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Publications

2025

Augmented Reality in Information Design

Authors
Fadel, LM; Coelho, A;

Publication
ADVANCES IN DESIGN AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATION V, DIGICOM 2024

Abstract
The potential of Augmented Reality (AR) has been harnessed to create immersive game settings, present layers of relevant information in museums, streamline procedures in healthcare and industry, and captivate consumers through innovative marketing strategies. Certain artifacts lend themselves well to representation in AR, especially those requiring a seamless fusion of the information layer with physical space. This integration underscores the suitability of information design artifacts for AR implementation. This study aims to delineate the distinctive attributes of AR in remediating information design, effectively catering to the user's informational needs. To this end, we analyzed the Google Translate app, examining it through the analytical lens of body schema and haptic engagement. The findings reveal that AR manifests as a performative, personalized, crafted image that fosters involvement through agency. The performative nature of the image directs attention, while individual images collectively form a collection. It is recommended that AR design be centered around achieving harmony among body, media, and space.

2025

No Two Snowflakes Are Alike: Studying eBPF Libraries' Performance, Fidelity and Resource Usage

Authors
Machado, C; Giao, B; Amaro, S; Matos, M; Paulo, J; Esteves, T;

Publication
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2025 3RD WORKSHOP ON EBPF AND KERNEL EXTENSIONS, EBPF 2025

Abstract
As different eBPF libraries keep emerging, developers are left with the hard task of choosing the right one. Until now, this choice has been based on functional requirements (e.g., programming language support, development workflow), while quantitative metrics have been left out of the equation. In this paper, we argue that efficiency metrics such as performance, resource usage, and data collection fidelity also need to be considered for making an informed decision. We show it through an experimental study comparing five popular libraries: bpftrace, BCC, libbpf, ebpf-go, and Aya. For each, we implement three representative eBPF-based tools and evaluate them under different storage I/O workloads. Our results show that each library has its own strengths and weaknesses, as their specific features lead to distinct trade-offs across the selected efficiency metrics. These results further motivate experimental studies to increase the community's understanding of the eBPF ecosystem.

2025

Anomaly Detection in Pet Behavioural Data

Authors
Silva, I; Ribeiro, RP; Gama, J;

Publication
MACHINE LEARNING AND PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF KNOWLEDGE DISCOVERY IN DATABASES, ECML PKDD 2023, PT II

Abstract
Pet owners are increasingly becoming conscious of their pet's necessities and are paying more attention to their overall wellness. The well-being of their pets is intricately linked to their own emotional and physical well-being. Some veterinary system solutions are emerging to provide proactive healthcare options for pets. One such solution offers the continuous monitoring of a pet's activity through accelerometer tracking devices. Based on data collected by this application, in this paper, we study different time aggregation and three unsupervised machine learning techniques to identify anomalies in pet behaviour data. Specifically, three algorithms, Isolation Forest, Local Outlier Factor, and K-Nearest Neighbour, with various thresholds to differentiate between normal and abnormal events. Results conducted on ten pets (five cats and five dogs) show that the most effective approach is to use daily data divided into periods. Moreover, the Local Outlier Factor is the best algorithm for detecting anomalies when prioritizing the identification of true positives. However, it also produces a high false positive ratio.

2025

Fairness Analysis in Causal Models: An Application to Public Procurement

Authors
Teixeira, S; Nogueira, AR; Gama, J;

Publication
MACHINE LEARNING AND PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF KNOWLEDGE DISCOVERY IN DATABASES, ECML PKDD 2023, PT II

Abstract
Data-driven decision models based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been widely used in the public and private sectors. These models present challenges and are intended to be fair, effective and transparent in public interest areas. Bias, fairness and government transparency are aspects that significantly impact the functioning of a democratic society. They shape the government's and its citizens' relationship, influencing trust, accountability, and the equitable treatment of individuals and groups. Data-driven decision models can be biased at several process stages, contributing to injustices. Our research purpose is to understand fairness in the use of causal discovery for public procurement. By analysing Portuguese public contracts data, we aim i) to predict the place of execution of public contracts using the PC algorithm with sp-mi, smc-chi(2) and mc-chi(2) conditional independence tests; ii) to analyse and compare the fairness in those scenarios using Predictive Parity Rate, Proportional Parity, Demographic Parity and Accuracy Parity metrics. By addressing fairness concerns, we pursue to enhance responsible data-driven decision models. We conclude that, in our case, fairness metrics make an assessment more local than global due to causality pathways. We also observe that the Proportional Parity metric is the one with the lowest variance among all metrics and one with the highest precision, and this reinforces the observation that the Agency category is the one that is furthest apart in terms of the proportion of the groups.

2025

Energy Monitoring Systems Analysis and Development: A Case Study for Graph-Based Modelling

Authors
Carvalho, T; Müller, T; Reiter, S; Pinho, LM; Oliveira, A;

Publication
International Conference on Model-Driven Engineering and Software Development

Abstract
The Internet of Things (IoT) enables everyday objects to connect and communicate remotely, transforming areas such as smart homes and industrial automation. IoT systems can be standalone or interconnected in a System of Systems, where multiple devices work together towards a common goal. A key application is Energy Monitoring Systems (EMS), which track energy use within communities, using energy production and consumption. Designing this type of IoT systems remains complex and requires careful consideration of heterogeneous devices, their limitations, software, communication protocols, data management, and security. This paper presents a design approach for EMS communities, with a focus on house-level IoT systems. We introduce a model-driven development methodology, a holistic and flexible framework for designing IoT systems across the development and operations lifecycle. Especially, the concept of projectors enables an easy shift between domain assets and provide automation support. The approach is validated with a real-life use case, for which an analysis phase was developed, showing the benefits of using our approach for managing EMS and the automation of the analysis configuration. © 2025 by SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications, Lda.

2025

Institutional challenges in water reuse and circularity: insights from co-creation processes in Southern Europe and Middle East

Authors
Matos, MV; Fidélis, T; Sousa, MC; Riazi, F; Miranda, AC; Teles, F;

Publication
WATER POLICY

Abstract
The transition to the water circular economy (WCE) requires several stakeholders' awareness, articulation, and action involving complex governance concerns. As a participatory approach to identifying problems, designing solutions, and implementing strategic actions, the co-creation process should support stakeholder involvement to adjust existing institutional arrangements to foster the WCE. This article designs and applies a co-creation process to analyse the perception of key stakeholders about institutional challenges for water reuse and explore their contributions to innovate policy, planning, and governance for the implementation of new water reuse technology in Almendralejo (Spain), Lecce (Italy), Omis (Croatia), and Eilat (Israel). The findings indicate that implementing a new water loop encounters complex institutional and production-related obstacles, which different stakeholders address in varying ways. Moreover, the proposed solutions to the on-site issues identified emphasise the need for actions that foster engagement and collaboration, particularly to enhance awareness, training, and regulation. Addressing these challenges associated with adopting new water loops, even when technical, may depend on non-technical solutions regarding the institutional framework. The co-creation processes highlight the importance of focusing on institutional arrangements and stakeholder awareness while implementing new water loops to ensure and promote symbiotic territories that consider the policy, producers', and users' strategies.

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