Master's in Autonomous Systems: An Overview of the Robotics Curriculum and Outcomes at ISEP, Portugal

Robotics research in Portugal is increasing every year, but few students embrace it as one of their first choices for study. Until recently, job offers for engineers were plentiful, and those looking for a degree in science and technology would avoid areas considered to be demanding, like robotics. At the undergraduate level, robotics programs are still competing for a place in the classical engineering graduate curricula. Innovative and dynamic Master's programs may offer the solution to this gap. The Master's degree in autonomous systems at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal, was designed to provide a solid training in robotics and has been showing interesting results, mainly due to differences in course structure and the context in which students are welcomed to study and work.

Abstract Timers and their Implementation onto the ARM Cor tex-M family of MCUs

Presented at Embed with Linux Workshop (EWiLi 2015). 4 to 9, Oct, 2015. Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Development and implementation of strategies for the incorporation of reinforcing elements in aluminium alloys by solid state processing

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

Como Fazer um Curriculum Cirúrgico

A discussão do curriculum vitae é um parâmetro muito valorizado na avaliação dos internatos de especialidade em Portugal. No entanto, a inexistência de normas orientadoras para a sua elaboração cria dificuldades aos candidatos que os escrevem, aos júris que os classificam e às entidades da tutela a quem compete garantir equidade no processo. Apresenta-se e comenta-se uma proposta de sistematização de curriculum genérico para as especialidades cirúrgicas, baseado na legislação que regulamenta a avaliação da formação médica pós-graduada. Considera-se desejavel uma discussão alargada sobre o tema, em forum próprio.

As atividades de enriquecimento curricular e a pedagogia do lazer

Nas últimas décadas a sociedade tem sido palco de várias mudanças, reflexo do desenvolvimento de uma sociedade cada vez mais globalizada. Este desenvolvimento emergente da sociedade, gerou novas necessidades e impôs também novos desafios à instituição escolar. Uma das novas necessidades, à qual a escola precisou responder, foi a de ocupar por mais tempo as crianças na escola e alargar a sua oferta pedagógica, uma vez que, atualmente, a maioria dos pais trabalha. Surge assim, o conceito de escola a tempo inteiro e a implementação das atividades de enriquecimento curricular (AEC). As AEC vieram substituir as atividades de tempos livres, que se destinavam a proporcionar atividades de lazer e que possibilitavam que a criança escolhesse sobre o que fazer e como. A significativa alteração na organização e funcionamento das escolas, decorrente da implementação das AEC, veio suscitar dúvidas nos professores e comunidade educativa, que se viram confrontados com a longa permanência dos alunos na escola, a pouca disponibilidade das crianças para brincadeiras, em resultado de um horário escolar preenchido em atividades, desvalorizando-se o brincar espontâneo das crianças como forma de interação e construção de conhecimento. Reconhecendo a importância das atividades lúdicas no desenvolvimento global da criança, este estudo pretende contribuir para o desenvolvimento das AEC, num contexto lúdico, suportado pelas caraterísticas do lazer.

The development and implementation of math projects in a HEI: expectations, objectives, experiences and analysis

An overwhelming problem in Math Curriculums in Higher Education Institutions (HEI), we are daily facing in the last decade, is the substantial differences in Math background of our students. When you try to transmit, engage and teach subjects/contents that your “audience” is unable to respond to and/or even understand what we are trying to convey, it is somehow frustrating. In this sense, the Math projects and other didactic strategies, developed through Learning Management System Moodle, which include an array of activities that combine higher order thinking skills with math subjects and technology, for students of HE, appear as remedial but important, proactive and innovative measures in order to face and try to overcome these considerable problems. In this paper we will present some of these strategies, developed in some organic units of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (IPP). But, how “fruitful” are the endless number of hours teachers spent in developing and implementing these platforms? Do students react to them as we would expect? Do they embrace this opportunity to overcome their difficulties? How do they use/interact individually with LMS platforms? Can this environment that provides the teacher with many interesting tools to improve the teaching – learning process, encourages students to reinforce their abilities and knowledge? In what way do they use each available material – videos, interactive tasks, texts, among others? What is the best way to assess student’s performance in these online learning environments? Learning Analytics tools provides us a huge amount of data, but how can we extract “good” and helpful information from them? These and many other questions still remain unanswered but we look forward to get some help in, at least, “get some drafts” for them because we feel that this “learning analysis”, that tackles the path from the objectives to the actual results, is perhaps the only way we have to move forward in the “best” learning and teaching direction.

