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About

About

Benedita Malheiro holds a five-year degree in Electrical Engineering, and an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computers Engineering, all from the University of Porto. She is a Coordinator Professor at the Electrical Engineering Department of Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, the School of Engineering of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, and director of the European Project Semester. She is specialized in engineering education and, as a senior researcher of the Centre of Robotics and Autonomous Systems of INESC TEC, in solving distributed, dynamic, and decentralized problems with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed computing. She is a member of AAAI, ACM, APPIA (Portuguese Association for AI) and OE, the Portuguese Engineers Association.

Interest
Topics
Details

Details

  • Name

    Benedita Malheiro
  • Role

    Senior Researcher
  • Since

    01st January 2013
Publications

2025

Identification and explanation of disinformation in wiki data streams

Authors
Arriba Pérez, Fd; García Méndez, S; Leal, F; Malheiro, B; Burguillo, JC;

Publication
Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering

Abstract
Social media platforms, increasingly used as news sources for varied data analytics, have transformed how information is generated and disseminated. However, the unverified nature of this content raises concerns about trustworthiness and accuracy, potentially negatively impacting readers’ critical judgment due to disinformation. This work aims to contribute to the automatic data quality validation field, addressing the rapid growth of online content on wiki pages. Our scalable solution includes stream-based data processing with feature engineering, feature analysis and selection, stream-based classification, and real-time explanation of prediction outcomes. The explainability dashboard is designed for the general public, who may need more specialized knowledge to interpret the model’s prediction. Experimental results on two datasets attain approximately 90% values across all evaluation metrics, demonstrating robust and competitive performance compared to works in the literature. In summary, the system assists editors by reducing their effort and time in detecting disinformation.

2025

Engineering a Sustainable Future with EPS@ISEP

Authors
Malheiro, B; Guedes, P;

Publication
World Sustainability Series

Abstract
The challenge of engineering education is to transform engineering students into agents of innovation and well-being. In addition to solid scientific and technical knowledge, critical thinking, problem-solving and interpersonal competencies, it implies the ability to design and implement solutions supported by ethical and sustainability principles. With this goal in mind, the European Project Semester (EPS) provides a student-centred project-based learning framework. It is offered by a group of European higher education institutions, including the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), the engineering school of the Polytechnic of Porto. Students work in teams of four to six, from different fields of study and nationalities, to design solutions to problems that affect individuals, society or the planet, taking into account the state of the art, the market and the ethical and sustainability implications of their decisions. These solutions are then implemented in a proof-of-concept prototype. Most of the projects address problems in education, the environment, food production and smart cities and have a strong educational, ethical and sustainability drive, encouraging students to develop sustainability competencies. This work analyses team papers of illustrative EPS@ISEP projects searching for evidences of the development of sustainability competencies. The proposed method maps keywords related to the sixteen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to the contents of team papers by applying natural language processing and reusing the list of SDG keywords proposed by Auckland University. The results confirm EPS@ISEP fosters sustainability competencies in engineering undergraduates. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

2025

Smart Pill Dispenser for Children - An EPS@ISEP 2024 Project

Authors
Ehrenhofer, L; Borowski, L; Oliveira, N; Steyaert, S; Kronshagen, T; Clauwaert, T; Duarte, J; Malheiro, B; Ribeiro, C; Justo, J; Silva, F; Ferreira, P; Guedes, P;

Publication
Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems

Abstract
People around the globe struggle with health issues requiring regular medication. Children, in particular, suffer more and more from chronic illnesses. In 2024, a team of six EPS@ISEP students chose to design a solution for this problem, followed by the assembly and testing of the corresponding proof-of-concept prototype. The aim was to design a solution for children to take the right medication, at the right time and in the right dose, in a pleasant and engaging way, based on technical, ethical, sustainability and market analyses. Focusing on children between the ages of 8 and 12, the team decided to incorporate a motivational system based on rewards to ensure that they take their medication correctly. The outcome is billy, a pill dispenser controlled via an app which allows carers to plan doses and release rewards, and children to autonomously take their medication. The system dispenses up to 21 doses of medication to the child through fingerprint authentication, and photographs the child taking the medication to reassure carers. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

2025

Breeding Endangered Beetles – An EPS@ISEP 2024 Project

Authors
Florus, C; Lattunen, J; Knäuper, J; Jugiel, K; Silva, M; Dekkers, T; Duarte, J; Malheiro, B; Ribeiro, C; Justo, J; Silva, F; Ferreira, P; Guedes, P;

Publication
Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems

Abstract
Habitat loss, climate change, and pesticide use are key threats affecting beetle populations. This paper describes Scarabreed, a project that contributes to mitigate the beetle decline crisis. It was carried out by a team of six European students from different engineering fields and nationalities within the European Project Semester (EPS) at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), a project-based and teamwork learning framework. The designed solution – the Beetle Breeder Version 2 (BBV2) – consists of a smart modular vivarium created especially for beetle breeding. It monitors and controls relevant habitat parameters and offers two user-friendly interfaces (on-device and a Web application). The innovative modular structure of the vivarium allows easy scaling, customisation, and transportation. As a whole, the project offers significant environmental benefits: (i) facilitates the captive breeding of endangered beetle species, promoting population restoration efforts; (ii) fosters, as an educational tool, youth and general public awareness about the crucial role beetles play in ecosystems; and (iii) adopts eco-efficient and responsible business practices by following ethics and sustainability driven design and marketing. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

2025

Algae and Fish Farming – An EPS@ISEP 2022 Project

Authors
Blomme, R; Domissy, Z; Dylik, Z; Hidding, T; Röhe, A; Duarte, J; Malheiro, B; Ribeiro, C; Justo, J; Silva, F; Ferreira, P; Guedes, P;

Publication
Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems

Abstract
The European Project Semester (EPS) at Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) is a capstone engineering design program where students, organised in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, create a solution for a proposed problem, bearing in mind ethical, sustainability and market concerns. The project proposals are usually aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). New sustainable food production methods are essential to cope with the continuous population growth and aligned with SDG2 and SDG12. In this context, this paper describes the research and work done by a team of Erasmus students enrolled in EPS@ISEP during the spring of 2022. Since sustainable algae farming can be a suitable source of food, the team’s goal was the design and develop a proof-of-concept prototype, named GREEN·flow, of a symbiotic aquaponic system to farm algae and fish. The smart GREEN·flow concept comprises a modular structure and an app for control and supervision. The proposed design was driven by state-of-the-art research, targeted to a specific market niche based on a market analysis, and considering sustainability and ethics concerns, all of which are described in this manuscript. A proof-of-concept prototype was built and tested to verify that it worked as intended. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

Supervised
thesis

2023

Modelação, Controlo e Simulação de uma Estação Marítima Autónoma

Author
JOSÉ PEDRO DE FIGUEIREDO TAVARES

Institution
IPP-ISEP

2023

Simulação de Cenários de Produção de Cilindros para Rotogravura

Author
NUNO BATISTA MARAVILHAS

Institution
IPP-ISEP

2022

APIbuster Testing Framework

Author
PEDRO FERREIRA DE SOUSA

Institution
IPP-ISEP

2021

Gestão e Atualização Automática de Firmware para Câmaras de Videovigilância em Shop Floor

Author
LUÍS MIGUEL PINTO LISBOA

Institution
IPP-ISEP

2021

INTEGRAÇÃO DE HANSHAKE ASSÍNCRONO NO CONTINENTAL GLOBAL MANUFACTURING SYSTEM

Author
TIAGO JOÃO PIRES OLIVEIRA

Institution
IPP-ISEP