Abstract
Typical vehicle suspension systems are based on passive energy dissipation devices. This type of systems have proven to be a reliable and economic approach, however they are not capable to modify its behavior in accordance with the road conditions. On the other hand, active systems allow a continuous control of the suspension response although requiring sensors, actuators and controllers which represents a more complex and expensive system, usually demanding high power requirements. A middle-term vibration control approach is to use the so-called semi-active systems with the adaptability of active systems and lower energy consumption. This paper aims to evaluate the comfort ridding of a full suspension bicycle equipped with semi-active open loop controlled suspension system using a magneto-rheological (MR) damper. The assessment was carried out based on the analysis of real data, extracted from the instrumented bicycle prototype. The experimental tests were made in a smooth indoor pavement and a cobblestone road. Finally, the results obtained with the proposed semi-active suspension control system are presented and discussed.

Abstract
The ISOTYPE (International System of Typographic Picture Education) pictograms, a system that emerged as a response to a society driven by science and industrialization, as well as imbued with the belief that the modern spirit had what it takes to pursue the universal theories: The will to do a "utopia" universal communication. Otto Neurath (1882- 1945), developed the isotype in the early 20s of twentieth century, with the help of Gerd Arntz (1900-1988) and Marie Neurath (1898-1986). The frame used simplified forms to transmit social and economic information to the general public and applied in museums, books, posters, and educational material. Neurath hoped to create a global standard for education and unite humanity through an ordered, and universally readable language of vision. Their core principles: reduction, to determine the individual style signs; consistency, to give the whole an appearance of a coherent system. The reduction suggests that the "image has a natural, scientific relationship to its object" (Lupton 1989, 54), and formal consistency is linked to mass production, enabling the user to create a habit of how the information is presented. However, isotype did not advance "because of the difficulties related to the sheer size and complexity of the iconic representation" (Rajamanickam, 2005, 7) and tend to ignore the socio-economic and cultural contexts. The creation of language should rely on the context. And considering the context, currently, many of the 17 million Europeans who suffer from food allergies could benefit from a more direct information system in the identification of the fourteen allergens regulated by the Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) n° 1169/2011 in food products' packages. This study is aimed at creating pictograms representing these fourteen allergens along visual and tactile lines, through relief printing. Based on an Inclusive Design approach, the project is meant to overcome restrictions such as sight impairment or illiteracy. Making use of User Centered Design (UCD) methodology, and with the support of the SAED (Disabled Students Support Services of the University of Porto) and GAENEE-UP (Support Office for Students with Special Educational Needs of the University of Porto), it employed field observation processes, in which potential users recorded their tactile perception of the basic elements of visual communication. The result is the creation of a universal code, which is meant to satisfy the expectations and needs of potential users, namely people with impaired sight with a framework that systematize guidelines to support the development of new relief pictograms in the food allergies context. This project was developed with the purpose of creating a unique and universal code that could help two special groups of disabled people: Those,both adults and children, that suffer from food allergies and the visually impaired. The leading goal was the creation of relief signs that represent the fourteen allergens regulated by the European Union, under the Parliament and Council (EU) Regulation n° 1169/2011, as well as the development of a guideline framework to support future relief pictograms' designs. In this paper we explain the process of creating those, presenting some of the results, semiotic and technical requirements that underlie the framework that systematize the relief pictograms guidelines to visual impaired users. © Common Ground Research Networks, Bruno Giesteira, João Mesquita.

Abstract
The growth of the Blue Economy has been boosted by a set of traditional and new activities including maritime transportation, fisheries, environmental monitoring, deep sea mining, and inspection missions. These activities are urging for a cost-effective broadband communications solution capable of supporting both above and underwater missions at remote ocean areas, since many of them rely on an ever-increasing number of Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV), which need to transmit large amounts of data to shore. The BLUE-COM+ project has considered the usage of helium balloons to increase the antenna height, and overtake the earth curvature and achieve Fresnel zone clearance, combined with the use of sub-GHz frequency bands to enable long range communications. In this paper we present the results obtained in three sea trials. They show that the BLUECOM+ architecture is capable of supporting human and system activities at remote ocean areas by enabling Internet access beyond 50 km from shore, live video conference calls with the quality of experience available on land, and real-time data upload to the cloud by ASVs, AUVs and ROVs using standard access technologies with bitrates above 1 Mbit/s.

Abstract
It is well-known that information and communication technologies enable many tasks in the context of precision agriculture. In fact, more and more farmers and food and agriculture companies are using precision agriculture-based systems to enhance not only their products themselves, but also their means of production. Consequently, problems arising from large amounts of data management and processing are arising. It would be very useful to have an infrastructure that allows information and agricultural tasks to be efficiently shared and handled. The cloud computing paradigm offers a solution. In this study, a cloud-based software architecture is proposed with the aim of enabling a complete crop management system to be deployed and validated. Such architecture includes modules developed by using Google App Engine, which allows the information to be easily retrieved and processed and agricultural tasks to be properly defined and planned. Additionally, Google's Datastore (which ensures a high scalability degree), hosts both information that describes such agricultural tasks and agronomic data. The architecture has been validated in a system that comprises a wireless sensor network with fixed nodes and a mobile node on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), deployed in an agricultural farm in the Region of Murcia (Spain). Such a network allows soil water and plant status to be monitored. The UAV (capable of executing missions defined by an administrator) is useful for acquiring visual information in an autonomous manner (under operator supervision, if needed). The system performance has been analysed and results that demonstrate the benefits of using the proposed architecture are detailed.

Abstract
The detection of dissolved carbon dioxide (dCO(2)) is made possible through a colorimetric effect that occurs in a sensitive membrane. The reaction with dCO(2) changes the pH of the membrane causing a small difference in its colour which results in a characteristic absorbance spectrum band near 435 nm. A sensing platform based on this effect was developed and tested in gaseous and in aqueous environments. It is a combination of a bundle of large core fibre optics (with diameters above 200 mu m) with light emission diodes (LEDs) in the visible range of the spectrum, a silicon photodetector and a polymer membrane sensitive to CO2. A variation in the absorption of 3 / %VV was obtained in the range from 0 to 1.6 % of gaseous CO2 with an estimated response time below 60 seconds.

Abstract
It is in the nature of chaotic atmospheric processes that weather forecasts will never be perfectly accurate. This natural fact poses challenges not only for private life, public safety, and traffic but also for electrical power systems with high shares of weather-dependent wind and solar power production. © 2012 IEEE.