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This paper addresses the problem of programming, control and availability of distributed robots teams. Systems based on robots working together collaboratively has been the subject of much research in recent years. Because the rapid spread of technologies in mobile devices and Internet, as well as the benefits that robotics adds to the various everyday applications, the trend is that more and more it is present in various activities of human beings. For distributed robots systems there is a latent need for research to enable the use of such systems by end users with no or almost no experience with programming or robotics. Thus, this paper proposes a system architecture that allows the creation and programming of robots teams, allowing and users to manage them as a single system and simple way using collective knowledge acquired both programmers as of the and users. The tests are performed by an application that was developed under the concepts of this architecture. It provides a set of special operations by which and users can connect, create and control robots teams at high level. The experiments use LEGO Mindstorms® robots as members of two robot teams. The process of creation, programming and control of the teams is presented in well defined steps. The results are satisfactory and show that the operating strategy of the proposed system meets fundamental aspects at the system level such as modularity, flexibility and ease of access for end users.

A investigação cientifica sempre se fez e se faz de modo colaborativo. Hoje temos disponível a internet que facilita este processo através de ferramentas de comunicação, a partilha de dados, gestão de tarefas, entre outras. No entanto, a investigação qualitativa tem dado passos tímidos no trabalho verdadeiramente colaborativo. Este artigo apresenta o modelo 4C do trabalho colaborativo, bem como as funcionalidades de colaboração disponíveis na versão atual (2.0) do software de apoio à análise qualitativa webQDA. O estudo foi realizado tendo como base um questionário destinado a compreender a opinião de uma amostra aleatória de utilizadores do Brasil, Espanha e Portugal sobre estas funcionalidades. Os resultados demonstram que as funcionalidades de comunicação, cooperação e coordenação ainda não são devidamente exploradas pelos investigadores. Esperamos que o desenvolvimento da versão 3.0 do webQDA, possa ser beneficiada pela identificação das funcionalidades mais exploradas pelos investigadores e aponte novas potencialidades a serem disponibilizadas. Scientific research has always been done and is done in a collaborative manner. Today we have available the internet that facilitates this process through communication tools, data sharing, management tasks, among others. However, qualitative research has taken timid steps towards a truly collaborative work. This paper presents the 4C collaborative work model as well as the collaboration features available in the current version (2.0) of the qualitative analysis software webQDA. The paper is based on a questionnaire sought to understand the views of a random sample of users in Brazil, Spain and Portugal about these features. The results achieved demonstrate that the communications capabilities, cooperation and coordination are not yet fully explored by researchers. We hope that the development of version 3.0 of webQDA, can be benefited by the identification of the features most exploited by researchers and point to desired new features to be made available.

