Abstract
This paper proposes the implementation of a framework for the development of collaborative extended reality (XR) applications. Using the framework, developers can focus on understanding which collaborative mechanisms they need to implement for the respective reality model application. In this paper we specifically study collaborative mechanisms around object manipulation in Virtual Reality (VR). As such, we planned a VR prototype using the proposed framework, which was used to validate the various interaction and collaboration features in VR. The gathered data from the user tests revealed that they enjoyed the experience and the collaborative mechanisms helped them work together. Furthermore, to understand whether the framework allowed for the development of XR applications, we decided to implement an augmented reality prototype as well. Afterwards, we ran an experiment with 4 VR and 3 AR users sharing the same virtual environment. The experiment was successful at allowing them to interact in real-time in the same shared environment. Therefore, the framework enables the development of XR applications that support different mixed-reality technologies.

Abstract
Design complexity and its relation to Design for Manufacturing continues to be a challenging topic, namely when the objective is to address these aspects in a straightforward manner to young or less experienced design teams. The availability of practical methodologies that induce rules to support novel design creation, in the environment of manufacturing processes, continues to be scarce. This work presents a novel approach named - 0-3D Design Method - that aims to define, in a systematic and geometrical manner, practical rules that allows mechanical designers to relate, in a codified manner, the design geometry of a given mechanical component to the typical manufacturing processes that permit its physical embodiment. The method proposes the definition of types and sub-types of parts, based on the number of spatial dimensions that need to be modified for a given design construction, and its relation to the manufacturing phase of the product life-cycle. A practical mechanical design example is presented to demonstrate the methodology, mapping the parts necessary for the design of a cutting head of a machine-tool. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Abstract

Abstract
Home energy management systems (HEMSs) are important platforms to allow consumers the use of flexibility in their consumption to optimise the total energy cost. The optimisation procedure embedded in these systems takes advantage of the nature of the existing loads and the generation equipment while complying with user preferences such as air temperature comfort configurations. The complexity in finding the best schedule for the appliances within an acceptable execution time for practical applications is leading not only to the development of different formulations for this optimisation problem, but also to the exploitation of non-deterministic optimisation methods as an alternative to traditional deterministic solvers. This study proposes the use of genetic algorithms (GAs) and the cross-entropy method (CEM) in low-power HEMS to solve a conventional mixed-integer linear programming formulation to optimise the total energy cost. Different scenarios for different countries are considered as well as different types of devices to assess the HEMS operation performance, namely, in terms of outputting fast and feasible schedules for the existing devices and systems. Simulation results in low-power HEMS show that GAs and the CEM can produce comparable solutions with the traditional deterministic solver requiring considerably less execution time.

Abstract
ProcessPAIR is a novel method and tool for automating the performance analysis in software development. Based on performance models structured by process experts and calibrated from the performance data of many developers, it automatically identifies and ranks potential performance problems and root causes of individual developers. However, the current calibration method is not fully automatic, because, in the case of performance indicators that affect other indicators in a conflicting way, the process expert has to manually calibrate the optimal value in a way that balances those impacts. In this paper we propose a novel method to automate this step, taking advantage of training data sets. We demonstrate the feasibility of the method with an example related with the Code Review Rate indicator, with conflicting impacts on Productivity and Quality.

Abstract
Solitons are localized wave solutions that appear in nonlinear systems when self-focusing effects balance the usual pulse dispersion of common optical media. Their stability and particle-like behavior make them ideal candidates for applications that range from communication to optical computing, but in real world physical systems, dissipative processes makes these otherwise stable solutions unstable, and true solitons are particularly hard to observe in systems featuring non-negligible dissipation. In these cases a special type of localized stable solutions, called dissipative solitons, are still possible to obtain, if in addition to a balance between diffraction and nonlinearity, an equilibrium between gain and loss is also present. In this work we discuss theoretically how a 4-level atomic system and an incoherent pumping process can be an ideal experimental testbed for studying this interesting class of solutions, featuring tunable optical properties and controllable gain/loss dynamics that allow to study both classes of temporal and spatial dissipative optical solitons.