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Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering 492

Daniel Thalmann · N Subhashini

K. Mohanaprasad · M S Bala Murugan
Editors

Intelligent
Embedded
Systems
Select Proceedings of ICNETS2, Volume II
Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering

Volume 492

Board of Series editors

Leopoldo Angrisani, Napoli, Italy
Marco Arteaga, Coyoacán, México
Samarjit Chakraborty, München, Germany
Jiming Chen, Hangzhou, P.R. China
Tan Kay Chen, Singapore, Singapore
Rüdiger Dillmann, Karlsruhe, Germany
Haibin Duan, Beijing, China
Gianluigi Ferrari, Parma, Italy
Manuel Ferre, Madrid, Spain
Sandra Hirche, München, Germany
Faryar Jabbari, Irvine, USA
Janusz Kacprzyk, Warsaw, Poland
Alaa Khamis, New Cairo City, Egypt
Torsten Kroeger, Stanford, USA
Tan Cher Ming, Singapore, Singapore
Wolfgang Minker, Ulm, Germany
Pradeep Misra, Dayton, USA
Sebastian Möller, Berlin, Germany
Subhas Chandra Mukhopadhyay, Palmerston, New Zealand
Cun-Zheng Ning, Tempe, USA
Toyoaki Nishida, Sakyo-ku, Japan
Bijaya Ketan Panigrahi, New Delhi, India
Federica Pascucci, Roma, Italy
Tariq Samad, Minneapolis, USA
Gan Woon Seng, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore
Germano Veiga, Porto, Portugal
Haitao Wu, Beijing, China
Junjie James Zhang, Charlotte, USA
“Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering (LNEE)” is a book series which reports
the latest research and developments in Electrical Engineering, namely:

• Communication, Networks, and Information Theory

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Daniel Thalmann N Subhashini
•

K. Mohanaprasad M S Bala Murugan

•

Editors

Intelligent Embedded
Systems
Select Proceedings of ICNETS2, Volume II

123
Editors
Daniel Thalmann K. Mohanaprasad
Computer Graphics Lab School of Electronics Engineering
EPFL VIT University
Lausanne Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Switzerland India

N Subhashini M S Bala Murugan

School of Electronics Engineering School of Electronics Engineering
VIT University VIT University
Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chennai, Tamil Nadu
India India

ISSN 1876-1100 ISSN 1876-1119 (electronic)

Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering
ISBN 978-981-10-8574-1 ISBN 978-981-10-8575-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8575-8
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Preface

The first edition of the International Conference on NextGen Electronic

Technologies: Silicon to Software (ICNETS2) was held at Vellore Institute of
Technology, Chennai (VIT Chennai), during March 23–25, 2017. VIT being the
highest ranked private engineering and research institution in India was the apt
setting for the conference and its discussions on emerging technologies and its
applications in both today’s and tomorrow’s society. The Intelligent Embedded
Systems (Symposium-B) was one of the six symposia hosted by ICNETS2 and
represented the upper layers of the computing stack culminating in system archi-
tectures as well as software design. This symposium was an avenue for researchers
working in areas centered around Embedded Systems with more focus on
Intelligence, to disseminate their research efforts to a wide audience including pro-
fessionals and pioneers in the industry and academia. Intelligent Embedded Systems
is the ability of a product or process to gain knowledge of the operational capabilities
and limitations by itself and its ecosystem and utilize this knowledge in enhancing its
functions and performance. This aspect was prominently at display during the
symposium, which discussed both conceptual systems and also practical
consumer-centric systems in a wide set of horizontals including smart health care,
automotive systems focusing on safety, precision agriculture, smart grids, and
consumer electronics. A total of 52 papers were presented during the 3 days of the
symposium, which attracted researchers from around the globe both to present their
work and to deliver invited talks in cutting-edge research areas in several aspects of
Embedded Systems. All the participants, a significant majority of whom were stu-
dents, had the opportunity to engage in many fruitful discussions that paved way to
the success of the conference. Each day of the conference started with keynote
addresses, and each session began with invited talks. The symposium was co-chaired
by Dr. Daniel Thalmann (Director, Virtual Reality Lab, EPFL, Switzerland), who
also gave a keynote address on the advances in Human–Computer Interaction. There
were three invited talks covering the different system design and communication
technologies: Eric Torres (Tata Communications) talked on the LoRaWAN standard
for low-power wide-area networking in Internet of Things (IoT) applications, Adamu
Murtala Zungeru (Botswana International University of Science and Technology)

v
vi Preface

on underground sensor networks, and Elizabeth Chang (The University of New

South Wales) on important aspects of trust and security on IoT. All in all, the very
first ICNETS2 was very successful and set a milestone in conferences organized in
India. The plenary lectures and other invited talks bridged the gap between aspects of
Embedded Systems and also enthused participants to produce more engaging
research work in the future. Also, since most of the participants were students, new
perspectives were discussed on how to embed intelligence into systems and the
practicality of such systems in various application domains. The next ICNETS2 will
take place in VIT Chennai in 2019. Given the explosive growth of the Internet of
Things and the associated analytics and machine learning components, Intelligence
in Embedded Systems is bound to grow in leaps and bounds, and in the same vein,
we expect that the future ICNETS2, and particularly the symposium on Intelligent
Embedded Systems, will be as stimulating as the current one was, as indicated by the
contributions presented in this proceedings volume.

Lausanne, Switzerland Daniel Thalmann

Chennai, India N Subhashini
Chennai, India K. Mohanaprasad
Chennai, India M S Bala Murugan
Acknowledgements

The organization of a conference, especially on the scale of ICNETS2, is as

stressful as it is rewarding. Managing every detail, right down to the smallest issues,
requires immense effort which would have been unlikely if not for the tremendous
support rendered to the organizing committee. Organizing a conference covering all
aspects of Electronics and Communication as part of six distinct symposia is not an
easy task. On behalf of Symposium-B (Intelligent Embedded Systems), we would
like to thank the management of VIT University, Chennai, for enabling the con-
ference at every juncture. The conference would not have had its visibility is not for
the partnership of Nadia Thalmann (Director, MIRALab, University of Geneva,
Switzerland) and Daniel Thalmann (Director, VRlab, EPFL, Switzerland), who
were co-chairs for the conference. We take this opportunity to thank SRS
Prabaharan (Chair, ICNETS2) and Kanchana Bhaaskaran (Co-chair, ICNETS2), for
their invaluable guidance in organizing our symposium. Thanks also go to the
invited speakers, Elizabeth Chang, Eric Torres, and Adamu Murtala Zungeru, who
shared their expertise to the eager participants of the symposium. We also thank the
advisory committee, reviewers, and session chairs who took time off from their
busy schedules to contribute to the symposium. The participants and presenters at
the sessions only enhanced the quality of the symposium, and their willingness to
publish their work as part of a fledgling symposium is highly appreciated. As the
whole conference and our symposium was the result of well-coordinated teamwork,
it is only fair that we acknowledge the efforts of the entire organizing team of more
than 60 distinguished faculty members of the School of Electronics Engineering at
VIT Chennai, who worked day and night for 8 months, way beyond their academic
schedules. The contributions of the laboratory technicians and other maintenance
staff at VIT Chennai should also be noted. Tata Communications, our corporate
legend supporter, and Tenet Technetronics, our premium partner, provided the
necessary technical and financial impetus in moving the conference forward. We
also acknowledge the endorsements of ISRO, CSIR, INSA, and the Department of

vii
viii Acknowledgements

State (USA) in increasing the conference visibility. Lastly, the acceptance of

Springer to publish the proceedings of the conference and all its symposia estab-
lished the credibility of the event, which aims at setting the standard for future
conferences organized in the country.
Contents