A tecnologia aplicada à comunicação eliminou barreiras, e permite que mais facilmente empresas e entidades possam interagir com os seus públicos. De facto, a cadeia de valor na comunicação tornou-se mais reduzida sendo cada vez mais habitual um contacto direto com diversos públicos (entre eles os turistas) via redes sociais e outros meios de comunicação próprios. Neste artigo, através da recolha de dados secundários disponíveis online, é feita uma análise da utilização da comunicação digital por parte de dois territórios de baixa densidade (Macedo de Cavaleiros e Vila Nova de Foz Côa) ambos com património mundial classificado pela UNESCO. A principal conclusão obtida é que ambos os municípios se encontram longe do potencial das possibilidades de interação abertas pelos canais digitais, sugerindo-se algumas formas de atuação com vista à sua melhoria. Technology applied to communication has eliminated barriers and allows companies and entities to interact more easily with their audiences. In fact, the value chain in communication has become shorter and a direct contact with different publics (including tourists) via social networks and other means of communication is becoming more and more usual. In this paper, through the collection of secondary data available online, it is made an analysis of the use of digital communication by two low density territories (Macedo de Cavaleiros and Vila Nova de Foz Côa) both with world heritage classified by UNESCO. The main conclusion obtained is that both municipalities are far from the potential of the interaction possibilities opened by digital channels, suggesting some forms of action with a view to its improvement. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The data plans offered by mobile network operators to users are limited, with costs increasing proportionally to post-limit usage. Thus, users of mobile devices need to manage data plan consumption on a regular basis. In this paper, a comparative study of web and applicational platforms on mobile devices is performed in order to assess which one leads to low data consumption. The methodology used is based on the collection of traffic from each platform for comparison purposes. For this, an architecture was developed, and appropriate metrics were established. Considering Youtube as case study, the results show that the web platform uses less data for the average case, but that the recommendation based on the user profile, whether active or passive, will result in a consistently lower data usage., Os planos de dados disponibilizados pelas operadoras de redes móveis aos utilizadores são limitados, com custos elevados proporcionais ao uso pós-limite. Por isto, os utilizadores de dispositivos móveis necessitam de gerir o uso destes dados regularmente. Neste artigo é efetuado um estudo comparativo das plataformas web e aplicacional em dispositivos móveis, de modo a perceber qual delas utiliza uma menor quantidade de dados. A metodologia utilizada baseia-se na recolha de tráfego representativo de cada plataforma e comparação do mesmo. Para isso, foi desenvolvida uma arquitetura própria e estabelecidas métricas de comparação apropriadas. Considerando o Youtube como caso de estudo, os resultados obtidos mostram que a plataforma web utiliza menos dados para o caso geral, mas que a recomendação baseada no tipo de utilização, ativa ou passiva, resultará numa utilização de dados consistentemente menor., FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia – no âmbito do Projecto I&D: UIDB/00319/2020

In the context of smart cities, the control of environmental quality plays an increasingly important role attending to the growth in the population and consumption indices. As river waters are a fundamental resource for the population (consumption and leisure), this paper aims to explore a system for analyzing and monitoring river water quality in real-time. To this end, the use of an adaptive Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is explored, taking river beaches along the Cavado River in Portugal as a case study.The approach adopted to implement this network involves having, in zones identified as being at risk, sensors that will measure a variety of physical-chemical, microbiological parameters and other substances considered by the Ministry of Environment as indicators of pollution. In addition, on the surrounding river beaches, Sinks (or Base Stations) will send requests to the sensors for obtaining their readings. The adaptive capacity of the adopted control algorithms allows that whenever an anomaly in the read values is detected, the frequency of the sensor readings increases in order to monitor more closely the location where the anomaly was detected. The platform used for the implementation, reconfiguration and monitoring of the communication algorithms adopted was CupCarbon, which integrates the OSM (OpenStreetMaps) API and Google Maps, which allows the development of a prototype based on real locations., FCT – Fundação para a Ciência Tecnologia – no âmbito do Projecto I&D: UIDB/00319/2020

Numa sociedade cada vez mais envelhecida e, ao mesmo tempo, mais tecnológica, é imprescindível a realização de estudos, projetos e iniciativas que promovam a qualidade de vida dos cidadãos mais velhos. O Projeto SEDUCE 2.0 é um desses exemplos que, para além de desenvolver a comunidade social online miOne, visa estudar o impacto da sua utilização nas variáveis psicossociais - qualidade de vida, stress percebido e redes de suporte social, dos seniores. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar que tipo de estudos já foram realizados, bem como a sua metodologia, a amostra que utilizaram, os principais resultados e ainda as limitações e as lacunas encontradas, de forma a fornecer orientações importantes para o Projeto. Optou-se por uma revisão sistemática da literatura, estruturada a partir de publicações originais, datadas de 2008 a 2019 e assente nos conceitos: qualidade de vida, Tecnologias da Informação e da Comunicação, seniores, idosos, envelhecimento e envelhecimento ativo. Apesar de existirem poucos estudos, naqueles que foram analisados os resultados identificam a necessidade de dar especial atenção à seleção e distribuição dos participantes por grupos e ao tamanho da amostra. Além disso, reforçam a relação positiva entre a utilização das tecnologias e a manutenção ou melhoria da qualidade de vida, diminuição do sentimento de solidão, e promoção de um envelhecimento ativo. In an increasingly aging and at the same time more technological society, it is essential to carry out studies, projects and initiatives that promote the quality of life of older citizens. The SEDUCE 2.0 Project is one of those examples that, in addition to developing the online social community miOne, aims to study the impact of its use on older adults' psychosocial variables - quality of life, perceived stress and social support networks. Thus, this paper aims to analyze what kind of studies have already been carried out, what methodology and what sample are used, results and what limitations and gaps are found, in order to provide guidelines for the Project. A systematic literature review has been done, structured from original publications, dated from 2008 to 2019 and based on the concepts: quality of life, information and communication technologies, older adults, aging and active aging. Although there were few studies, the results identify that is important to pay particular attention to the selection and distribution of the participants by groups and to the size of the sample. In addition, they reinforce the positive relationship between the use of technologies and the maintenance or improvement of quality of life, reduction of the feeling of loneliness, and promotion of active aging. Este trabalho é apoiado pela FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) e FSE no âmbito do Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III - o Projeto SEDUCE 2.0 nr. POCI-01-0145-FEDER031696. published

