenstate of a stabilizer operator with eigenvalue +1, the state is said to be stabilized by that operator. In simple terms: stabilizers act like consistency checks that tell us whether a quantum state has been disturbed by errors. 2. Stabilizer Codes (Quantum Error Correction) Stabilizer codes are a class of quantum error-correcting codes built using ...
How to Link a BibTeX (.bib) File to a LaTeX Main Document A simple guide for students and researchers using IEEE LaTeX 1. What Is a .bib File? A .bib file is a BibTeX bibliography database that stores references (articles, books, conference papers) in a structured format. LaTeX automatically pulls citations from this file into the main document. 2. Project Folder Structure Ensure your LaTeX project files are organized as follows: main.tex references.bib figures/ The main.tex file is your primary document, while references.bib contains all bibliography entries. 3. Adding the Bibliography to main.tex Insert the following lines near the end of your main.tex file, just before \end{document} . \bibliographystyle{IEEEtran} \bibliography{references} Note: Do not include the .bib extension in the filename. 4. Citing References in the Text Use the citation key defi...
What I Learned Fixing UI Issues Across Android 9 and Android 16 While testing my Android app Hierarchy Star Reports , I ran into an interesting real-world problem: the app worked perfectly on my phone running Android 9 , but my client experienced layout issues on a device running Android 16 . In this post, I’ll explain what went wrong , why it happened , and how I fixed it properly so the UI works consistently across Android versions. 🔍 The Problems Reported Text overlapping with the system navigation bar Some content (like “Entertainment never sleeps…”) not appearing on newer Android versions Legal / Copyright screen opening but showing blank content Too much or too little spacing depending on the device 📱 Why It Worked on Android 9 but Not Android 16 Newer Android versions (Android 12+) handle system insets differently. This includes: Status bar height Navigation gesture areas Edge-to-edge layouts Layouts that look fine on older Andr...