The field of image synthesis has seen significant progress recently, including great strides with generative models like Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Diffusion Models, and Transformers. These models have shown they can create high-quality images from a variety of text prompts. However, a comprehensive analysis that examines both their performance and possible biases is often missing from existing research. In this thesis, I undertake a thorough examination of several leading text-to-image models, namely Stable Diffusion, DALL-E Mini, Lafite, and Ernie-ViLG. I assess their performance in generating accurate images of human faces, groups, and specified numbers of objects, using both Frechet Inception Distance (FID) scores and R-precision as my evaluation metrics. Moreover, I uncover inherent gender or social biases these models may possess. My research reveals a noticeable bias in these models, which show a tendency towards generating images of white males, thus under-representing minorities in their output of human faces. This finding contributes to the broader dialogue on ethics in AI and sets the stage for further research aimed at developing more equitable AI systems. Furthermore, based on the metrics I used for evaluation, the Stable Diffusion model outperforms the others in generating images from text prompts. This information could be particularly useful for researchers and practitioners trying to choose the most effective model for their future projects. To facilitate further research in this field, I have made my findings, the related data, and the source code publicly available. / Master of Science / In my research, I explored how cutting-edge computer models, namely Stable Diffusion, DALL-E Mini, Lafite, and Ernie-ViLG, can create images from text descriptions, a process that holds exciting possibilities for the future. However, these technologies aren't without their challenges. An important finding from my study is that these models exhibit bias, e.g., they often generate images of white males more than they do of other races and genders. This suggests they're not representing our diverse society fairly. Among these models, Stable Diffusion outperforms the others at creating images from text prompts, which is valuable information for anyone choosing a model for their projects. To help others learn from my work and build upon it, I've made all my data, findings, and the code I used in this study publicly available. By sharing this work, I hope to contribute to improving this technology, making it even better and fairer for everyone in the future.

The amount of data available on the web is constantly growing, and e-commerce websites are no exception. Considering the abundance of available information, finding offers for the same product in the catalogue of different retailers represents a challenge. This problem is an interesting one and addresses the needs of multiple actors. A customer is interested in finding the best deal for the product they want to buy. A retailer wants to keep up to date with the competition and adapt its pricing strategy accordingly. Various services already offer the possibility of finding duplicate products in catalogues of e-commerce retailers, but their solutions are based on matching a Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN). This strategy is limited because a GTIN may not be made publicly available by a competitor, may be different for the same product exported by the manufacturer to different markets or may not even exist for low-value products. The field of Entity Resolution (ER), a sub-branch of Natural Language Processing (NLP), focuses on solving the issue of matching duplicate database entries when a deterministic identifier is not available. We investigate various solutions from the the field and present a new model called Spring R-SupCon that focuses on low volume datasets. Our work builds upon the recently introduced model, R-SupCon, introducing a new learning scheme that improves R-SupCon’s performance by up to 74.47% F1 score, and surpasses Ditto by up 12% F1 score for low volume datasets. Moreover, our experiments show that smaller language models can be used for ER with minimal loss in performance. This has the potential to extend the adoption of Transformer-based solutions to companies and markets where datasets are difficult to create, like it is the case for the Swedish marketplace Fyndiq. / Mängden data på internet växer konstant och e-handeln är inget undantag. Konsumenter har idag många valmöjligheter varifrån de väljer att göra sina inköp från. Detta gör att det blir svårare och svårare att hitta det bästa erbjudandet. Även för återförsäljare