Design and Implementation of Dialysate Temperature Control

System for Hemodialysis: A Pilot Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Mohamed Haroon Abdul Jabbar, S. Anandan Shanmugam
and Poi Sim Khiew
Raspberry Pi in Computer Science and Engineering Education . . . . . . . 11
S. Alex David, S. Ravikumar and A. Rizwana Parveen
Advanced Tele-surgery with IoT Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
N. Shabana and G. Velmathi
Xilinx System Generator-Based FPGA Control of Power Flow
for DC/DC Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Anurag Sharma, Rajesh Gupta and Muskan Gupta
An Improved Algorithm for the Estimation of Multibody Motion . . . . . 37
K. Raghavan and R. Prithiviraj
An IoT-Based Smart Shopping Cart Using the Contemporary
Barcode Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
V. N. Prithvish, Shraddha Agrawal and John Sahaya Rani Alex
Voting System for India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Shrikant Subhash Warghade and B. Karthikeyan
Human–Robot Interaction Using Three-Dimensional Gestures . . . . . . . . 67
K. Ponmani and S. Sridharan
Integration of the Smart Phone and IOT for Smart Public Toilet
Hygiene Monitoring System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Prashant Namekar and B. Karthikeyan
Hyperelliptic Curve Cryptography-Based Lightweight Privacy-Aware
Secure Authentication Scheme for Vehicular Ad Hoc Network . . . . . . . 83
Kirti A. Yadav and P. Vijayakumar

ix
x Contents

A Dynamic Approach of Energy Saving Control Strategy

in Smart Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
S. Sofana Reka and S. K. Pranesh
A Novel Approach for Night-Time Vehicle Detection
in Real-Time Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
M. Aswin and G. Suganthi Brindha
Local Visualization for Troubleshooting the RF Mesh Network
in a Wireless Metering System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Parvathi L. Prabhakar, Kiran Thomas, S. Sreekumar
and S. Muthulakshmi
Train Collision Avoidance System for Automatic Train
Protection Using Internet of Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Mohit Savner and G. Gugapriya
Automatic Driver and Vehicle Safety Monitoring System . . . . . . . . . . . 129
S. Vijay Kumar and Abraham Sudharson Ponraj
Emergency and Traffic Congestion Avoidance Using
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Anirban Das, Mahadev Desai, Nilkanth Mugatkar
and Abraham Sudharson Ponraj
Smart Mobile Diagnostic Laboratory and Doctor Annunciation
System in Ambulances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Nikita Bais, R. Shubha, V. Yamuna and M. Kalyan Chakravarthi
Magnetic Braking System for Automotives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Arjun Nair and K. Srivatsan
Raspberry Pi-Based Surveillance System with IoT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Arvin Joseph Kumar Jayakumar and S. Muthulakshmi
Development of Roads Pothole Detection System
Using Image Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Harshad Sawalakhe and Ramchandran Prakash
Automated Interoperability Testing of Optical Network
Terminals for VoIP Call Features Using Robot Framework . . . . . . . . . 197
Kavya Ajith, Kalaiselvan Ramalingam and Muddukrishna Dandu
Design and Implementation of Smart Helmet Using Low Power
MSP430 Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Yogya Indupuru, K. Venkatasubramanian and V. Umamaheswari
Vision Intelligence System for Power Management Using
Human Activity Detection System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Sukanya B. Pasupuleti and Prakash Ramachandran
Contents xi

Embedded System for Classification of Upper Limb Movement

During Action Using EEG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Navya Tummala, K. Venkatasubramanian and V. Umamaheswari
Intelligent Digital Signage System Based on Gender Identification . . . . . 251
Riya Elizabeth Abraham and M. Robert Kennedy
Speech Recognition System Using Open-Source Speech Engine
for Indian Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Nitin Arun Kallole and R. Prakash
Energy Estimation of Embedded Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Anagha Ram and M S Bala Murugan
Design of Communicating Power Supplies and Controlling
the Electronic Devices Using Internet and Mobile Application . . . . . . . . 285
Gunta Krishna Kishore and M S Bala Murugan
Real-Time Human Detection and Tracking Using Quadcopter . . . . . . . . 301
Rana Praful George and V. Prakash
Sonar Data Processing Using Multicore Architecture Processor
and Embedded Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Varun K. Jayan and A. K. Mohamed Husain
A Novel Black Box System for Automobiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
S. Sriram and V. Prakash
IOT-Based Automated Aeroponics System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Felin Francis, P. L. Vishnu, Manish Jha and Bharghava Rajaram
About the Editors

Prof. Daniel Thalmann is a Swiss and Canadian Computer Scientist. He is one

of the most highly cited scientists in Computer Graphics. He is currently Honorary
Professor at EPFL, Switzerland, and was since 2009 with the Institute for Media
Innovation, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Pioneer in research on
Virtual Humans, his current research interests also include Social Robots, Crowd
Simulation, and Virtual Reality. He has been the Founder of Virtual Reality Lab
(VRlab) at EPFL, Switzerland; Professor at University of Montreal; and Visiting
Professor/Researcher at CERN, University of Nebraska, University of Tokyo, and
National University of Singapore. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of
Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds and member of the editorial board of 12
other journals. He was Program Chair and Co-Chair of several conferences
including IEEE-VR, ACM-VRST, and ACM-VRCAI. He has published more than
600 papers in Graphics, Animation, and Virtual Reality. He is co-editor of 30 books
and co-author of several books including ‘Crowd Simulation’ (second edition 2012)
and ‘Stepping into Virtual Reality’ (2007), published by Springer. He received his
Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1977 from the University of Geneva and an Honorary
Doctorate from Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France, in 2003. He also
received the Eurographics Distinguished Career Award in 2010, the 2012 Canadian
Human Computer Communications Society Achievement Award, and the CGI
2015 Career Achievement.

N Subhashini received her B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering

from the University of Madras, Chennai. She obtained her master’s degree in
Systems Engineering and Operations Research from the College of Engineering,
Guindy, Chennai. She was awarded a gold medal in PG for securing the highest
rank in the University and also awarded a gold medal for being the Best Outgoing
Student in the year 2006. With over 12 years of experience in teaching UG and PG
students, she is currently working as Assistant Professor in the School of
Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai. She has
guided a number of UG and PG students in many projects. Her research interests
include Optical Metro/Access Networks, Fiber-to-the-X (FTTX) Technologies,

xiii
xiv About the Editors

Next-Generation Architectures and Services, Optical Fiber Technology and

Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM) Systems. She has presented and pub-
lished a number of papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. She is cur-
rently working in optical networks and her research focuses on the design and
performance evaluation of optical networks, especially passive optical networks.
She is an active member of the Optical and Microwave Research Group in VIT,
Chennai, and has organized several workshops and seminars in the field of optical
networks.

Dr. K. Mohanaprasad graduated from VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu,

India, in the field of Signal Processing. He is currently associated with the School of
Electronics Engineering, VIT University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, as Associate
Professor. His major research interests are in the areas of Speech Processing, Signal
Processing, Wavelet Transform, Image Processing, and Biomedical Signal
Processing. He has co-authored a chapter and published over 20 reputed interna-
tional journal/conference papers, several of them winning best paper awards. He is
a regular reviewer of several top signal processing journals.

M S Bala Murugan has 10 years of experience in teaching industry, with a year of

research experience at Centre for Electronics Design and Technology (CEDT), IISc,
Bangalore, India. He is currently working as Assistant Professor at VIT University,
Chennai, and also chairs the IoT working committee in the School of Electronics
Engineering. His areas of interest include Embedded Systems and IoT. He has
published ten papers in international conferences and journals. His recent research
includes deploying real-time operating system (RTOS) in heterogeneous multicore
architectures and multistandard protocol gateway for IoT.
Design and Implementation of Dialysate
Temperature Control System
for Hemodialysis: A Pilot Study

Mohamed Haroon Abdul Jabbar, S. Anandan Shanmugam

and Poi Sim Khiew

Abstract In hemodialysis, the control of body temperature by altering the dialysate

temperature would reduce the intradialytic complications. Several studies show that
the constant dialysate temperature affects the patient’s quality of life due to their
different temperature threshold. Thus, these factors serve as a motivation factor to
design an individualized dialysate temperature control for hemodialysis patients,
which can actively control the body temperature even in the case of any external
disturbances. In this paper, a novel dialysate proportioning model has been pro-
posed. Then, initial implementation of proposed model was designed with fuzzy
logic control and implemented on a low-cost microcontroller—Raspberry Pi 3.
A Simulink model was also designed by incorporating fuzzy logic control to
implement in real time. The pumps’ flow rates are varied using Pulse Width
Modulation (PWM) according to the controller signal, while the temperature sen-
sors are placed to acquire actual temperature in this model. Subsequently, it has
been tested and verified by comparing the simulation and experimental results.
Furthermore, the dialysate temperature trend was studied for various input condi-
tions to analyze its controller behavior in real-time implementation. The results
showed the potential to develop robust control by optimizing the fuzzy rules and
membership functions. The system response time is found to be minimal (less than
300 ms), and the performance error is acceptable (less than 0.55%). Further work is
ongoing to implement the dialysate temperature controller incorporating in vitro
studies.

Keywords Hemodialysis Temperature controller
Fuzzy control system


Raspberry Pi MATLAB/Simulink

M. H. A. Jabbar (&)
S. Anandan Shanmugam

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia
Campus, Semenyih, Malaysia
e-mail: kecx4mhr@nottingham.edu.my
P. S. Khiew
Division of Materials, Mechanics and Structures, University of Nottingham Malaysia
Campus, Semenyih, Malaysia

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 1

D. Thalmann et al. (eds.), Intelligent Embedded Systems, Lecture Notes
in Electrical Engineering 492, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8575-8_1
2 M. H. A. Jabbar et al.

