Optimum Portfolios – Risk and Return

Abstract —Risk can be measured as the degree of uncertainty associated with estimating a future price. It is quantified by the variation in the price about an expected value.

This variation is sampled over a moving window of a fixed number of samples as opposed to over a fixed interval in time, improving estimates by better accounting for the time dependence in the variation that results from variations in the activity level in the trading. This technique provides the means to distinguish between systematic and specific risks from the joint distribution of the local variation measured on instruments suitably chosen to represent the market and an organization.

The optimal tradeoff between the risk and return of a portfolio of instruments is modeled as the rate of change in its risk with respect to its return.  Stationary points in this rate of change corresponds to the solution that minimizes risk with respect to return or equivalently maximizes return with respect to risk. The mean and variance are decoupled with respect to the portfolio weights at this point providing the means to identify the optimal capital allocation that maximizes portfolio return to risk.

In another contribution, the profit or loss associated with an instrument and of a portfolio is quantified in relation to its probability. The risk in this case quantifies the likelihood of observing a particular level of profit or loss measured at the end of a time interval. The prices are modeled by estimating the random process underlying and simulations performed to forecast future paths for the prices in ways that conform to the original process.

 In this model, the expected change in prices that determine the profit or loss an interval apart is estimated as the expectation of a sum of random variables. The variance of this price difference then scales with the number of prices or random variables in the interval and is more representative of the observed time dependence in the volatility. This model is consistent with a random walk where each change in price is unpredictable, but the expected future value and the uncertainty around it is better estimated.

Keywords— risk; optimum portfolio; random walk; volatility;

Authors-Asoka Korale, Ph.D.London Stock Exchange Technology, Malabe, Sri Lanka, asoka.j.m.korale@gmail.com

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 Smart Flow Chart Evaluator

Abstract— A flowchart is a diagram that is commonly used by people over the world. The purpose of a flowchart is to describe a process with the use of world recognized shapes. There are six main symbols for the important components of the process, the flow of the process is represented by the use of arrow. Due to the mentioned reasons, a flowchart can explain the process even to people who have no knowledge about a process. Because of these factors, flowcharts are widely used in the Information Technology industry by programmers and Information Technology students. This research is done with the aim of reading a flowchart to extract the details and giving a score to evaluate the correctness of the process for a given question. The handwritten flowchart will be compared to a marking scheme and the marks will be generated for the handwritten flowchart accordingly.

Keywords— SVM, pseudocode, flowchart

Authors-A.G.Malanga Mishad Vishwajith Thilakarathna Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology Colombo, Sri Lanka it16035836@my.sliit.lk, Mrs. M.P.A.W. Gamage Departement of Information Technology Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology Colombo, Sri Lanka anjalie.g@sliit.lk

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Mediation Effect of Incentives and Regulations on Energy Conservation: A case of Commercial Consumer Model in Sri Lankan Electricity Sector

Abstract—Presently Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) experiences a severe shortage of energy due to various reasons. Primarily, it is on inadequate generation capacity, lack of infrastructure and waste of scarce energy resources with improper conservation means. This plays a vital role in national economy and hence, same is having severe R&D interests. In this context, energy conservation by means of different intervention mechanisms has become dominant. In Sri Lankan electricity sector 22% of total energy demand is absorbed by the commercial consumers which composed of 2% hotel consumers, 1% government institutions and 19% general purpose consumers. The major portion is covered by the general purpose consumers such as supermarkets, service stations, banks, private institutions and shopping complexes. Study found that there exist three major determinants pertaining to energy conservation. Tariff regime, technology input and consumer behaviour have become those three components. This research paper studies how these components can be influenced by different mediators such as incentives and regulations. Random sample of Four Hundred commercial consumers of Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha districts including 325 general purpose consumers, 50 small and large scale hotels and 25 government institutions are taken in to account for this study. Structured questionnaire survey is used as the research strategy. Data is analysed usingstructural equation modelling techniques available in 25th version of AMOS software. Findings show that there exists a strong mediation of incentives on changing consumer behaviour pattern towards energy conservation especially, among the general purpose consumers. The government institutions experience partial mediation effect of regulations on technology towards energy conservation. Hotel sector experiences partial mediation of incentives on changing usage pattern and technology towards conservation. The model developed within this study can be used as the scientific instrument to decide different level of incentives and regulations which can act as mediating variable for energy conservation in commercial sector.