ökar svårigheten att veta vilken konkurrent som har lägst pris. Det finns tillgängliga lösningar på detta problem men de använder produktunika identifierare såsom Global Trade Identification Number (förkortat “GTIN”). Då det finns en rad utmaningar att bara förlita sig på lösningar som baseras på GTIN behövs ett alternativt tillvägagångssätt. GTIN är exempelvis inte en offentlig information och identifieraren kan dessutom vara en annan när samma produkt erbjuds på en annan marknad. Det här projektet undersöker alternativa lösningar som inte är baserade på en deterministisk identifierare. Detta projekt förlitar sig istället på text såsom produktens namn för att fastställa matchningar mellan olika erbjudanden. En rad olika implementeringar baserade på maskininlärning och djupinlärning studeras i detta projekt. Projektet har dock ett särskilt fokus på “Transformer”-baserade språkmodeller såsom BERT. Detta projekt visar hur man generera proprietär data. Projektet föreslår även ett nytt inlärningsschema och bevisar dess fördelar. / Le volume des données qui se trouve sur l’internet est en une augmentation constante et les commerces électroniques ne font pas note discordante. Le consommateur a aujourd’hui beaucoup des options quand il decide d’où faire son achat. Trouver le meilleur prix devient de plus en plus difficile. Les entreprises qui gerent cettes plates-formes ont aussi la difficulté de savoir en tous moments lesquels de ses concurrents ont le meilleur prix. Il y-a déjà des solutions en ligne qui ont l’objectif de résoudre ce problème, mais ils utilisent un identifiant de produit unique qui s’appelle Global Trade identification number (ou GTIN). Plusieurs difficultés posent des barriers sur cette solution. Par exemple, GTIN n’est pas public peut-être, ou des GTINs différents peut-être assigne par la fabricante au même produit pour distinguer des marchés différents. Ce projet étudie des solutions alternatives qui ne sont pas basées sur avoir un identifiant unique. On discute des methods qui font la décision en fonction du nom des produits, en utilisant des algorithmes d’apprentissage automatique ou d’apprentissage en profondeur. Le projet se concentre sur des solutions avec ”Transformer” modèles de langages, comme BERT. On voit aussi comme peut-on créer un ensemble de données propriétaire pour enseigner le modèle. Finalement, une nouvelle method d’apprentissage est proposée et analysée.

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία πραγματεύεται το σχεδιασμό και την υλοποίηση της διάταξης φόρτισης συσσωρευτών ενός μικρού ηλεκτροκίνητου οχήματος. Αυτή η διάταξη έχει ονομαστική ισχύ 1kW και αποτελεί το μέσο που συνδέει τους συσσωρευτές με το δίκτυο παροχής ενέργειας. Η εκπόνηση της εργασίας πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Εργαστήριο Ηλεκτρομηχανικής Μετατροπής Ενέργειας του Τμήματος Ηλεκτρολόγων Μηχανικών και Τεχνολογίας Υπολογιστών της Πολυτεχνικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών. Σκοπός είναι η υλοποίηση ενός φορτιστή ο οποίος πρέπει να έχει υψηλό βαθμό απόδοσης και ταυτόχρονα να προσφέρει ασφάλεια στο χρήστη. Ωστόσο, βασική επιδίωξη είναι να μην επιβαρύνει το δίκτυο με την έγχυση ανώτερων αρμονικών. Έτσι, στη σχεδίαση συμπεριλαμβάνεται η εφαρμογή τεχνικής Διόρθωσης του Συντελεστή Ισχύος (Power Factor Correction). Χρησιμοποιείται ηλεκτρονικός μετατροπέας ισχύος τύπου Flyback (υποβιβασμού-ανύψωσης) με ενεργό κύκλωμα καταστολής υπερτάσεων (Snubber) και μετασχηματιστή απομόνωσης. Αρχικά, παρουσιάζονται τα οφέλη της ηλεκτροκίνησης. Κατόπιν, πραγματοποιείται η θεωρητική ανάλυση και μελέτη της βαθμίδας φόρτισης, για κατανόηση και επιβεβαίωση της ορθής λειτουργίας της διάταξης. Στη συνέχεια, παρουσιάζεται αναλυτικά η διαδικασία σχεδιασμού του φορτιστή. Έτσι, καθορίζονται οι προδιαγραφές και τα χαρακτηριστικά του, ο οποίος πρόκειται να χρησιμοποιηθεί για τους συσσωρευτές του ηλεκτρικού οχήματος «Buggy» του Εργαστηρίου. Το επόμενο βήμα αποτελεί η προσομοίωση της υπό μελέτη διάταξης στο λογισμικό προσομοίωσης κυκλωμάτων Simulink του Matlab. Με τον τρόπο αυτό επιτυγχάνεται επιβεβαίωση της θεωρητικής ανάλυσης που προηγήθηκε. Τέλος, παρουσιάζεται το πρακτικό σκέλος της εργασίας, που εκπονήθηκε στα πλαίσια του προγράμματος «Πρακτικής Άσκησης Φοιτητών του Τμήματος Ηλεκτρολόγων Μηχανικών και Τεχνολογίας Υπολογιστών», στις βιομηχανικές εγκαταστάσεις της εταιρίας APTRONIC HELLAS, η οποία εξειδικεύεται στην παροχή προσαρμοσμένων λύσεων στα ηλεκτρονικά ισχύος. Πέρα από την εξοικείωση με το εργασιακό περιβάλλον, πραγματοποιήθηκε το σχηματικό και το τυπωμένο κύκλωμα του φορτιστή στο λογισμικό Zuken Cadstar. / The present diploma thesis deals with the design and implementation of a charger which