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Publications

2025

Methodology for Business Process Automation in SMEs: From Requirements Analysis to Practical Demonstration

Authors
Moreira, S; Mamede, S; Santos, A;

Publication
Emerging Science Journal

Abstract
This study aims to develop a methodology to assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in effectively adopting Business Process Automation (BPA). Despite its growing importance in streamlining routine tasks and enabling employees to focus on more creative activities, numerous organizations face challenges in implementing BPA due to unclear procedures, insufficient knowledge of eligible processes, and uncertainty regarding the necessary technology. In response to these challenges, we introduce the Methodology for Business Process Automation (M4BPA), an artifact designed to guide SMEs through a structured BPA implementation process. The research follows the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM). The requirements for the artifact came from the results of a previous Systematic Literature Review (SLR). M4BPA was demonstrated within real SME environments, providing solid evidence of its efficacy. The findings suggest that M4BPA significantly enhances SMEs' ability to implement BPA efficiently, offering a practical toolkit that facilitates the process. The novelty of this work lies in the development of a BPA methodology specifically tailored for SMEs, addressing existing gaps in current frameworks and providing a best-practice model for similar organizations. This research contributes to the intermediate results of a doctoral project, offering valuable insights for both practitioners and researchers in the field of BPA. © 2025 by the authors.

2025

How much is in a square? Calculating functional programs with squares

Authors
Oliveira, JN;

Publication
JOURNAL OF FUNCTIONAL PROGRAMMING

Abstract
Experience in teaching functional programming (FP) on a relational basis has led the author to focus on a graphical style of expression and reasoning in which a geometric construct shines: the (semi) commutative square. In the classroom this is termed the magic square (MS), since virtually everything that we do in logic, FP, database modeling, formal semantics and so on fits in some MS geometry. The sides of each magic square are binary relations and the square itself is a comparison of two paths, each involving two sides. MSs compose and have a number of useful properties. Among several examples given in the paper ranging over different application domains, free-theorem MSs are shown to be particularly elegant and productive. Helped by a little bit of Galois connections, a generic, induction-free theory for ${\mathsf{foldr}}$ and $\mathsf{foldl}$ is given, showing in particular that ${\mathsf{foldl} \, {{s}}{}\mathrel{=}\mathsf{foldr}{({flip} \unicode{x005F}{s})}{}}$ holds under conditions milder than usually advocated.

2025

Digital Innovation in Health Care: Addressing Medication Non-adherence

Authors
Bhandari, L; Fonseca, MJ; Fernandes, B; Garcia, JE;

Publication
Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies

Abstract
Non-adherence to medication is a pervasive issue worldwide, affecting 50% of prescription users, resulting in suboptimal therapy outcomes and premature death. One of the key factors contributing to non-adherence is the complexity associated with managing medication regimens. To address this challenge, an automated pill dispenser “SelfMed, your medication partner” has been proposed. This study focuses on studying determinants of medication non-adherence, its ramifications and alternatives available in the market in order to increase medication adherence among adults aged 60 and over. The overarching goal of this research is to evaluate whether digital solutions like SelfMed are required for addressing non-compliance issues in Portugal while assessing their effectiveness over time for our target audience within the marketplace. The research was conducted using primary data collected through a questionnaire distributed to users and care institutions/companies in Portugal (Northern area). According to the analysis, 40% of users and 40% of care companies are interested in obtaining SelfMed to simplify the complex medication management and prescription regimen for the end user. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.

2025

Robust ViT-enhanced Detection of Sacrificial Anodes in Harsh Underwater Conditions

Authors
Costa, AV; Leite, PN; M Pinto, MAM;

Publication
IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, ETFA

Abstract
The structural assessment of submerged cathodic protection systems in Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs) is crucial for ensuring longevity and operational efficiency. Traditional underwater inspections are expensive, inefficient, and expose human divers to hazardous conditions.This article aims to enhance the perception capabilities of underwater vehicles by introducing the Contextual Anode Locator in Varying Underwater Scenarios (CALVUS), a learning-based solution designed for the robust and precise detection of sacrificial anodes in harsh subsea environments. CALVUS leverages the feature extraction capabilities of a depth estimation ViT-based backbone to detect anode structures under challenging underwater conditions such as heavy marine snow, variable illumination, biofouling and motion blur.Evaluation on a dataset composed of images captured at the ATLANTIS Test Centre, CALVUS shows a performance of AP@50 of 97.9 %, an improvement of 19.9 % over state-of-the-art networks such as YOLO and RT-DETR. These results demonstrate the added value of using depth features during the detection operation, ultimately contributing to improved OWT operational efficiency and reduced maintenance costs. © 2025 IEEE.

2025

Smart Matter-Enabled Air Vents for Trombe Wall Automation and Control

Authors
Conceiçao, G; Coelho, T; Mota, A; Briga-Sá, A; Valente, A;

Publication
ELECTRONICS

Abstract
Improving energy efficiency in buildings is critical for supporting sustainable growth in the construction sector. In this context, the implementation of passive solar solutions in the building envelope plays an important role. Trombe wall is a passive solar system that presents great potential for passive solar heating purposes. However, its performance can be enhanced when the Internet of Things is applied. This study employs a multi-domain smart system based on Matter-enabled IoT technology for maximizing Trombe wall functionality using appropriate 3D-printed ventilation grids. The system includes ESP32-C6 microcontrollers with temperature sensors and ventilation grids controlled by actuated servo motors. The system is automated with a Raspberry Pi 5 running Home Assistant OS with Matter Server. The integration of the Matter protocol provides end-to-end interoperability and secure communication, avoiding traditional systems based on MQTT. This work demonstrates the technical feasibility of implementing smart ventilation control for Trombe walls using a Matter-enabled infrastructure. The system proves to be capable of executing real-time vent management based on predefined temperature thresholds. This setup lays the foundation for scalable and interoperable thermal automation in passive solar systems, paving the way for future optimizations and addicional implementations, namely in order to improve indoor thermal comfort in smart and more efficient buildings.

2025

Real-Time Prediction of Wikipedia Articles' Quality

Authors
Moás, PM; Lopes, CT;

Publication
Linking Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries - 29th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries, TPDL 2025, Tampere, Finland, September 23-26, 2025, Proceedings

Abstract
Wikipedia is the largest and most globally well-known online encyclopedia, but its collaborative nature leads to a significant disparity in article quality. In this work, we explore real-time and automatic quality assessment within Wikipedia through machine-learning. We first constructed a dataset of 36,000 English articles and 145 features, then compared the performance of multiple classification and regression algorithms and studied how the number of classes and features affects the model’s performance. The six-class experiments achieved a classifier accuracy of 64% and a mean absolute error of 0.09 in regression methods, which matches or beats most state-of-the-art approaches. Our model produces similar results on some non-English Wikipedias, but the error is slightly higher on other versions. We have also determined that the features measuring the article’s content and revision history bring the largest performance boost. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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