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Publications

2024

Dynamic pricing in EV charging stations with renewable energy and battery storage

Authors
Silva, CAM; Andrade, JR; Bessa, RJ; Lobo, F;

Publication
2024 20TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EUROPEAN ENERGY MARKET, EEM 2024

Abstract
The integration of electric vehicles is paramount to the electrification of the transport sector, supporting the energy transition. The charging process of electric vehicles can be perceived as a controllable load and targeted with price or incentive-based programs. Demand-side management can optimize charging station performance and integrate renewable energy generation through electrical energy storage. Data flowing through charging stations can be used in computational approaches to solve open challenges and create new services, such as a dynamic pricing strategy, where the charging tariff depends on operating conditions. This work presents a data-driven service that optimizes day-ahead charging tariffs with a bilevel optimization problem and develops a case study around a large-scale pilot. The impact of photovoltaics and battery storage on the dynamic pricing scheme was assessed. A dynamic pricing strategy was found to benefit self-consumption and self-sufficiency of the charging station, increasing over 4 percentage points in some cases.

2024

TEFu-Net: A time-aware late fusion architecture for robust multi-modal ego-motion estimation

Authors
Agostinho, L; Pereira, D; Hiolle, A; Pinto, A;

Publication
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

Abstract
Ego -motion estimation plays a critical role in autonomous driving systems by providing accurate and timely information about the vehicle's position and orientation. To achieve high levels of accuracy and robustness, it is essential to leverage a range of sensor modalities to account for highly dynamic and diverse scenes, and consequent sensor limitations. In this work, we introduce TEFu-Net, a Deep -Learning -based late fusion architecture that combines multiple ego -motion estimates from diverse data modalities, including stereo RGB, LiDAR point clouds and GNSS/IMU measurements. Our approach is non -parametric and scalable, making it adaptable to different sensor set configurations. By leveraging a Long Short -Term Memory (LSTM), TEFu-Net produces reliable and robust spatiotemporal ego -motion estimates. This capability allows it to filter out erroneous input measurements, ensuring the accuracy of the car's motion calculations over time. Extensive experiments show an average accuracy increase of 63% over TEFu-Net's input estimators and on par results with the state-of-the-art in real -world driving scenarios. We also demonstrate that our solution can achieve accurate estimates under sensor or input failure. Therefore, TEFu-Net enhances the accuracy and robustness of ego -motion estimation in real -world driving scenarios, particularly in challenging conditions such as cluttered environments, tunnels, dense vegetation, and unstructured scenes. As a result of these enhancements, it bolsters the reliability of autonomous driving functions.

2024

Integrating Online and Offline Distribution Strategies - A Portuguese Case Study

Authors
Santos, A; Garcia, JE; Oliveira, LC; de Araujo, DL; da Fonseca, MJS;

Publication
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES, VOL 4, WORLDCIST 2023

Abstract
The online channel, particularly in the food retail area, has been evolving positively and exponentially in the world, including Portugal. Currently, this type of purchase is increasingly part of people's daily lives, even more so with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Consequently, in Portugal, most companies adopt a multichannel strategy, where the physical store and the online store operate independently from each other. However, it is necessary to rethink this channel integration model, which may go through an omnichannel strategy, where the physical store and the online store operate as a single store, and where several advantages are already recognized in terms of the consumer's shopping experience. The main objective of this study is to understand the strategy implemented by the company studied, Pingo Doce, through an analysis and description of its channels. To better understand the strategy of the company under study, a semi-structured exploratory interview was carried out with one of the people in charge of Pingo Doce's digital channels, to understand the strategy used by the company and thus complement the data obtained through direct observation and bibliographic research. At the end of the work developed it was possible to understand the positioning of Pingo Doce in the online food retail area and their online and offline distribution strategies.

