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As we recall the major contributions of Professor Dennis Gabor that resulted in his Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for the invention of holography, it is interesting to put his impact on science, technology, as well as humanity, in a broader context so as to better understand his experiences, and recognize the very significant role that he played in his time.

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e Computadores, A obtenção de uma localização exata no ramo da robótica revela-se um dos pilares do sucesso e evolução da qualidade das tarefas desempenhadas pelos robôs, uma vez que se mostra fundamental para que um robô tenha a noção do espaço e do mundo que o rodeia. Esta importância, acentua-se no caso do futebol robótico, onde uma equipa de cinco robôs autónomos deve interagir entre si, num campo onde estão outros cinco robôs e diversos obstáculos. Nesta dissertação pretende-se desenvolver um sistema de localização para robôs futebolistas, sendo o sistema em causa responsável por estimar a orientação, posição do robô no campo e modelação do mundo que o rodeia. É também responsável por efetuar uma avaliação da qualidade das imagens obtidas e, se necessário, alterar os parâmetros referentes à câmara de forma a melhorar a imagem obtida. Para além do descrito, pretende-se o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta que possibilite a calibração de determinados parâmetros referentes ao robô e a todo o sistema enunciado. A abordagem proposta para o cálculo da orientação do robô bem como da posição do mesmo no campo, assenta no processamento de imagem, uma vez que o campo oferece um sistema de referência inequívoco (em cada metade do campo), as linhas do campo. Os algoritmos desenvolvidos têm por base os pontos de linhas detetados, onde o algoritmo de cálculo da orientação constrói histogramas a partir destes pontos, sendo que o algoritmo de localização utiliza-os para comparar com um modelo do campo para obter a melhor estimativa, comparando a coordenada de cada ponto à distância à linha mais próxima desse ponto. É apresentado um método para auto calibração da câmara baseado em histogramas acerca das características que classificam uma imagem, de forma a avaliar a qualidade da mesma. A qualidade de imagem apresentada, tanto antes de um jogo bem como durante, é sempre estável, devido ao algoritmo de auto calibração, possibilitando que o processo de localização do robô desenvolvido seja capaz de se localizar perfeitamente em qualquer campo de jogo, bem como de realizar uma modelação do mundo. O objetivo deste projeto foi atingido com sucesso, dispondo assim a equipa MINHO TEAM de diversas ferramentas que impulsionarão o sucesso da mesma., Obtaining an exact location in the field of robotics is one of the pillars of the success and evolution of the quality of the tasks performed by the robots, since it is fundamental for a robot to have the notion of space and of the world that surrounds it. This importance is emphasized in the case of robotic football, in which a team of five autonomous robots must interact with each other, in a field where there are five other robots and several obstacles. In this dissertation, we intend to develop a localization system for robot soccer players, being the system responsible for estimating the orientation, position of the robot in the field and modelling of the world that surrounds it. It is also responsible for evaluating the quality of the images obtained and, if necessary, for changing the parameters related to the camera in order to improve the image obtained. In addition to the described, it is intended the development of a tool that allows the calibration of certain parameters related to the robot and to the whole system. The proposed approach for calculating the orientation of the robot as well as its position in the field is based on image processing, since the field provides a system of unequivocal reference (in each half of the field), the lines of the field. The algorithms developed are based on the points of lines detected, and the orientation calculation algorithm uses histograms constructed from the detected points and the localization method is based on the use of the distances of these points to the nearest field lines. A method is presented for auto-calibration of the camera based on histograms about the characteristics that classify an image, in order to evaluate the quality of the image. The image quality presented both before and during a game is always stable due to the auto-calibration algorithm, allowing the localization process of the developed robot to be able to locate perfectly in any field of play as well as to perform a modeling of the world that surrounds it. The goal of this project was successfully achieved, thus providing the MINHO TEAM with several tools that will boost its success.

The article attempts to contribute to solving the urgent problem of the viability and functions of folklore in the modern world. We study the modern chastushka represented at special websites designed for chastushka exchange. Such websites are a special communicative sphere which uses modern technology to realize folklore intentions. The chastushka is a popular modern folklore genre which has lived through the change of information reality. This is due to the features of the genre world modelling aimed at the comic reflection of reality. In the process of integration into the modern communicative space, these principles are preserved, yet the chastushka form demonstrates flexibility in relation to the needs of the modern information environment regulated by common postmodern tendencies of modern culture.

