Abstract
Depression and loneliness among the elderly are one of the biggest problems affecting the world population. This leads to elderly isolation which is a major risk factor for suicide. Moreover, if isolation is coupled with physical illness and incapacitation, such a risk increases exponentially. To fight back this problem, roboticists have been proposing solutions to autonomously monitor, support and even promote physical activities among the elderly. Nevertheless, those appear as very high-cost and complex solutions that require an advanced technical expertise. Recent off-the-shelf solutions, such as the well-known NAO robot, emerged as possible alternatives. An extension to the NAO robot, denoted as RIA, is being developed at the Engineering Institute of Coimbra (ISEC). The RIA is not only built for a social interaction with the elderly but also as an autonomous tool to promote professional care through the analysis of health and environmental parameters. Therefore, the RIA robot is an adapted NAO low-cost platform equipped with several sensors that can measure different parameters like body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. By validating this valuable platform, the foundations were laid for a whole new paradigm in elderly care.

Abstract
Available visual temporal querying tools do not provide the means for formulating complex temporal queries. For these queries users have to adopt text-based querying languages, such as SQL. The problem, however, is that using text-based languages is less comfortable than using visual tools and, most important, in some cases temporal queries can be extremely difficult to formulate for users that do not possess programming competences. In this paper we propose the Time Automaton, a highly flexible visual mechanism that enables the formulation of a large set of different types of temporal queries, ranging from the simple to the most complex ones. To prove its practical application we created a tool that implements the mechanism and used it to analyze a real dataset. Time Automaton was validated against a representative sample of temporal queries extracted from the matured OWL-Time Ontology. In order to understand if users, with or without programming competences, could understand and use the Time Automaton we conducted a usability experiment.

Abstract
The nesting problem, also known as irregular packing problem, belongs to the generic class of cutting and packing (C&P) problems. It differs from other 2-D C&P problems in the irregular shape of the pieces. This paper proposes a new mixed-integer model in which binary decision variables are associated with each discrete point of the board (a dot) and with each piece type. It is much more flexible than previously proposed formulations and solves to optimality larger instances of the nesting problem, at the cost of having its precision dependent on board discretization. To date no results have been published concerning optimal solutions for nesting problems with more than 7 pieces. We ran computational experiments on 45 problem instances with the new model, solving to optimality 34 instances with a total number of pieces ranging from 16 to 56, depending on the number of piece types, grid resolution and the size of the board. A strong advantage of the model is its insensitivity to piece and board geometry, making it easy to extend to more complex problems such as non-convex boards, possibly with defects. Additionally, the number of binary variables does not depend on the total number of pieces but on the number of piece types, making the model particularly suitable for problems with few piece types. The discrete nature of the model requires a trade-off between grid resolution and problem size, as the number of binary variables grows with the square of the selected grid resolution and with board size.

Abstract
This paper presents an educational tool to be used in signal processing interpolation-related subjects. Besides the consolidation of acquired theoretical knowledge, the tool allows its users to apply three error patterns geometry to the signals and test minimum dimension and maximum dimension signal reconstruction algorithms. In the specific case of minimum dimension problems it can be solved using different solvers, iterative and direct linear equations methods. The developed tool allows the problem conditioning analysis through the spectral radius of the system matrix, the condition number and others parameters available in some specific methods. This feature gives the possibility to alter the problem definitions to the desired goal before the reconstruction begins and to choose the optimal method, depending on each problem constraints The time unit that measures the algorithms performance is expressed in terms of one Fourier Transform (FFT) calculation time. In this way the data is presented not in an absolute way but in a relative measure independent from the machine's architecture.

Abstract
This paper describes the features and concepts behind the Command, Control and Intelligence (C2I) system under development in the ICARUS project, which aims at improving crisis management with the use of unmanned search and rescue robotic appliances embedded and integrated into existing infrastructures. A beneficial C2I system should assist the search and rescue process by enhancing first responder situational awareness, decision making and crisis handling by designing intuitive user interfaces that convey detailed and extensive information about the crisis and its evolution. The different components of C2I, their architectural and functional aspects are described along with the robot platform used for development and field testing.

Abstract
In this paper we propose a model for assessing the quality of educational collaborative virtual environments. The objective is to establish a theoretical model that highlights a number of relevant sets of requirements in relation to the quality in educational collaborative virtual environments. It is intended to apply the model during the lifecycle of product development and in the selection of the environment in order to support the learning/teaching process.