1 Introduction

Over many years, hemodialysis (HD) had been recognized as most effective treatment
for patients suffering from kidney failure. Yet, it has been associated with frequent
intradialytic complications, while intradialytic hypotension (IDH) remains the most
common complication in HD [1]. In addition to toxin clearance, there is also a heat
transfer taking place in dialyzer other than the heat loss from the blood tubing to the
environment. This tends to fluctuate body temperature during HD, subsequently
interrupting the patient’s thermal equilibrium. However, if the core temperature
changes beyond a critical threshold, the increase in the thermoregulatory mechanisms
will lead to IDH and an increased risk of morbidity. Likewise, the temperature
threshold differs in individual patients. A long-term study showed that the highest
mortality was observed in patients whose post-dialysis body temperature increased or
decreased, irrespective of baseline body temperature [2]. This serves as strong evi-
dence in mortality due to fluctuation in body temperature during HD. Therefore, the
control of body temperature plays a vital role in the onset of hypotension.
The most common practice to control body temperature is to alter the dialysate
temperature in extracorporeal circuit, which was first described by Maggiore et al.
in the 1980s [3]. Moreover, maintaining the dialysate temperature within the
physiological range is vital for patients’ safety. Until recently, a dialysate temper-
ature of 37 °C was considered as standard temperature, which is somewhat higher
than the average physiological body temperature. Hence, warm dialysate (37–
37.5 °C) frequently causes an increase in body temperature of approximately 0.3–
0.5 °C [4]. In contrary, studies have confirmed that mild cool dialysate improves
the hemodynamic stability compared to warm dialysate [5, 6]. But the use of cool
dialysate in the range of 35–35.5 °C showed unpleasant effects in some patients
such as shivering and cold sensation [7]. These tolerability can be optimized by an
individualized approach to dialysate temperature prescription.
Until now, there has been only one commercially available system in
hemodialysis machine that was able to measure and control body temperature—
Blood Temperature Monitor (BTM) by Fresenius, Germany. The control of BTM
regulates the temperature of the dialysate to compensate for increase or decrease in
body temperature. Even though, it shows impressive improvements in hemody-
namic stability during the treatment, there is a possibility for further improvement.
In the recent past, studies have been published on dialysate temperature control
system with the intention to minimize complications during the treatment [8, 9].
Based on these literatures, it is probably best to prevent a fluctuation in body
temperature during HD, when concerned about optimal dialysate temperature. It can
also be seen that the idea of active regulation of dialysate temperature according to
the patients’ body temperature is much needed for our current society. The control
which does not require the predialysis body temperature prescription to be inputted
unlike BTM would be one of the major developments in hemodialysis machine
technology. The fuzzy logic control (FLC) system is found to be the most suitable
adaptive controller for this application due to its decision-making capability.
Design and Implementation of Dialysate Temperature Control … 3

In this paper, a novel dialysate proportioning model has been proposed for the
effective temperature control. So, the desired dialysate temperature can be achieved
by a suitable controller. Later, a preliminary controller model was designed with
fuzzy logic control and then implemented on a low-cost microcontroller—
Raspberry Pi 3. The main aim of this pilot study was to analyze the performance
and verify the controller behavior in real-time environment. Thereby, the same
strategy can be further applied to implement in full-fledged dialysate model.

2 Proposed Model

The model which consists of two dialysate tanks at constant temperature of 35 and
37 °C, respectively, has been proposed for the benefit of temperature controller as
shown in Fig. 1. As the dialysate temperature range is narrow (35–37 °C), the
efficient way to control the temperature is by varying the flow rates using peristaltic
pumps. Contrary, the control of temperature can also be made possible by imple-
menting heating elements through the tubing, which would be ineffective in active
regulation. Moreover, the response time and accuracy of this narrow temperature
range would be challenging to control using heating element. Hence, the control of

Fig. 1 Proposed model for individualized dialysate temperature control module

4 M. H. A. Jabbar et al.

peristaltic pumps by varying flow rates would be superior to conventional heaters

for this application.
This dialysate proportioning model was designed as an external module that can
interface in existing HD machines. This module consists of three temperature
sensors, three flow sensors, and two peristaltic pumps to ensure the dialysate flow to
dialyzer in an efficient way. The temperature sensors were placed in each tem-
perature tanks and at the inlet of dialyzer, while the flow sensors were positioned to
monitor the flow rates of both tanks and final flow rate to dialyzer. Since the
efficiency of dialysis depends on dialysate flow rate [10], extra care needs to be
taken to control the final dialysate flow rate. Therefore, the required dialysate
temperature can be achieved using a robust controller, which controls body tem-
perature in HD by regulating the two dialysate flow rates effectively.

3 Implementation Design

As this is an ongoing project, this paper presents a pilot model of the proposed
design, consisting of two tanks with temperature sensor, a peristaltic pump with
encoder and Raspberry Pi as shown in Fig. 2. Raspberry Pi 3 model B was selected
as the microcontroller in this design due to its high processing power and peripheral
interface. The other components such as sensors and actuator were interfaced to
Raspberry Pi using the predefined functions provided by MATLAB/Simulink.
A 12-V peristaltic pump was chosen, which can drive the fluid up to 400 mL/min
suitable for this application. However, a switching circuit was constructed to create
the interface between the pump and Raspberry Pi. To measure the flow rate
non-invasively, a 3D-printed encoder wheel with 16 evenly spaced holes and

Fig. 2 Block diagram of the implementation design

Design and Implementation of Dialysate Temperature Control … 5

infrared sensor are attached to the shaft of the DC motor. An additional limitation is
that the Raspberry Pi does not have an in-built analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
Hence, two DS18B20 digital temperature sensors were selected, which are accurate
and waterproof for this model. Meanwhile, water was used to mimic dialysate fluid
in this study as it is the major component in dialysate.

3.1 Fuzzy Logic Control Design

In this study, a multiple-input and single-output (MISO) fuzzy logic control was
designed using fuzzy logic toolbox in MATLAB. In hemodialysis, the input
parameters should be capable of reflecting the hemodynamic status of patient and
should be measurable by using non-invasive sensors, while the output parameters
should be adjustable. Our earlier simulation study showed the comparison of
Takagi–Sugeno and Mamdani fuzzy inference techniques. Accordingly, this paper
focuses on Mamdani model due to its high reliability. The inputs ‘TS1’ and ‘TS2’
denote the two temperature sensors, while the output ‘Pump’ denotes the PWM
value to vary the speed of pump. By considering these properties, membership
functions were defined for each of the input and output variables as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 Membership function for input (above) and output (below)

6 M. H. A. Jabbar et al.

Table 1 Rule base of the implementation design

TS1 TS2
Very low (VL) Low (L) Normal (N) High (H) Very high (VH)
VL VS VS F VF VF
L S S F F VF
N F N N N F
H VF F S S S
VH VF VF S VS VS

One of the most important factors that depend on the efficiency of controller is
based on fuzzy rule base. In this system, rule base was defined randomly with the
purpose of analyzing its behavior in the hardware. Hence, a total of 25 rules were
created for this initial implementation design as shown in Table 1. In future, by
analyzing its performance, the rules can be continuously added to improve the
accuracy of this system.

3.2 Simulink Model

Simulink provides the environment to deploy it to hardware directly and also able to
run it in external mode. This makes the fuzzy logic control implementation effective
using fuzzy logic control Simulink block. The MATLAB functions were used to
read the temperature from the sensors using 1-wire communication bus, whereas the
PWM signals were generated using SFunction block along with WiringPi libraries
for the pump output. Since infrared sensor is a digital sensor, a predefined
Raspberry Pi block was used to read the signals based on the speed. This speed was
then calibrated with known tachometer and flow meter to convert the rpm to flow
rate. The overall Simulink model is shown in Fig. 4.
Then, the temperature trend was studied for various input conditions to analyze
the fuzzy logic controller performance. Further tests were carried out to verify the
results between the simulation and experimental PWM values for random inputs
with the help of oscilloscope. Moreover, the time response was also analyzed by
initializing trigger blocks at random inputs and corresponding outputs.

