An effective and efficient web platform for monitoring, control, and management of drones supported by a new microservices approach

In recent years there has been a great growth in the use of drones, being used in several areas such as security, agriculture, or research. The existence of some systems that allow the remote control of drones is a reality, however, these systems are quite simple and directed to specific functionality. This dissertation proposes the development of a web platform made in Vue.js and Node.js to control, manage and monitoring drones in real time. Using a microservice architecture, the proposed project will be able to integrate algorithms that allow the optimization of processes. Communication with remote devices is suggested via HTTP through 3G, 4G, and 5G networks, and can be done in real time or by scheduling routes. This dissertation addresses the case of forest fires as one of the services that could be included in a system similar to the one presented. The results obtained with the elaboration of this project were a success. The communication between the web platform and drones allowed its remote control and monitoring. The incorporation of the fire detection algorithm in the platform proved possible a real time analysis of the images captured by the drone, without human intervention. The proposed system has proved to be an asset to the use of drones in fire detection. The architecture of the application developed allows other algorithms to be implemented, obtaining a more complex application with clear expansion.Nos últimos anos tem-se assistido a um grande crescimento do uso de drones, sendo utilizados em diversas áreas como a da segurança, da agricultura ou da investigação. A existência de alguns sistemas que permite o controlo de drones à distância é uma realidade, porém, estes sistemas são bastante simples e direcionados a uma funcionalidade específica. Esta dissertação propõe a elaboração de uma plataforma web feita em Vue.js e Node.js para controlar, gerir e monitorizar drones em tempo real. Usando uma arquitetura de microsserviços, o projeto proposto será capaz de integrar algoritmos que permitem a otimização de processos. A comunicação com os aparelhos remotos é sugerida via HTTP através das redes de 3G, 4G e 5G, e pode ser feita em tempo real ou através de agendamento de rotas. Esta dissertação aborda o caso dos incêndios florestais como um dos serviços que poderia ser incluído num sistema semelhante ao apresentado. Os resultados obtidos com a elaboração deste projeto foram um sucesso. A comunicação entre a plataforma web com drones permitiu o seu controlo e monitorização à distância. A incorporação do algoritmo de deteção de incêndios na plataforma demonstrou ser possível uma análise em tempo real das imagens captadas pelo drone, sem intervenção humana. O sistema proposto demonstrou ser uma mais valia ao uso de UAVs na deteção de incêndios. A arquitetura da aplicação desenvolvida permite que outros algoritmos sejam implementados, obtendo uma aplicação mais complexa e com clara expansão

