Beyond hearing aid fitting: improving communication for older adults

Many older adults with hearing impairment continue to have substantial communication difficulties after being fitted with hearing aids, and many do not choose to wear hearing aids. Two group communication education programs aimed at such older people are described. The 'Keep on Talking' program has a health promotion focus, and is aimed at maintaining communication for older adults living in the community. An experimental group (n=120) attended the program, and a control group (n=130) received a communication assessment but no intervention. Significant improvements were found in the experimental participants in terms of knowledge about communication changes with age and about strategies to maintain communication skills. At the follow-up evaluation at 1 year, 45% of the experimental group, compared to 10% of the control group, had acted to improve their communication skills. The 'Active Communication Education' program focuses on the development of problem-solving strategies to improve communication in everyday life situations. Preliminary outcomes have been assessed on a small scale (n=14) to date. It is concluded that communication programs represent an important adjunct to, or supplement for, the traditional approach that focuses on hearing aid fitting.

TRAILER Project (Tagging, Recognition, Acknowledgment of Informal Learning Experiences) a methodology to make learners' informal learning activities visible to the institutions

The application of information technologies (specially the Internet, Web 2.0 and social tools) make informal learning more visible. This kind of learning is not linked to an institution or a period of time, but it is important enough to be taken into account. On the one hand, learners should be able to communicate to the institutions they are related to, what skills they possess, whether they were achieved in a formal or informal way. On the other hand the companies and educational institutions need to have a deeper knowledge about the competencies of their staff. The TRAILER project provides a methodology supported by a technological framework to facilitate communication about informal learning between businesses, employees and learners. The paper presents the project and some of the work carried out, an exploratory analysis about how informal learning is considered and the technological framework proposed. Whilst challenges remain in terms of establishing the meaningfulness of technological engagement for employees and businesses, the continuing transformation of the social, technological and educational environment is likely to lead to greater emphasis for the effective exploitation of informal learning.

Utilization of different encryption schemes for securing SCADA component communication

A vital role is being played by SCADA Communication for Supervisory Control and Data acquisition (SCADA) Monitoring Ststems. Devices that are designed to operate in safety-critical environments are usually designed to failsafe, but security vulnerabilities could be exploited by an attacker to disable the fail-safe mechanisms. Thus these devices must not onlybe designed for safety but also for security. This paper presents a study of the comparison of different Encryption schemes for securing SCADA Component Communication. The encryption schemes such as Symetric Key Encrypton in Wireless SCADA Environment, Assymmetric-key Encryption to Internet SCADA, and the Cross Crypto Scheme Cipher to secure communication for SCADA are analysed and the outcome is evaluated.

Characterizing the timing behaviour of power-line communication by means of simulation

Although power-line communication (PLC) is not a new technology, its use to support communication with timing requirements is still the focus of ongoing research. Recently, a new infrastructure was presented, intended for communication using power lines from a central location to geographically dispersed nodes using inexpensive devices. This new infrastructure uses a two-level hierarchical power-line system, together with an IP-based network. Within this infrastructure, in order to provide end-toend communication through the two levels of the powerline system, it is necessary to fully understand the behaviour of the underlying network layers. The masterslave behaviour of the PLC MAC, together with the inherent dynamic topology of power-line networks are important issues that must be fully characterised. Therefore, in this paper we present a simulation model which is being used to study and characterise the behaviour of power-line communication.

CIDER - envisaging a COTS communication infrastructure for evolutionary dependable real-time systems

It is foreseen that future dependable real-time systems will also have to meet flexibility, adaptability and reconfigurability requirements. Considering the distributed nature of these computing systems, a communication infrastructure that permits to fulfil all those requirements is thus of major importance. Although Ethernet has been used primarily as an information network, there is a strong belief that some very recent technological advances will enable its use in dependable applications with real-time requirements. Indeed, several recently standardised mechanisms associated with Switched-Ethernet seem to be promising to enable communication infrastructures to support hard real-time, reliability and flexible distributed applications. This paper describes the motivation and the work being developed within the CIDER (Communication Infrastructure for Dependable Evolvable Real-Time Systems) project, which envisages the use of COTS Ethernet as an enabling technology for future dependable real-time systems. It is foreseen that the CIDER approach will constitute a relevant stream of research since it will bring together cutting edge research in the field of real-time and dependable distributed systems and the industrial eagerness to expand Ethernet responsabilities to support dependable real-time applications.