4 Results and Discussion

The Simulink model was simulated and deployed to Raspberry Pi by defining its
unique IP address. The fuzzy rule viewer and other scope were able to monitor the
corresponding readings while running the controller. This helps to analyze the
overall behavior of the model. In external mode, the temperature and flow rate
Design and Implementation of Dialysate Temperature Control … 7

Fig. 4 Simulink model of the implementation design

reading were analyzed, and it can be seen that the flow rate varies with the change
in temperature in agreement with fuzzy rule as shown in Fig. 5. Additionally, it
shows that the output has the potential to adapt to various operating conditions and
disturbances. Thus, the fuzzy logic control allows more flexibility to the changing
environment.
To further strengthen the effective implementation, the simulated results of
PWM must show a strong agreement with its experimental results. As the output
from fuzzy logic is PWM signal, it is best practice to compare the raw data with the
intention to verify the fuzzy logic implementation. The comparison of these results
was shown in Table 2. It was confirmed that the error between the actual and
simulation results is quite negligible. However, the maximum error was found to be
0.55%, which can be regarded as acceptable.
The response time is considered as one of the vital parameter in hemodialysis
machine technology. This is to ensure that the output changes when the input
triggers within a fraction of second. In this design, the response time was analyzed
by increasing and decreasing the defined trigger input values. The change in state
and time taken to reach 235 rpm when increasing and decreasing the temperature is
shown in Fig. 6. Overall, the response time for random inputs was shown in
Table 3. The maximum time taken to alter the speed of pump with increased input
is 300 ms, while the maximum when decreased is 270 ms. It was also noticed that
8 M. H. A. Jabbar et al.

Fig. 5 Output of temperatures (above) and flow rate (below) from Simulink

Table 2 Validation of output with simulation and experimental results

TS1 (°C) TS2 (°C) Simulation Experiment Relative error (%)
PWM value Duty cycle PWM value
27 34.5 240.5 0.94 239.2 0.55
28 31.1 216.2 0.84 215.2 0.48
30 31.1 204.9 0.80 204.0 0.44
30.6 30.4 191.3 0.75 191.0 0.16
29.8 28.6 179.6 0.70 179.0 0.33
34.5 32.2 152.8 0.60 152.0 0.52
34.5 34.5 148 0.58 148.0 0.00

the rapid change in the input results in faster response time to trigger the output
value.
The real-time implementation of fuzzy logic on Raspberry Pi showed us the
possibility of controlling the hemodynamic parameters during hemodialysis. These
results motivate us to develop the proposed model of dialysate temperature control.
The improvements in fuzzy control design have high potential to make it a robust
control by optimizing the fuzzy rules and membership functions. Therefore, our
Design and Implementation of Dialysate Temperature Control … 9

Fig. 6 Response time for the output at 235 rpm when input increasing (left) and decreasing
(right)

Table 3 Time response for various increasing and decreasing inputs

TS1 TS2 Triggered Temperature (increase/ Time response (in
(°C) (°C) RPM decrease) ms)
29.1 27.3 215 Increase 300
Decrease 270
27.3 30.4 235 Increase 300
Decrease 220
27.6 32.5 255 Increase 280
Decrease 160

future study shall implement fuzzy logic control system on dialysate temperature
biofeedback system to maintain stable body temperature during hemodialysis.

5 Conclusion

The body temperature is one of the vital parameters to be controlled during

hemodialysis. Thus, an innovative design for the active regulation of dialysate
temperature by varying flow rates has been proposed. Moreover, it is evident that
the fuzzy logic control system has been successfully implemented in a low-cost
microcontroller—Raspberry Pi 3. It also showed that the performance is encour-
aging with faster response time (less than 300 ms) and minimum error (less than
0.55%). Further work is ongoing to develop the proposed dialysate model and its
in vitro studies.

Acknowledgements This work was supported by Faculty of Engineering, University of

Nottingham, Malaysia Campus.
10 M. H. A. Jabbar et al.

References

1. Bradshaw W, Bennett PN (2015) Asymptomatic intradialytic hypotension: the need for

pre-emptive intervention. Nephrol Nurs J 42(5):479–485 (quiz 486)
2. Usvyat LA et al (2012) Relation between trends in body temperature and outcome in incident
hemodialysis patients. Nephrol Dial Transplant 27(8):3255–3263
3. Maggiore Q et al (1982) Blood temperature and vascular stability during hemodialysis and
hemofiltration. Trans Am Soc Artif Intern Organs 28(1):523–527
4. Pergola PE, Habiba NM, Johnson JM (2004) Body temperature regulation during
hemodialysis in long-term patients: Is it time to change dialysate temperature prescription?
Am J Kidney Dis 44(1):155–165
5. Korkor AB, Bretzmann CM, Eastwood D (2010) Effect of dialysate temperature on
intradialytic hypotension. Dial Transplant 39(9):377–385
6. Chesterton LJ, Selby NM, Burton JO, McIntyre CW (2009) Cool dialysate reduces
asymptomatic intradialytic hypotension and increases baroreflex variability. Hemodial Int 13
(2):189–196
7. Van Der Sande FM et al (2009) Control of core temperature and blood pressure stability
during hemodialysis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 4(1):93–98
8. Busono Ario PF, Handoyo T, Barkah A, Suryana Y, Riyanto R, Febryarto R (2015)
Development of fuzzy logic based temperature controller for dialysate preparation system. In:
Proceeding of the electrical engineering computer science and informatics, 2015, vol 2.
EECSI, pp 264–268
9. De Capua C, Fabbiano L, Morello R, Vacca G (2014) Optimized procedure to evaluate the
thermal energy transfer in hemodialysis treatment. Instrum Sci Technol 42(4):458–468
10. Albalate M et al (2015) Is it useful to increase dialysate flow rate to improve the delivered Kt?
BMC Nephrol 16(20):1–6
Raspberry Pi in Computer Science
and Engineering Education

S. Alex David, S. Ravikumar and A. Rizwana Parveen

Abstract Sustainable Environmental Development is one of the hot topics

nowadays. Industries were advised to reduce and control pollution by using pol-
lution control equipment. Computers are also contributing some amount in the
pollution and power consumption. On the other hand, miniaturization, less power
consumption, and environment-friendly devices are invented by the researchers
every day. One such device is Raspberry Pi. Size of the Raspberry Pi is not bigger
than a credit card with high computing capacity and low power consumption. Pi can
run Linux as well as Windows 10 in its higher versions. This paper aims to suggest
the Pi can be used for practicing most of the laboratory courses in the computer
science engineering curriculum. Most laboratory courses are practiced in C, C++,
and Java languages. Apart from above-mentioned languages, some laboratory
courses make use of front end and back end tools. Above-mentioned languages can
be executed in Raspberry Pi. Following points are analyzed between normal
computer and Pi, execution time, power consumption, and environmental effect. In
all the comparison, Pi gives much higher advantage over existing system.

Keywords Raspberry Pi
Engineering education
Eco-friendly computer

S. Alex David (&)
S. Ravikumar
A. Rizwana Parveen

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Vel Tech University,
Avadi, Chennai, India
e-mail: alex_art2002@yahoo.co.uk
S. Ravikumar
e-mail: ravikumar.086@gmail.com
A. Rizwana Parveen
e-mail: rizwanaparveen64@gmail.com

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 11

D. Thalmann et al. (eds.), Intelligent Embedded Systems, Lecture Notes
in Electrical Engineering 492, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8575-8_2
12 S. Alex David et al.

1 Introduction

Computers are much useful in the education. Most of the complex problems can be
expressed in simple manner with a help of computers. For example, in childhood
everybody learned the poem by seeing the book with some pictures. Reading and
understanding was made easy with the help of those pictures. Later when animation
was introduced in the education, it takes the understanding one step higher. In
school days, many of us who studied during the 1990s used the picture to under-
stand the working heart. Now, the same has been available as animated video shows
the flow of blood, arrangements of nerves clearly; hence, the complex structures
become very easy to understand. Nowadays, the miniaturization, cost-effective,
pollution controlled, or environment-friendly device attracted the researchers over
past one decade. The size of the first computer occupies a room, and then the
changes comes in the hardware technologies reduced the size of the computer to
hold with in the palm. A team of students from University of Cambridge invented a
credit card size computer in the year 2012. It competes in the computer world to
make a place permanently in this field. It is cheap, compact and more computing
power compare to other computers. The name of this credit card size computer is
“Raspberry Pi” [1].
This paper aims to give some idea about Raspberry Pi versions. What role
Raspberry Pi can play in the educational institute in India. The following chapters
discussed the laboratory courses in the curriculum in major intuitions in India, the
software which is used in each laboratory and what laboratory courses can make use
of Raspberry Pi [2]. The advantages of Raspberry Pi over the other computers are
discussed in the conclusion.