is used for the batteries of a small electric vehicle. This device has nominal power of 1kW and is the medium that connects the batteries to the power grid. This work was developed in the Laboratory of Electromechanical Energy Conversion at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the Polytechnic School in the University of Patras. The objective is to implement a charger which has high efficiency and simultaneously provides safety to the user. However, it is crucial not to overload the network by injecting higher harmonics. Thus, the design included the application of a Power Factor Correction Technique. The Power Electronic Converter which is used is a Flyback Topology (Buck-Boost Converter). Moreover, it disposes of an active surge suppression circuit (Snubber) and isolation transformer. Initially, the benefits of electrification are analysed. Then, the theoretical analysis of this device is provided so that its proper function is guaranteed. In addition, the design process of the charger is presented in detail. Consequently, all the specifications and features for the charger, which will be used for the batteries of the electric vehicle «Buggy» of the Laboratory, are determined. The next step in this thesis is the simulation of the device with Simulink of Matlab. In this way, the theoretical analysis is confirmed. Finally, the practical part of the work is presented. It was carried out during an Internship in APTRONIC HELLAS (a Phoenix Contact Company). Many projects are conducted at the industrial facilities of this company, which specializes in providing solutions in Power Electronics. Besides work experience, a schematic and a printed circuit for the charger was designed in Zuken Cadstar.

<p>Tematika disertacije obuhvata projektovanje, izradu i karakterizaciju pasivnih induktivnih RF komponenti u PCB i LTCC tehnologiji, kao i poboljšanje njihovih performansi. Izvršena je i karakterizacijarazličitih tipova dielektričnih i feritnih&nbsp; LTCC materijala koji su korišćeni za izradu komponenti. Ukupno je projektovano i izrađeno 37 struktura, 14 induktora i 23 transformatora. Na poboljšanje karakteristika projektovanih struktura, koje se ogleda prvenstveno u povećanju induktivnosti zavojaka, uticalo se izradom projektovanih struktura na supstratima izrađenih od različitih materijala, supstratima formiranih od kombinacije materijala različitih karakteristika, redizajnom osnovnih (polaznih) geometrija struktura i optimizcijom parametara LTCC postupka izrade.</p> / <p>Topic of this theases focuses on design, fabrication and characterization of industive passive RF components in PCB and LTCC technology, as well as on improvement of their performances. Characterization of different types ofdielectric and ferrite LTCC materials that were implemented for component fabrication was also performed. In total, 37 structures were designed and fabricated, of those 14 are inductor structures and 23 are transformers. Performance improvement of designed structures that is manifested through increase of inductance value of structures windings implied fabrication of designed components on substrates formed from different materials, or from combination of two or more materials with different properties, redesign of original design and optimization of LTCC fabrication process parameters.</p>

L'apparition de convertisseurs multicellulaires parallèles entrelacés et magnétiquement couplés a conduit ces dernières années à améliorer les performances des convertisseurs (en termes de densité de puissance, d'efficacité, de dynamique,...). Le pendant de ces améliorations successives résulte en une nécessité d'équilibrage précis des courants de phase, ce qui entraîne une complexification de la commande des ces convertisseurs. Une première étape de détermination de la fonction de transfert d'une boucle d'équilibrage des courants nous permet de déterminer la nature des correcteurs d'équilibrage de ces courants. Cette étude nous permet d'appréhender des systèmes plus complexes avec différentes topologies de couplage magnétique entre les bras du convertisseur parallèle. Suite à une étude bibliographique mettant en avant le manque de précision des techniques actuelles de mesure des courants de bras, nous proposons une technique d'émulation analogique précise de ces courants ne nécessitant qu'un seul capteur. Deux prototypes ont été réalisés et permettent de valider cette technique. Enfin, face à l'intérêt grandissant que portent les industriels pour des architectures modulaires, deux innovations permettant de s'affranchir d'un circuit spécifique de supervision sont proposées. Dans un premier temps, une technique modulaire d'équilibrage des courants est proposée