Guia de Implementação BIM em organizações e projetos

A adoção da metodologia BIM (Building Information Modeling) é vista como um processo transformador que engloba as empresas e os seus projetos e, em última instância, toda a Indústria da Construção Civil. Devido ao facto de que o BIM é um complexo sistema cuja implementação tem impactos sociais, técnicos e metodológicos, este tema há já alguns anos que tem sido alvo de pesquisas com o objetivo primordial de difundir as práticas associadas ao BIM nas empresas, nos seus projetos, e na indústria. Um pouco por todo mundo, várias iniciativas de entidades públicas e privadas, governamentais e não-governamentais, têm produzido guias, normas, manuais e outros documentos que funcionam como um motor propulsor da implementação BIM. O presente trabalho contém a proposta de um Guia de Implementação da Metodologia BIM, desenvolvido no contexto do um estágio curricular levado a cabo na empresa Building Information Modeling & Management Solutions (BIMMS) e que resultou do estudo e adaptação de alguns dos mais conceituados guias, normas e manuais BIM existentes e em vigor noutros países. Este documento de caráter técnico e prático foi concebido para servir o propósito de auxiliar gabinetes de Engenharia, Arquitetura, e empresas de Construção na integração do BIM na sua atividade e foi elaborado com o intuito de poder ser divulgado e utilizado como referência a nível nacional.

Design and implementation of 3D buildings integration for a Webgl-Based Virtual Globe: a case study of Valencian Cadastre and Fide Building Mode

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Controller implementation using analog reconfigurable hardware (FPAA)

This Thesis has the main target to make a research about FPAA/dpASPs devices and technologies applied to control systems. These devices provide easy way to emulate analog circuits that can be reconfigurable by programming tools from manufactures and in case of dpASPs are able to be dynamically reconfigurable on the fly. It is described different kinds of technologies commercially available and also academic projects from researcher groups. These technologies are very recent and are in ramp up development to achieve a level of flexibility and integration to penetrate more easily the market. As occurs with CPLD/FPGAs, the FPAA/dpASPs technologies have the target to increase the productivity, reducing the development time and make easier future hardware reconfigurations reducing the costs. FPAA/dpAsps still have some limitations comparing with the classic analog circuits due to lower working frequencies and emulation of complex circuits that require more components inside the integrated circuit. However, they have great advantages in sensor signal condition, filter circuits and control systems. This thesis focuses practical implementations of these technologies to control system PID controllers. The result of the experiments confirms the efficacy of FPAA/dpASPs on signal condition and control systems.

Implementation of an IoT-based Sensor Network Integrating IoT-based Sensor Networks with Large-Scale Message Distribution

As technology advances not only do new standards and programming styles appear but also some of the previously established ones gain relevance. In a new Internet paradigm where interconnection between small devices is key to the development of new businesses and scientific advancement there is the need to find simple solutions that anyone can implement in order to allow ideas to become more than that, ideas. Open-source software is still alive and well, especially in the area of the Internet of Things. This opens windows for many low capital entrepreneurs to experiment with their ideas and actually develop prototypes, which can help identify problems with a project or shine light on possible new features and interactions. As programming becomes more and more popular between people of fields not related to software there is the need for guidance in developing something other than basic algorithms, which is where this thesis comes in: A comprehensive document explaining the challenges and available choices of developing a sensor data and message delivery system, which scales well and implements the delivery of critical messages. Modularity and extensibility were also given much importance, making this an affordable tool for anyone that wants to build a sensor network of the kind.

Implementation for spatial data of the shared nearest neighbour with metric data structures

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

CHEMOPROPHYLAXIS TO CONTROL LEPROSY AND THE PERSPECTIVE OF ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN BRAZIL: A PRIMER FOR NON-EPIDEMIOLOGISTS

The occurrence of leprosy has decreased in the world but the perspective of its elimination has been questioned. A proposed control measure is the use of post-exposure chemoprophylaxis (PEP) among contacts, but there are still questions about its operational aspects. In this text we discuss the evidence available in literature, explain some concepts in epidemiology commonly used in the research on this topic, analyze the appropriateness of implementing PEP in the context of Brazil, and answer a set of key questions. We argue some points: (1) the number of contacts that need to receive PEP in order to prevent one additional case of disease is not easy to be generalized from the studies; (2) areas covered by the family health program are the priority settings where PEP could be implemented; (3) there is no need for a second dose; (4) risk for drug resistance seems to be very small; (5) the usefulness of a serological test to identify a higher risk group of individuals among contacts is questionable. Given that, we recommend that, if it is decided to start PEP in Brazil, it should start on a small scale and, as new evidence can be generated in terms of feasibility, sustainability and impact, it could move up a scale, or not, for a wider intervention.

Lean management implementation: a decision making framework

Submitted to the graduate faculty Universidade Nova de Lisboa – Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Industrial Engineering

Implementation strategy for Temahome in the Turkish furniture market

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Lean construction in rehabilitation works – suitability analysis and contribution for the definition of an implementation model

Proceedings IGLC-19, July 2011, Lima, Perú