2 Raspberry Pi an Intro

Raspberry Pi has an ARM processor as a computing component in single board,

which makes use of low power to boot and run and occupies the size not more than
the size of a credit card. Raspberry Pi comes in many versions: Raspberry Pi A, A+,
B, B+, and Pi 2. At present, A+, B+, and Pi 2 are available in the market.
Remaining were versions stopped from the production. Raspberry Pi can be con-
nected to TV through HDMI or RCA. It has a computing power equal to few years
back UNIX workstation. Many operating systems come based on Linux kernel and
in last version; i.e., Raspberry Pi 2 can run Windows 10 operating system. Other
hardware can be interfaced with Raspberry Pi with I/O pins which makes the
Raspberry Pi as server. It can be used as a super computer by clustering number of
Raspberry Pi’s. Graphics capabilities are more or less equal to some Xbox which
comes during 2000–2001. Model A versions require very low power and it can be
used in school level embedded project. Model B version can be used in many areas
like development, high computing environment [3].
Raspberry Pi in Computer Science and Engineering Education 13

Fig. 1 Raspberry Pi 2

All versions (except Raspberry Pi 2) of the RPi are based on the SoC Broadcom
BCM2835; it has an ARM CPU together with a VideoCore IV GPU. The RAM is
shared between the CPU and the GPU. The model A has 256 Mbytes of RAM, and
model B/B+ has 512 Mbytes [4].
The Raspberry Pi 2 is based on Broadcom BCM2836 system on chip (SoC) that
has 1 GB RAM (Fig. 1).
Raspberry Pi 2 has the following features 4 USB ports, 40 GPIO pins, full
HDMI port, Ethernet port, combined 3.5 mm audio jack and composite video,
camera interface (CSI), display interface (DSI), micro SD card slot, VideoCore IV
3D graphics core. Comparison between all B models is listed below.
SoC
Model B: Broadcom BCM2835 SoC
Model B+: Broadcom BCM2835 SoC Model Pi 2: BroadcomBCM2836 SoC
CPU
Model B: 700 MHz single-core ARM1176JZF-S
Model B+: 700 MHz single-coreARM1176JZF-S Model Pi 2: 900 MHz quad-core
ARMCortex-A
GPU
Model B: Broadcom VideoCore IV @250 MHz, OpenGL ES 2.0
Model B: Broadcom VideoCore IV @250 MHz, OpenGL ES 2.0
Model Pi 2: Broadcom VideoCore IV @250 MHz, OpenGL ES 2.0
Primary Memory (SDRAM)
Model B: 256 MB in first version of model B, 512 MB SDRAM@ 400 MHz in the
second version of model B
Model B+: 512 MB SDRAM@ 400 MHz
Model Pi 2: 1 GB SDRAM@ 400 MHz
14 S. Alex David et al.

Storage
Model B+: SD/MMC/SDIO card slot
Model B+: Micro SD
Model Pi 2: Micro SD
USB Ports
Model B: 2
Model B+: 2
Model Pi 2: 4
GPIO
Model B: 26 pin
Model B+: 40 pin
Model Pi 2: 40 pin
Power
Model B: 700 mA
Model B+: 600 mA
Model Pi 2: 800 mA
Operating system
Model B: Linux, OpenELEC, XBMC, RetroPie, RISC OS, Firefox OS, Plan 9,
Android

Model B+: Linux, OpenELEC, XBMC, RetroPie, RISC OS, Firefox OS, Plan 9,
Android

Model Pi 2: Linux, OpenELEC, XBMC, RetroPie, RISC OS, Firefox OS, Plan 9,
Android, Windows 10.

Among all the B models, only Pi 2 has additional support that it can run Windows
10 operating system.

3 Laboratory Courses in Computer Engineering

Bench marking of computer laboratory courses in India is shown in Table 1.

From the above benchmarking among the universities and top engineering
college, it is clearly showing most of the practical executed in C or C++ envi-
ronment. Most of the programs have been executed in Pi, and the average execution
time has been calculated in order to compare with other existing system [5].
Computer Practice Laboratory: In all the engineering degree programs, this
course is mandatory. Every freshman will undergo this course. Basic concepts in
the C programming will be taught and practiced in the laboratory sessions [6].
Data Structures Laboratory: In this course, learners will practice all the
experiment in C or C++.
Table 1 Computer laboratory courses in engineering
S. Practical name Anna University, Chennai, JNTU, Hydrabed, NIT Silchar, SRM University, Jadavpur University.
No. Tamil Nadu Telungana/AP Assam Chennai, Tamil Nadu/ Kolkata, West Bengal
Delhi
1 Computer Practices C/C++ language C/C++ language C/C++ language C/C++ language C/C++ language
Laboratory
2 Data Structures Lab ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’
3 Operating Systems ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’
Lab
4 Computer Networks ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’ ’’
Lab
5 Compiler C, YACC and Lex C, YACC and Lex C, YACC and Lex C, YACC and Lex C, YACC and Lex
Llaboratory
6 Computer Graphics C/C++ language C/C++ language C/C++ language C/C++ language C/C++ language
Laboratory
7 Java Programming JDK JDK JDK JDK JDK
8 Data Base MySQL/Oracle MySQL/Oracle MySQL/Oracle MySQL/Oracle MySQL/Oracle
Management System
Raspberry Pi in Computer Science and Engineering Education

9 Web Technology HTML, Applet, Java Script HTML, Applet, HTML, Applet, HTML, Applet, Java HTML, Applet, Java
Laboratory Java Script Java Script Script Script
10 CASE Tools Lab Rational suite open source Rational rose Rational rose Rational rose Rational rose
alternatives: ArgoUML
11 Visual Programming Microsoft visual studio Microsoft visual Microsoft visual Microsoft visual studio Microsoft visual studio
studio studio
12 Mobile Applications ADK, iOS development ADK, iOS ADK, iOS ADK, iOS development ADK, iOS
Development Lab kit, JAVA development kit, development kit, kit, JAVA development kit,
JAVA JAVA JAVA
15
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 We had been remarking how quietly the Austrians had taken our
artillery attack. This was evidently the commencement of their reply.
The report had scarcely died away than there was a general
scurrying of everyone for shelter; mules and horses were rapidly
released and hurriedly led away. Then another report was heard in
the distance.
This time there was no doubt we were in for a regular
bombardment. So with one accord we all made for a low parapet
skirting the river, which would afford some cover, and without
stopping to look what was behind it, leaped over like two-year-olds
just as another shell burst in the open close by.
I don’t think I am ever likely to forget where we found ourselves:
below the parapet was the village muck-heap, and we were in the
very midst of it. Unsavoury though the recollection is, it makes me
smile when I recall it and the look on the faces of everyone who had
taken refuge there.
If there was any luck as to position I perhaps, with two others, had
the best of it, for we were only in manure and rotten straw, though
we were in it up to our waists.
So soon as the report of the guns reached us we all listened
intently till we heard the approaching shell, then crouched down as
low as possible in the filth, and waited till the explosion was over. I
remember I found myself thinking at these moments that it could not
have been worse out in the open.
After some minutes in this unpleasant predicament there was a lull
in the firing, so a dash was made for the village, and in company with
a crowd of soldiers we took refuge behind a house.
Whilst there we witnessed a fine example of coolness. A white-
moustached old Colonel, a splendid looking fellow, kept pacing up
and down out in the open regardless of the bursting shells, in order
to make sure all his men were keeping under cover, and worked
himself quite into a rage because some of them would persist in
exposing themselves.
 The bombardment only lasted about an hour, and then gradually
died out. As far as I could ascertain, no one was killed, and no great
damage done, but several animals were wounded; one, a mule, was
badly injured in the side, and the way the ambulance men gave it a
sort of temporary dressing was quite curious, and showed much
resource on their part. They fastened up the gaping wound with
ordinary safety pins, using nearly a dozen for the purpose, whilst
soldiers held on the animal’s tail and fore leg to prevent its taking
objection to the treatment.

A very useful-looking Nordenfeldt quick-firer mounted on

the fore-deck (see page 77)
To face page 112
 CHAPTER X

Belluno—Venadoro in the heart of the Dolomites—A fine hotel—

Tame excursions—Visit to Cortina d’Ampezzo—Austrian attempts to
recapture it—305mm. guns on the Schluderbach—Long range
bombardment—Austrian women and children in the town—Italians
capture Monte Cristallo—Aeroplanes and observation balloons
impossible here—Tofana in hands of Italians—Serenity of garrison—
Cortina d’Ampezzo—General invites us to a déjeuner—Living at
Venadoro—Delightful camaraderie—Evenings in the big saloon—
From Belluno to Gemona—Description of Front in this Sector—Our
excursion to Pal Grande—The road—On mules up the mountain—A
warning—Rough track—Peasant women carrying barbed wire up to
the trenches—Pay of the women—Much competition for
“vacancies”—The climb from Pal Piccolo to Pal Grande—A
wonderful old man—“Some” climb—The entrenched position on Pal
Grande—Spice of danger—Violent artillery duel—The noise of the
passing shells—Magnificent view—Timau—The Freikoffel—Its
capture by the Alpini—Wounded lowered by ropes—Capture of Pal
Grande—Presence of mind of a doctor—A telling incident—
Extraordinary enthusiasm of the troops—Food convoys—The
soldier’s menu—Daily rations—Rancio; the plat du jour—Officers
mess arrangements—An al fresco lunch on Pal Grande—The
“mess-room”—“Pot Luck”—A wonderful meal—A stroll round the
position—An improvised bowling alley—Use is second nature—In
the trenches—A veteran warrior—The pet of the position—Gemona
—The list of lodgings—My landlady—Good restaurants in Gemona
—The Alpini quartered there—The military tatoo in the evenings—
Reception by the Mayor—A delightful week.
 CHAPTER X
The military authorities had arranged for the correspondents and the
staff of the censorship to be quartered in the big modern hydropathic
establishment and hotel in the heart of the Dolomites, known as
Venadoro, some eight kilometres from Belluno, and we remained
there ten days, making frequent visits to the Front of this sector and
into Austrian territory.
Although these excursions were extremely interesting many of
them were very tame, and there were days when we did not hear a
gun fired. This though of course disappointing, was quite
comprehensible. Important operations were being carried out
everywhere, but these did not of necessity entail daily conflict.
We happened to visit Cortina d’Ampezzo, for instance, at a
moment when its aspect was so peaceful that the war seemed to
have given it the go-by; yet the guns were only silent by accident, as
it were, for the Italian offensive was being pursued without
intermission, and only a short distance from here fighting was taking
place night and day. It was, therefore, somewhat difficult to realize
from its tranquility the enormous importance attaching to this
picturesque little Alpine township.
Its loss had been a terrible blow to Austrian pride, and several
efforts had been made to recapture it, but as these had failed they
had endeavoured to destroy it and thus prevent the Italians from
profiting by its possession.
With this object in view, so typical of Hun methods, they had
succeeded in placing several 305mm. guns on the heights along the
Schluderbach valley, from which they could bombard Cortina
d’Ampezzo at long range, and had already done so on one or two
occasions, but, fortunately, without causing any loss of life or doing
much damage.
 The hellishness of this procedure will be more fully grasped when
it is remembered that the majority of the inhabitants were only
women and children, and mostly Austrians at that.
The continued successes of the Italians, and the rapidity of their
advance was, however, gradually but irresistibly pressing the
Austrians back, and it was expected that within a very short while
Cortina d’Ampezzo would be freed from the menace of the big
projectiles.
With dogged courage and endurance which could not be
surpassed by any troops in the world, the Italians stormed Monte
Cristallo, 10,600 feet high, thus capturing a position which
commands the valley of Schluderbach, and forcing the enemy to
retreat towards Colfreddo and Croda Rosso (Hohe Gaisl), some ten
kilometres to the north, where new defensive works were being
hastily improvised.
In this mountain warfare where it is impossible to make use of
aeroplanes and observation balloons owing to the configuration of
the country, it is obvious that the initial operations are mainly directed
towards gaining positions which can be utilized for the purposes of
watching the movements of the enemy and directing artillery fire.
In this respect the Italians have scored all along the line, for the
superior skill of their artillerymen is incontestable, apart from which
the quality of their ammunition appears to be far ahead of anything
the Austrians have been using.
At the time of our visit all the heights encircling the Cortina Valley
were already in the hands of the Italians, including Tofana, 10,700
feet high, which dominates the Eastern end of the Falzarego Pass,
and is in a way a factor in the operations against the Col di Lana on
the other side. So that the chances of the Austrians ever recapturing
Cortina d’Ampezzo are absolutely nil.
That the serenity of its garrison is in no way disturbed by an
occasional visit from a long range shell was pleasingly evidenced by
the General inviting us all to a déjeuner at one of the big hotels
which was still open. It could not have been better served or more
copious in peace time.
Our comparatively long stay at Venadoro was not without its
compensations, in spite of the fact that there was little to be seen on
the neighbouring Front.
We were all living together in a well-appointed hotel, so it afforded
an opportunity of getting to know and appreciate each other in a way
that never occurred in the other places we stopped at, where
everyone was on his own, so to speak, and when you scarcely met,
except by chance for a few moments at the Censorship.
Here, at Venadoro, Italian, French and English fraternised in a
delightful spirit of healthy camaraderie and although we all shut
ourselves up in our rooms during the daytime when we were not on
an excursion, in order to get on with our work undisturbed, we all met
for lunch, and the evenings after dinner saw us united in the big
saloon, where with music, billiards, and bridge the time passed very
cheerily.
Knowing the wonderful organization of the Italian Headquarters
Staff, I was sometimes tempted to wonder whether the assembly of
the Allied correspondents at Venadoro was not something more than
a mere casual arrangement for the convenience of the Censorship.
Whatever was missing in the shape of military spectacle on the
Belluno Front was amply made up for by what we were able to see
at the next stage of our journey, the little town of Gemona. From here
we made what was undoubtedly the most interesting of all our
excursions.
The Front on this sector is in the Upper But mountain group on the
Frontier, which comprises Monte Timau, Montecroce, the Freikoffel,
Pal Grande and Pal Piccolo—every one of them a position of first-
class importance, and the scene of desperate fighting and deeds of
valour probably unsurpassed in the annals of mountain warfare.
Our road lay through Venzone, Tolmezzo and Paluzza, and there
was sufficient military movement all the way to prove we were in a
zone of active military operations, even if the booming of the guns in
the distance had not borne this out.
A little beyond Paluzza, just outside the village of Muse, we found
mules waiting for us, and we commenced a long, steep ascent which
was to land us at the foot of Pal Piccolo, beyond which point the
climb had to be made on foot. We were quite a small party, mostly
English I may add.
About half way up we arrived at a hut where we were met by the
Colonel of the Artillery, who courteously explained the nature and
scope of the operations, concluding by warning us that we were
going up at our own risk, as the whole of this particular sector was
constantly under fire.
It had been but the merest pretence at a road so far, but beyond
there it became but little better than a rough goat track, and terribly
trying for our animals.
On one of the worst portions we passed a gang of peasant women
carrying barbed wire up to the trenches. I knew that everybody in the
war zone is doing his or her bit, but I must confess I was somewhat
surprised to see women engaged on so arduous a task as this,
which calls for unusual muscle and nerve, apart from an
exceptionally hardy physique. This will be realised when one learns
that each of these apparently insignificant coils of barbed wire
weighs close on fifty pounds dead weight.
When we passed this convoy, although it was high up in the
mountains, and the women must have been tramping for some
hours, they were all as cheerful as possible, and appeared to regard
their job as a sort of pleasure jaunt. Considering also that the big
guns were thundering close by and shells bursting in somewhat
close proximity, it was a good example of use being second nature.
Girls as well as women are employed. They are paid two lires a
day and their food is provided. It is a condition that they must come
from the villages round about the sector in which they are employed,
and there is, I learn, always keen competition for any “vacancies.”
 Many of the girls I saw were distinctly good-looking, and the bright
tones of their picturesque costumes made a cheerful and
unexpected note of colour against the dull grey of the wild mountain
pass.
At the foot of Pal Piccolo our party divided. It looked like a terrific
climb up to the summit of Pal Grande, and most of the men thought
“it wasn’t good enough,” and decided to explore the lesser peak only.
Five of us, including myself, went on: Jeffries, Bedolo, Molinari,
another Italian whose name I forget for the moment, and, of course
one or two officers.
I am sorry I cannot recall the name of the other Italian
correspondent, as he was a perfect wonder. Although quite an old
man—he was close on seventy if he was a day—he was certainly
the coolest and most unconcerned of the party.
The stiff climb did not appear to trouble him in the least, nor did
the bursting shells. He simply strolled up ahead of us all as though
he was taking a constitutional, with his hands in his pockets,
disdaining the assistance of an alpenstock. Dressed in an ordinary
tweed suit, and wearing a straw hat, his appearance was singularly
out of keeping with the surroundings. His nonchalance was positively
irritating, and he reached the top without turning a hair.
It was indeed “some” climb, though fortunately for me there were
no hair-raising bits to bring on mountain vertigo. It meant simply
plodding up and up amongst loose boulders at an angle of 75
degrees.
But if there were no perilous edges of precipices to negotiate, it
was none the less nerve-racking, as we were under shell fire more or
less the whole way, and many of the projectiles, which were of heavy
calibre, burst in unpleasant proximity to the track we were mounting.
The last bit up into the trenches had to be done at the double, and
crouching down, as we were here in full view of the Austrian lines,
and snipers were constantly at work. Once inside the sand-bag
ramparts we were in comparative security.
 The entrenched position on Pal Grande was undoubtedly the most
interesting and impressive of all we had visited so far, and amply
repaid one for the tiring climb to get to it. Perhaps the contrast it
presented to the somewhat tame excursions we had previously
made had something to do with this impression, but it is certain that
here we were in the very midst of the “real thing,” and were sharing
the same perils as the officers and soldiers around us.
It was the spice of ever-present danger that gave, as it were, an
extra zest to being there, and made one the more appreciate all one
saw. The Austrian artillery was firing continuously over us, and there
was an incessant fusillade from their trenches, which were not more
than a couple of hundred yards away—so close in fact that you could
have plainly seen the men in them had they shewn themselves.
The difference between this entrenched position in the mountains
and others we had been into was very great; in fact, it struck me as
being unlike anything I had seen elsewhere.
Here the enemy’s trenches were below us, and we were midway
between the Austrian and Italian batteries, so that in the violent
artillery duel which was going on all the time we were on Pal Grande
the projectiles were passing overhead continuously, with a noise
reminding one of a big railway junction with an endless succession of
express trains going by.
Of course all the shells did not pass over us, but exploded round
about on the mountain side, too near in several instances to be
pleasant, especially when their objective appeared to be the
direction in which we had come up.
At times, in fact, one began to wonder if it would not be too “hot”
for us to get back that day, and that a big attack was developing.
Fortunately, the Austrian gunners did not know how close to the
Italian position they were dropping their shells, as they were only
firing blindly in our direction.
The view one got from here was magnificent. Towering above us
on our right, as we faced the Frontier, was Timau, nearly 10,000 feet
high; in the near distance, and just behind it, across the Frontier was
Avostaunis, only slightly less in height.
Almost facing us to the left were the precipitous slopes of the
Freikoffel, which the Alpini had captured at the point of the bayonet,
and under the fire of the Austrian guns a short time previously.
How mortal man could be found to scale these giddy heights at all,
leave alone under such awful conditions, baffles me. There are no
tracks at all to ascend by it, so it is a mystery how it was
accomplished.
The Austrians abandoned all their positions here so precipitately
that they left their wounded behind, who, together with those of the
Italians, had to be actually lowered by ropes from the summit, there
being no other means of bringing them down to the ambulances.
Pal Grande had been the scene of several sanguinary fights
before its final capture by the Italians not long before our visit to it; at
one moment, in fact, the Austrians looked like re-taking it, so
desperate and reckless was the counter-attack. It is said that had it
not been for the presence of mind and initiative of one of the military
doctors it was practically lost.
He was attending the wounded in a temporary ambulance station
at the back of the firing line when he realised the danger of the
situation. Men and officers were falling all along the line, and it was
imperative that their places should be immediately occupied if the
position was to be held. On the spur of the moment it occurred to
him to call on the least wounded of the men he was looking after to
try and help.
Explaining to them how critical was the situation, and also what
was likely to happen to them if the Austrians recaptured the place, he
stirred up such excitement and ardour that, regardless for the
moment of the pain they were suffering from their wounds, those that
were able sprang to their feet and returned to the trenches where,
seizing the rifles of their fallen comrades, they managed to continue
to defend the position till reinforcements arrived.
 If there was one thing more than another that struck me whilst
amongst the troops in the mountains, it was the extraordinary
enthusiasm displayed everywhere, even here in this bleak and
exposed position; the moral of the men was incomparable, and they
seemed to be blessed with an inexhaustible stock of good humour
and the power of taking things cheerfully. It was indeed impossible to
mix with them and not feel the influence of their youthful eagerness
and their confidence in ultimate victory.
Napoleon’s well known aphorism that an army fights on its belly is
well borne out in the Italian Army; and even on these lofty peaks the
soldier, whatever he may have to endure in the shape of inevitable
hardship, never suffers from want of food and well-cooked meals.
The food convoys make their journeys with unfailing regularity, for
there must be no hitch in the commissariat arrangements—and it is
safe to assert that there is not a single soldier, no matter how
isolated he may be, who does not receive every day his regulation
allowance of 400 grammes of meat (about half a pound), a kilo and a
half of bread, macaroni or polenta, coffee, tobacco, and half a litre of
wine.
Of course the menu is not very varied, but neither is the national
Italian cuisine at any time. Rancio, a soup-like stew, made of meat
and macaroni or some similar pasta, with a sufficiency of good,
wholesome bread and a drink of red wine, should be sufficient to
satisfy the appetite of any soldier.
I made a meal of rancio on many occasions after a long and cold
motor run, and always found it so appetising and comforting that I
wished I could have got it every day. This stew is the usual plat du
jour of the Italian soldier as is the stchi in the Russian Army, and is
always served out steaming hot.
In advanced trenches, outposts or similar exposed positions,
where culinary operations are, of course, impossible, the rancio is
taken to the men after dark in special receptacles for keeping it hot,
known as Cassette di Cottura, which are constructed on the
Thermos principle. The men would indeed begin to think things were
going badly if the “food party” could not succeed in reaching them.
 So far as the officers are concerned, these mess arrangements,
when up in the fighting line, of course, depend largely on
circumstances, though these do not seem to be always governed by
the difficulty of access to the position or its remoteness from the
base.
I had a pleasant proof of this at Pal Grande. The officers
hospitably insisted on our taking “pot luck” with them, as they were
just going to have lunch, and it turned out one of the best al fresco
repasts I have ever sat down to.
The “mess-room” was a well-protected dug-out which had been
fitted up in somewhat similar fashion to a settler’s hut in the Far
West; it was quite snug, in fact, and we were a merry party crowded
round the table that occupied nearly the whole of the interior, in spite
of the continuous booming of the guns and the screech of the shells
overhead.
I had quite expected to get the roughest of meals in the
circumstances; imagine, therefore, my surprise when we started with
a fine macaroni soup; this was followed by beef steaks and fried
potatoes; then came a jam omelette, and we finished up with cheese
and fruit, the whole being washed down with excellent Verona wine.
Black coffee was then brought in, and one of our hosts produced a
bottle of cognac and a box of cigars.
You could not have wished for a more delightful meal: it made one
feel that even life in an entrenchment 8,000 feet up has its
compensations at times.
Of course it would not do to infer that in all positions the officers
were able to indulge in so sumptuous a “pot luck” repast, but I
gathered that whenever it is possible a mess is formed, a cook found
from amongst the men, and meals served comfortably.
 Before us stretched the broad valley of the Adige (see page 101)
To face page 124