et validée expérimentalement : elle permet, entre autres, une mesure différentielle précise des courants de bras. Ensuite, une méthode de génération modulaire de porteuses triangulaires auto-alignées est proposée et validée grâce à la réalisation d'une maquette de test. L'association de ces deux techniques nous permet de proposer une architecture entièrement modulaire ne nécessitant plus de circuit de commande superviseur. / Development of interleaved power converters with coupled inductors has enhanced converters performances (better power density, eciency, transient response. . .). Such improvements lead to the necessity of a precise current-sharing in the converter legs, and consequently to much more complex control strategy for those converters. First step is to determine current sharing loop transfer function in order to choose the kind of sharing corrector and calculate its parameters. State-space representation is used to consider any coupling topology. Because ux induced in coupled inductors must be controlled with accuracy, a bibliography study emphasizes the lack of precision in present current-sensing techniques. Then, a precise analogical emulation of currents in every leg, based on only one current sensor, is proposed. Two prototypes have been developed and validate this approach. Finally, because of growing interest of industrial in modular architectures, two innovations which avoid the use of central specic circuit are presented. First, a masterless and modular current sharing technique is proposed and tested : it allows a very precise dierential current measurement and regulation. Then a modular generation of self-aligned triangular carrier for interleaved converters is proposed and conrmed by test. The association of both techniques leads to a full masterless and modular approach for the control circuit of parallel converter with coupled inductors.

[pt] O tema abordado neste trabalho é a observação e análise, em regime permanente e dinâmico, da ocorrência de um fenômeno que já foi observado em condições reais de operação do sistema elétrico brasileiro, que é a relação oposta à usual entre a grandeza controlada e a grandeza controladora. Nestes caso, mesmo que haja margem de recursos para manter a tensão controlada, ela não é útil. Por exemplo, uma diminuição na relação de transformação num transformador de tapes variáveis, com intuito de aumentar a tensão controlada acaba por reduzí-la, até que os limites de troca de tapes sejam atingidos ou o sistema entre em colapso. Para demonstrar a existência do problema, foram executadas simulações, em regime permanente e dinâmico, e verificado o efeito do controle de tensão por um transformador com tapes variáveis e por compensadores estáticos de potência reativa, situações corriqueiras de um sistema de potência. Foram demonstradas situações em que foi possível verificar a mudança da região de operação. Para a análise em regime permanente foi utilizado um algoritmo de fluxo de carga, e para a análise dinâmica, uma simulação no domínio do tempo. Nas simulações envolvendo transformadores de tapes variáveis, foi possível verificar a existência o efeito reverso da ação de controle de tensão nas análises estática e dinâmica. Nas simulações utilizando o compensador estático de potência reativa houve divergência entre os resultados das duas análises. / [en] This work presents the observation and analysis, in steady state and dynamic performance, of the phenomenon already observed in real operation conditions of the Brazilian Electric System, which is the opposite relationship between the controlled value and the target value. In this case, even if the resources have margin to keep the voltage controlled, this is not useful. For example, the reduction in the turn ratio on load tap changer transformer, with the aim of increase in the controlled voltage, result in its reduction, until the tap changer limit is reached or the system is led to the collapse. To demonstrate the existence of this problem, steady state and dynamic performance simulations were done, and the voltage control effect by on load tap changer transformer and static var compensator , current situations in a power system. Several situations where is possible verify the operation region changing was demonstrated. For steady state analysis was used a load flow algorithm and, for the dynamic analysis, a time domain simulation. In the simulations with on load tap changer transformer, it was possible to verify the existence of the reverse effect of the voltage control action in the static and dynamic analysis. In the simulations using static var compensator, a divergence was found between the results in the two analyses.

