Abstract
Intelligent wheelchairs operating in dynamic environments need to sense its neighborhood and adapt the control signal, in real-time, to avoid collisions and protect the user. In this paper we propose a robust, real-time obstacle avoidance extension of the classic potential field methodology. Our algorithm is specially adapted to share the wheelchair's control with the user avoiding risky situations. This method relies on the idea of virtual forces, generated by the user command (attractive force) and by the objects detected on each ultrasonic sensor (repulsive forces), acting on the wheelchair. The resultant wheelchair's behavior is obtained by the sum of the attractive force and all the repulsive forces at a given position. Experimental results from drive tests in a cluttered office environment provided statistical evidence that the proposed algorithm is effective to reduce the number of collisions and still improve the user's safety perception. ©2010 IEEE.

Abstract
The Portuguese coastline, like many other worldwide coastlines, is often submitted to several types of extreme events resulting in erosion, thus, acquisition of high quality field measurements has become a common concern. The nearshore survey systems have been traditionally based on in situ measurements or in the use of satellite or aircraft mounted remote sensing systems. As an alternative, video-monitoring systems proved to be an economic and efficient way to collect useful and continuous data, and to document extreme events. In this context, is under development the project MoZCo (Advanced Methodologies and Techniques Development for Coastal Zone Monitoring), which intends to develop and implement monitoring techniques for the coastal zone based on a low cost video monitoring system. The pilot study area is Ofir beach (north of Portugal), a critical coastal area. In the beginning of this project (2010) a monitoring video station was developed, collecting snapshots and 10 minutes videos every hour. In order to process the data, several video image processing algorithms were implemented in Matlab (R), allowing achieve the main video-monitoring system products, such as, the shoreline detection. An algorithm based on image processing techniques was developed, using the HSV color space, the idea is to select a study and a sample area, containing pixels associated with dry and wet regions, over which a thresholding and some morphological operators are applied. After comparing the results with manual digitalization, promising results were achieved despite the method's simplicity, which is in continuous development in order to optimize the results.

Abstract
Target Controlled Infusion (TCI) systems are based in drug Pharmacokinetic (Pk) and Pharmacodynamic (Pd) models implemented in an algorithm to drive an infusion device. Several studies had compare manual titration of anesthesia and TCI system use; some studies evaluate the performance of the control algorithms for TCI systems, and a considerable number of studies assess the performance of Pk/ Pd models implemented into TCI systems. This study presents a set of tests to validate the performance of a TCI system as a computer- aided. The goal of the current study was to assess the performance of the TCI system, Anaesthesia Synchronization Software (ASYS), on clinical set up to evaluate communication consistence (computer - infusion device) and controller performance in real time. These measures provided quantitative and qualitative evidences of software robustness and accuracy to be used at clinical environment.

Abstract
The benefits of robot simulation technology have been recognized by scientists and engineers, with applications ranging from simple robot path simulation to complete robotic cell layout simulation. Robot simulation is one of the essential elements of modern and agile manufacturing plants, as it allows to visualize and test a robotic system, even if it does not exist physically. High-growth industries and emerging manufacturing processes will increasingly depend on advanced robot technology such as robotic simulation. Robot path simulation is a very useful process to predict and pre-evaluate performance of robot programs generated off-line. This paper presents a simulation system where a relatively low cost and commercially available 3D CAD package is used as an interface to visualize/simulate pre-programmed robot paths. The developed system is intuitive and friendly, so that in a few minutes any user without knowledge of CAD and robot programming will be able to simulate robot paths and visualize it in a CAD environment. This way, this simulator can be useful for small and medium sized enterprises and for educational purposes. Three different experiments (simulation of robot motion/paths) are presented and discussed: a material handling task; a robot performing work in the footwear industry (shoes soles); and finally, the simulation of robot paths for a robot operating in a bending cell. The experimental results showed that the proposed system is flexible, easy to use and efficient. This paper also covers topics like how simulation makes robot programming easier, advantages and disadvantages of simulation in robotics, and the future trends in this field. Finally, the results of the experiments will be analyzed and discussed. The pros and cons of the system in relation to off-the-shelf robot simulation packages are analyzed. ©2010 IEEE.

Abstract
Traditional industrial robot programming, using the robot teach pendant, is a tedious and time-consuming task that requires technical expertise. Hence, new and more intuitive ways for people to interact with robots are required to make robot programming easier. The goal is to develop methodologies that help users to program a robot in an intuitive way, with a high-level of abstraction from the robot language. In this paper we present a CAD-based system to program a robot from a 3D CAD environment, allowing users with basic CAD skills to generate robot programs off-line, without stop robot production. This system works as a human-robot interface (HRI) where, through a relatively low cost and commercially available CAD package, the user is able to generate robot programs. The methods used to extract information from the CAD and techniques to treat/convert it into robot commands are presented. The effectiveness of the proposed method is proved through various experiments. The results showed that the system is easy to use and within minutes an untrained user can set up the system and generate a robot program for a specific task. Finally, the time spent in the robot programming task is compared with the time taken to perform the same task but using the robot teach pendant as interface. ©2010 IEEE.

Abstract
With the rising concern about the needs of people with physical disabilities and with the aging of the population there is a major concern of creating electronic devices that may improve the life of the physically handicapped and elderly person. One of these new solutions passes through the adaptation of electric wheelchairs in order to give them environmental perception, more intelligent capabilities and more adequate Human - Machine Interaction. This paper focuses in the development of a user-friendly multimodal interface, which is integrated in the Intellwheels project. This simple multimodal human-robot interface developed allows the connection of several input modules, enabling the wheelchair control through flexible input sequences of distinct types of inputs (voice, facial expressions, head movements, keyboard and, joystick). The system created is capable of storing user defined associations, of input's sequences and corresponding output commands. The tests performed have proved the system efficiency and the capabilities of this multimodal interface.