2024

Comparative Evaluation of Remote Sensing Platforms for Almond Yield Prediction

Authors
Guimaraes, N; Fraga, H; Sousa, JJ; Pádua, L; Bento, A; Couto, P;

Publication
AGRIENGINEERING

Abstract
Almonds are becoming a central element in the gastronomic and food industry worldwide. Over the last few years, almond production has increased globally. Portugal has become the third most important producer in Europe, where this increasing trend is particularly evident. However, the susceptibility of almond trees to changing climatic conditions presents substantial risks, encompassing yield reduction and quality deterioration. Hence, yield forecasts become crucial for mitigating potential losses and aiding decisionmakers within the agri-food sector. Recent technological advancements and new data analysis techniques have led to the development of more suitable methods to model crop yields. Herein, an innovative approach to predict almond yields in the Tras-os-Montes region of Portugal was developed, by using machine learning regression models (i.e., the random forest regressor, XGBRegressor, gradient boosting regressor, bagging regressor, and AdaBoost regressor), coupled with remote sensing data obtained from different satellite platforms. Satellite data from both proprietary and free platforms at different spatial resolutions were used as features in the study (i.e., the GSMP: 11.13 km, Terra: 1 km, Landsat 8: 30 m, Sentinel-2: 10 m, and PlanetScope: 3 m). The best possible combination of features was analyzed and hyperparameter tuning was applied to enhance the prediction accuracy. Our results suggest that high-resolution data (PlanetScope) combined with irrigation information, vegetation indices, and climate data significantly improves almond yield prediction. The XGBRegressor model performed best when using PlanetScope data, reaching a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.80. However, alternative options using freely available data with lower spatial resolution, such as GSMaP and Terra MODIS LST, also showed satisfactory performance (R2 = 0.68). This study highlights the potential of integrating machine learning models and remote sensing data for accurate crop yield prediction, providing valuable insights for informed decision support in the almond sector, contributing to the resilience and sustainability of this crop in the face of evolving climate dynamics.

2024

Exploring the Differences and Similarities between Smart Cities and Sustainable Cities through an Integrative Review

Authors
Almeida, F; Guimaraes, CM; Amorim, V;

Publication
SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract
This study adopts an integrative review approach to explore the differences and similarities between smart cities and sustainable cities. The research starts by performing two systematic literature reviews about both paradigms and, after that, employs a thematic analysis to identify key themes, definitions, and characteristics that differentiate and connect these two urban development concepts. The findings reveal more similarities than differences between the two paradigms. Despite this, some key differences are identified. Smart cities are characterized by their use of advanced information and communication technologies to enhance urban infrastructure, improve public services, and optimize resource management. In contrast, sustainable cities focus on environmental conservation, social equity, and economic viability to ensure long-term urban resilience and quality of life. This study is important because it clarifies both concepts and highlights the potential for integrating smart and sustainable city strategies to address contemporary urban challenges more holistically. The findings also suggest a convergence towards the concept of 'smart sustainable cities', which leverage technology to achieve sustainability goals. Finally, this study concludes by identifying research gaps and proposing a future research agenda to further understand and optimize the synergy between smart and sustainable urban development paradigms.

2024

Branching pomsets: Design, expressiveness and applications to choreographies

Authors
Edixhoven, L; Jongmans, SS; Proença, J; Castellani, I;

Publication
JOURNAL OF LOGICAL AND ALGEBRAIC METHODS IN PROGRAMMING

Abstract
Choreographic languages describe possible sequences of interactions among a set of agents. Typical models are based on languages or automata over sending and receiving actions. Pomsets provide a more compact alternative by using a partial order to explicitly represent causality and concurrency between these actions. However, pomsets offer no representation of choices, thus a set of pomsets is required to represent branching behaviour. For example, if an agent Alice can send one of two possible messages to Bob three times, one would need a set of 2 x 2 x 2 distinct pomsets to represent all possible branches of Alice's behaviour. This paper proposes an extension of pomsets, named branching pomsets, with a branching structure that can represent Alice's behaviour using 2 + 2 + 2 ordered actions. We compare the expressiveness of branching pomsets with that of several forms of event structures from the literature. We encode choreographies as branching pomsets and show that the pomset semantics of the encoded choreographies are bisimilar to their operational semantics. Furthermore, we define well-formedness conditions on branching pomsets, inspired by multiparty session types, and we prove that the well-formedness of a branching pomset is a sufficient condition for the realisability of the represented com-munication protocol. Finally, we present a prototype tool that implements our theory of branching pomsets, focusing on its applications to choreographies. (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons .org /licenses /by /4 .0/).

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