Keywords-energy conservation; incentives; interventions; regulations; structural equation modeling; tariff regimes; technology management;

 

Authors-W. Jayaratne Chief Engineer, Ceylon Electricity Board PhD Candidate, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka 168016A@uom.lk
Prof. S.W.S.B.Dasanayaka Department of Management of Technology University of Moratuwa Moratuwa, Sri Lanka sarathd@uom.lk
Dr. D. Mudalige Department of Management of Technology University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.dmmudalige@gmail.com

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Effective and efficient electric vehicle charging system for Sri Lanka

AbstractRecently the Sri Lankan parliament discussed the issue of the introduction of Electric Vehicle Charging System. In Sri Lanka, day-to-day air pollution is being increased and there is no way to reduce the vehicle usage. Due to the releasement of harmful substances (carbon dioxide and toxic) from vehicle fluids into the environment, Sri Lanka has planned to implement an electric charging stations island wide. In Sri Lanka, most of the vehicles are based on the gasoline fuel system and few are on electrical systems, but there is still no adequate electric vehicle charging system in the country.

Profitable and efficient electric charging systems are needed to be met the electric vehicle charging requirements in Sri Lanka. The objective of this document is to monitor the charging system through modern technologies and also the energy backup power system for areas where charging stations are not available in Sri Lanka at a lowest cost.

Development approaches are data collection to evaluate the model, the proper way to interconnect electronic components, practical limitation, electronic system tasks, functional system research, derivation of system requirements, test circuit test to verify needs system practices, and sample system design.

This article presents the following aspects:

  • Evaluation of an introduction of the new electric vehicle charging system and its background.
  • Explanation of literature review: theoretical approach, methods and resources used.
  • Explanation of objectives: activities carried out for the research methodology. Achievements and methods adopted to meet these objectives.
  • Explanation of the design and implementation of the cost-effective charging system to build successfully.
  • final design and complete test of the system.  

Keywords; Electric Vehicles in Sri Lanka; Green Sffect Electric Vehicle Charging System; Low Cost Charging System; 

Authors-Mr.Vadivelthasan Jayathas Member Institution of Engineering and Technology Colombo, Sri Lanka jayajayathas@gmail.com

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Adaptive, Interactive and Distributed E-Learning portal with Resume and Asynchronous Learning Features to Colombo Stock Exchange.

Abstract— Development of Information Communication Technology have paved the way to evolution of educational industry with concept of digitization. With the radical development of smart, IOT devices and communication technologies have paved the way for rapid development of education system. E-Learning is a methodology which uses advanced technologies by exploiting digital network dynamics and the giant digital flow of information across the internet.  E-Learning   process explain the ability of an individuals to view online materials over the internet with the revolution of digitalization. Thanks to digitization the ubiquitous of education has been improved. In this situation Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is having a desperate requirement of increasing the number of investors in share market and to provide knowledge on share market transactions. To facilitate the said requirement with the collaboration with CSE an Elearning portal is developed for the potential investors to learn about the CSE and share market transactions. The portal is developed using various E-learning techniques to provide a potential learner/investor to understand subject matters with minimum cognitive effort. E-learning portal comprises of Wizard oriented chapter courses, Video tutorials, online publications, E-books purchasing ability, notifying CSE announcements, Live market transactions viewing capabilities, feedbacks and online webinar features. As the main framework ASP.NET(MVC) is used along with various supportive frameworks in order to develop a highly responsive web app on both mobile as well as desktop platforms.

Keywords-Digitization, Investor, CSE, Electronic-Learning.

Authors-Samudith Nanayakkara Information Technology General Sir John Kothelawala Defence University Rathmalane,Srilanka samudithnanayakkara97@gmail.com,Ashen Wanniarachchi Information Technology General Sir John Kothelawala Defence University Rathmalane,Srilanka ashenw@kdu.ac.lk

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Design & Simulation of a SEPIC Converter for Home Solar PV Systems

Abstract— This paper presents a designing and simulation of Single-Ended Primary Inductance Converter (SEPIC), which is proposed to be used in the domestic solar photo voltaic (PV) systems. The basic domestic solar power system consists of an arrangement of several components including, PV arrays, a DC/DC converter as well as an inverter. To obtain a ripple free stable voltage from PV arrays, a highly efficient DC/DC converter is required. SEPIC converters make it possible to convert a DC voltage to either a lower or higher voltage efficiently and it is also useful for maximum power tracking purposes. In this study, we describe step by step process of designing and simulation of a SEPIC DC/DC converter which can be used in solar PV systems in typical homes. The proposed SEPIC converter’s output is set at 325V DC since, the household utility voltage is around 230V-250V AC.  Whereas, the converter’s input voltage can be varied up to 180V DC. A proportional, integral and derivative controller (PID) is also employed to the converter to obtain a constant output voltage, under variable input voltage conditions. The system is designed using MATLAB/Simulink software. Its high efficiency (91%), low ripple factor (1.32%) and the usefulness are proved through simulation results. The efficiency of the proposed converter is determined for the range of applicable input, and its performances are discussed at the end of this paper.

