Abstract
This work describes an experimental setup that was developed in order to automate the One-dimensional consolidation properties of soil test. This experimental setup assures repeatability in the data acquisition test, avoiding human errors. The described setup is based on LabVIEW, LVDT sensors, a 16 Bit Data Acquisition Board, a Load device and a Consolidometer. The experimental setup was developed according to the standard ASTM D2435 / D2435M - 11.

Abstract
This paper aims to evaluate the performance of a semi-active controlled suspension system using a magneto-rheological (MR) damper to provide better ride comfort and safety to vehicle passengers than an uncontrolled or passive suspension system. Passive systems represent a conventional solution for vibration control of suspension systems. Although this system is a proven, reliable and economic technology, their parameters cannot be modified according to the road conditions. On the other hand, active systems allow a continuous control of the suspension motion, but require a complex and energy demanding actuator. The proposed suspension system has the adaptability of active systems with lower energy consumption, which constitute an economic and efficient option for vibration control in vehicle suspensions. The analysis was carried out with a set of numerical simulations in Matlab/Simulink using a 1/4 vehicle suspension model with two degrees of freedom for a passive system and two semiactive control modes based on fuzzy and optimal controllers.

Abstract
Typical vehicle suspension systems are based on passive energy dissipation devices. This type of systems have proven to be a reliable and economic approach, however they are not capable to modify its behavior in accordance with the road conditions. On the other hand, active systems allow a continuous control of the suspension response although requiring sensors, actuators and controllers which represents a more complex and expensive system, usually demanding high power requirements. A middle-term vibration control approach is to use the so-called semi-active systems with the adaptability of active systems and lower energy consumption. This paper aims to evaluate the comfort ridding of a full suspension bicycle equipped with semi-active open loop controlled suspension system using a magneto-rheological (MR) damper. The assessment was carried out based on the analysis of real data, extracted from the instrumented bicycle prototype. The experimental tests were made in a smooth indoor pavement and a cobblestone road. Finally, the results obtained with the proposed semi-active suspension control system are presented and discussed.

Abstract
Inspection of railroad tracks is still predominantly performed visually by human inspectors. Due to the extension of the tracks this is a slow and tedious operation, significantly subjected to human errors and inconsistency. In this context, computer vision systems, composed of field-acquired images and processing algorithms, have a great potential to improve efficiency and to offer systematic inspection methodologies. In this paper the use of available point cloud and mesh generation algorithms to construct 3D surface of railroad tracks is investigated. To achieve this goal, images of a small track were acquired from several points-of-view. Next a comparison between several open and closed-source algorithms was performed, evaluating the number of 3D points, time consumption, RAM memory, GPU memory, number of faces, and the generated mesh. The results obtained demonstrate that with the right setup, current image processing methodologies can be used to construct 3D surfaces of uncontrolled scenarios, such as those of a real railroad environment. Regarding the comparison, SURE and Poisson presented the most accurate meshes. When comparing quantitative measures, though, Poisson presented a slightly better performance in time consumption, but SURE had a better RAM memory usage and a greater level of details. © 2017 IEEE.

Abstract
In this paper, we present a comparison between the older DSTV file format and the newer version of the IFC standard, dedicating special attention of its impact in the robotization of welding and cutting processes in the steel structure fabrication industry. In the last decade, we have seen in this industry a significant increase in the request for automation. These new requirements are imposed by a market focused on the productivity enhancement through automation. Because of this paradigm change, the information structure and workflow provided by the DSTV format needed to be revised, namely the one related with the plan and management of steel fabrication processes. Therefore, with this work we enhance the importance of the increased digitalization of information that the newer version of the IFC standard provide, by showing how this information can be used to develop advanced robotic cells. More in detail, we will focus on the automatic generation of robot welding and cutting trajectories, and in the automatic part assembly planning during components fabrications. Besides these advantages, as this information is normally described having as base a perfect CAD model of the metallic structure, the resultant robot trajectories will have some dimensional error when fitted with the real physical component. Hence, we also present some automatic approaches based on a laser scanner and simple heuristics to overcome this limitations.

Abstract
The Robot Operating System (ROS) is nowadays one of the most popular frameworks for developing robotic applications. To ensure the (much needed) dependability and safety of such applications we forecast an increasing demand for ROS-specific coding standards, static analyzers, and tools alike. Unfortunately, the development of such standards and tools can be hampered by ROS modularity and configurability, namely the substantial number of primitives (and respective variants) that must, in principle, be considered. To quantify the severity of this problem, we have mined a large number of existing ROS packages to understand how its primitives are used in practice, and to determine which combinations of primitives are most popular. This paper presents and discusses the results of this study, and hopefully provides some guidance for future standardization efforts and tool developers.