Development of Photosensitive Fibers for Photocurrent Therapy

This work aims at the production of electrospun photosensitive membranes suitable for applications in photocurrent therapy. Photocurrent therapy consists of irradiating a photosensitive material, which will generate an electrical current and a fluorescence emission. This photoluminescence behavior should be in the red to infrared wavelengths to improve the wound healing process, by increasing fibroblast growth factor and activating local anti-inflammatory responses. P3HT was selected as the photosensitive material. Two blend solutions of PCL:P3HT and PMMA:P3HT were prepared with the following weight ratios 15:1 and 15:3. Each membrane was submitted to electrical characterization in dark, with an incandescent light at several intensities, and with different colored LEDs. They also undergone optical characterization, with UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometry, photoluminescence spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Both PCL/P3HT and PMMA/P3HT membranes, when exposed to UV light, displayed photoluminescent emission peaks at 684nm, and 695 nm, for 15:1 and 15:3 polymer blend ratios, respectively. Light absorbance ranges were from 350 nm to 650 nm in PCL/P3HT membranes, and from 310 nm to 700 nm in PMMA/P3HT membranes. After a 24-hour continuous UV exposure, P3HT- containing membranes recovered the photoluminescence emission intensity, following a day with no exposure. PMMA/P3HT membrane with 15:3 ratio displayed a substantiated photoconductive behavior, by increasing its electrical conductivity by 350% over 22 minutes of continuous light exposure. These results show that P3HT-containing membranes meet the phototherapy application requirements, by emitting in the therapeutic range, with the added bonus of absorbing light in the maximum irradiance region of the solar spectrum. For electrotherapy applications further research and optimization is needed to increase photoconductive behavior and electrical conductivity values. A convenient cytotoxicity analysis is also needed to evaluate the toxicity of the membranes.Este trabalho tem como objetivo a produção de membranas fotossensíveis por electrospinning adequadas para aplicações em terapia por fotocorrente. A terapia por fotocorrente consiste na irradiação de um material fotossensível, que gera uma corrente elétrica e uma emissão de fluorescência. Este comportamento de fotoluminescência deve ocorrer nos comprimentos de onda do vermelho ao infravermelho para melhorar o processo de cicatrização de feridas, aumentando o fator de crescimento de fibroblastos e ativando respostas anti-inflamatórias. P3HT foi escolhido como material fotossensível. Duas misturas PCL:P3HT e PMMA:P3HT foram preparadas com as seguintes proporções em peso de 15:1 e 15:3. Cada membrana foi submetida a caracterização elétrica no escuro, com luz incandescente em diversas intensidades e com LEDs de diferentes cores. Também foram submetidos a caracterização ótica, com espectrofotometria UV-Vis-NIR, espectrometria de fotoluminescência e SEM. Ambas as membranas PCL/P3HT e PMMA/P3HT, quando expostas à luz UV, exibiram picos de emissão fotoluminescente em 684 nm e 695 nm, para proporções de mistura de polímeros de 15:1 e 15:3, respetivamente. As faixas de absorção de luz foram de 350 nm a 650 nm em membranas PCL/P3HT e de 310 nm a 700 nm em membranas PMMA/P3HT. Após uma exposição contínua de 24 horas aos raios UV, as membranas com P3HT recuperaram a intensidade da emissão de fotoluminescência, após um dia sem exposição. A membrana PMMA/P3HT com proporção 15:3 apresentou um comportamento fotocondutor, aumentando sua condutividade elétrica em 350% ao longo de 22 minutos de exposição contínua à luz. Estes resultados mostram que as membranas com P3HT cumpre os requisitos para aplicação em fototerapia, emitindo na faixa terapêutica, com a vantagem adicional de absorver luz na região de irradiância máxima do espectro solar. Para aplicações de eletroterapia, é necessária mais pesquisa e otimização para aumentar o comportamento fotocondutor e os valores de condutividade elétrica. Uma análise conveniente de citotoxicidade também é necessária para avaliar a toxicidade das membranas

Multigraph approach to quantum non-locality

Non-contextuality (NC) and Bell inequalities can be expressed as bounds $\Omega$ for positive linear combinations $S$ of probabilities of events, $S \leq \Omega$. Exclusive events in $S$ can be represented as adjacent vertices of a graph called the exclusivity graph of $S$. In the case that events correspond to the outcomes of quantum projective measurements, quantum probabilities are intimately related to the Gr\"otschel-Lov\'asz-Schrijver theta body of the exclusivity graph. Then, one can easily compute an upper bound to the maximum quantum violation of any NC or Bell inequality by optimizing $S$ over the theta body and calculating the Lov\'asz number of the corresponding exclusivity graph. In some cases, this upper bound is tight and gives the exact maximum quantum violation. However, in general, this is not the case. The reason is that the exclusivity graph does not distinguish among the different ways exclusivity can occur in Bell-inequality (and similar) scenarios. An interesting question is whether there is a graph-theoretical concept which accounts for this problem. Here we show that, for any given $N$-partite Bell inequality, an edge-coloured multigraph composed of $N$ single-colour graphs can be used to encode the relationships of exclusivity between each party's parts of the events. Then, the maximum quantum violation of the Bell inequality is exactly given by a refinement of the Lov\'asz number that applies to these edge-coloured multigraphs. We show how to calculate upper bounds for this number using a hierarchy of semi-definite programs and calculate upper bounds for $I_3$, $I_{3322}$ and the three bipartite Bell inequalities whose exclusivity graph is a pentagon. The multigraph-theoretical approach introduced here may remove some obstacles in the program of explaining quantum correlations from first principles.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

A compressed sensing approach to block-iterative equalization: connections and applications to radar imaging reconstruction