Keywords—SEPIC; Home solar PV; DC/DC converter

Authors-H. Thushara Pathirathne Department of Engineering Design & Mathematics University of the West of England Bristol, United Kingdom hpathirathne@gmail.com,M.W.P Maduranga Department of Computer Engineering General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University Rathmalana, Sri Lanka pasanwellalage@kdu.ac.lk

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Wireless Sensor Network for Air Quality Monitoring

Abstract—The continuous monitoring of air quality is important for the well-being of all species as it affects their health conditions. But, air quality is not thoroughly monitored in Sri Lanka. Air quality of both outdoor and indoor environments should be monitored to identify any unhealthy conditions. This research paper highlights the importance of establishing an air quality monitoring system using Internet of Things (IoT) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) concepts. A prototype system was developed and deployed in three selected indoor and outdoor locations to monitor air quality. The capabilities of this system include monitoring the temperature, humidity and the concentrations of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and dust particles. This research paper summarizes the readings obtained from the prototype system and further improvements are also suggested.

Keywords-air quality; Internet of Things; Wireless Sensor Network

Authors-Lahiru Sachindra Dept. of Electronics and telecommunications CINEC Maritime Campus Malabe, Sri Lanka ahiruhennayaka@gmail.com,Amila Saputhanthri Technology Strategy, Planning and Development Dialog Axiata PLC Union Place, Sri Lankaamila.saputhanthri@dialog.lk

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Monitoring and Learning of Plant Growth and Health for Effective Supply of Water, Nutrients and Pesticides in Large Scale Plantations

Abstract—Agriculture sector is a major economic force in Sri Lanka, making a significant contribution to the national economy. However, it is observed that land and human resources available in Sri Lanka for agriculture becomes scarce. On the other hand, the demand for high quality agricultural products is on the rise. Therefore, we need to embrace cost efficient and effective technologies that would facilitate the automation of large scale plantations to obtain an increased yield per given area. Providing water, nutrients, pesticides and other supplies is one of the most resource consuming tasks in a large scale plantation. Existing solutions to achieve this objective are only capable of providing supplies from time-to-time without knowing the exact requirement of the plant. This may result in a shortage or excess amount of supplies that will adversely affect the health of plants. In response, the proposed method is capable of identifying the exact status and health of plants to customize the supplies accordingly and ensure the healthy growth of plants. When it comes to this project, almost the total management of the plant is done by the system from the beginning to end. Initially the system decides the age of the plant and learn about the required conditions. An array of sensors and cameras connected through Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) will collect data that will be processed using machine learning techniques. Initially image processing is supposed to do the object detection and to perform the leaf counting task it is intended to consider the capability of deep convolution neural network. Automatic detection of these type of issues in plants is supposed to achieve by a software solution for automatic detection and classification of plant leaf diseases. This would facilitate the understanding of plant growth and any development of pests or weeds. Water, nutrients and pesticide will be supplied according to the exact requirement of plants. In addition, the proposed system will alert if immediate attention is required in case of an emergency and also report on the growth of plants and usage of each type of supplies to facilitate a thorough insight of the plantation. Because, when it comes to a traditional farm, farmers have to pay their attention to each and every plant separately to identify factors like diseases, insect attacks or any other infections. Therefore, farmer’s special attention have to be taken in such kind of situations. It is envisaged that the proposed system will play a pivotal role is automating large scale plantations that would in return benefit the agriculture sector In Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Soil moisture sensor, Water level sensor, Humidity sensor, Temperature sensor, Raspberry-pi

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DESIGN OF PABX SYSTEMS USING SINGLE BOARD COMPUTER

Abstract—In this paper, we investigated designing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications using a single board computer (SBC). Business VoIP is another aspect of this protocol which is found to be very convenient and profitable in the recent past and the present. This paper discusses a system developed with the use of VoIP in a simpler aspect, a prototype that could be used as a communication method between a couple of IP phones or PCs with VoIP enabled software with the use of raspberry pi. It also scrutinizes the advantages and disadvantages of VoIP and some aspects of VoIP applications as well.

Keywords – Voice over Internet Protocol; VoIP Applications; Raspberry pi applications.

Authors-DS Pandithage Department of Computer Engineering, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka dinithipandithage@gmail.com,AP Wijesekara Department of Computer Engineering, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka amilapawan@yahoo.com MWP Maduranga Department of Computer Engineering, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka.pasan.madu@hotmail.com

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A Study on implementing Leakage Detection and Locating System in the Transmission Network of Polgahawela, Pothuhera, Alawwa Integrated Water Supply Project

Abstract—The main objective of this study and research is to implement the leakage detection and locating system in the Clear Water Transmission system in Polgahawela, Pothuhera, Alawwa Integrated Water Supply Project. Proposed system in this research will be associated with plant SCADA system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). Here, a suitable method for leakage detection and localization should be proposed using existing instrumentation of the Clear Water Transmission Lines. Further, 60% of laying works of the clear water transmission lines have been completed and hence, further intermediate terminations to install advanced leak detectors and localizers cannot be obtained. Therefore, the accuracy in locating a leak along a clear water transmission line will be lesser than in a conventional system. However, the proposed system will be capable in locating a leak approximately, where it is also be helpful to the maintenance staff in identification of the fault