This paper aims to complement work done within the WIOD project (the "World Input Output Database" project financed by the EU's Seventh Framework Programme), which compiled supply and use tables for 40 countries, covering about 85 percent of the world economy. The paper describes the derivation of international trade and transport margins (TIR services) together with a consistent and balanced system of supply and use tables at the world level. As a by-product, this also yields supply and use tables including valuation matrices for the rest of the world, the approximately 15 percent of the world economy not covered by the 40 countries included in the WIOD database. The procedure assures a "balanced world economy" with respect to trade in all goods and services.

Für viele Aufgaben (wie etwa Navigation) eines mobilen Roboters ist esnotwendig die Lage der Objekte in seiner unmittelbaren Umgebung zu kennen.Eine besondere Herausforderung stellt diese Aufgabe für die Roboter dar, derenWahrnehmung hauptsächlich auf einem gerichteten, visuellen System basiert,wie etwa eine Kamera mit begrenztem Öffnungswinkel.Die Unvollständigkeit und Ungenauigkeit der Sensorinformation führt zurUnsicherheit in der Vorstellung des Roboters von der Welt.Ein geeignetes Modell von der Welt kann dem Roboter die Fähigkeit zuplanen verleihen und ein komplexes Verhalten ermöglichen.Die aktuellen Verfahren nutzen meistens nur einen geringen Teil derInformationen die dem Roboter zu Verfügung stehen. Insbesondereredundante Informationen bleiben ungenutzt.In dieser Arbeit stellen wir Verfahren vor, die es zum Ziel haben möglichst gutredundante Informationen bei der Modellierung der Umwelt zu berücksichtigen.Im ersten Teil stellen wir eine Reihe von Möglichkeiten vor wie objektspezifischeEigenschaften verwendet werden können, um die Parameter der Kameramatrix zukorrigieren.Im zweiten Teil wird ein auf Constraints basierender Ansatz für die Modellierung der Weltvorgestellt., Many tasks of a mobile robot, e.g., navigation, require the knowledge of the positions of the objects in the surrounding environment.This task is especially challenging for the robots which perception is based on a directed visual system, e.g., a camera with a limited view angle. The incomplete and noisy sensor information leads to the uncertainty in the robots belief of the world. An appropriate model of the world may enable the robot to make plans and to realize complex behavior.The state of the art modeling methods use often only a small part of the available information. In particular the redundant informationremain unused.In this work we investigate methods to exploit effectively the redundant information in order to get a better model of the world.In the first part we discuss a number of possibilities to use of specific properties of the objects to estimate the parameters of the camera matrix.In the second part we present a constraint based approach for the world modeling.

Autonomous robot world modelling is a “chicken-and-egg” problem: position estimation needs a model of the world, whereas world modelling needs the robot position. Most of the works dealing with this issue propose holistic solutions under an algorithmic perspective by neglecting software architecture issues. This results in huge and monolithic pieces of software where implementation details reify strategic decisions. An architectural approach founded on separation of concerns may help to break the loop. Localisation and modelling, acting on different time scales, are mostly independent of each other. Sometimes synchronisation is required. Whenever needed, an external strategy tunes the relative rates of the two activities. The paper introduces rationale, design, and implementation of such a system which relies on Real-Time Performers, a software architecture providing suitable architectural abstractions to observe and control the system's temporal behaviour.

WebROBOT is an Internet based assembly planning system for intelligent task level programming of assembly robots. Developed as the client-server architecture, WebROBOT typically enables the client to graphically synthesise and model the world, specify assembly tasks, enable automated task/motion planning, generate robot control program and transfer it to the remote robot site through server. Clients can communicate with the robot administrator through chat to set up and execute the robot program in the real assembly world. The design and implementation issues of WebROBOT are presented at length in this paper. (C) 2003

Self-localization in unknown environments respectively correlation of current and former impressions of the world is an essential ability for most mobile robots. The method,proposed in this article is the construction of a qualitative, topological world model as a basis for self-localization. As a central aspect the reliability regarding error-tolerance and stability will be emphasized. The proposed techniques demand very low constraints for the kind and quality of the employed sensors as well as for the kinematic precisionof the utilized mobile platform. Hard real-time constraints can be handled due to the low computational complexity. The principal discussions are supported by real-world experiments with the mobile robot.