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Publications

2025

Real-Time Registration of 3D Underwater Sonar Scans

Authors
Ferreira, A; Almeida, J; Matos, A; Silva, E;

Publication
ROBOTICS

Abstract
Due to space and energy restrictions, lightweight autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are usually fitted with low-power processing units, which limits the ability to run demanding applications in real time during the mission. However, several robotic perception tasks reveal a parallel nature, where the same processing routine is applied for multiple independent inputs. In such cases, leveraging parallel execution by offloading tasks to a GPU can greatly enhance processing speed. This article presents a collection of generic matrix manipulation kernels, which can be combined to develop parallelized perception applications. Taking advantage of those building blocks, we report a parallel implementation for the 3DupIC algorithm-a probabilistic scan matching method for sonar scan registration. Tests demonstrate the algorithm's real-time performance, enabling 3D sonar scan matching to be executed in real time onboard the EVA AUV.

2025

Women's views on empowerment in menopause-related femvertising on social media

Authors
Barbosa, B; Amorim, AS;

Publication
INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT MARKETING

Abstract
This article aims to explore menopausal women's views on empowerment in menopause-related femvertising on social media and to examine its outcomes for both women and brands. It includes a qualitative study comprising in-depth interviews with menopausal women who were active social media users (n = 15). The data were subject to content analysis using NVIVO software. The results reveal that menopause empowerment strategies on social media are perceived by women as a source of knowledge, facilitating social support, focusing on self-worth enhancement, and deconstructing stereotypes and taboos. Despite positive impacts such as self-esteem and self-confidence, these messages can also induce discomfort and feelings of segregation. Although the study highlights potential benefits for brands, including improved image and engagement, it also identifies risks such as skepticism, distrust, and customer loss. This research contributes to the femvertising and branding literature by addressing the largely overlooked segment of menopausal women. It highlights knowledge dissemination as a critical and previously underexplored dimension of femvertising and demonstrates that menopause empowerment carries distinct dynamics and consequences for both women and advertising brands, shedding light on the complexity of femvertising strategies. The findings can assist brands and social organizations aiming to develop more effective strategies for engaging menopausal audiences.

2025

Maximum-expectation matching under recourse

Authors
Pedroso, JP; Ikeda, S;

Publication
Eur. J. Oper. Res.

Abstract
This paper addresses the problem of maximizing the expected size of a matching in the case of unreliable vertices and/or edges. The assumption is that the solution is built in several steps. In a given step, edges with successfully matched vertices are made permanent; but upon edge or vertex failures, the remaining vertices become eligible for reassignment. This process may be repeated a given number of times, and the objective is to end with the overall maximum number of matched vertices. An application of this problem is found in kidney exchange programs, going on in several countries, where a vertex is an incompatible patient–donor pair and an edge indicates cross-compatibility between two pairs; the objective is to match these pairs so as to maximize the number of served patients. A new scheme is proposed for matching rearrangement in case of failure, along with a prototype algorithm for computing the optimal expectation for the number of matched edges (or vertices), considering a possibly limited number of rearrangements. Computational experiments reveal the relevance and limitations of the algorithm, in general terms and for the kidney exchange application. © 2025 The Authors

2025

Encouraging Sustainable Choices Through Socially Engaged Persuasive Recycling Initiatives: A Participatory Action Design Research Study

Authors
da Silva, EM; Schneider, D; Miceli, C; Correia, A;

Publication
Informatics

Abstract
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research has illuminated how technology can influence users’ awareness of their environmental impact and the potential for mitigating these impacts. From hot water saving to food waste reduction, researchers have systematically and widely tried to find pathways to speed up achieving sustainable development goals through persuasive technology interventions. However, motivating users to adopt sustainable behaviors through interactive technologies presents significant psychological, cultural, and technical challenges in creating engaging and long-lasting experiences. Aligned with this perspective, there is a dearth of research and design solutions addressing the use of persuasive technology to promote sustainable recycling behavior. Guided by a participatory design approach, this investigation focuses on the design opportunities for leveraging persuasive and human-centered Internet of Things (IoT) applications to enhance user engagement in recycling activities. The assumption is that one pathway to achieve this goal is to adopt persuasive strategies that may be incorporated into the design of sustainable applications. The insights gained from this process can then be applied to various sustainable HCI scenarios and therefore contribute to HCI’s limited understanding in this area by providing a series of design-oriented research recommendations for informing the development of persuasive and socially engaged recycling platforms. In particular, we advocate for the inclusion of educational content, real-time interactive feedback, and intuitive interfaces to actively engage users in recycling activities. Moreover, recognizing the cultural context in which the technology is socially situated becomes imperative for the effective implementation of smart devices to foster sustainable recycling practices. To this end, we present a case study that seeks to involve children and adolescents in pro-recycling activities within the school environment.

2025

Informed Data Selection Strategies for Few-Shot Learning on Imbalanced Data

Authors
Alcoforado, A; Ferraz, TP; Okamura, LHT; Veloso, BM; Costa, AHR; Fama, IC; Bueno, BD;

Publication
LINGUAMATICA

Abstract
Acquiring high-quality annotated data remains one of the most significant challenges in Natural Language Processing (NLP), especially for supervised learning approaches. In scenarios where pre-existing labeled data is unavailable, common solutions like crowdsourcing and zero-shot approaches often fall short, suffering from limitations such as the need for large datasets and a lack of guarantees regarding annotation quality. Traditionally, data for human annotation has been selected randomly, a practice that is not only costly and inefficient but also prone to bias, particularly in imbalanced datasets where minority classes are underrepresented. To address these challenges, this work introduces an automatic and informed data selection architecture designed to minimize the volume of required annotations while maximizing the diversity and representativeness of the selected data. Among the evaluated methods, Reverse Semantic Search (RSS) demonstrated superior performance, consistently outperforming random sampling in imbalanced scenarios and enhancing the effectiveness of trained classifiers. Furthermore, we compared RSS with other clustering-based approaches, providing insights into their respective strengths and weaknesses.

2025

A review of advanced controller methodologies for robotic manipulators

Authors
Tinoco, V; Silva, MF; Santos, FN; Morais, R; Magalhaes, SA; Oliveira, PM;

Publication
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DYNAMICS AND CONTROL

Abstract
With the global population on the rise and a declining agricultural labor force, the realm of robotics research in agriculture, such as robotic manipulators, has assumed heightened significance. This article undertakes a comprehensive exploration of the latest advancements in controllers tailored for robotic manipulators. The investigation encompasses an examination of six distinct controller paradigms, complemented by the presentation of three exemplars for each category. These paradigms encompass: (i) adaptive control, (ii) sliding mode control, (iii) model predictive control, (iv) robust control, (v) fuzzy logic control and (vi) neural network control. The article further introduces and presents comparative tables for each controller category. These controllers excel in tracking trajectories and efficiently reaching reference points with rapid convergence. The key point of divergence among these controllers resides in their inherent complexity.

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