Abstract
Hand and finger tracking has a major importance in healthcare, for rehabilitation of hand function required due to a neurological disorder, and in virtual environment applications, like characters animation for on-line games or movies. Current solutions consist mostly of motion tracking gloves with embedded resistive bend sensors that most often suffer from signal drift, sensor saturation, sensor displacement and complex calibration procedures. More advanced solutions provide better tracking stability, but at the expense of a higher cost. The proposed solution aims to provide the required precision, stability and feasibility through the combination of eleven inertial measurements units (IMUs). Each unit captures the spatial orientation of the attached body. To fully capture the hand movement, each finger encompasses two units (at the proximal and distal phalanges), plus one unit at the back of the hand. The proposed glove was validated in two distinct steps: a) evaluation of the sensors' accuracy and stability over time; b) evaluation of the bending trajectories during usual finger flexion tasks based on the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results revealed that the glove was sensitive mainly to magnetic field distortions and sensors tuning. The inclusion of a hard and soft iron correction algorithm and accelerometer and gyro drift and temperature compensation methods provided increased stability and precision. Finger trajectories evaluation yielded high ICC values with an overall reliability within application's satisfying limits. The developed low cost system provides a straightforward calibration and usability, qualifying the device for hand and finger tracking in healthcare and animation industries.

Abstract
Electricity markets worldwide suffered profound transformations. The privatization of previously nationally owned systems; the deregulation of privately owned systems that were regulated; and the strong interconnection of national systems, are some examples of such transformations [1, 2]. In general, competitive environments, as is the case of electricity markets, require good decision-support tools to assist players in their decisions. Relevant research is being undertaken in this field, namely concerning player modeling and simulation, strategic bidding and decision-support. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.

Abstract
The occurrence of landslides in northern Portugal has motivated the development of several case studies, rehearsing different methodologies that seek to defi ne and characterize the conditioning factors with the greatest infl uence over the geomorphologic instability processes. This paper presents the results obtained for Frades (Arcos de Valdevez) debris fl ow, discussing the importance of morphostructural context, surfi cial formations and their hydrological behavior, analyzed by in situ and laboratory tests, namely, grain size, mineralogy, hydraulic conductivity, penetration resistance and seismic refraction. The developed study shows the existence of preferential paths of internal water circulation, in combination with constraints linked to the characteristics of the surficial formations, revealing also that the subsurface drainage network has an obvious link with the fl ow that takes place at the surface, although it may present changes motivated by underlying structures.

Abstract
In this work is discussed the importance of the renewable production forecast in an island environment. A probabilistic forecast based on kernel density estimators is proposed. The aggregation of these forecasts, allows the determination of thermal generation amount needed to schedule and operating a power grid of an island with high penetration of renewable generation. A case study based on electric system of S. Miguel Island is presented. The results show that the forecast techniques are an imperative tool help the grid management.

Abstract
To enhance older citizen's practice of physical exercise, we present the architecture, development, and pilot testing of a multiuser online gymnasium based on Kinect motion capture and OpenSimulator, which aims to enable socialization and supervision of exercise practice without travel requirements. The prototype was tested simultaneously with 4 elders at different locations, providing data on the feasibility of the approach and informing subsequent development and research.

Abstract
Serious Games is a field of research that has been growing substantially with valuable contributions to many application areas. Traditional rehabilitation approaches are often considered repetitive and boring by the patients, resulting in difficulties to maintain their interest and to assure the completion of the treatment program. This paper describes a framework for the development of Serious Games that integrates a rich set of features including natural and multimodal interaction, social skills (collaboration and competitiveness) and progress monitoring which can be used to improve the designed games with direct benefits to the rehabilitation process. This improvement in the games' rehabilitation efficacy mainly arises from an increase in the patient's motivation when exercising the rehabilitation tasks due to the rich set of features provide by the framework.