Authors-D.M.S.A Dissanayake MSc.(SL), MIET(UK) Polgahawela, Pothuhera, Alawwa, Integrated Water Supply Project National Water Supply & Drainage Board Sri Lanka sampatharavinda70@yahoo.com

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IoT Based Monitoring   and  Intelligent  Controlling forPlant Cultivation: A Case Study On Sandalwood  Plant

Abstract— the purpose of this project is to design and implement an Internet of Things (IoT) based system for monitoring and controlling sandalwood (Santalum album) plants in the greenhouse. This system consists of soil moisture sensors, light sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, electronic water valve, and lights. All sensors and actuators are connected to a microcontroller-based control station and from the Control Station, all sensor data is uploaded to a remote IoT cloud via the Raspberry Pi 3 board. All the collected data pre-processed and analyzed at the server level. Required soil moisture level, light intensity, and fertilizers for the plants control based on intelligent decisions made at the IoT cloud. Further, in this solution, farmers can access all the data with a smartphone or tablet and also can real-time monitor and control temperature, humidity, light intensity, and soil moisture of plants

Keywords— Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Agriculture, Sensor Networks Introduction

Authors-M.W.P Maduranga IIC University of Technology Phnom Penh, Cambodia pasan.madu@hotmail.com,Ruvan Abeysekera IIC University of Technology Phnom Penh, Cambodia ruvan@esoft.lk

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Sentiment Classification of Sinhala Content in Social Media: A Comparison between Word N-grams and Character N-grams

Abstract: In this study, we focus on the classification of Sinhala posts on social media into positive and negative class sentiments. We focus on the domain of sports. We employ machine learning algorithms for sentiment classification where we compare feature extraction methods using Character N-grams (for N ranging from 3 to 7) and Word N-grams (for N ranging from 1 to 3). We find that Character N-grams outperform Word N-grams in sentiment classification. Further, we find that a) lower level character N-grams (N = 3 or 4) outperform higher level character N-grams (N ranging from 5 to 7) and b) the combinations of N-grams of different orders outperforms individual N-gram results (N: 1, 2 for words and N: 3, 5 for characters). In addition, Character N-grams enable the sentiment classifier to a) detect spelling mistakes and b) function as a stemmer which results in higher sentiment analysis accuracy.

Keywords: Sentiment Analysis, Natural Language Processing, Sinhala, Social Media, N-grams, Machine Learning 

Author-Pradeep Jayasuriya SLIIT Business School Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology Malabe, Sri Lanka pradeep.jayasuriya@my.sliit.lkRanjiva Munasinghe SLIIT Business School, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology Malabe, Sri Lanka
ranjiva.m@sliit.lk,Samantha Thelijjagoda SLIIT Business School Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology Malabe, Sri Lanka samantha.t@sliit.lk

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Design a Wearable Textile Antenna to Transmit Real-time Data of an Athlete

Abstract—In field of wearable technology one challenging improvement is wearable textile antenna. In this project, the wearable textile patch antenna was designed for audience of athletes considering the less radiation towards the body. Pure Polyester was chosen to use as the substrate of the antenna in order to make the antenna more flexible. Antenna simulations done by using the CST simulation software and performances were compared with conventional rigid antenna and textile antenna. In order to decide the best feeding way, three different feeding techniques was studied and one method called inset feeding was selected due to well performance in on-body condition.  As the project purpose, in order to monitor the real-time ECG data of an athlete, a user friendly system was designed through a local radio link with the use of the designed antenna. nRF24L01 transceiver module was used to power up the antenna and Arduino Pro-mini board was used as the micro-controller. Lithium Polymer battery was used to energize the wearable device and a desktop application was created to monitor the ECG signal. Finally, the system was authenticated for application by means of radiation pattern distribution

Keywords-microstrip-patch-antenna;wearable-textile-antenna; feeding-techniques; real-time-communication-system; monitor-the-ECG-signal

Authors-C. S. B. M. R. N. L. K. Amunugama Dept. of Electrical and Information Engineering Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna Galle, Sri Lanka nuwanthika.laky@gmail.com,E. H. Jayatunga Dept. of Electrical and Information Engineering Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna Galle, Sri Lanka eranda@eie.ruh.ac.lk,L. Helapita, Dept. of Electrical and Information Engineering Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna Galle, Sri Lanka lalindahelapita@gmail.com,T. H. Nagahawaththa Dept. of Electrical and Information Engineering Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna Galle, Sri Lanka thnagahawaththa@gmail.com

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