Abstract
Listening to internal body sounds, or auscultation, is one of the most popular diagnostic techniques in medicine. In addition to being simple, non-invasive, and low-cost, the information it offers, in real time, is essential for clinical decision-making. This process, usually done by a doctor in the presence of the patient, currently presents three challenges: procedure duration, participants' safety, and the patient's privacy. In this article we tackle these by proposing a new autonomous robotic auscultation system. With the patient prepared for the examination, a 3D computer vision sub-system is able to identify the auscultation points and translate them into spatial coordinates. The robotic arm is then responsible for taking the stethoscope surface into contact with the patient's skin surface at the various auscultation points. The proposed solution was evaluated to perform a simulated pulmonary auscultation in six patients (with distinct height, weight, and skin color). The obtained results showed that the vision subsystem was able to correctly identify 100% of the auscultation points, with uncontrolled lighting conditions, and the positioning subsystem was able to accurately position the gripper on the corresponding positions on the human body. Patients reported no discomfort during auscultation using the described automated procedure.

Abstract
Logistics chains are being increasingly developed due to several factors, among which the exponential growth of e-commerce. Cross-docking is a logistics strategy used by several companies from varied economic sectors, applied in warehouses and distribution centres. In this context, it is the objective of the CrossLog - Automatic Mixed-Palletizing for Crossdocking Logistics Centers Project, to investigate and study an automated and collaborative crossdocking system, capable of moving and managing the flow of products within the warehouse in the fastest and safest way. In its scope, this paper describes the modelling and simulation of a crossdocking system, with an integrated AS/RS, to analyse possible alternatives including not only the fast movement of products, but also its storage in case needed. Different scenarios were modelled and simulated, on the FlexSim software, and the obtained results for each one were critically analysed to draw conclusions on the best storage policy.

Abstract
Due to the lack of unskilled labour force that has been verified in the last years, several processes have been automated, both at industrial and services level. In terms of logistics tasks and transport of materials, it is increasingly common to use mobile robots, given the advantages that this equipment presents. This is also the case in airports, where the adoption of these vehicles to perform several tasks is becoming visible. Considering the possibility of using mobile robots to transport luggage at the Francisco Sa, Carneiro Airport, this paper presents the development of a simulation model and the analysis of several scenarios, with different number of vehicles, in order to understand the time that passengers would have to wait for their luggage, in case this task is automated. The final objective is to determine the number of vehicles required and the changes that need to be made to the airport's operation in order to ensure a level of service identical to (or better than) that currently achieved, with these operations being carried out by human operators.

Abstract

Abstract
The Digital Twin is one of the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0, Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart Factories. In this context, Digital Twins can be developed for being employed through the entire lifecycle of a system, for design, operation, monitoring, maintenance, and even fault prediction and reconfiguration. This paper describes the development of a Digital Twin for a Quality Control cell that is part of a larger manufacturing process in the automotive industry. The virtual environment was built using ABB RobotStudio, the communication between devices in the cell was implemented with OPC UA (UA. NET and open62541), and the process data are registered in a database using MySQL. The results show a fully functional simulation of the cell's behaviour and future development will include the connection of the Digital Twin with the real system. © 2023 IEEE.

Abstract
The shotcrete process has been extensively used for many years in different civil and mining operations. Nevertheless, it is still either applied by an operator which controls the shotcrete nozzle manually or through a remote control. In either case, the operation is entirely controlled by the operator. Automating the shotcrete process involves developments in different parts of the process, such as the tunnel scanning for 3D model generation and the shotcrete path automatic generation and execution. This paper describes the work developed for this last part, namely the automatic generation and execution of a shotcrete path, given the mesh of a tunnel and a set of input parameters, for application in railway tunnels. The developed path also considers specificities of the concrete projection process, such as the uncontrolled flow variation due to the pumping systems, generating a trajectory that aims at minimizing this effect. Results are shown using a realistic simulator and an uneven railway tunnel, using an industrial robot mounted on a railway wagon.