Communication response time in P-NET networks: worst-case analysis considering the actual token utilisation

Fieldbus networks aim at the interconnection of field devices such as sensors, actuators and small controllers. Therefore, they are an effective technology upon which Distributed Computer Controlled Systems (DCCS) can be built. DCCS impose strict timeliness requirements to the communication network. In essence, by timeliness requirements we mean that traffic must be sent and received within a bounded interval, otherwise a timing fault is said to occur. P-NET is a multi-master fieldbus standard based on a virtual token passing scheme. In P-NET each master is allowed to transmit only one message per token visit, which means that in the worst-case the communication response time could be derived considering that the token is fully utilised by all stations. However, such analysis can be proved to be quite pessimistic. In this paper we propose a more sophisticated P-NET timing analysis model, which considers the actual token utilisation by different masters. The major contribution of this model is to provide a less pessimistic, and thus more accurate, analysis for the evaluation of the worst-case communication response time in P-NET fieldbus networks.

Queuing and routing in a hierarchical powerline communication system

Although power-line communication (PLC) is not a new technology, its use to support data communication with timing requirements is still the focus of ongoing research. A new infrastructure intended for communication using power lines from a central location to dispersed nodes using inexpensive devices was presented recently. This new infrastructure uses a two-level hierarchical power-line system, together with an IP-based network. Due to the master-slave behaviour of the PLC medium access, together with the inherent dynamic topology of power-line networks, a mechanism to provide end-to-end communication through the two levels of the power-line system must be provided. In this paper we introduce the architecture of the PLC protocol layer that is being implemented for this end.

LNT: a logical neighbor tree secure group communication scheme for wireless sensor networks

Secure group communication is a paradigm that primarily designates one-to-many communication security. The proposed works relevant to secure group communication have predominantly considered the whole network as being a single group managed by a central powerful node capable of supporting heavy communication, computation and storage cost. However, a typical Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) may contain several groups, and each one is maintained by a sensor node (the group controller) with constrained resources. Moreover, the previously proposed schemes require a multicast routing support to deliver the rekeying messages. Nevertheless, multicast routing can incur heavy storage and communication overheads in the case of a wireless sensor network. Due to these two major limitations, we have reckoned it necessary to propose a new secure group communication with a lightweight rekeying process. Our proposal overcomes the two limitations mentioned above, and can be applied to a homogeneous WSN with resource-constrained nodes with no need for a multicast routing support. Actually, the analysis and simulation results have clearly demonstrated that our scheme outperforms the previous well-known solutions.

A tighter analysis of the worst-case endto- end communication delay in massive multicores

"Many-core” systems based on the Network-on- Chip (NoC) architecture have brought into the fore-front various opportunities and challenges for the deployment of real-time systems. Such real-time systems need timing guarantees to be fulfilled. Therefore, calculating upper-bounds on the end-to-end communication delay between system components is of primary interest. In this work, we identify the limitations of an existing approach proposed by [1] and propose different techniques to overcome these limitations.

Bridge architecture to interconnect hybrid wired/wireless PROFIBUS networks

The integration of wired and wireless technologies in modern manufacturing plants is now of paramount importance for the competitiveness of any industry. Being PROFIBUS the most widely used technology in use for industrial communications, several solutions have been proposed to provide PROFIBUS networks with wireless communications. One of them, the bridge-based hybrid wired/wireless PROFIBUS network approach, proposes an architecture in which the Intermediate Systems operate at Data Link Layer level, as bridges. In this paper, we propose an architecture for the implementation of such a bridge and the required protocols to handle communication between stations in different domains and the mobility of wireless stations.

Non-uniform microstrip antenna array for RX DSRC communications

The urgent need to mitigate traffic problems such as accidents, road hazards, pollution and traffic jam have strongly driven the development of vehicular communications. DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) is the technology of choice in vehicular communications, enabling real time information exchange among vehicles V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) and between vehicles and infrastructure V2I (Vehicle-Infrastructure). This paper presents a receiving antenna for a single lane DSRC control unit. The antenna is a non-uniform array with five microstrip patches. The obtained beam width, bandwidth and circular polarization quality, among other characteristics, are compatible with the DSRC standards, making this antenna suitable for this application. © 2014 IEEE.

Development of web services to help risk management of construction projects

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores

Coordinated Maneuver for Gradient Search Using Multiple AUV's

OCEANS 2003. Proceedings (Volume:1 )

Dimensionar a logística interna da fábrica Toyota Ovar para a produção de nova viatura

