Abstract
Underwater wireless communication systems are becoming a priority in terms of research and technological development due to the increasing demand for exploring the oceans in areas such as pharmaceutical, oil, minerals, environmental and biodiversity. This demand is increasing exponentially with the need for high data rate and near-real-time communications. In this work an underwater low power acoustic modem to operate over tens of meters, achieving a maximum data rate of 1 Mbps, is presented. This solution allows for reprogramming the digital signal processing block enabling the use of different types of digital modulations in order to improve the modem's performance. The system is based on a poly(vinylidene fluoride) PVDF ultrasonic emitter transducer which is capable of sending high quality signals needed for digital modulations with high symbol rates per carrier period. BPSK, BFSK and OOK modulations have been tested. The results registered were 3x10(-3) BER with 1 Mbps OOK, 2.3x10-5 with 512 kbps and 1x10-8 with 256 kbps.

Abstract
In the Smart Grid environment, it is expected that Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) should be capable of managing appliances inside the house, in order to provide reserve services. This paper aims at estimating the flexibility of a Portuguese typical residential load diagram. For this purpose, a bottom-up approach is used, i.e., the aggregated flexible load demand is determined taking into account the availability of each appliance to be controlled by the HEMS. The comfort requirements of the consumers are also incorporated in the flexibility calculations by integrating realistic load models into HEMS.

Abstract
How to improve the performance of a simulated soccer team using final game statistics? This is the question this research aims to answer using model-based collaborative techniques and a robotic team - FC Portugal - as a case study. After developing a framework capable of automatically calculating the final game statistics through the RoboCup log files, a feature selection algorithm was used to select the variables that most influence the final game result. In the next stage, given the statistics of the current game, we rank the strategies that obtained the maximum average of goal difference in similar past games. This is done by splitting offline past games into different k-clusters. Then, for each cluster, the expected best strategy was assigned. The online phase consists in the selection of the expected best strategy for the cluster in which the current game best fits. Regarding the final results, our approach proved that it is possible to improve the performance of a robotic team by more than 35%, even in a competitive environment such as the RoboCup 2D simulation league.

Abstract
Smart local energy networks represent a key option for more penetration of sustainably developed facilities. These facilities can cause an extended dependency in both time and carrier domains which should be considered through a comprehensive model. This paper introduces a new concept of internal and external dependencies. The concept is related to penetration of energy converters on demand side and the effects they bring to the system. Being achieved by implementation of smart grid, dependencies release operational flexibility and subsequently enhance the system efficiency. The model contains, carrier based demand response which preserves consumers satisfaction by utilizing the flexibility in exchanging the input energy carrier instead of changing end-usage pattern. The paper develops the coupling matrix model for smart multi-energy systems considering the external dependency as an added module to the overall model.

Abstract
This paper presents a new stochastic programming model for PAR/PST definition and location in a network with a high penetration of wind power, with probabilistic representation, to maximize wind power penetration. It also presents a new optimization meta-heuristic, denoted DEEPSO, which is a variant of EPSO, the Evolutionary Particle Swarm Optimization method, borrowing the concept of rough gradient from Differential Evolution algorithms. A test case is solved in an IEEE test system. The performance of DEEPSO is shown to be superior to EPSO in this complex problem.

Abstract
This paper reports the development of a system to instrument a surfboard aiming to evaluate wave riding performance. According to the research only 3.8% - 5% of the total surfing time corresponds to the wave riding movements, despite of been the surfing goal. The system developed collects the data from twenty four force sensors positioned beneath the surfer's feet using a microcontroller ATMEGA1280, and determines the surfer's feet positioning and Centre of Pressure (CoP). Furthermore, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) with an ADXL335 accelerometer and an IDG500 gyroscope provides information of the surfboard's position in relation to the gravity force axis. To store the result of the acquisitions a SD Card is used. To transmit the data to an external device such as a computer, a WI-FI module complete the electronic system. A battery management was used to allow the system to work remotely. This work presents an overview of the parameter recognized in literature as influencing athlete's performance and a brief description of the major manoeuvres in competition to figure out the parameters to be measured likewise the system developed. Preliminary tests with five different setups have shown that the force sensors to measure CoP and the electronic circuit board works properly.