Cost-effective and lightweight mobile units for MixAR: A comparative trial among different setups

Cultural heritage has arousing the interest of the general public (e.g. tourists), resulting in the increasing number of visitations to archaeological sites. However, many buildings and monuments are severely damaged or completely destroyed, which doesn’t allow to get a full experience of “travelling in time”. Over the years, several Augmented Reality (AR) approaches were proposed to overcome these issues by providing three-dimensional visualization of reconstructed ancient structures in situ. However, most of these systems were made available through heavy and expensive technological bundles. Alternatively, MixAR intends to be a lightweight and cost-effective Mixed Reality system which aims to provide the visualization of virtual ancient buildings reconstructions in situ, properly superimposed and aligned with real-world ruins. This paper proposes and compares different AR mobile units setups to be used in the MixAR system, with low-cost and lightweight requirements in mind, providing different levels of immersion. It was propounded four different mobile units, based on: a laptop computer, a single-board computer (SBC), a tablet and a smartphone, which underwent a set of tests to evaluate their performances. The results show that mobile units based on laptop computer and SBC reached a good overall performance while mobile units based on tablet and smartphone did not meet such a satisfactory result even though they are acceptable for the intended use.

Towards effective control of P2P traffic aggregates in network infrastructures

Nowadays, many P2P applications proliferate in the Internet. The attractiveness of many of these systems relies on the collaborative approach used to exchange large resources without the dependence and associated constraints of centralized approaches where a single server is responsible to handle all the requests from the clients. As consequence, some P2P systems are also interesting and cost-effective approaches to be adopted by content-providers and other Internet players. However, there are several coexistence problems between P2P applications and In- ternet Service Providers (ISPs) due to the unforeseeable behavior of P2P traffic aggregates in ISP infrastructures. In this context, this work proposes a collaborative P2P/ISP system able to underpin the development of novel Traffic Engi- neering (TE) mechanisms contributing for a better coexistence between P2P applications and ISPs. Using the devised system, two TE methods are described being able to estimate and control the impact of P2P traffic aggregates on the ISP network links. One of the TE methods allows that ISP administrators are able to foresee the expected impact that a given P2P swarm will have in the underlying network infrastructure. The other TE method enables the definition of ISP friendly P2P topologies, where specific network links are protected from P2P traffic. As result, the proposed system and associated mechanisms will contribute for improved ISP resource management tasks and to foster the deployment of innovative ISP-friendly systems.

DOTA-based Ga(III) and Gd(III) chelates for medical imaging (PET, SPECT and MRI)

PhD Thesis in Sciences Specialization in Chemistry

Cost-effective energy and carbon emission optimization in building renovation – A case-study in a low income neighbourhood

Construction sector is one of the major responsible for energy consumption and carbon emissions and renovation of existing buildings plays an important role in the actions to mitigate climate changes. Present work is based on the methodology developed in IEA Annex 56, allowing identifying cost optimal and cost effective renovation scenarios improving the energy performance. The analysed case study is a residential neighbourhood of the municipality of Gaia in Portugal. The analysis compares a reference renovation scenario (without improving the energy performance of the building) with a series of alternative renovation scenarios, including the one that is being implemented.

Neurocognitive profile and cognitive intervention in Alzheimer's disease

Tese de Doutoramento em Psicologia (Especialidade de Psicologia Clínica)

Assessment of overlay masonry strengthening system under in-plane monotonic and cyclic loading using the diagonal tensile test

The development of novel strengthening techniques to address the seismic vulnerability of masonry elements is gradually leading to simpler, faster and more effective strengthening strategies. In particular, the use of fabric reinforced cementitious matrix systems is considered of great potential, given the increase of ductility achieved with simple and economic strengthening procedures. To assess the effectiveness of these strengthening systems, and considering that the seismic action is involved, one important component of the structural behaviour is the in-plane cyclic response. In this work is discussed the applicability of the diagonal tensile test for the assessment of the cyclic response of strengthened masonry. The results obtained allowed to assess the contribution of the strengthening system to the increase of the load carrying capacity of masonry elements, as well as to evaluate the damage evolution and the stiffness degradation mechanisms developing under cyclic loading.

Development of autonomous maintenance in a furniture company

This article presents a work performed in the maintenance department of a furniture company in Portugal, in order to develop and implement autonomous maintenance. The main objective of the project was related to the objective to increase and make effective the autonomous maintenance tasks performed by production operators, and in this way avoiding unplanned downtime due to equipment failures. Although some autonomous maintenance tasks were already carried out within the company, a preliminary study revealed weaknesses in the application of this tool. In the initial phase of this pilot project, the main problems encountered at the level of autonomous maintenance were related to the lack of time to carry out these tasks, showing that the stipulated procedures were far from the real needs of the company. To solve these problems a pilot project was conducted, making several changes in the performance of autonomous maintenance tasks, making them standard and adapted to reality of each production line. There was a general improvement in the factory indicators, and essentially there was a behavioral change, since the operators felt that their opinions were taking into account and began to understand the importance of small tasks performed by them.

Práticas centradas na família: identificação de comportamentos para uma prática de qualidade nos distritos de Braga, Viana do Castelo e Vila Real

Dissertação de mestrado em Educação Especial (área de especialização em Intervenção Precoce)

Tribunais nacionais e tutela jurisdicional efetiva: da cooperação à integração judiciária no contencioso da união europeia

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Jurídicas (área de especialização em Ciências Jurídicas Públicas).

Arquitecturas imaginárias. Espaço real e ilusório no Barroco português

Tese de Doutoramento em Arquitectura / Cultura Arquitectónica.