Abstract
Object detection in images is a computing demanding task which usually needs to deal with the detection of different classes of objects, and thus requiring variations and adaptations easily provided by software solutions. Object detection algorithms are being part of real-time smarter embedded systems, such as automotive, medical, robotics and security systems. In most embedded systems, efficient implementations of object oriented algorithms need to provide high performance, low power consumption, and programmability to allow greater development flexibility. The Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) is one of the most widely used algorithms for object detection in images. In this paper, we show our work towards mapping the HOG algorithm to an FPGA-based system consisting of multiple Nios II softcore processors and bearing in mind high-performance and programmability issues. We show how to reduce 19x the algorithms execution time by source to source transformations and specially avoiding redundant processing. Furthermore, we show how the use of pipelining processing using three Nios II processors allows a speedup of 49x compared to the embedded baseline application.

Abstract
In the context of SaaS, where the change requests can be frequent, there is the need for a systematic requirements management process so as to maintain requirements updated and ease the management of changes required to improve the service to provide. Changes to perform need to be prioritized and their impact on the system should be assessed. The extraction and analysis of the use of the servicesprovided through the web and their relationship to the requirements can help identify improvements and help keep the service useful for longer period of time. This paper presents REQAnalytics, a recommender system that collects information on the usage of a web service, relates that information back to the requirements, and generates reports with recommendations and change suggestions that can increase the quality of that service. The proposed approach aims to provide reports of the analysis made in a language closer to the business where, for example, it indicates new workflows and navigation paths, identifies the features that can be removed and presents the relationship between requirements andthe proposed changes helping to maintain the software requirements specification updated and useful. © 2016 SERSC.

Abstract
The ability of the Arduino platform to enhance student interest and performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, while fostering skills that are important prerequisites for future IT careers, has been proven more than once in the past years. But can the future be crafted without the past? We believe that many past inventions crave the future, so their understanding is a bridge of knowledge that must be passed to students. According to Grand View Research website the microcontroller market will rise from the 20 billion units in 2015 to an amazing 39 billion units in 2020. Therefore, an increase on IT careers is also expected. The Morse code and the telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication in the past and laid the groundwork for the communications revolution. In fact, although developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse (1791-1872) and other inventors, only in 1844 the first telegraph message, from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland, was sent. To provide the means to students to start learning this technology we have developed four experiences that introduce them to the fundamentals of communications, including the Li-Fi technology. This new technology is based on the Morse code, and can spark again the communications revolution by using tiny, imperceptible flickering lights can provide a new way of sending data to computers and mobile devices. Therefore, we decided to revitalize the almost forgotten Morse code by implementing it with an Arduino in order to lay again the foundations to this new revolution that is coming. This paper presents the implementation model of two Morse code translators, how they work, their implementation, and some results. We also present a VLC (Visible Light Communication) system based on the same principles of the Morse code building this way the foundation for students to proceed with this course of the investigation.

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Abstract
Most market operators provide daily data on several market processes, including the results of all market transactions. The use of such data by electricity market simulators is essential for simulations quality, enabling the modelling of market behaviour in a much more realistic and efficient way. RealScen (Realistic Scenarios Generator) is a tool that creates realistic scenarios according to the purpose of the simulation: representing reality as it is, or on a smaller scale but still as representative as possible. This paper presents a novel methodology that enables RealScen to collect real electricity markets information and using it to represent market participants, as well as modelling their characteristics and behaviours. This is done using data analysis combined with artificial intelligence. This paper analyses the way players' characteristics are modelled, particularly in their representation in a smaller scale, simplifying the simulation while maintaining the quality of results. A study is also conducted, comparing real electricity market values with the market results achieved using the generated scenarios. The conducted study shows that the scenarios can fully represent the reality, or approximate it through a reduced number of representative software agents. As a result, the proposed methodology enables RealScen to represent markets behaviour, allowing the study and understanding of the interactions between market entities, and the study of new markets by assuring the realism of simulations.

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