Information Systems projects are often complex enterprises, since they involve the adoption of information technologies in organizational contexts. As such, they should be carefully managed considering the various aspects that influence their success. This paper presents a literature review focused on the success factors of information technology and information systems projects., Os projetos de tecnologias e sistemas de informação são frequentemente empreendimentos complexos, dado envolverem a adoção de tecnologias da informação em contextos organizacionais. Como tal, devem ser geridos com rigor e tendo por referência os diversos aspetos influenciadores dos seus resultados. Neste artigo é apresentado o resultado de uma revisão de literatura focada nos fatores de sucesso dos projetos de tecnologias e sistemas de informação.

The participatory design process aims to ensure that a product or service under development achieve the needs and expectations of its target population. This process promotes highest levels of accessibility, acceptance and use of the developed solutions. This is even more relevant when the target audience is the elderly. Interactive television applications can resolve some constrains that seniors feel when accessing informational content. So, this paper reports the field work of data collection and analysis, that aim to define the best way to interrupt the television broadcast in an iTV platform addressed to Portuguese seniors. To this end, participatory design sessions were organized in a focus group format where participants' preferences were collected. In this way, the preference fell to the imposed view, and these results must be confirmed at the time of the tests in real context.

Modern Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are pervasive components in Industrial Control Systems (ICS) such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), designed to control industrial processes autonomously or as part of a distributed system topology. Its success may be explained by its robustness and reliability, being one of the most enduring legacies on modern ICS, despite having evolved very little over the last years. This paper proposes an x86-based virtual PLC (vPLC) architecture that decouples the logic and control capabilities from the I/O components, while virtualizing the PLC logic within a real-time hypervisor. To demonstrate the feasibility of this concept, the topic of real-time virtualization for x86 platforms is analyzed, together with an evaluation study of the properties of real-time workloads in partitioned hypervisor environments. European Commission H2020 ; 700581 - ATENA - Advanced Tools to assEss and mitigate the criticality of ICT compoNents and their dependencies over Critical InfrAstructures

Em 2007 foi constituído o European Research Cluster on the Internet of Things, com o objetivo de abordar o grande potencial de recursos baseados em Internet of Things na Europa e coordenar a convergência das atividades em curso. Esta instituição publica periodicamente Agendas Estratégicas de Investigação com previsões de tópicos de desenvolvimento e investigação tanto a curto, médio e longo prazo. É objetivo deste artigo, estudar essas Agendas e efetuar um levantamento dos tópicos, de forma a perceber a sua evolução ao longo do tempo, isto em termos de áreas que foram já investigadas (ou que a investigação já foi iniciada) bem como aquelas ainda não foram exploradas., The aim of European Research Cluster on the Internet of Things, established in 2007, is to address the large potential for Internet of Things-based capabilities in Europe and to coordinate the convergence of ongoing activities. This organization regularly publishes Strategic Research Agendas with short, medium and long term forecasts of development and research topics. The aim of this paper is to study these agendas and make an identification of topics, in order to understand its evolution over time, that in terms of areas that have already been researched (or the research has already started) as well as those not yet explored., Este trabalho foi financiado pelo projeto QVida+: Quality of Life Continuous Estimation for Effective Clinical Decision Support, Nº2015/003446 P2020 SI I&DT, (NUP, NORTE-01- 0247-FEDER-003446). Foi também suportado pela OptimizerLda, e pelo COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 e FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia UID/CEC/00319/2013, Optimizer, Lda, info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In the development of the applications described in NCL language, it was noticed the reusing for some document models and structures, enabling repetitions for common codes in the applications.Thus, due to the need to generalize the development of applications described in the NCL language was created the Luar templates processing system. The Luar system has a templates processor developed with the Lua language and a library to keep and aggregate the collection of templates, sharing them between the developers.This paper has as goal to present the evaluation of the Luar system through software engineering experimental techniques. Language NCL and Lua courses were taught for undergraduate students group and compared the development time of two applications utilizing the different languages. The result showed that development with the Luar language is more productive than the development purely with NCL. It having the development time economy of 60% to 78% approximately, depending on the kind of application, compared with the authored with NCL.