In outlying positions, where frequently everything is, so to speak,

stagnant for weeks at a time, this messing arrangement goes a long
way towards relieving the inevitable monotony and weariness of
trench life and the strain on the nerves caused by the constant vigil.
After lunch we went out for a stroll round the position, passing on
our way an improvised bowling alley, where a crowd of soldiers off
duty were interestedly watching a match in progress. Had it not been
for the sand-bag breastworks around us and the incessant noise of
the guns, it would have been hard to realise that we were in one of
the most exposed positions on this Front, and were actually under
fire the whole time. That one can get accustomed to anything was
exemplified here, as the officers and men were quite unperturbed by
what was to them merely a daily contingency.
There was no heavy artillery on the Pal Grande when we were
there; only a few machine guns, as the place was for the moment but
an entrenched outpost, which had to be constantly on the alert
against a surprise attack from the enemy’s lines below.
I had a walk along the trenches where the men were firing through
the loopholes as unconcernedly as though at a shooting competition
instead of having human beings for their target.
The Austrians were scarcely a hundred yards away in places, so it
did not require to be an expert marksman to hit anything at that
range; but it was not often that anything shewed itself above the
parapets, either on the Austrian or the Italian side; still the men kept
up a constant fusillade, for what reason I could not ascertain, except
that perhaps it was to prove that no liberties were possible.
Whilst in the trenches I was introduced to two important characters
of the position. One, a white-haired old veteran well over sixty years
of age, who was serving as a volunteer. A fearless, wiry old chap I
was told, and who could hold his own even now with any individual
Austrian if ever he had the opportunity.
The other character was the pet of the position, a jolly little fox
terrier that had, I was told, gone through all the fighting, and had now
the run of the place and was looked upon as a mascot by the officers
and men; in fact, there would be much perturbation if any harm came
to it; curiously enough this was the only occasion that I saw a dog in
the trenches.
Gemona was a quaint little town, or rather big village, and the
inhabitants were delighted to see us, and proved it by not
overcharging in the least.
When we arrived and reported at the Censorship, which was
established in the Town Hall, we were given a list of houses where
lodgings could be obtained, with the prices affixed. This was a
capital idea, and worked out admirably; it saved a lot of time running
about hunting for rooms, and as only those lodgings recommended
by the Mayor were in the lists there was no risk of unpleasant
surprises.
I got fixed up at a very nice house, and the landlady, a delightful
old person, did her utmost to make me comfortable, as I used my
room for a studio also. Considering she only charged one lire and a
half a day it could not be considered excessive.
For our coffee in the morning we usually used to meet at a café;
for lunch and dinner there was no lack of choice, as curiously
enough for so small a place, there were several really good
restaurants.
There was a regiment of Alpini quartered there, a splendid body of
men, giving one the impression of picked athletes all, and of an
evening their band always gave a military tatoo, wet or fine,
marching through the main streets with torches and finishing on the
Place with a short concert. A very inspiriting procedure, which
considerably helped to liven us all up, and the more especially as
this was the only place on the Front where we had heard military
music.
The night before we left, the Mayor gave us a reception and vin
d’honneur, which further helped to emphasise the good feeling which
existed between us all. We had spent a delightful week in Gemona.
 CHAPTER XI

