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Publications

Publications by CRIIS

2025

Reinforcement learning for hexapod robot trajectory control: a study of Q-learning and SARSA algorithms

Authors
Benyoucef, A; Zennir, Y; Belatreche, A; Silva, MF; Benghanem, M;

Publication
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT ROBOTICS AND APPLICATIONS

Abstract
Hexapod robots, with their six-legged design, excel in stability and adaptability on challenging terrain but pose significant control challenges due to their high degrees of freedom. While reinforcement learning (RL) has been explored for robot navigation, few studies have systematically compared on-policy and off-policy methods for multi-legged locomotion. This work presents a comparative study of SARSA and Q-Learning for trajectory control of a simulated hexapod robot, focusing on the influence of learning rate (alpha), discount factor (gamma), and eligibility trace (lambda). The evaluation spans eight initial poses, with performance measured through lateral deviation (Ey), orientation error (E theta), and iteration count. Results show that Q-Learning generally achieves faster convergence and greater stability, particularly with higher gamma and lambda values, while SARSA can achieve competitive accuracy with careful parameter tuning. The findings demonstrate that eligibility traces substantially improve learning precision and provide practical guidelines for robust RL-based control in multi-legged robotic systems.

2025

Mapping Ethics in EPS@ISEP Robotics Projects

Authors
Malheiro, B; Guedes, P; Silva, MF; Ferreira, P;

Publication
Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems - Crisis or Redemption with AI and Robotics? The Dawn of a New Era

Abstract

2025

A New Closed-Loop Control Paradigm Based on Process Moments

Authors
Vrancic, D; Bisták, P; Huba, M; Oliveira, PM;

Publication
MATHEMATICS

Abstract
The paper presents a new control concept based on the process moment instead of the process states or the process output signal. The control scheme is based on separate control of reference tracking and disturbance rejection. The tracking control is achieved by additionally feeding the input of the process model by the scaled output signal of the process model. The advantage of such feedback is that the final state of the process output can be analytically calculated and used for control instead of the actual process output value. The disturbance rejection, including model imperfections, is controlled by feeding back the filtered difference between the process output and the model output to the process input. The performance of tracking and disturbance rejection is simply controlled by two user-defined gains. Several examples have shown that the new control method provides very good and stable tracking and disturbance rejection performance.

2025

Success Factors for Public Sector Information Systems Projects

Authors
Gonçalves, A; Varajão, J; Moura Oliveira, P; Moura, I;

Publication
Digital Government: Research and Practice

Abstract
Information Systems (IS) projects are critical for organizational development, both in the private and public sectors. The relevance and complexity inherent in this type of project require management to be fully aware of the factors that influence success. This study contributes to the literature on public-sector IS project management by providing a comprehensive set of Success Factors (SFs) for different levels of the administration. The research method comprised a literature review, six case studies of central government, local government, and other types of administration, and a questionnaire-based survey of public sector IS experts. Forty-four SFs were identified, described, and organized in nine categories: organization and environment; strategy; project; scope; project manager and project team; stakeholders; vendors; clients and users; and monitoring and control. Our results add a new perspective to the theoretical body of knowledge on the SFs for IS projects in the public sector.

2025

The AI Elephant in the Room: ChatGPT in Control Engineering Education

Authors
P.B. de Moura Oliveira; Damir Vrancic;

Publication
IFAC-PapersOnLine

Abstract

2025

PID Control with TCLab: An Unified Experiment for Undergraduates

Authors
P.B. de Moura Oliveira; J. Boaventura Cunha;

Publication
IFAC-PapersOnLine

Abstract

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