Reusing heterogeneous data for the conceptual design of shapes in virtual environments

Today, digital data such as 2D images, 3D meshes and 3D point clouds are widely used to design virtual environments (VE). Most of the time, only one type of those multimodal data is used to describe and specify the shapes of the objects. However, a single object can be seen as a combination of components linked with constraints specifying the relationships and the rigid transformations defining their arrangement. Thus, the definition of new methods able to combine any kind of multimodal data in an easy way would allow non-experts of VE to rapidly mock up objects and scenes. In this paper, we propose a new shape description model together with its associated constraints toolbox enabling the description of complex shapes from multimodal data. Not only rigid transformations are considered but also scale modifications according to the specified context of the constraint setting. The heterogeneous virtual objects (i.e., composed by scalable multimodal components) then result from the resolution of a constraint satisfaction problem through an optimization approach. The proposed approach is illustrated and validated with examples obtained using our prototype software.The work has been partially supported by the VISIONAIR project funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement 262044, the French National project Co-DIVE and by the Italian National Project ‘‘Tecnologie e sistemi innovativi per la fabbrica del futuro e Made in Italy.’

Toward energy Autonomy in heterogeneous Modular Plant-Inspired Robots through Artificial evolution

Contemporary robots perform energy intensive tasks—e.g., manipulation and locomotion—making the development of energy autonomous robots challenging. Since plants are primary energy producers in natural ecosystems, we took plants as a source of inspiration for designing our robotics platform. This led us to investigate energy autonomy in robots through employing solar panels. As plants move slowly compared to other large terrestrial organisms, it is expected that plant-inspired robots can enable robotic applications, such as long-term monitoring and exploration, where energy consumption could be minimized. Since it is difficult to manually design robotic systems that adhere to full energy autonomy, we utilize evolutionary algorithms to automate the design and evaluation of energy harvesting robots. We demonstrate how artificial evolution can lead to the design and control of a modular plant-like robot. Robotic phenotypes were acquired through implementing an evolutionary algorithm, a generative encoding and modular building blocks in a simulation environment. The generative encoding is based on a context sensitive Lindenmayer-System (L-System) and the evolutionary algorithm is used to optimize compositions of heterogeneous modular building blocks in the simulation environment. Phenotypes that evolved from the simulation environment are in turn transferred to a physical robot platform. The robotics platform consists of five different types of modules: (1) a base module, (2) a cube module, (3) servo modules, and (4,5) two types of solar panel modules that are used to harvest energy. The control system for the platform is initially evolved in the simulation environment and afterward transferred to an actual physical robot. A few experiments were done showing the relationship between energy cost and the amount of light tracking that evolved in the simulation. The reconfigurable modular robots are eventually used to harvest light with the possibility to be reconfigured based on the needs of the designer, the type of usable modules, and/or the optimal configuration derived from the simulation environment. Long-term energy autonomy has not been tested in this robotics platform. However, we think our robotics platform can serve as a stepping stone toward full energy autonomy in modular robots

Modelo de estratégia e coordenação genérico para sistemas multi-agente

Estágio realizado na Universidade de Aveiro e orientado pelo Prof. Doutor Jose Nuno Panelas Nunes LauTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Reflections and speculations on the progress in Geographic Information Systems (GIS): a geographic perspective

Great strides have been made in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) research over the past half-century. However, this progress has created both opportunities and challenges. From a geographic perspective, certain challenges remain, including the modelling of geographic-featured environments with GIS data model, the enhancement of GIS’s analysis functions for comprehensive geographic analysis and achieving human-oriented geographic information presentation. Several basic theoretical and technical ideas that follow the workflow and processes of geographic information induction, geographic scenario modelling, geographic process analysis and geographic environment representation are proposed to fill the gaps between GIS and geography. We also call for designing methods for big geographic data-oriented analysis, making best use of videos and developing virtual geographic scenario-based GIS for further evolution

A Systematic Literature Review to Understand Cross-organizational Relationship Management and Collaboration

An increasingly dynamic, unpredictable and challenging environment leads organizations to cross their own borders and establish partnerships to other organizations for remaining competitive. This cross-organizational relationship allows participating organizations to share resources with each other and collaborate to better handle an identified opportunity for joint work. However, besides having a mutual or compatible goal, it is common that these organizations face several challenges during the partnership. The present research aims to explore the cross-organizational relationship management. To this end, this paper outlines the systematic literature review performed to understand the collaboration and relationship establishment between different organizations and organize an ICT related body of knowledge about the topic. A discussion about the findings, challenges and open issues identified from the retrieved literature is also provided to guide further work