Abstract
The international Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61499 architecture incorporated several function block with which distributed control application may be developed, and how these are interpreted and executed. However, due the distributed nature of the control applications, many issues also need to be taken into account. Most of these are due to the new error model and failure modes of the distributed hardware on which the distributed application is executed and also due the incomplete standards definition of the execution models. IEC 61499 frameworks does not clarify how to handle with replication of software and hardware components. In this paper we propose a replication model for IEC 61499 applications and which mechanisms and protocols may be used for their support.

Abstract
In the last years many standards have been created for the industrial control domain. Some have found wide adoption in the industiy, while others seem to never leave the stage of a promising technology. An example of the first type is ISA 88, that defines an architectural design for control applications for the batch process industiy. The author is of the opinion that IEC 61499 is an example of the latter. In this paper the author analyzes how the design architecture defined in ISA 88 may be implemented using the programming framework defined in IEC 61499. Even though ISA 88 and IEC 61499 both follow an event based and object-oriented approach, the author uncovers a fundamental constraint of the IEC 61499 related to the dynamic invocation of services from distinct object instances. Without tiying to extend the IEC 61499 standard, two approaches are presented to work around this constraint.

Abstract
The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 61131-3 standard defines several programming languages which may be used to develop industrial control applications. These applications typically execute on industrial PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller). PLC vendors have embraced the first version of this standard [3], with each vendor adopting it at its own pace. As the standard is implemented, several deficiencies have been uncovered. In this paper deficiencies identified by the authors during the implementation of a compiler, compliant with the second version of the standard 141, are explained and analysed. Other deficiencies identified by other authors have also been aggregated and explained. For each deficiency, one or more suggestions (including changes to the formal syntax definition) are made as to how the standard could be changed in order to rectify the deficiency.

Abstract
The Second Life platform unites various technologies: 3D virtual environments, virtual reality, Internet connection between participants and the possibility of customization of the three-dimensional content. It is a virtual collaborative environment that allows users to explore digital worlds and interact with others in real time. Increasingly, new peripherals to interact with virtual environments are emerging in the market, and good examples of this are 3Dconnexion's 3D controllers. These are designed to be easy to use, allowing users to zoom, move around in space and rotate 3D objects with a simple hand tap on the device. With this project we wanted to identify usability problems among 3Dconnexion's devices in Second Life 3D virtual environment. We created a usability test and implemented it. With its data we identified usability features of these 3D controllers.

Abstract
Differential SAR interferometry (DInSAR) is a very effective technique for measuring crustal deformation. However, almost all interferograms include large areas where the signals decorrelate and no measurements are possible. Persistent scatterer interferometry (PS-InSAR) overcomes the decorrelation problem by identifying resolution elements whose echo is dominated by a single scatterer in a series of interferograms. Two time series of 29 ERS-1/2 and 22 ENVISAT ASAR acquisitions of the Granada basin, located in the central sector of the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain), covering the period from 1992 to 2005, were analyzed. Rough topography of the study area associated to its moderate activity geodynamic setting, including faults and folds in an uplifting relief by the oblique Eurasian-African plate convergence, poses a challenge for the application of interferometric techniques. The expected tectonic deformation rates are in the order of similar to 1 mm/yr, which are at the feasibility limit of current InSAR techniques. In order to evaluate whether, under these conditions, InSAR techniques can still be used to monitor deformations we have applied and compared two PS-InSAR approaches: DePSI, the PS-InSAR package developed at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and StaMPS (Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers) developed at Stanford University. Ground motion processes have been identified for the first time in the study area, the most significant process being a subsidence bowl located at the village of Otura. The idea behind this comparative study is to analyze which of the two PS-InSAR approaches considered might be more appropriate for the study of specific areas/environments and to attempt to evaluate the potentialities and benefits that could be derived for the integration of those methodologies.

Abstract
The future of intelligent vehicles will rely on robust information to allow the proper feedback to the vehicle itself, to issue several kinds of active safety, but before all, to generate information for the driver by calling his or her attention to potential instantaneous or mid-term risks associated with the driving. Before true vehicle autonomy, safety and driver assistance are a priority. Sophisticated sensorial and perceptive mechanisms must be made available for, in a first instance, assisting the driver and, on a latter phase, participate in better autonomy. These mechanisms rely on sensors and algorithms that are mostly available nowadays, but many of them are still unsuited for critical situations. This paper presents a project where engineering and scientific solutions have been devised to settle a full featured real scale platform for the next generation of ITS vehicles that are concerned with the immediate issues of navigation and challenges on the road. The car is now ready and running, and the data gathering has just begun. ©2010 IEEE.