Abstract
The Industry 4.0 (I4.0) paradigm comes as a direct action by the German government to improve the industrial production process, by enhancing the ability to take action during the process and produce customized products, while maintaining the mass production industrial context. The I4.0 solutions rely on cybernetics systems that can enhance the users' decision-making. Some technologies are particularly suited for this purpose, including data science combined with context sensitive applications and virtual assistants (VA). These types of user application can provide information and features according to the user's context, thus acting proactively and foreseeing the user actions. In this work, we partnered with Continental Advanced Antenna - a manufacturer of radiofrequency devices for the auto industry, to further develop the concept of a VA to assist the production management. A prototype was built to interact and keep the production management team up to date regarding the ongoing execution of the production plan.

Abstract
In this paper, we describe a preliminary study on a multisensory music experience for people with hearing loss. Our main goal is to provide a music event through visual and tactile stimuli, granting a multisensory experience using haptic interfaces and taking advantage of visual feedback, vibrations and pressure to induce feelings. In this context, a mobile application was developed, allowing the user to interact with recorded audio samples that exploit vibrations to trigger emotions, such as fear, adrenaline, anxiety, suspense, drama, adventure, or even more complex moods like when dancing and relaxing. We thus describe our methodology (design, implementation and user assessment) for a preliminary study of a music experience based on a user-centered design approach. Indeed, we gathered promising results as the experience was considered effective and satisfying. We also uncovered some development issues to be addressed in future work, having to do with the use of specific hardware for providing a fully immersive experience. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract
A typical example of a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is a system that allows a person to move a ball displayed on a computer screen to the left or to the right, simply by imagining the movement of the left or right hand, respectively. Since the term Brain-Computer Interface was coined in 1973, the interest and efforts in this field have grown tremendously and there are now thought to be several hundred laboratories worldwide developing research in this topic. This paper aims at summarizing its resulting knowledge in a way that allows for a quick and clear consultation, highlighting the research lines, technologies and the most relevant cases of applications, so that policy makers, professionals and consumers can make effective use of the findings. With this in mind, a Brain-Computer Interface toolkit is proposed with a focus on different target audiences (e.g., children, seniors, people with intellectual disabilities) that can take advantage of this resource and promote an independent life routine. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract
Due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence, popular Virtual Assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, can be applied to a wide variety of business areas. One area in which Virtual Assistants can be very useful is in Education, specially due to the pandemics that is occurring during the last years, as it can provide to students, teachers and staff an alternative administration tool as well as introduce new learning processes in classroom or on online classes. This work reviews and analyses some applications of Virtual Assistants in the education process. The reviewed work relies mainly on three categories: Student engagement with academic life, Education process during lessons and Learning of foreign languages. The presented solutions generally have great potential but the majority are simple proof of concepts and need more development and proper tests to enable retrieving more accurate results.

Abstract
Assistive environments is a well established research area, particularly, the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) paradigm, which relies in data and artificial intelligence to infer the user's actions and status, thus enabling assistive actions. In a very distinct environment - the manufacturing industry, we propose a twin concept - the Ambient Assisted Working (AAW), to provide assistance to the workers on the factory floor, using solutions with design principles similar to AAL systems. The Industry 4.0 (I4.0) Technical Assistance design principle, introduces the assistance concept in I4.0 solutions and the AAW builds on top of that design principle.

Abstract