Abstract
This paper presents a study of the combined influence of battery models and sizing strategy for hybrid and battery-based electric vehicles. In particular, the aim is to find the number of battery (and super capacitor) cells to propel a light vehicle to run two different standard driving cycles. Three equivalent circuit models are considered to simulate the battery electrical performance: linear static, non-linear static and non-linear with first-order dynamics. When dimensioning a battery-based vehicle, less complex models may lead to a solution with more battery cells and higher costs. Despite the same tendency, when a hybrid vehicle is taken into account, the influence of the battery models is dependent on the sizing strategy. In this work, two sizing strategies are evaluated: dynamic programming and filter based. For the latter, the complexity of the battery model has a clear influence on the result of the sizing problem. On the other hand, a modest influence is observed when a dynamic programming strategy is followed.

Abstract
This work is focused on the development of system able to keep tracking driver's behavior without a black box device mounted inside the car. Firstly, we intend to explore the data from GPS (Global Positioning System), accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer for a full characterization of the vehicle dynamics. Secondly, we develop an event detector that determines and classifies distinct kind of maneuvers, like turns, lane change, U-turns, among others. Finally, we developed a simple aggressiveness classifier using fuzzy logic. Experiments have been conducted and the initial results of the system were found to be encouraging on the implementation of a non-intrusive system for driver analysis.

Abstract
Recently, model-based approaches have been proposed for fault diagnosis as an emerging alternative to traditional techniques. Particularly, the inversion-and observer-based were proposed for fault diagnosis as successful model-based approaches. However, the research's results related to these approaches are reduced and generally applied to a specific converter or control type. Therefore, the inversion-and observer-based approaches performance presented in the literature does not permit to compare both techniques in order to conclude which one is more suitable for fault diagnosis. In this context, this paper presents a comparative study of inversion-and observer based approaches for fault diagnosis in a DC-DC boost converter. More specifically, after modeling both the power converter and the fault detection and isolation methods, it were inserted faults on the transistor and capacitor (degradation) in order to validate the performance of the proposed approaches. The results demonstrate that these are efficient alternatives to the conventional techniques that are usually used for fault diagnosis in power electronics systems. Both inverse-and observer-based approaches showed similarities and effectiveness in detecting and isolating faults on the studied DC-DC boost converter.

Abstract
This paper describes an optimization procedure for a robot with 12 degrees of freedom avoiding the inverse kinematics problem, which is a hard task for this type of robot manipulator. This robot can be used to pick and place tasks in complex designs. Combining an accurate and fast direct kinematics model with optimization strategies, it is possible to achieve the joints angles for a desired end-effector position and orientation. The optimization methods stretched simulated annealing algorithm and genetic algorithm were used. The solutions found were validated using data originated by a real and by a simulated robot formed by 12 servomotors with a gripper.

Abstract
Recent advances in visual motion detection and interpretation have made possible the rising of new robotic systems for autonomous and active surveillance. In this line of research, the current work discusses motion perception by proposing a novel technique that analyzes dense flow fields and distinguishes several regions with distinct motion models. The method is called Wise Optical Flow Clustering (WOFC) and extracts the moving objects by performing two consecutive operations: evaluating and resetting. Motion properties of the flow field are retrieved and described in the evaluation phase, which provides high level information about the spatial segmentation of the flow field. During the resetting operation, these properties are combined and used to feed a guided segmentation approach. The WOFC requires information about the number of motion models and, therefore, this paper introduces a model selection method based on a Bayesian approach that balances the model's fitness and complexity. It combines the correlation of a histogram-based analysis with the decay ratio of the normalized entropy criterion. This approach interprets the flow field and gives an estimative about the number of moving objects. The experiments conducted in a realistic environment have proved that the WOFC presents several advantages that meet the requirements of common robotic and surveillance applications: is computationally efficient and provides a pixel-wise segmentation, comparatively to other state-of-the-art methods.

Abstract
The use of the odometry and SLAM visual methods in autonomous vehicles has been growing. Optical sensors provide valuable information from the scenario that enhance the navigation of autonomous vehicles. Although several visual techniques are already available in the literature, their performance could be significantly affected by the scene captured by the optical sensor. In this context, this paper presents a comparative analysis of three monocular visual odometry methods and three stereo SLAM techniques. The advantages, particularities and performance of each technique are discussed, to provide information that is relevant for the development of new research and novel robotic applications. © Springer International Publishing AG 2018.