Abstract
Modeling discrete event systems with sequential behavior can be a very hard and complex task. Some formalisms are used in this context, such as: Petri Nets, Statecharts, Finite automata, Grafcet and others. Among these, Grafcet seems to be a good choice because it is easy: to learn, to understand and to use. Teaching Grafcet is then relevant within engineering courses concerned with Industrial Automation. A virtual laboratory, e-GRAFCET, developed and first tested in UTAD University; it is a new, easy-to-use multimedia e-educational tool to support the self-learning process of Grafcet. This paper, reports a study of e-GRAFCET use by the students of University of Minho. A questionnaire was prepared and students asked to fulfill it in a volunteer basis. The results were statistically analyzed and the scores compared. The overall objective is to understand how the tool helps students in their study, and consequently improve their learning off Grafcet, independently of their engineering background.

Abstract
The paper addresses the problem of decreasing the overshoot for underdamped second-order systems. A new technique to control the overshoot is proposed, which is based on Posicast control and proportional integral and derivative (PID) control, which performs switching between two controllers. The aim is to use open-loop feedforward control to increase tracking performance and PID control to deal with disturbance rejection. It has been shown that the proposed control scheme can have some advantages over the classical approaches without switching capabilities.

Abstract
In practice, there are several processes which are exhibiting oscillatory behaviour. Some representatives are disk-drive heads, robot arms, cranes and power-electronics. One of techniques, aimed at reducing the oscillations, is Posicast Input Command Shaping (PICS) method. The paper combines the PICS method and Magnitude Optimum Multiple Integration (MOMI) tuning method for PID controllers. The combination of both methods significantly improves the speed and stability of the closed-loop tracking responses. Moreover, the proposed approach is relatively simple for implementation in practice and can be used either on process time-response data or on the process model in frequency-domain.

Abstract
The metabolic disorder which entails the absent or reduced control of blood glucose in the body by means of insulin dependence (Type1) or intolerance (Type 2) affects more than 366 million people in 2011. This represents an increase of 28% new cases in one year. Diabetes Mellitus has become the most common chronic diseases in nearly all countries, and continues to increase in numbers and significance, as economic development and urbanization lead to changing lifestyles characterized by reduced physical activity, and increased obesity. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), is based on a set of technologies which aims to provide an enhanced support to people's daily life, namely the offer of new solutions for healthcare to improve the quality of life of the population and reduce costs associated with healthcare. This paper presents a Bluetooth prototype low power battery-less wireless sensor communication system capable transmitting the information to a mobile phone or wrist wireless phone. The purpose of the system is to gather routine information from the glucose monitoring system proposed by Leal, et al and interact with systems like Ambient Assisted Living from Martins, et al. (C) 2012 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Programme Committee of the 4th International Conference on Software Development for Enhancing Accessibility and Fighting Info-exclusion (DSAI 2012)

Abstract
This paper presents a piezoresistive pressure sensor with a measurement span of 1MPa and capable to withstand peak pressures around 10MPa. The sensor design, based on a square membrane, was optimized for enhanced sensitivity, high linearity and low sensitivity variations between fabricated samples. Being the asymmetry of the mechanical stress peaks, the ratio between the membrane area and its thickness, and the tolerances of the bulk micromachining process considered for the optimal positioning of the piezoresistive sensing elements. Practical results show a mean sensitivity of 30.9mV/V/MPa with a standard deviation of 0.65mV/V/MPa and a linearity error of 0.15% of the scale span. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd....Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the Symposium Cracoviense Sp. z.o.o.

Abstract
Despite the benefits of precision agriculture and precision viticulture production systems, its rate of adoption in the Portuguese Douro Demarcated Region remains low. We believe that one way to raise it is to address challenging real-world problems whose solution offers a clear benefit to the viticulturist. For example, one of the most demanding tasks in wine making is harvesting. Even for humans, the environment makes grape detection difficult, especially when the grapes and leaves have a similar color, which is generally the case for white grapes. In this paper, we propose a system for the detection and location, in the natural environment, of bunches of grapes in color images. This system is able to distinguish between white and red grapes, and at the same time, it calculates the location of the bunch stem. The system achieved 97% and 91% correct classifications for red and white grapes, respectively.