Abstract
Building evacuation simulation allows for a better assessment of fire safety conditions in existing buildings, which is why it is of interest to develop an easyto-use-Web platform that helps fire safety technicians in this assessment. To achieve this goal, the geometric and physical representation of the building and installed fire safety devices are necessary, as well as the modelling of occupant movement. Although these are widely studied areas, in this paper, we present two new model approaches, either for the physical and geometric representation of a building or for the occupant's movement simulation, during a building evacuation process. To test both models, we develop a multi-agentWeb simulator platform. The tests carried out show the suitability of the model approaches herein presented.

Abstract
This study aims to explore the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing data-driven solutions to address the direct and indirect challenges posed by COVID-19. A sample of six case studies of SMEs from the UK and Portugal were selected to explore in-depth the experience of these companies in proposing innovative solutions in the pandemic context. The findings reveal that the pandemic caused amplifying effects on the digitalization of organizations and the emergence of data-driven solutions. However, the development of a data-driven approach involves not only technologies but also the digitalization of processes and highly skilled human resources. The pandemic was also a catalyst for the emergence of collaborative initiatives that have enabled the development of solutions involving diverse players from science, business, and civilian society. This study offers innovative contributions by focusing exclusively on companies developing data-driven solutions supported by technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), big data, and artificial intelligence.

Abstract
Proper waste management has been recognized as a tool for the green transition towards a more sustainable economy. For instance, most studies dealing with municipal solid wastes in the literature focus on environmental aspects, proposing new routes for recycling, composting and landfilling. However, there are other aspects to be improved in the systems that deal with municipal solid waste, especially in the transportation sector. Scholars have been exploring alternatives to improve the performance in waste collection tasks since the late 50s, for example, considering the waste collection problem as static. The transition from a static approach to a dynamic is necessary to increase the feasibility of the solution, requiring faster algorithms. Here we explore the improvement in the performance of the guided local search metaheuristic available in OR-Tools upon different execution times lower than 10 seconds to solve the capacitated waste collection problem. We show that increasing the execution time from 1 to 10 seconds can overcome savings of up to 1.5 km in the proposed system. Considering application in dynamic scenarios, the 9 s increase in execution time (from 1 to 10 s) would not hinder the algorithm's feasibility. Additionally, the assessment of the relation between performance in different execution times with the dataset's tightness revealed a correlation to be explored in more detail in future studies. The work done here is the first step towards a shift of paradigm from static scenarios in waste collection to dynamic route planning, with the execution time established according to the conclusions achieved in this study. © 2023 ITMA.

Abstract
Slight variations in user interface response times can significantly impact the user experience provided by an interface. Load testing is used to evaluate how an application behaves under increasing loads. For interactive applications, load testing can be done by directly calling services at the business logic or through the user interface. In modern web applications, there is a considerable amount of control logic on the browser side. The impact of this logic on applications' behaviour is only fully considered if the tests are done through the user interface. Capture reply tools are used for this, but their use can become costly. Leveraging an existing model-based testing tool, we propose an approach to automate load testing done through the user interface.

Abstract
The exploration of the ocean has got an increasing interest, including activities such as offshore wind farms and deep-sea mining. However, the ocean environment and the high cost of operations, namely for manned missions, have led to the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and other sensing platforms. AUVs play a vital role in these environments, relying on communications systems to operate and exchange sensor data. Yet, reliable and energy-efficient broad-band wireless communications underwater remain an unsolved challenge, despite the recent advances in the field. We present a novel multimodal approach, named DURIUS, that considers the movement of the AUV to convey the sensor data and selects the most suitable underwater wireless communications technology - acoustic, optical or radio - according to the underwater context, targeting maximum performance and minimum energy consumption. Our analytical results show that DURIUS increases data throughput and reduces energy consumption when compared with the state of the art approaches.

Abstract