Este trabalho apresenta a proposta de um sistema completo de proteção diferencial de transformadores de potência, aplicando-se as técnicas de Redes Neurais Artificiais (RNAs). O esquema proposto busca a classificação do sistema de proteção como um problema de reconhecimento e reconstrução de padrões, representando um método alternativo aos algoritmos convencionais. Vários fatores como, por exemplo, as situações de energização do transformador e a saturação dos transformadores de corrente, podem causar uma má operação do dispositivo de proteção. Com o objetivo de melhoramento na proteção digital de transformadores de potência, desenvolveu-se um sistema de proteção diferencial, incluindo dispositivos com base em RNAs, em substituição à filtragem harmônica de sinais existente no algoritmo convencional. Em complementação, esquemas de reconstrução das ondas distorcidas provenientes da saturação dos TCs são também propostos e adicionados ao algoritmo final de proteção, sendo esses comparados ao algoritmo convencional de proteção diferencial de transformadores. Com a referida adição de ferramentas de inteligência artificial a um algoritmo completo de proteção diferencial de transformadores, obteve-se uma solução bastante precisa e eficiente, capaz de responder em um tempo reduzido, se comparada aos métodos convencionais. / This work proposes a complete differential protection system for power transformers, applying the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) theory. The proposed approach treat the classification of the protection system as a problem of pattern recognition and as an alternative method to the conventional algorithms. Several factors such as, for example, transformer energization and CT saturation can cause an inadequate operation of the protection relay. With the objective of improving the power transformer digital protection, a complete protection system was developed, including an ANN-based device in substitution to harmonic filters, in use in the conventional algorithm. Some approaches concerning the reconstruction of the distorted signals caused by the CTs saturation are also proposed. These routines are added to the final protection algorithm and they are compared to the conventional algorithm for power transformer protection. With the use of artificial intelligence tools in a complete power transformer protection algorithm, one intends to obtain a very precise, fast and efficient solution, if compared to the conventional methods.

No presente trabalho é apresentada uma nova abordagem para medida de potenciais em altos níveis de tensão que utilizam sensores eletro-ópticos Pockels. Também descreve a aplicação da técnica de interferometria de luz branca em sistemas de alta tensão por fibras ópticas. Neste sistema a informação é codificada no espectro da luz, permitindo assim que a medida seja independente da potência óptica transmitida pelo link de fibras ópticas. Um protótipo foi construído e testado sob excitação de tensão a.c. até 20 kV em 60 Hz mostrando boa resposta e demonstrando a viabilidade deste método. / A new approach to perform measurement of potentials in high voltage levels using electrooptical Pockels sensors is presented here. This work describes an application of the White Light Interferometry technique to a high voltage optical fiber measurement system. In this system the information is encoded in the spectrum of the light, allowing the measurement to be independent of the optical power transmitted by the optical fiber link. A prototype was built and tested under excitation of a.c. voltages up to 20 kV in 60 Hz showing good response and demonstrating the feasibility of this method.