O projeto foi realizado na Toyota (divisão fabril de Ovar), no ano letivo 2014/2015, teve por base um estágio extracurricular que foi realizado para que desta forma tomasse contacto com uma realidade concreta e absoluta no contexto empresarial. O estágio serviu, principalmente, como uma experiência na compreensão do funcionamento de uma indústria de automóveis. Este projeto desenvolve-se no âmbito do 2ºano do Mestrado de Logística e apresenta os contributos desenvolvidos no departamento de logística para a reorganização da mesma para a produção de um novo modelo automóvel. Atualmente, a Toyota, para os modelos de automóveis que produz, recebe os componentes em CKD (Completed Knocked Down) provenientes do Japão em lotes de cinco unidades. Estes lotes são armazenados no armazém, de onde só saem quando for dada ordem para serem produzidos. Cada lote tem várias caixas, que são colocadas à vez numa zona comum de abertura. São retidos os componentes das caixas CKD e colocados nos transportadores próprios dos postos correspondentes (supermercado de linha). Isto significa que sempre que é solicitado uma viatura de um determinado lote, são obrigados a produzir as cinco unidades. Isto significa que as restantes unidades do lote terão que ficar em parque aberto a aguardar venda futura, para além de ter um stock desnecessário, estas unidades ficam vulneráveis e sofrem desgaste, pois estão expostas à intempérie, causando graves problemas de qualidade e respetivos custos associados. Recentemente, foi decidida a produção do modelo Land Cruiser 70 na unidade industrial de Ovar, Portugal, o que obrigou a uma reorganização da produção e processos logísticos para a sua produção. Os objetivos que a empresa pretende com a entrada de um novo projeto Land Cruiser 70, são os seguintes: Alterar o sistema de abastecimento, implementando o abastecimento unitário em toda a fábrica para o novo modelo, garantindo o “one by one production”; Definir o funcionamento do processo logístico desde a chegada dos componentes até ficarem disponíveis no supermercado de linha. Para isso será necessário dimensionar armazém e zona de abertura, definir layouts e quantidade de stocks, bem como definir sistemas de comunicação entre abertura e supermercado; Verificar as peças que vão fazer parte do chassi por posto e contabilizar os dolly´s1 necessários; Fazer o layout de abastecimento da linha do chassi; Calcular o tempo de abertura, de abastecimento e de picking do chassi e de triming. Este projeto tem em conta a política de melhoria contínua de forma a conseguir satisfazer o cliente (ser eficaz) utilizando cada vez menos recursos quer físicos quer humanos (ser eficiente, detetar e eliminar os desperdícios). O presente projeto foi inserido na equipa de melhoria contínua da logística, maioritariamente no chassi. Em termos globais, os objetivos propostos neste estágio foram atingidos com êxito.

Reconfiguração e desenvolvimento do sistema de controlo de um AGV

O veículo guiado automaticamente (AGV) adquirido pelo Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica (DEM) tem vindo a ficar obsoleto devido ao hardware, que nos dias de hoje começa a dar sinais de falhas bem como falta de peças de substituição, e ao software, sendo o PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) usado muito limitado quanto às suas funções de controlo, ficando as principais tarefas de controlo do AGV a cargo de placas eletrónicas de controlo. Para promover o controlo autónomo do AGV, foi decidido retirar toda a parte de hardware que detinha o controlo do mesmo e passou a ser um novo PLC, com maior capacidade de processamento, a executar todo o tipo de controlo necessário ao funcionamento do mesmo. O hardware considerado apenas incluí, de forma resumida, os motores responsáveis pelo movimento e direção, placa de controlo de potência dos motores, placa de interface entre as saídas digitais do PLC e as entradas da placa de controlo de potência dos motores e os demais sensores necessários à deteção de obstáculos, fins de curso da direção, sensores dos postos de trabalho e avisadores de emergência. Todo o controlo de movimento e direção bem como a seleção das ações a executar passou a ficar a cargo do software programado no PLC assim como a interação entre o sistema de supervisão instalado num posto de controlo e o PLC através de comunicação via rádio. O uso do PLC permitiu a flexibilidade de mudar facilmente a forma como as saídas digitais são usadas, ao contrário de um circuito eletrónico que necessita de uma completa remodelação, tempo de testes e implementação para efetuar a mesma função. O uso de um microcontrolador seria igualmente viável para a aplicação em causa, no entanto o uso do PLC tem a vantagem de ser robusto, mais rápido na velocidade de processamento, existência de software de interface de programação bastante intuitivo e de livre acesso, facilidade de alterar a programação localmente ou remotamente, via rádio, acesso a vários protocolos de comunicação robustos como Modbus, Canbus, Profinet, Modnet, etc., e acesso integrado de uma consola gráfica totalmente programável. iv É ainda possível a sua expansão com adição de módulos de entradas e saídas digitais e/ou analógicas permitindo expandir largamente o uso do AGV para outros fins. A solução está a ser amplamente testada e validada no Laboratório de Automação (LabA) do Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica do ISEP (Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto), permitindo a otimização dos sistemas de controlo de direção bem como a interatividade entre o PLC e o programa de interface/supervisão do posto de trabalho.