Towards edge intelligence in smart spaces

After more than two decades of existence, the internet of things has been revolutionizing the way we interact with the world around us. Although, in its origins, the adoption of a cloud computing paradigm supported this ubiquitous computing model, the increasing complexity of IoT systems has led to the gradual fading of the traditional hierarchical model of cloud computing. The search for solutions to the problems of latency, scalability and privacy has, in recent years, driven the movement of data processing and storage, from the cloud, to the edge of the network (edge computing). Starting from the particular case of edge computing that keeps the focus on extending the boundaries of artificial intelligence to the edge of the network - Edge intelligence - a survey of the current state of the art is carried out, culminating into the specification of an architecture to support edge intelligence applications. In order to validate the proposed architecture, two scenarios are presented. In the scope of waste management and energy recycling, a system for used cooking oil classification in a national domestic collection network is presented. With the local classification of the trustworthiness of each deposit, it was possible to significantly shorten the response times, with a direct impact on energy consumption levels. Aimed at smart cities, a second application scenario, proposes an approach based on computer vision and deep learning, for local detection of pedestrians on crosswalks. In this context, an edge intelligence paradigm allowed to overcome privacy related issues, as well as reducing response times by more than 80 times, when compared to a cloud computing based solution.Após mais de duas décadas de existência, a internet das coisas, tem vindo a revolucionar a forma como interagimos com o mundo que nos rodeia. Apesar de, nas suas origens, a adoção de um paradigma de computação em nuvem ter servido de suporte a este modelo de computação ubíqua, a crescente complexidade dos sistemas IoT tem conduzido ao paulatino esvanecer do tradicional modelo hierárquico da computação em nuvem. A procura por soluções para os problemas de latência, escalabilidade e garantia de qualidade de serviço tem, nos últimos anos, impulsionado a deslocação do processamento e armazenamento de dados, da nuvem, para a periferia da rede (computação periférica). Partindo do caso particular de computação periférica que mantém o foco no alargar das fronteiras da inteligência artificial para a periferia da rede - Periferia inteligente - um levantamento do atual estado da arte é levado a cabo, culminando na especificação de uma arquitetura de suporte a cenários de periferia inteligente. Com vista à validação da arquitetura proposta, dois cenários são apresentados. No âmbito da gestão de resíduos e reciclagem energética, um sistema para classificação de óleo alimentar usado, numa rede nacional de recolha doméstica é apresentado. Com classificação local da veracidade de cada depósito foi possível encurtar significativamente os tempos de resposta, com impacto direto nos níveis de consumo energético. Direcionado às cidades inteligentes, um segundo cenário de aplicação, propõe uma abordagem baseada em visão computacional e aprendizagem profunda, para deteção local de peões em passadeiras. Neste contexto, um paradigma de periferia inteligente permitiu ultrapassar questões relativas à privacidade na transmissão de dados, assim como reduzir em mais de 80 vezes os tempos de resposta, quando comparado com uma solução de computação em nuvem

Exploiting partial reconfiguration through PCIe for a microphone array network emulator

The current Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology enables the deployment of relatively low-cost wireless sensor networks composed of MEMS microphone arrays for accurate sound source localization. However, the evaluation and the selection of the most accurate and power-efficient network’s topology are not trivial when considering dynamic MEMS microphone arrays. Although software simulators are usually considered, they consist of high-computational intensive tasks, which require hours to days to be completed. In this paper, we present an FPGA-based platform to emulate a network of microphone arrays. Our platform provides a controlled simulated acoustic environment, able to evaluate the impact of different network configurations such as the number of microphones per array, the network’s topology, or the used detection method. Data fusion techniques, combining the data collected by each node, are used in this platform. The platform is designed to exploit the FPGA’s partial reconfiguration feature to increase the flexibility of the network emulator as well as to increase performance thanks to the use of the PCI-express high-bandwidth interface. On the one hand, the network emulator presents a higher flexibility by partially reconfiguring the nodes’ architecture in runtime. On the other hand, a set of strategies and heuristics to properly use partial reconfiguration allows the acceleration of the emulation by exploiting the execution parallelism. Several experiments are presented to demonstrate some of the capabilities of our platform and the benefits of using partial reconfiguration

An IoT Architecture as a means of Optimizing Downy and Powdery Mildew Diseases Recognition in Portuguese Vineyards

