Abstract
VR (Virtual Reality) is a technology that has been gaining more and more traction over the years, with a market that keeps on increasing in size and great opportunities. This research aims to obtain a better grasp on how VR will impact the future of omnichannel marketing, with a focus on retail. Some businesses have already begun taking advantage of these technologies. They coordinate the integration of both physical and digital channels used to interact with customers in order to improve the customer experience. VR is one such channel, and it offers consumers a whole new way to do their shopping. As technology evolves, it is important that businesses and people stay informed in order to adapt to an ever-changing market. VR is an innovative technology that a lot of potential companies could take advantage of and even gain a competitive advantage over other businesses. Through VR people and businesses are able to access the metaverse. The metaverse is a digital world parallel to our own where customers can interact with brands and their virtual products. By interacting with a virtual version of a product, consumers will have a better grasp of the product they are interested in and make better decisions when purchasing the real one. This not only raises consumer satisfaction but could also be very useful. To fully grasp what VR is capable of, a literature review was performed to understand what VR is in fact and how the metaverse can be used. Finally, a Prisma systematic review will be presented with the research question “How VR will impact the future of omnichannel marketing?”. This was done in order to obtain unbiased data from which conclusions can be drawn. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.

Abstract
The calibration of sensors stationed along a cable in marine observatories is a time-consuming and expensive operation that involves taking the mooring out of the water periodically. In this paper, we present a method that allows an underwater vehicle to approach a mooring, in order to take reference measurements along the cable for in-situ sensor calibration. We use the vehicle's Mechanically Scanned Imaging Sonar (MSIS) to identify the cable's reflection within the sonar image. After pre-processing the image to remove noise, enhance contour lines, and perform smoothing, we employ three detection steps: 1) selection of regions of interest that fit the cable's reflection pattern, 2) template matching, and 3) a track-before-detect scheme that utilized the vehicle's motion. The later involves building a lattice of template matching responses for a sequence of sonar images, and using the Viterbi algorithm to find the most probable sequence of cable locations that fits the maximum speed assumed for the surveying vessel. Performance is explored in pool and sea trials, and involves an MSIS onboard an underwater vehicle scanning its surrounding to identify a steel-core cable. The results show a sub-meter accuracy in the multi-reverberant pool environment and in the sea trial. For reproducibility, we share our implementation code.

Abstract
This research aims to analyze the impact of social responsibility (SR) on the performance of 216 European companies from 2017 to 2021. The objective of this research is to determine how the operational, financial, and market performance of companies is influenced by social responsibility practices. The methodology adopted is quantitative in nature, using the estimation of models for panel data. To quantify corporate performance, this study uses the return on assets (ROA), the return on equity (ROE), and finally Tobin's Q ratio. Additionally, environment, social, and governance (ESG) and United Nations Global Compact (GC) scores are used to quantify SR. Our findings indicate a complex relationship between SR and corporate performance. While SR positively impacts market performance, it negatively affects operational and financial performance. This disparity becomes more pronounced when comparing companies with the highest and lowest SR scores. Further analysis reveals that the environment, social, and governance dimensions of ESG negatively correlate with ROA and ROE, but positively correlate with Tobin's Q. The GC's anti-corruption and environment scores exhibit a negative relationship with Tobin's Q, the human rights dimension negatively correlates with ROE and ROA, and the labor law dimension positively influences ROE. Notably, firm size amplifies these relationships, whereas firm age has a dampening effect. This research offers significant contributions to the literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of the impact of social responsibility on corporate performance based on ESG and GC scores.

Abstract
The integration of precise landing capabilities into UAVs is crucial for enabling autonomous operations, particularly in challenging environments such as the offshore scenarios. This work proposes a heterogeneous perception system that incorporates a multimodal fiducial marker, designed to improve the accuracy and robustness of autonomous landing of UAVs in both daytime and nighttime operations. This work presents ViTAL-TAPE, a visual transformer-based model, that enhance the detection reliability of the landing target and overcomes the changes in the illumination conditions and viewpoint positions, where traditional methods fail. VITAL-TAPE is an end-to-end model that combines multimodal perceptual information, including photometric and radiometric data, to detect landing targets defined by a fiducial marker with 6 degrees-of-freedom. Extensive experiments have proved the ability of VITAL-TAPE to detect fiducial markers with an error of 0.01 m. Moreover, experiments using the RAVEN UAV, designed to endure the challenging weather conditions of offshore scenarios, demonstrated that the autonomous landing technology proposed in this work achieved an accuracy up to 0.1 m. This research also presents the first successful autonomous operation of a UAV in a commercial offshore wind farm with floating foundations installed in the Atlantic Ocean. These experiments showcased the system’s accuracy, resilience and robustness, resulting in a precise landing technology that extends mission capabilities of UAVs, enabling autonomous and Beyond Visual Line of Sight offshore operations.

Abstract
Remaining current with emerging trends and technologies is crucial for businesses to stay at the forefront, satisfy consumer demands, and maintain competitiveness. As marketing strategies such as phygital and omnichannel tactics continue to evolve, technologies like augmented reality are becoming increasingly relevant and disruptive. Augmented reality is an innovative technology that is currently revolutionizing omnichannel marketing strategies. It offers numerous opportunities in both the metaverse and phygital marketing, greatly improving the overall customer experience, increasing sale success rate, and improving brand image. A systematic review using PRISMA methodology incorporating a total of six studies explores augmented reality (AR) technology’s influence on omnichannel marketing strategies in the retail industry. The findings analyze AR, omnichannel marketing, and the metaverse in-depth, their interplay, and how they influence the customer journey, experience, and behavior. This study explores how to effectively integrate AR into omnichannel marketing for retail, emphasizing on harnessing synergies between channels and devising targeted strategies. Research gaps in the literature are identified and future steps to seamlessly integrate channels through AR technology in retail. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.

Abstract
This article delves into the intersections of place branding, digital strategic communication, citizenship, and tourism. It explores the dynamic relationship between these concepts, particularly within the context of Brazilian city governments. With an emphasis on reflexivity, the study investigates how governments manage their public image and engage citizens through digital channels. Simultaneously, it examines how these governments strategically position their cities as attractive tourist destinations. By analyzing these tensions and synergies, the article provides insights into the complex landscape of communication strategies employed by Brazilian city governments, which aim to balance citizen engagement and tourism promotion.