Os transformadores de potência são alguns dos elementos mais importantes dos sistemas elétricos. A confiabilidade e o bom funcionamento destes equipamentos são vitais para que as companhias de energia forneçam eletricidade com qualidade e segurança. Um dos principais parâmetros que envolvem a normalidade da operação dos transformadores é o estado da isolação interna formada pelo óleo mineral e o papel que cobre as bobinas. Danos nessa isolação resultam na degradação destes dielétricos e, por conseqüência, na diminuição da vida útil dos transformadores. Essa degradação, que advém de processos elétricos, térmicos, ou mesmo mecânicos, geram gases combustíveis cujas quantidades individuais podem indicar o tipo de falha e a gravidade do problema. Desta forma, é importante detectar os principais gases envolvidos. O objetivo deste trabalho é realizar análises e estudos quantitativos da presença de gases inflamáveis dissolvidos no óleo, surgidos através da degradação deste líquido isolante. O cerne deste trabalho está em elaborar ensaios de formação de arco no óleo e, posteriormente, aquecer o fluido para medir a quantidade dos gases combustíveis antes dissolvidos nele. Este estudo visa à melhoria na confiabilidade dos equipamentos projetados para detectar e monitorar o surgimento de gases inflamáveis no interior de transformadores de potência existentes em subestações de companhias de eletricidade. / Power transformers are some of the most important elements of electrical systems. The trustworthiness and the good functioning of this equipment permit power utilities to supply electricity with quality and security. One of the main parameters for transformer\'s operation normality is the state of the internal insulation formed by the mineral oil and the paper that covers the bobbins. Damages in this insulation cause its dielectric degradation and, consequently, the reduction of the equipment useful life. This degradation which originates from electrical, thermal, or even mechanical processes generates chemical products such as gases whose individual amounts may indicate the type of imperfection and gravity of the problem. That\'s why the detection of the main involved gases is important. This work intends to elaborate analyses and studies of the presence of inflammable gases dissolved in oil through the degradation of the insulating liquid. The principal topic of this work is the arc formation elaboration in the oil and later the heating of the oil to measure the amount of gases previously dissolved in it. This study also aims to improve the trustworthiness of the projected equipments in order to detect and monitor the sprouting of existing inflammable gases in the interior of power transformers in substations of power utilities.

A busca no aumento da vida útil dos transformadores de distribuição, redução dos custos de manutenção e mitigação de falhas, leva ao desenvolvimento de novos materiais e critérios de exploração diferenciados desses ativos. Esta pesquisa apresenta o desenvolvimento de um novo transformador de distribuição compacto e mais eficiente utilizando óleo vegetal isolante totalmente biodegradável. Além de biodegradável, o óleo vegetal utilizado possui menor agressividade ambiental e maior capacidade térmica aumentando, a capacidade de carregamento do transformador sem comprometer a sua vida útil. A fim de atestar essa menor agressividade em relação ao óleo mineral, ensaios foram efetuados em um equipamento que permaneceu 12 anos em operação. O equipamento foi totalmente desmontado para análise e coleta de amostras de papel e óleo vegetal isolante. As análises visam comprovar a menor agressividade em relação ao óleo mineral, apresentadas na revisão bibliográfica. A menor agressividade torna possível a proposição de uma nova filosofia de planejamento de redes de distribuição utilizando uma quantidade menor dos novos transformadores para uma mesma carga, tornando-a mais compacta e eficiente. / The search of increase on the life expectancy of distribution transformers, reducing maintenance costs and mitigation failures, leads to the development of new materials and different operating criteria of these assets. This research presents the development of a new distribution transformer compact and more efficient with insulating in vegetable oil totally biodegradable. In addition to biodegradable, the vegetable oil used has less environmental aggressiveness and greater thermal capacity, increasing the loading capacity of the transformer without compromising its life expectancy. To prove that the vegetable oil is less aggressive than mineral oil, tests were done out in a transformer that worked for 12 years. The equipment was disassembled for analysis and collection of samples of vegetable oil and paper insulation. The analyses aim to prove the lesser aggressiveness compared to mineral oil, presented in the literature review. This situation makes it possible the proposition of a new philosophy of planning of distribution networks using a smaller amount of new transformers for the same load, making it more compact and efficient.