The widespread of underdetermined systems has brought forth a variety of new algorithmic solutions, which capitalize on the Compressed Sensing (CS) of sparse data. While well known greedy or iterative threshold type of CS recursions take the form of an adaptive filter followed by a proximal operator, this is no different in spirit from the role of block iterative decision-feedback equalizers (BI-DFE), where structure is roughly exploited by the signal constellation slicer. By taking advantage of the intrinsic sparsity of signal modulations in a communications scenario, the concept of interblock interference (IBI) can be approached more cunningly in light of CS concepts, whereby the optimal feedback of detected symbols is devised adaptively. The new DFE takes the form of a more efficient re-estimation scheme, proposed under recursive-least-squares based adaptations. Whenever suitable, these recursions are derived under a reduced-complexity, widely-linear formulation, which further reduces the minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) in comparison with traditional strictly-linear approaches. Besides maximizing system throughput, the new algorithms exhibit significantly higher performance when compared to existing methods. Our reasoning will also show that a properly formulated BI-DFE turns out to be a powerful CS algorithm itself. A new algorithm, referred to as CS-Block DFE (CS-BDFE) exhibits improved convergence and detection when compared to first order methods, thus outperforming the state-of-the-art Complex Approximate Message Passing (CAMP) recursions. The merits of the new recursions are illustrated under a novel 3D MIMO Radar formulation, where the CAMP algorithm is shown to fail with respect to important performance measures.A proliferação de sistemas sub-determinados trouxe a tona uma gama de novas soluções algorítmicas, baseadas no sensoriamento compressivo (CS) de dados esparsos. As recursões do tipo greedy e de limitação iterativa para CS se apresentam comumente como um filtro adaptativo seguido de um operador proximal, não muito diferente dos equalizadores de realimentação de decisão iterativos em blocos (BI-DFE), em que um decisor explora a estrutura do sinal de constelação. A partir da esparsidade intrínseca presente na modulação de sinais no contexto de comunicações, a interferência entre blocos (IBI) pode ser abordada utilizando-se o conceito de CS, onde a realimentação ótima de símbolos detectados é realizada de forma adaptativa. O novo DFE se apresenta como um esquema mais eficiente de reestimação, baseado na atualização por mínimos quadrados recursivos (RLS). Sempre que possível estas recursões são propostas via formulação linear no sentido amplo, o que reduz ainda mais o erro médio quadrático mínimo (MMSE) em comparação com abordagens tradicionais. Além de maximizar a taxa de transferência de informação, o novo algoritmo exibe um desempenho significativamente superior quando comparado aos métodos existentes. Também mostraremos que um equalizador BI-DFE formulado adequadamente se torna um poderoso algoritmo de CS. O novo algoritmo CS-BDFE apresenta convergência e detecção aprimoradas, quando comparado a métodos de primeira ordem, superando as recursões de Passagem de Mensagem Aproximada para Complexos (CAMP). Os méritos das novas recursões são ilustrados através de um modelo tridimensional para radares MIMO recentemente proposto, onde o algoritmo CAMP falha em aspectos importantes de medidas de desempenho

Lumped damage mechanics as a diagnosis tool of reinforced concrete structures in service: case studies of a former bridge arch and a balcony slab

Reinforced concrete structures may need repair in order to ensure the designed durability. Such necessity vary in cause and effect, but the structural diagnosis serves as the basis for adopting intervention measures. The assessment of the structural condition usually is made in loco, but sometimes numerical analyses are required as a low cost and effective preliminary diagnosis. In general, numerical analyses use hundreds or thousands of finite elements and nonlinear theories that are not often used in engineering practice. As an alternative, lumped damage mechanics (LDM) uses key concepts of classic fracture and damage mechanics in plastic hinges throughout well-known quantities such as ultimate moment and cracking moment. Such theory describes the concrete cracking by a damage variable, which can be used as a diagnosis criterion. Therefore, this paper presents LDM as a diagnosis tool to analyse actual structures. The case studies presented in this paper are a former bridge arch tested in China and a balcony that collapsed in Brazil. The results show that LDM numerical response of those structures are quite close to laboratory observations (former bridge arch) and in loco measurements (balcony)