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementThe agriculture is a livelihood of an expressively number of people and companies in Portugal, and before covid time surpassed 1.000 Million EUR, so it is an important portion and should be, at least, maintained. A part of this agricultural production is destinated to produce wine, that itself a part of the Portuguese culture, and to help the vineyards health increase this work aims to understand the grape-fruit diseases, his types, and mainly how can be detected as early as possible. A reliable way to disease detection can facilitate treatment and possible cure of the vine, through proper management strategies and can improve productivity. This research aims to propose a new architecture thar can provides a better solution for this disease identification. The proposed architecture is supported on the Internet of Things sensors technologies, that works 24/7 and, nowadays, are not expensive and bring another protection to the vineyards

Brazilian geopolitical strategy for the South Atlantic

This paper sought to explain the Brazilian geopolitical strategy for the South Atlantic since 2000. For this purpose, the general outlines of Brazil’s international insertion and Brazilian bilateral and multilateral relations with South Atlantic countries and extra-regional powers were presented. Domestic policies werealso taken into consideration. In conclusion, the Brazilian strategy is defensive, aiming to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity

Dialogisme Bakhtinien en Confluence Avec La Sociopragmatique Danoise: Perspectives en Langue Appliquée / Dialogismo Bakhtiniano em Confluência com a Sociopragmática Dinamarquesa: Perspectivas em Linguística Aplicada

Ce travail vise à problématiser les dialogues théoriques entre les études philosophiques de Bakhtine et les théories de l’interaction de Jacob Mey. En ce sens, je part de l’articulation entre de telles théories, afin de comprendre comment elles convergent et aider à fonder différentes recherches dans le cadre des études linguistiques. La méthodologie est bibliographique, puisque je mobilise des études de la littérature évoquée pour tenter de générer un débat cohérent sur cette articulation. D’un point de vue interactionnel, je crois que la confluence entre les études susmentionnées part de l'idée d'interdiscours, puisque les deux conçoivent le langage comme un outil immanent de l’esprit dialogique

Performance and resource modeling for FPGAs using high-level synthesis tools

High-performance computing with FPGAs is gaining momentum with the advent of sophisticated High-Level Synthesis (HLS) tools. The performance of a design is impacted by the input-output bandwidth, the code optimizations and the resource consumption, making the performance estimation a challenge. This paper proposes a performance model which extends the roofline model to take into account the resource consumption and the parameters used in the HLS tools. A strategy is developed which maximizes the performance and the resource utilization within the area of the FPGA. The model is used to optimize the design exploration of a class of window-based image processing application

Runtime reconfigurable beamforming architecture for real-time sound-source localization

C

A gestão do risco cambial um estudo de caso

Dissertação de Mestrado em Contabilidade e FinançasUma vez que a globalização dos negócios é um factor cada vez mais importante, este trabalho reflete a importância da gestão do risco nos mercados internacionais, identificando-os, bem como suas as técnicas de cobertura. Procurou-se fazer uma ligação entre as técnicas de cobertura do risco e as técnicas de pagamento abordadas pela literatura, com as técnicas à disposição das empresas portuguesas, bem como verificar se estas estão preocupadas com esta problemática e se fazem uma eficaz gestão do risco nos mercados internacionais. Foi também realizado um estudo de caso sobre uma empresa portuguesa que aposta fortemente na internacionalização, apresentando um volume de negócios para fora de Portugal acima dos 70%. Verificou-se que esta empresa apresenta algumas preocupações relativas ao risco, mas que não utiliza instrumentos financeiros para o efeito, sendo que o principal motivo é a não existência destes no seu principal marcado – Angola. Apesar da empresa estar bastante sujeita ao risco cambial, é o risco de crédito o seu principal problema, através dos atrasos nos recebimentos. É, portanto, crucial que a empresa expanda o seu negócio para outros mercados internacionais com baixa correlação com os actuais, evidenciando o efeito de diversificação, com o objectivo de diminuir o risco.Since the globalization of business is an increasingly important factor, this work reflects the importance of risk management in international markets, identifying them as well as the techniques of their coverage. We tried to make a connection between the techniques of hedging and payment techniques discussed in literature with the techniques available to the Portuguese companies, as well as verify that they are concerned about this issue and make an effective risk management in international markets. It also conducted a case study of a Portuguese company that invests heavily in internationalization, with a turnover out of Portugal over 70%. It was found that this company has some concerns about the risk, but that does not use financial instruments for this purpose and the main reason is the lack of these in its flagship brand - Angola. Although the company is very subject to currency risk, credit risk is the main problem, through delays in receipts. It is therefore crucial that the company expand its business to other international markets with low correlation with the current, showing the effects of diversification, with the aim of reducing risk