Abstract
Teaching mobile robotics adequately is a complex task. Within the strategies found in the literature, the one used in this work includes the use of a simulator. This simulator represents the Autonomous Driving Competition of the Portuguese Robotics Open. Currently, the simulator supports two different robots and all challenges of the autonomous driving competition. This simulator was used at a Robotics course of the Integrated Master Degree in Informatics and Computing Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. In order to study the influence of the simulator in the college students learning process, a survey was conducted. The results and its corresponding analysis indicate that the simulator is suited to teach some of the mobile robotics challenges crossing several fields of study, including image processing, computer vision and control.

Abstract
Pervasive and useR fOcused biomeTrics bordEr projeCT (PROTECT) is an EU project funded by the Horizon 2020 research and Innovation Programme. The main aim of PROTECT was to build an advanced biometric-based person identification system that works robustly across a range of border crossing types and that has strong user-centric features. This work presents the case study of the multibiometric verification system developed within PROTECT. The system has been developed to be suitable for different borders such as air, sea, and land borders. The system covers two use cases: the walk-through scenario, in which the traveller is on foot; the drive-through scenario, in which the traveller is in a vehicle. Each deployment includes a different set of biometric traits and this study illustrates how to evaluate such multibiometric system in accordance with international standards and, in particular, how to overcome practical problems that may be encountered when dealing with multibiometric evaluation, such as different score distributions and missing scores.

Abstract
AbstractNowadays, the low efficiency of solar energy power plant systems brings about uneconomical performance and high-cost uncompetitive industries compared with the traditional fossil fuel ones. In order to overcome these kinds of issues, in this study, the performance of a solar tower coupled with a Rankine cycle is scrutinized using the first and second laws of thermodynamic. Moreover, a numerical code has been developed in the GNU Octave software environment to calculate the precise value for both energy and exergy losses of each component. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis approach corresponds to the variation of several inner parameters such as direct normal irradiation (DNI), molten salt outlet temperature (MSOT), and the molten salt velocity (MSV), environmental parameters such as wind speed and ambient temperature have been performed. In addition, the overall losses are calculated by considering all possible forms of losses such as convection, conduction, reflection, and emission, and also, the portion of each source of these losses are determined. The obtained results indicate that the maximum exergy loss occurs in the central receiver system (CRS), while the major energy loss occurs in the turbine located in the power block. The sensitivity analysis shows that the rise of DNI significantly increases the exergy%energy efficiency of the cycle and also, the portion of loss related to emission heat transfer would be enhanced. Moreover, the variation of the MSV and MSOT illustrate influencing the performance of the cycle; consequently, the MSOT changes demonstrate a reverse relation with energy and direct relation with exergy efficiency. Accordingly, an optimum value of 650K is calculated for the MSOT as well as an optimum value of 2 m%s for the MSV. The environmental sensitivity analysis indicates that the enhancement of wind speed and ambient temperature has a negative impact on the net output of the cycle, which is not desirable.

Abstract
This paper reports on the development and validation of a formal model for an automotive adaptive exterior lights system (ELS) with multiple variants in Electrum, a lightweight formal specification language that extends Alloy with mutable relations and temporal logic. We explore different strategies to address variability, one in pure Electrum and another through an annotative language extension. We then show how Electrum and its Analyzer can be used to validate systems of this nature, namely by checking that the reference scenarios are admissible, and to automatically verify whether the established requirements hold. A prototype was developed to translate the provided validation sequences into Electrum and back to further automate the validation process. The resulting ELS model was validated against the provided validation sequences and verified for most of requirements for all variants.

Abstract
Long period fiber gratings (LPFGs) were fabricated in a standard single mode fiber (SMF-28e) through femtosecond (fs) laser direct writing. LPFGs with longer and shorter periods were fabricated, which allows coupling from the fundamental core mode to lower and higher order asymmetric cladding modes (LP(1,6)and LP1,12, respectively). For the grating periods of 182.7 and 192.5 mu m, it was verified that the LP(1,12)mode exhibits a TAP at approximately 1380 and 1448 nm in air and water, respectively. Characterization of the LPFGs subjected to high-temperature thermal treatment was accomplished. Fine-tuning of the resonance band's position and thermal stability up to 600 degrees C was shown. The temperature sensitivity was characterized for the gratings with different periods and for different temperature ranges. A maximum sensitivity of -180.73, and 179.29 pm/degrees C was obtained for the two resonances of the 182.7 mu m TAP LPFG, in the range between 250 and 600 degrees C.

Abstract
In this paper, we describe the design of a dual polarized packaged patch antenna for 5G communications with improved isolation and bandwidth for K-band. We introduce a differential feeding technique and a heuristic-based design of a matching network applied to a single layer patch antenna with parasitic elements. This approach resulted in broader bandwidth, reduced layer count, improved isolation and radiation pattern stability. The results were validated through finite element method (FEM) and method of moments (MoM) simulations. A peak gain of 5 dBi, isolation above 40 dB and a radiation efficiency of 60% were obtained.