Gemona to Udine—Final stage of official journey—Regrets—Arrival

at Udine—List of recommended lodgings—My room—My landlady
an Austrian woman—I pay my respects to General Cafarelli—My
friend Dr. Berthod—My old studio at the Agrario—The Isonzo Front
—Many rumours—Off on our biggest trip; 245 kilometres in the car—
Roads excellent and well-looked after—A great change—Cormons
quite an Italian town—Same with other towns in conquered territory
—Observatory on Monte Quarin—A splendid bird’s-eye view—The
plain of Friuli—Podgora—The Carso—The hum of aeroplanes—The
Isonzo Sector—The immense difficulties—Received by the General
—A pleasant goûter—Lieutenant Nathan, Ex-Mayor of Rome—The
Subida lines of trenches—Explanation of Italian successes
everywhere—Caporetto via Tolmino—A desolate region—Road
along the Isonzo—The mighty limestone cliffs of Monte Nero—The
great exploit of its capture recalled—One mountain road very much
like another—Nothing to sketch—Perfect organization—The fog of
dust—Caporetto—Not allowed to motor beyond—Important strategic
operations—Monte Rombon—Difficult to locate Austrian guns—A
glimpse of Plezzo—The situation here—Excursion to Gradisca via
Palmanova, a semi-French town—Romans—Curious rearrangement
of cars—Only two allowed proceed to Gradisca under fire—The
Italian batteries at work—The deserted streets—The “observatory”
room—The iron screens—View of Monte San Michele being
bombarded—Stroll through the town—A big shell—Excursion to
Cervignano, Aquileia and Grado—Peaceful country-side—Grado the
Austrian Ostend—Fish-lunch at a café—The town continually
bombarded by aircraft—Arrival of Beaumont, the French airman—
Conclusion of official tour of Front—No permission given for
correspondents to remain—Success of tour—Comments on
organization, etc.
 CHAPTER XI
We were now nearing the final stage of our official journey along the
Front, as there only remained the Isonzo Sector to complete the
scheduled tour.
Although I was looking forward to revisiting Udine and seeing my
friends there again, there was the feeling that the end of our sojourn
amongst these cheery Italian soldiers was approaching, and the
recollection of the decree that we were all to leave the war zone
directly the tour was finished loomed up in one’s mind as a sort of
bugbear.
One would have liked to spend an indefinite time in these scenes
of warlike activity; there was so much to see, and we had really had
so little time to see it in, and now, as we were getting into the “hang”
of it all we had to think of leaving.
It was very irritating, and marred a good deal of the pleasant
impression one had received during the tour. However, there was no
help for it. We knew when we started that we were only invited on
this understanding, so there was an end of it.
Udine is quite close to Gemona, so it only took a short time to
motor there. On our arrival we found that following the example of
the Mayor of Gemona, the Censorship had arranged for a list of
recommended lodgings to be prepared for us.
I had at first intended returning to my old quarters at the Torra di
Londra, but decided that it was perhaps better not, so took a room in
the same house as my car companions.
Strange to relate, this room was in a flat rented by a young and
good-looking Austrian woman, a dressmaker, who was married to an
Italian. She was, to a certain extent, under police surveillance, I was
told, but had not been interfered with otherwise. It struck me as a
curious state of affairs, considering how strict were the police
regulations with regard to foreigners, though there may have been
some special motive in allowing an alien of her nationality to remain
here unmolested.
Almost the first thing I did when I was settled was to go and pay
my respects to General Cafarelli, the Military Governor of Udine,
who, as may be remembered, had had me arrested and sent away
to Florence some ten weeks previously. I sent in my card, and he
received me very graciously for a man of his stern demeanour. He
congratulated me on my altered circumstances, and we had almost a
friendly chat anent the incident.
My friend, Dr. Berthod at the “Agrario,” told me my studio was still
at my disposal; other people I met seemed pleased to see me back,
so I felt quite at home again in a very short time.
A very full programme had been arranged for the correspondents
during their stay here; the Isonzo Front being very much to the fore
at the moment, in the direction of Gorizia especially, and all sorts of
rumours were in the air with regard to coming events in the near
future.
If, as it is said, coming events cast their shadows before, how long
those shadows must have been if one only had known, and how
despondent everyone would have been if it could have been realised
then how many months would have to elapse before the coming
events so freely prophesied would materialise.
Although I already knew a good deal about the Friuli Sector, there
had been so much progress since I had been away from Udine that
most of what we were going to see would be new to me. Moreover, it
was a very different proposition being permitted to visit it to going
about furtively and under constant fear of arrest.
The Isonzo Front now extended over a very large area, and was a
long way inside Austrian territory. Roughly speaking, from Tirnova, in
the valley of the Isonzo, a few miles above Caporetto, to Monfalcone
on the Adriatic.
 We were only to remain a week in Udine, so in order to obtain
even the most cursory impression, in the short time at our disposal,
of what was taking place in this wide zone of operations, entailed
some long motor journeys. This was evidently the plan of the
authorities, as they allowed us to lose no time in making a start.
At 6 o’clock in the morning following on our arrival we were off on
what turned out to be the biggest trip we had made hitherto, and
when we got back in the evening we had covered no less than 245
kilometres in the car, and without a hitch or contretemps.
It spoke volumes for the excellent manner in which the roads in
the war zone are looked after. Heavy as military traffic was,
seemingly endless, everywhere one saw gangs of men at work
making repairs, where the surface had got broken up.
The three months that had elapsed since I was first on this Front,
had effected a great change, but nowhere was it more marked than
on the road to and beyond Cormons. The redeemed territory had
now so completely settled down that it was hard to realise one was
on Austrian territory, or rather, what had been so short a time
previously.
Cormons had become quite an Italian town, and a very busy one
at that. And the same could be said of Cervignano, Civiedale,
Brazzano, Terzo, and every village where the Italians had passed.
An extremely valuable slice of whilom Italian territory had passed
back to its old allegiance and with but little fighting. And no damage
had been done to either the maize crop or the vines.
Our programme for the day’s run was very comprehensive, and
provided the car did not break down, we were certain to see much of
absorbing interest.
Just beyond Cormons, on the summit of Mount Quarin, a wooded
hill which dominates the town, and where an observatory had been
established, you get a splendid bird’s-eye view of the whole of this
important section of the Front.
Spread out at our feet, as it were, was the vast fertile plain of
Friuli, every yard of which appeared to be under cultivation. The
straight outlines of the fields were fringed by trees and presented a
curious doll’s house and chequered appearance from this elevation.
On the far side of this plain, about four and a half miles distant
from where we stood, were the hills enclosing the valley of the lower
Isonzo, a curious succession of undulating ridges rising in places to
a considerable height. There was a good deal of smoke and mist
hanging about, and standing out in sharp relief against it was the
peculiar hog-back contour of the blood-soaked ridge of Podgora
bristling with the charred and shattered stumps of trees.
Even as we gazed, the distant boom of artillery reached our ears,
and we saw shells bursting constantly along the summit and we
knew that the attack which was costing so many gallant lives, was
being vigorously pursued.
To the right of Podgora lay the Carso, and in the hollow between
was Gorizia, the goal towards which all thoughts in Italy were then
turned. Three eminences loomed up in the mist beyond: Monte Kuk,
Monte Sabotino, and Monte Santo, the last-named being destined to
play important rôles in the future. In the far distance, and only faintly
distinguishable, towered the Mountains of Ternova.
The hum of aeroplanes was heard on all sides, and cleverly
concealed anti-aircraft guns started firing viciously from time to time,
more, however, with the object of keeping the enemy planes up as
high as possible, then hitting them, as they seemed to run little or no
risk, judging from the serene manner they hovered around.
The conditions along the Isonzo Sector are practically the
antithesis of those prevailing in the mountainous regions of the
Cadorre, Trentino, and Carnia. Here the low foothills and plains
present opportunities for operations which remind one of those being
carried out in Flanders and Northern France; armoured trenches, of
course, playing the principal part everywhere.
Every attempt, therefore, by General Cadorna at a forward move
in this direction had to be backed up, as it were, by defensive as well
as offensive precautions, with the result that the entire Front of this
region presents a series of lines of entrenchments and barbed-wire