Abstract
Hexapods are general solutions that provide movement with six degrees of freedom for instrument positioning, alignment, and support. In the case of the METIS instrument, the hexapod must satisfy the following stringent requirements: a) support the 11-ton weight of an instrument; b) allow alignment and provide position stability to the instrument to within a tenth of a millimeter; c) provide an adjustment range of about 20 cm; d) support the instrument allowing for accelerations of over 3 g in all directions; e) have the lowest mass possible. Commercial linear actuators that are generally used in such cases are designed for extended movement, include a complete set of bearings that constrain each actuator lateral displacements and a sophisticated central screw that defines only the longitudinal movement. These solutions tend to be heavy and costly if roller screws are used to avoid backslash. They encompass ranges that are a major fraction of the total length and are designed for fast movement. Both these characteristics exceed the requirements of the METIS application. We present an optimized design for the hexapod which includes a different, lightweight, sturdy, small-range, high-precision, no backslash, earthquake-proof actuator. The design of the hexapod is such that it can be used, in general, as a mass and vibration optimized solution for precision heavy instrument alignment.

Abstract
Natural gas will play a key role in the transition to a lower-carbon economy, constituting a natural alternative to coal and acting as a backup resource to the intermittent nature of renewable generation. These energy carriers can be structurally linked together by Power-to-X technologies because of their interaction to increase energy efficiency. For this purpose, this paper proposes an innovative model to optimally manage the electricity and natural gas grids in a cost-efficient manner. In this model, an energy hub has water, electricity, and gas oil as inputs, supplying electric and thermal loads. Besides, the energy hub uses the Power-to-gas (P2G) technology to produce natural gas, selling it to a gas network to reduce the congestion in gas pipelines and the energy hub owner's costs. A demand response program has been also applied in this model to shift the loads from on-peak times to off-peak ones. Various technologies such as energy storage and distributed generation have been used in the modeling to reach the goals targeted by operators. Furthermore, a scenario generation method has been applied to model the uncertainty of wind turbine output. The proposed problem has been finally formulated as mixed-integer linear programming that has been solved under GAMS software by using CPLEX solver to reach the global optimality. The results obtained from simulations demonstrate that the proposed model can significantly reduce the operation cost, while properly alleviating gas network congestion.

Abstract
Proximity sensing approaches with a wide array of sensors available for use in precision viticulture contexts can nowadays be considered both well-know and mature technologies. Still, several in-field practices performed throughout different crops rely on direct visual observation supported on gained experience to assess aspects of plants' phenological development, as well as indicators relating to the onset of common plagues and diseases. Aiming to mimic in-field direct observation, this paper presents VineInspector: a low-cost, self-contained and easy-to-install system, which is able to measure microclimatic parameters, and also to acquire images using multiple cameras. It is built upon a stake structure, rendering it suitable for deployment across a vineyard. The approach through which distinguishable attributes are detected, classified and tallied in the periodically acquired images, makes use of artificial intelligence approaches. Furthermore, it is made available through an IoT cloud-based support system. VineInspector was field-tested under real operating conditions to assess not only the robustness and the operating functionality of the hardware solution, but also the AI approaches' accuracy. Two applications were developed to evaluate Vinelnspector's consistency while a viticulturist' assistant in everyday practices. One was intended to determine the size of the very first grapevines' shoots, one of the required parameters of the well known 3-10 rule to predict primary downy mildew infection. The other was developed to tally grapevine moth males captured in sex traps. Results show that VineInspector is a logical step in smart proximity monitoring by mimicking direct visual observation from experienced viticulturists. While the latter traditionally are responsible for a set of everyday practices in the field, these are time and resource consuming. VineInspector was proven to be effective in two of these practices, performing them automatically. Therefore, it enables both the continuous monitoring and assessment of a vineyard's phenological development in a more efficient manner, making way to more assertive and timely practices against pests and diseases.

Abstract
In view of the actual climate change scenario felt across the globe, resource management is crucial, especially with regard to water. In this sense, continuous monitoring of plant water status is essential to optimise not only crop management but also water resources. Currently, monitoring of vine water status is done through expensive and time-consuming methods that do not allow continuous monitoring, which is especially inconvenient in places with difficult access. The aim of the developed work was to install three groups of sensors (Environmental, Plant and Soil) in a vineyard and connect them through LoRaWAN protocol for data transmission. The results demonstrate that the implemented system is capable of continuous data communication without data loss. The reduced cost and superior range of LoRaWAN compared to WiFi or Bluetooth is especially important for applications in remote areas where cellular networks have little coverage. Altogether, this methodology provides a remote, continuous and more effective method to monitor plant water status and is capable of supporting producers in more efficient management of their farms and water resources.

Abstract
Research data management (RDM) includes people with different needs, specific scientific contexts, and diverse requirements. The description is a big challenge in the domain of RDM. Metadata plays an essential role, allowing the inclusion of essential information for the interpretation of data, enhances the reuse of data and its preservation. The establishment of metadata models can facilitate the process of description and contribute to an improvement in the quality of metadata. When we talk about image data, the task is even more difficult, as there are no explicit recommendations to guide image management. In this work, we present a proposal for a metadata model for image description. To validate the model, we followed an experiment of data description, where eleven participants described images from their research projects, using a metadata model proposed. The experiment shows that participants do not have formal practices for describing their imagery data. Yet, they provided valuable contributions and recommendations to the final definition of a metadata model for image description, to date nonexistent. We also developed controlled vocabularies for some descriptors. These vocabularies aim to improve the image description process, facilitate metadata model interpretation, and reduce the time and effort devoted to data description. © 2022 Joana Rodrigues and Carla Teixeira Lopes Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Abstract
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are being deployed in different applications due to their reduced time execution to perform tasks, more extensive coverage area, and more risk minimization to humans. In the Oil & Gas industry, its use for inspection activities is even more attractive due to the large structures in these facilities. Therefore, this research proposes deploying an autonomous UAV system to inspect unburied pipelines of onshore O&G facilities. The proposed UAV guiding system is based on image processing techniques Canny edge detection and Hough Transform to detect the line and on a path follower algorithm to generate the trajectory. The proposed strategy was developed in Robot Operating System (ROS) and tested in a simulated environment considering the practical oper-ational. The same controller was tested on a physical UAV to validate the results obtained in previous simulations. The results demonstrated the effectiveness and feasibility of deploying the proposed strategy for this specific task and the cost reduction potential for real-life operations, as well as reduced potential risks to the physical integrity of the workers.