The morphological and metric methods used by anthropologists to assess ancestry can generate results with low repeatability besides damaging the specimens while handling. These problems have led to the development of a new approach based on skulls acquisition with a 3D scanner, using the resulting models to make measurements and morphological analyzes in the CraMs application (Craniometric Measurements). This paper focuses on the development of new methods for the morphological analysis, and the extraction and classification of structures with the objective of reducing inter and intra observer variability. The final aim is to ease the process of estimating the individual's ancestry.

O presente trabalho pretende mostrar o desenvolvimento de um sistema de apoio à decisão no combate aos fogos florestais para o concelho de Águeda que assenta fundamentalmente em tecnologias informáticas, em contraste com a dinâmica utilizada atualmente neste concelho. O sistema é constituído por três módulos distintos, uma aplicação WebSIG e duas aplicações para dispositivos móveis (uma destinada aos meios de combate terrestres e outra aos meios de combate aéreos).Uma das maiores preocupações em relação ao sistema é que todos os dados utilizados sejam reais e atualizados, mas também que as principais funcionalidades da aplicação sejam utilizadas em tempo real pelos principais agentes da proteção civil: bombeiros, câmara municipal e guarda nacional republicana. A execução do projeto está ainda numa fase intermédia, no entanto os testes efetuados até ao momento permitem afirmar que o sistema projetado é viável e que se espera que seja uma ajuda efetiva na resolução do problema dos fogos florestais no concelho. This paper presents a system that is under development to support forest fires fighting in Agueda municipality. This system is mainly based on information technology, in contrast to the dynamic which is currently used in this municipality. The system consists of three separate modules, an WebGIS application and two applications for mobile devices (one for the land vehicles and the other to air vehicles). One of the biggest concerns about the system is that all data used is real and updated, but also that the main features of the application are used in real time by the main actors of civil protection: fire department, city hall and Republican National Guard. The implementation of the project is still at an early stage, however the tests performed so far have revealed that the system is viable and is expected to be an effective help in solving the problem of forest fires in the municipality.

This paper presents the design and compares the performance of linear, decoupled and direct power controllers for three-phase matrix converters operating as Unified Power Flow Controllers (lIPFC). A simplified steady-state model of the matrix converter based UPFC (MC-UPFC) fitted with a modified Venturini high frequency PWI\I modulator is first used to design the linear controllers for the transmission line active (P) and reactive (Q) power. ln order to minimize the resulting cross-coupling between P and Q power control, decoupled linear controllers (DLC) are synthesized using inverse dynamics linearization. Direct power controllers (DPC) are then developed using sliding mode control techniques, in order to guarantee both robustness and decoupled control. The designed P and Q power controllers are compared using simulations and experimental results. Linear controllers show acceptable steady-state behavior but still exhibit coupling between P and Q powers in transient operation. DLC are free from cross-coupling but are parameter sensitive. Results obtained by DPC show decoupled power control with zero error tracking and guarantee faster responses with no overshoot and no steady-state error. Ali the designed controllers were implemented using the sarne digital signal processing (DSP) hardware. 3357-3367pp Volume 29 / N.º 7 CIC/NSEM Revista IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics