Cookies Policy
The website need some cookies and similar means to function. If you permit us, we will use those means to collect data on your visits for aggregated statistics to improve our service. Find out More
Accept Reject
  • Menu
About

About

Associate Professor with Habilitation at University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) and Senior Researcher at INESC TEC.

He earned a doctorate in UTAD in 2002 in Electrical Engineering and held in 2008 the Habilitation in Informatics/Accessibility. I was Associate Professor in December 2012.

He was Pro-Rector for Innovation and Information Management at UTAD, from 23 July 2010 to 29 July 2013.

He produced over 150 scientific papers, including book chapters, journal articles and articles in proceedings of scientific events. He supervised 40 postgraduate students (masters and doctorates).
He was member of the research team in 35 research and development projects.

He was member of several organizing committees of the international scientific meetings. In 2006 he directed the team that created the conference "Software Development and Technologies for Enhancing Accessibility and Fighting Info-exclusion (www.dsai.ws/2016) and in 2016 the conference Technology and Innovation is Sports, Health and Wellbeing (www.tishw.ws/2016).
The main research interests are: Digital Image Processing, Accessibility and Human Computer Interaction.

Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HBVvNYQAAAAJ&hl=en

SCOPUS: http://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=20435746800

Interest
Topics
Details

Details

  • Name

    João Barroso
  • Role

    Research Coordinator
  • Since

    01st October 2012
012
Publications

2025

Machine Learning for Decision Support and Automation in Games: A Study on Vehicle Optimal Path

Authors
Penelas, G; Barbosa, L; Reis, A; Barroso, J; Pinto, T;

Publication
ALGORITHMS

Abstract
In the field of gaming artificial intelligence, selecting the appropriate machine learning approach is essential for improving decision-making and automation. This paper examines the effectiveness of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) within interactive gaming environments, focusing on complex decision-making tasks. Utilizing the Unity engine, we conducted experiments to evaluate DRL methodologies in simulating realistic and adaptive agent behavior. A vehicle driving game is implemented, in which the goal is to reach a certain target within a small number of steps, while respecting the boundaries of the roads. Our study compares Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) and Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) in terms of learning efficiency, decision-making accuracy, and adaptability. The results demonstrate that PPO successfully learns to reach the target, achieving higher and more stable cumulative rewards. Conversely, SAC struggles to reach the target, displaying significant variability and lower performance. These findings highlight the effectiveness of PPO in this context and indicate the need for further development, adaptation, and tuning of SAC. This research contributes to developing innovative approaches in how ML can improve how player agents adapt and react to their environments, thereby enhancing realism and dynamics in gaming experiences. Additionally, this work emphasizes the utility of using games to evolve such models, preparing them for real-world applications, namely in the field of vehicles' autonomous driving and optimal route calculation.

2024

Cognitive personalization for online microtask labor platforms: A systematic literature review

Authors
Paulino, D; Correia, A; Barroso, J; Paredes, H;

Publication
USER MODELING AND USER-ADAPTED INTERACTION

Abstract
Online microtask labor has increased its role in the last few years and has provided the possibility of people who were usually excluded from the labor market to work anytime and without geographical barriers. While this brings new opportunities for people to work remotely, it can also pose challenges regarding the difficulty of assigning tasks to workers according to their abilities. To this end, cognitive personalization can be used to assess the cognitive profile of each worker and subsequently match those workers to the most appropriate type of work that is available on the digital labor market. In this regard, we believe that the time is ripe for a review of the current state of research on cognitive personalization for digital labor. The present study was conducted by following the recommended guidelines for the software engineering domain through a systematic literature review that led to the analysis of 20 primary studies published from 2010 to 2020. The results report the application of several cognition theories derived from the field of psychology, which in turn revealed an apparent presence of studies indicating accurate levels of cognitive personalization in digital labor in addition to a potential increase in the worker's performance, most frequently investigated in crowdsourcing settings. In view of this, the present essay seeks to contribute to the identification of several gaps and opportunities for future research in order to enhance the personalization of online labor, which has the potential of increasing both worker motivation and the quality of digital work.

2024

Review of Platforms and Frameworks for Building Virtual Assistants

Authors
Pereira, R; Lima, C; Reis, A; Pinto, T; Barroso, J;

Publication
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES, VOL 3, WORLDCIST 2023

Abstract
Virtual assistants offer a new type of solution to handle interaction between human and machine and can be applied in various business contexts such as Industry or Education. When designing and building a virtual assistant the developers must ensure a set of parameters to achieve a good solution. Various platforms and frameworks emerged to allow developers to create virtual assistant solutions easier and faster. This paper provides a review of available platforms and frameworks used by authors to create their own solutions in different areas. Big tech companies like Google with Dialogflow, IBM with Watson Assistant and Microsoft with Bot Framework, present mature solutions to build virtual assistants that provide to the developer all components of the basic architecture to build a fast and solid solution. Open-Source solutions focus on providing to the developer the main components to build a virtual assistant, namely language understanding and response generation.

2024

Probing into the Usage of Task Fingerprinting in Web Games to Enhance Cognitive Personalization: A Pilot Gamified Experience with Neurodivergent Participants

Authors
Paulino, D; Ferreira, J; Netto, A; Correia, A; Ribeiro, J; Guimaraes, D; Barroso, J; Paredes, H;

Publication
2024 IEEE 12TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SERIOUS GAMES AND APPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH, SEGAH 2024

Abstract
Microtasks have become increasingly popular in the digital labor market since they provide easy access to a crowd of people with varying skills and aptitudes to perform remote work tasks that even the most capable algorithmic systems are unable to complete in a timely and efficient fashion. However, despite the latest advancements in crowd-powered and contiguous interfaces, many crowd workers still face some accessibility issues, which ultimately deteriorate the quality of the work produced. To mitigate this problem, we restrict attention to the development of two different web-based mini-games with a focus on cognitive personalization. We have conducted a pilot gamified experience, with six participants with autism, dyslexia, and attention deficit hyperactivity. The results suggest that a web-based mini-game can be incorporated in preliminary microtask-based crowdsourcing execution stages to achieve enhanced cognitive personalization in crowdsourcing settings.

2024

Data governance & quality management-Innovation and breakthroughs across different fields

Authors
Bernardo, BMV; Sao Mamedeb, H; Barroso, JMP; dos Santos, VMPD;

Publication
JOURNAL OF INNOVATION & KNOWLEDGE

Abstract
In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the substantial advance and rapid growth of data presents companies and their operations with a set of opportunities from different sources that can profoundly impact their competitiveness and success. The literature suggests that data can be considered a hidden weapon that fosters decision-making while determining a company's success in a rapidly changing market. Data are also used to support most organizational activities and decisions. As a result, information, effective data governance, and technology utilization will play a significant role in controlling and maximizing the value of enterprises. This article conducts an extensive methodological and systematic review of the data governance field, covering its key concepts, frameworks, and maturity assessment models. Our goal is to establish the current baseline of knowledge in this field while providing differentiated and unique insights, namely by exploring the relationship between data governance, data assurance, and digital forensics. By analyzing the existing literature, we seek to identify critical practices, challenges, and opportunities for improvement within the data governance discipline while providing organizations, practitioners, and scientists with the necessary knowledge and tools to guide them in the practical definition and application of data governance initiatives. (C) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. on behalf of Journal of Innovation & Knowledge.

Supervised
thesis

2024

A model for the individual empowerment using intrinsic personalization of crowdsourcing tasks

Author
Dennis Lourenço Paulino

Institution
UTAD

2024

A model for the individual empowerment using intrinsic personalization of crowdsourcing tasks

Author
Dennis Lourenço Paulino

Institution
UTAD

2024

A model for the individual empowerment using intrinsic personalization of crowdsourcing tasks

Author
Dennis Lourenço Paulino

Institution
UTAD

2024

A model for the individual empowerment using intrinsic personalization of crowdsourcing tasks

Author
Dennis Lourenço Paulino

Institution
UTAD

2022

Tecnologias e aplicações da Interface Cérebro-Computador (BCI)

Author
Pedro Alexandre santos Letra

Institution
UTAD