Visualizing Power TAC: how to Seize Dynamics of Electric Power Markets?

Electric power systems of the future (usually referenced as smart grids) will be based on digitally enabled electrical grid that will gather and distribute electrical power based on behaviour of all stakeholders (suppliers and consumers) in order to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics and sustainability of electricity services. However, such systems will need more than low-cost renewable energy sources – they will also need efficient price signals that motivate sustainable energy consumption as well as a better real-time alignment of energy demand and supply. Power Trading Agent Competition (Power TAC, see www.powertac.org), Trading Agent Competition applied to electric power markets, is an open, competitive market simulation platform that addresses the need for policy guidance based on robust research results on the structure and operation of electric power markets. The Power TAC Visualizer is one of Power TAC simulation platform modules, enabling customizable but coherent web-based display of entities and activities in the Power TAC market both on computer screen as well as projector canvas. This talk will present Power TAC scenario, related KPIs, and Power TAC Visualizer by running a live demo of a Power TAC game.

Short Bio
Vedran Podobnik is an Assistant Professor at the Telecommunication Department of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb.  He received M.Eng. (2006, Electrical Engineering) and Ph.D. (2010, Computer Science) degrees from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb. As a junior researcher, he received the Croatian Annual National Award for Science in the field of technical sciences (2011, awarded by the Croatian Parliament), as well as the Silver Plaque „Josip Loncar“ award for outstanding doctoral dissertation and particularly successful scientific research (2010, awarded by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb). As a PhD student, he received the Croatian Annual National Award SCIENCE in area of technical and biotechnical sciences (2007, awarded by the Croatian Science Foundation).  His research interests include social networks, multi-agent systems, electronic markets, context-aware services, business process automation and the semantic web. He co-authored over 40 scientific and professional papers as book chapters and articles in encyclopedia, journals and conference proceedings. He is a member of IEEE and KES International associations.