The Milky Way disk radial gradient from planetary nebulae reveled by Gaia

Radial abundance gradients in the Galactic disc are one of the most important observational constraints to study the chemical evolution of the Milky Way galaxy and also other galaxies in the universe. The radial gradient is the result of many physical processes that occur since the formation of the Galaxy, as e.g. the infalling gas to form the disc, the star formation history, radial gas flows and the radial migration of stars. Planetary nebulae (PNe) are the offspring of low and intermediate-mass stars consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionised gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives. They have very intense optical emission lines and some elements observed in PNe are not modified during the progenitor star evolution, making then important tools to probe the Galactic chemical evolution. However, PNe distances are subject of great uncertainties, since, unlike main sequence stars, these objects do not have a physical parameter that is direct dependent of the distance. In this work, we have used Gaia DR3 database in order to derive reliable distances for a sample of 294 Galactic PNe. The radial gradient from the O, S, Ar and Ne are computed using the new distances in the radial range from 3 to 15 kpc. The results are consistent with a flatter gradient than previously found and with a change of the slope around 8 kpc, which coincides with the Milky Way corotation radius

Liberty and creativity in music education teachers graduation: reality or utopia? A portuguese case study

In Portugal, the curricular guidelines for Basic Music Education presuppose the development of pedagogical experiences that enhance the liberty and creativity of the students, who should be able to improvise and compose musical pieces through the combination of several musical elements, manipulating gradually more complex techniques and technologies (Ministry of Education, 2018). However, we believe that ew Music Education teachers eel confident and capable to promote such pedagogical experiences, perhaps because they are highly challenging, since they involve student's cognitive, physical-motor, and creative abilities (Heble & Laver, 2016). This communication aims to address some issues about the meaning and importance that uture Music Education teachers (finalist students o a Master's in Basic Music Education Teaching) attribute to improvisation, composition and, inherently, to liberty and creativity in musical teaching-learning processes. At the same time, we intend to find out i musical liberty and creativity in Music was present in their raduation and i they intend to work it in future Music Education contexts. Based on the intrinsic case study method (Stake, 1995), this study covers finalists o the Basic Music Education Teaching master’s degree of a Portuguese Superior School of Education (n=8). The data collection took place through the application of an individual questionnaire and a focus group interview. The results obtained indicate that, in accordance with the established by the Ministry of Music Education (2018), the future Music Education teachers attribute high value and relevance to musical improvisation and composition and, therefore, to liberty and creativity in Music Education, denoting that these same aspects could (and should) be much more present in their graduationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Agile-based Requirements Engineering for Machine Learning: A Case Study on Personalized Nutrition

Requirements engineering is crucial in developing machine learning systems, as it establishes the foundation for successful project execution. Nevertheless, incorporating requirements engineering approaches from traditional software engineering into machine learning projects presents new challenges. These challenges arise from replacing the software logic derived from static software specifications with dynamic software logic derived from data. This paper presents a case study exploring an agile requirement engineering approach popular in traditional software projects to specify requirements in machine learning software. These requirements allow reasoning about the correctness of software and design tests for validation. The absence of software specification in machine learning software is offset by employing data quality metrics, which are assessed using cutting-edge methods for model interpretability. A case study on personalized nutrition and physical activity demonstrated the adequacy of user stories and acceptance criteria format, popular in agile projects, for specifying requirements in the machine learning domain.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

On imitation dynamics in population games with Markov switching

Imitation dynamics in population games are a class of evolutionary game-theoretic models, widely used to study decision-making processes in social groups. Different from other models, imitation dynamics allow players to have minimal information on the structure of the game they are playing, and are thus suitable for many applications, including traffic management, marketing, and disease control. In this work, we study a general case of imitation dynamics where the structure of the game and the imitation mechanisms change in time due to external factors, such as weather conditions or social trends. These changes are modeled using a continuous-time Markov jump process. We present tools to identify the dominant strategy that emerges from the dynamics through methodological analysis of the function parameters. Numerical simulations are provided to support our theoretical findings