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Publications

2024

Pallet and Pocket Detection Based on Deep Learning Techniques

Authors
Caldana, D; Cordeiro, A; Sousa, JP; Sousa, RB; Rebello, PM; Silva, AJ; Silva, MF;

Publication
2024 7TH IBERIAN ROBOTICS CONFERENCE, ROBOT 2024

Abstract
The high level of precision and consistency required for pallet detection in industrial environments and logistics tasks is a critical challenge that has been the subject of extensive research. This paper proposes a system for detecting pallets and its pockets using the You Only Look Once (YOLO) v8 Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) model, followed by the segmentation of the pallet surface. On the basis of the system a pipeline built on the ROS Action Server whose structure promotes modularity and ease of implementation of heuristics. Additionally, is presented a comparison between the YOLOv5 and YOLOv8 models in the detection task, trained with a customised dataset from a factory environment. The results demonstrate that the pipeline can consistently perform pallet and pocket detection, even when tested in the laboratory and with successive 3D pallet segmentation. When comparing the models, YOLOv8 achieved higher average metric values, with YOLOv8m providing better detection performance in the laboratory setting.

2024

Complex and Nonlinear Dynamics in Electrical Power and Energy Storage Systems: Analysis, Modeling and Control

Authors
Lopes, AM; Li, PH; Pires, EJS; Chen, LP;

Publication
ENERGIES

Abstract
[No abstract available]

2024

How do e-governance and e-business drive sustainable development goals?

Authors
Lyulyov, O; Pimonenko, T; Saura, JR; Barbosa, B;

Publication
TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Abstract
Sustainable development policies trigger a shift in the global development paradigm by aligning economic, social, and ecological goals. Concurrently, the rapid surge in digitalization is transforming business processes and communications across all sectors and levels. As a result, the integration of e-business and e-governance becomes a critical component in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this context, the aim of this article is to analyze the effects of digitalization, specifically e-governance and e-business, on the attainment of SDGs in European Union (EU) countries. The method used is a panel of corrected standard errors and feasible generalized least squares models to identify the impact and significance of e-governance and e-business on SDG achievement. The e-governance indicators considered by this study were found to significantly impact SDG achievement. Moreover, e-business indicators were also found to positively impact the attainment of SDGs, with some exceptions. The findings suggest that EU countries should continue to intensify digitalization across all sectors as it enhances the transparency accountability of all business processes and communications and increases trust in government services, which are the core drivers of achieving SDGs.

2024

Inspection of Part Placement Within Containers Using Point Cloud Overlap Analysis for an Automotive Production Line

Authors
Costa, CM; Dias, J; Nascimento, R; Rocha, C; Veiga, G; Sousa, A; Thomas, U; Rocha, L;

Publication
FLEXIBLE AUTOMATION AND INTELLIGENT MANUFACTURING: ESTABLISHING BRIDGES FOR MORE SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS, FAIM 2023, VOL 1

Abstract
Reliable operation of production lines without unscheduled disruptions is of paramount importance for ensuring the proper operation of automated working cells involving robotic systems. This article addresses the issue of preventing disruptions to an automotive production line that can arise from incorrect placement of aluminum car parts by a human operator in a feeding container with 4 indexing pins for each part. The detection of the misplaced parts is critical for avoiding collisions between the containers and a high pressure washing machine and also to avoid collisions between the parts and a robotic arm that is feeding parts to a air leakage inspection machine. The proposed inspection system relies on a 3D sensor for scanning the parts inside a container and then estimates the 6 DoF pose of the container followed by an analysis of the overlap percentage between each part reference point cloud and the 3D sensor data. When the overlap percentage is below a given threshold, the part is considered as misplaced and the operator is alerted to fix the part placement in the container. The deployment of the inspection system on an automotive production line for 22 weeks has shown promising results by avoiding 18 hours of disruptions, since it detected 407 containers having misplaced parts in 4524 inspections, from which 12 were false negatives, while no false positives were reported, which allowed the elimination of disruptions to the production line at the cost of manual reinspection of 0.27% of false negative containers by the operator.

2024

Road networks structure analysis: A preliminary network science-based approach

Authors
Reza, S; Ferreira, MC; Machado, JJM; Tavares, JMRS;

Publication
ANNALS OF MATHEMATICS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract
Road network studies attracted unprecedented and overwhelming interest in recent years due to the clear relationship between human existence and city evolution. Current studies cover many aspects of a road network, for example, road feature extraction from video/image data, road map generalisation, traffic simulation, optimisation of optimal route finding problems, and traffic state prediction. However, analysing road networks as a complex graph is a field to explore. This study presents comparative studies on the Porto, in Portugal, road network sections, mainly of Matosinhos, Paranhos, and Maia municipalities, regarding degree distributions, clustering coefficients, centrality measures, connected components, k-nearest neighbours, and shortest paths. Further insights into the networks took into account the community structures, page rank, and small-world analysis. The results show that the information exchange efficiency of Matosinhos is 0.8, which is 10 and 12.8% more significant than that of the Maia and Paranhos networks, respectively. Other findings stated are: (1) the studied road networks are very accessible and densely linked; (2) they are small-world in nature, with an average length of the shortest pathways between any two roads of 29.17 units, which as found in the scenario of the Maia road network; and (3) the most critical intersections of the studied network are 'Avenida da Boavista, 4100-119 Porto (latitude: 41.157944, longitude: - 8.629105)', and 'Autoestrada do Norte, Porto (latitude: 41.1687869, longitude: - 8.6400656)', based on the analysis of centrality measures.

2024

Pallets delivery: Two matheuristics for combined loading and routing

Authors
Silva, E; Ramos, AG; Moura, A;

Publication
EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS

Abstract
The implementation of novel regulatory and technical requirements for the distribution of vehicle axle weights in road freight transport introduces a new set of constraints on vehicle routing. Until now, axle weight distribution in determining the load plan for freight transport units has been overlooked in the vehicle routing process. Compliance with these axle weight constraints has become paramount for road freight transport companies, since noncompliance with the axle weight distribution legislation translates into heavy fines. This work aims to provide a tool capable of generating cargo loading plans and routing sequences for a palletised cargo distribution problem. The problem addressed integrates the capacitated vehicle routing problem with time window and the two-dimensional loading problem with load balance constraints. Two integrative solution approaches are proposed, one giving greater importance to the routing and the other prioritising the loading. In addition, a novel MILP model is proposed for the 2D pallet loading problem with load-balance constraints that take advantage of the standard dimension of the pallets. Extensive computational experiments were performed with a set of well-known literature benchmark instances, extended to incorporate additional features. The computational results show the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

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