Special Sessions

Organizers: Alfredo Garro, Eugenio Brusa, Andrea D'Ambrogio, Carlo Poloni, and Roberto Sacile

In the face of escalating environmental challenges and global sustainability concerns, the role of systems engineering has never been more critical. The Special Session on “Systems Engineering for a Sustainable World” at the 2024 IEEE International Symposium on Systems Engineering, organized by the Italian Association on Systems Engineering (AISE) - INCOSE Chapter “Italia”, aims to explore the intersection of systems engineering principles and sustainable development goals to address the pressing issues facing our planet. 

Goals of the Special Session:

• Advance Sustainable Practices: Promote the application of systems engineering methodologies to develop sustainable solutions for environmental, social, and economic challenges.
• Address Complex Interdependencies: Explore the complex interdependencies between technological systems, societal needs, and environmental impacts, emphasizing the holistic perspective of systems engineering.
• Foster Collaboration: Facilitate collaboration among researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and industry experts to develop innovative approaches and strategies for sustainable development.
• Share Best Practices: Showcase successful case studies, projects, and initiatives that demonstrate the effective integration of systems engineering principles with sustainability objectives. 
• Explore Emerging Technologies: Discuss the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and renewable energy in advancing sustainable systems and infrastructure. 
• Educate and Inspire: Provide a platform for knowledge exchange, learning, and inspiration, encouraging the next generation of systems engineers to prioritize sustainability in their work.
• Promote Ethical Considerations: Examine the ethical implications of systems engineering decisions and their impact on sustainability, emphasizing the importance of responsible and ethical practices. 
• Describe current advances in the implementation of Sustainable Systems Engineering: integration of the MBSE with the concepts, processes, tools of the Circulars System Design and industrial examples of application. 

Topics of Interest: Sustainable systems design and optimization, Model-based Systems Engineering, Integrated MBSE-Circular design, Modeling and Simulation, Digital Twin, Systems Engineering and Artificial Intelligence, Life cycle assessment and environmental impact analysis, Resilient infrastructure and disaster preparedness, Renewable energy systems and energy efficiency optimization, Sustainable transportation and urban planning, Circular economy and resource management, Climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, Socio-technical systems for sustainable development.

Organizers: Ada Fort, Elia Landi, Riccardo Moretti, Antonio Moschitta, and Marco Mugnaini

The intersection of technology and healthcare has witnessed remarkable advancements in recent years, dramatically innovating the approach to human health and well-being. From wearable devices that monitor bioparameters to sophisticated medical imaging systems, innovative technologies are shaping the future of healthcare delivery. This special session aims to explore the latest developments and applications of systems for human health and well-being. The special session presents an exciting opportunity to explore the transformative potential of systems engineering in healthcare. By bringing together experts from diverse disciplines. we aim to foster innovation, collaboration, and knowledge exchange for the advancement of human health and well-being on a global scale. We invite researchers and practitioners to join us in this endeavor and contribute to shaping the future of healthcare through systems thinking and engineering. 

Session Objectives: 

1. Showcase cutting-edge technologies and systems engineering approaches that contribute to  improving human health outcomes. 

2. Facilitate interdisciplinary discussions among researchers, practitioners, and industry experts  on the integration of systems thinking in healthcare. 

3. Identify challenges and opportunities in the design, implementation, and deployment of  advanced healthcare systems. 

4. Promote collaboration and knowledge exchange among participants to drive innovation in the  field of health systems engineering. 

Topics of Interest: 

The special session will cover a broad range of topics related to advanced systems for human health  and well-being, including but not limited to: 

1. Integrated Health Monitoring Systems: wearable devices, biosensors, and IoT-enabled  systems for continuous health monitoring and early disease detection. 

2. Precision Medicine and Personalized Healthcare: systems approaches for tailoring medical  treatments and interventions based on individual genetic makeup, lifestyle, and  environmental factors. 

3. Modeling: simulation environments and digital shadows/digital twins for biological systems.

4. Healthcare Data Analytics and Decision Support Systems: utilization of big data analytics,  machine learning, and AI-driven systems for clinical decision-making, predictive modeling,  and outcome optimization.

5. Telemedicine and Remote Patient Monitoring: Systems engineering solutions for remote  consultations and diagnostics, virtual healthcare delivery, and telemonitoring of patients in  remote or underserved areas. 

6. Smart Healthcare Infrastructure: Integration of smart technologies, IoT, and automation in  healthcare facilities for enhanced patient care, resource optimization, and operational  efficiency. 

7. Health Information Systems and Electronic Health Records (EHR): Design,  implementation, and interoperability of comprehensive health information systems for  seamless data exchange and patient-centric care delivery. 

8. Human-Centered Design and User Experience (UX) in Healthcare: Systems engineering  principles for designing intuitive, accessible, and user-friendly healthcare technologies and  interfaces. 

9. Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Considerations: Addressing ethical dilemmas, privacy  concerns, and regulatory challenges in the development and deployment of advanced health systems. 

Organizers: Elisa Belloni, Vittorio Bertolini, and Francisco Javier Toledo

The control of electrical power systems quality and the monitoring of energy flows from renewables are key aspects to allow the stability of all the electricity networks and particular attention should be given to photovoltaic (PV) systems. The currently available photovoltaic technologies have an efficiency of less than 23%, which underscores the need for further improvements to ensure better competitiveness. 
New technologies are in development such as bifacial solar cells (BSC), semi-transparent solar cells (STSC) and flexible solar cells (FSC) that are particularly suitable when the PV application to buildings is required (BIPVs solutions). The determination of the efficiency for these solutions is not always straightforward.
Several parameters influence the efficiencies of PV systems such as the weather parameters and the solar source availability, the cells temperatures, the geometry, the installing configurations: specific conditions are required to allow the operation at the maximum achievable performance. Traditional methods for the modelling of a photovoltaic (PV) system starting from current voltage characteristic or datasheet information leave several open problems. In addition, the implementation of traditional models cannot directly used when new PV systems and technologies are involved. In order to overcome the limitations of traditional models, also machine learning (ML) approaches have become one of the most promising alternatives, offering both speed and accuracy.

This special section encourages contributions on the study of technologies for PV systems applications, considering not only the implementation of innovative systems, but also new techniques for modeling and optimization algorithms. Special session topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Design and realization of complex systems based on PV;
• Modelling and simulation of photovoltaic (PV) systems;
• Management of PV systems;
• Energy and economic modelling of PV systems;
• Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications;
• Optimization algorithms; 
• Innovative technologies and applications of PV systems;
• Building integration of PV (BIPVs);
• PV control techniques;
• New MPPT and control algorithms.

Organizers: Silvia Mura, Marco Manzoni, Francesco Linsalata, and Athina Petropoulu

The coexistence of sensing and communication technologies has emerged as a significant research area in 6G network systems, with the potential to revolutionize applications across autonomous and connected systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). This special session aims to investigate new aspects and future directions for integrating these two critical domains from theoretical, engineering, and applicative perspectives within the context of 6G systems. The session will cover various topics, including signal processing for ISAC, ISAC waveform design, ISAC through metasurfaces, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), smart repeaters and Smart Skin in smart electromagnetic environments, electromagnetic imaging, and network sensing with CAVs and UAVs.