Power electronic systems have a great impact on modern society. Their applications target a more sustainable future by minimizing the negative impacts of industrialization on the environment, such as global warming effects and greenhouse gas emission. Power devices based on wide band gap (WBG) material have the potential to deliver a paradigm shift in regard to energy efficiency and working with respect to the devices based on mature silicon (Si). Gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) have been treated as one of the most promising WBG materials that allow the performance limits of matured Si switching devices to be significantly exceeded. WBG-based power devices enable fast switching with lower power losses at higher switching frequency and hence, allow the development of high power density and high efficiency power converters. This paper reviews popular SiC and GaN power devices, discusses the associated merits and challenges, and finally their applications in power electronics.

We propose a device for monitoring the number of people who are physically present inside indoor environments. The device performs local processing of infrared array sensor data detecting people’s direction, which allows monitoring users’ occupancy in any space of the building and also respects people privacy. The device implements a novel real-time pattern recognition algorithm for processing data sensed by a low-cost infrared (IR) array sensor. The computed information is transferred through a Z-Wave network. On-field evaluation of the algorithm has been conducted by placing the device on top of doorways in offices and laboratory rooms. To evaluate the performance of the algorithm in varying ambient temperatures, two groups of stress tests have been designed and performed. These tests established the detection limits linked to the difference between the average ambient temperature and perturbation. For an in-depth analysis of the accuracy of the algorithm, synthetic data have been generated considering temperature ranges typical of a residential environment, different human walking speeds (normal, brisk, running), and distance between the person and the sensor (1.5 m, 5 m, 7.5 m). The algorithm performed with high accuracy for routine human passage detection through a doorway, considering indoor ambient conditions of 21–30 °C.

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