INESC TEC Science Bits

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which invaded Portugal in March 2020, forced us to redefine our attitude towards work. On March 18 this year, a state of emergency was declared, forcing teleworking to be adopted whenever possible.

Teleworking literally means remote work, working at a distance, being a job performed outside the company using information technologies. This delicate situation inevitably brings new challenges and demands, since the boundaries between professional and personal lives can blur and create a set of psychological difficulties for individuals.

How can we fight the stress and help workers with their motivation? How can technology contribute to support this new conditioned reality? What if technology and psychology managed to join forces in this teleworking crusade, what did we all have to gain?

To answer these and other questions, we have with us today two INESC TEC researchers working in different areas, but somehow reconciled: Duarte Dias and Susana Rodrigues, from the Centre for Biomedical Engineering Research (C-BER).

Duarte Dias and Susana Rodrigues

Recently graduated in Bioengineering, Duarte Dias is passionate by hi-tech and R&D, always trying to contribute for a better understanding of human body physiology applying engineering concepts. His electronic and computer science skills acquired during the Master Degree and external projects, endorsed his capabilities as a researcher in biomedical engineering area. Signal and image processing, Programming, Electronics, Instrumentation, Automation, Data structure, Bionics and Computer-aided Systems were some of the most relevant areas lectured during graduation, all of them related to biomedical science. His experience enables him to develop and produce new technologies with real-life applications to improve healthcare and human well-being.

Susana Rodrigues is a researcher in the area of Psychophysiology at BRAIN group. Holds a PhD degree in Psychology from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP) and she is a Chartered Psychologist with the Order of Psychologists, with a specialization in clinical and health psychology. So far, her research has been concentrated in the areas of stress, fatigue, coping and engagement among first responders using ambulatory assessment methodologies.

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits #9 – Technology and Psychology aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

Did you know that proportionally we have more knowledge about the surface of the moon than we have about the deep sea? Since the ocean and the Blue Economy are top priorities in Portugal and in the European Union, new solutions have to be designed to help increase the activity at the ocean in a more effective and lucrative way.

To understand a little bit more why it is so difficult to gather information from underwater surfaces and what INESC TEC has been working on to solve those issues, we invited two guests who work as researchers at the forefront of these subjects. Rui Campos works at the Centre for Telecommunications and Multimedia, and Bruno Ferreira at the Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems, both at INESC TEC.

Rui Campos has a PhD degree in Electrical and Computers Engineering in 2011, from the University of Porto. Currently, he leads the Wireless Networks research area of the Centre for Telecommunications and Multimedia at INESC TEC, consisting of 30 researchers, and he is an IEEE Senior Member.

He has coordinated several research projects, including: SMART and SIMBED+ in Fed4FIRE+ Open Calls, UGREEN, BLUECOM+, MareCom, MTGrid, the WiFIX action approved in CONFINE Open Call 1, Mare-Fi, Under-Fi, ReCoop, and HiperWireless. Rui Campos has participated in several research projects, including the following European projects: H2020 ResponDrone, H2020 Fed4FIRE+, H2020 RAWFIE, FP7 SUNNY, FP7 CONFINE, FP6 Ambient Networks Phase 1, and FP6 Ambient Networks Phase 2.

His research interests include medium access control, radio resource management, mobility management, and network auto-configuration in emerging wireless networks, with special focus on maritime networks and flying networks.

Bruno Ferreira is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems at INESC TEC. He graduated in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, first with a MSc degree in 2009 and with a PhD degree in 2014. Since 2009, he has been working on Surface and Underwater Robotics, researching on Control, Guidance, Localization and Coordination of marine robots.

His activities have been developed in the context of several national and international projects, among which the following are highlighted: Lajeado (development of an AUV for dam inspection); FP7 ICARUS (Integrated Components for Assisted Rescue and Unmanned Search operations); and FLEXUS (Flexible Unmanned Surface vehicles for the Internet of moving things), funded by H2020 RAWFIE project.

He is also involved in the development of several robotic systems and at the origin of prototypes such as the autonomous surface vehicle FLEXUS and the autonomous underwater vehicle SHAD.

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits #8 – Exploring the ocean aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

For most people, September means the “end of summer holidays” and the “beginning of the school year”. For this reason, and to encourage your return to day-to-day life, in this episode we’d like to invite you to enter a classroom with no walls and a bunch of games. The Professors are actually researchers at INESC TEC’s Centre for Information Systems and Computer Graphics: António Coelho and Leonel Morgado, who talked about “E-learning”.

An episode recorded at a distance that tests some of the tools of this work and teaching method.

Leonel Morgado is Assistant Professor with Habilitation at Universidade Aberta, Portugal’s public distance education university. Leonel Morgado lectures on research methods, programming and immersive learning technology. He is also a board member of the Immersive Learning Research Network. His main research interest is the use and development of e-learning and immersive technology for education and business, which he pursues since 2000, focusing on multi-user platforms since 2006. He authored over 200 papers, in journals, conferences, and as book chapters. Before pursuing an academic career, he was business and technical manager of a hardware import, distribution and retail company, as well as terminologist for the localisation teams of MS Office 97 and Oracle InterOffice. He also worked as language consultant for IBM/Lotus, coordinator of Web Development teams for heritage organisations and of software deployment teams at hospitals nationwide, as well as manager of a cooperative extension team fighting the digital divide in rural villages.

António Fernando Coelho is an Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Department of Informatics Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto (UP), where he teaches in the fields of Computer Graphics, Programming and Digital Games. He is also the director of the Doctoral Programme in Digital Media at the University of Porto.

He is also Senior Researcher at the Centre for Information Systems and Computer Graphics (CSIG) of INESC TEC (formerly INESC Porto) since 1995, and he is currently the coordinator of the Computer Graphics and Virtual Environments area. His research interests focus on Computer Graphics, Serious Games and Geospatial Systems.

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits #7 – E-learning aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

In the last episode of Science Bits before the holidays, we talked about biometric recognition, with two researchers from INESC TEC’s Centre for Telecommunications and Multimedia.

Biometry literally means “measurement of life” and, in this episode, Filipa Sequeira and João Pinto explain why this area could be one of the key facilitators of the world’s digital transformation. A more convenient and safer world. However, since “mostly everything can be used for good and evil; the world will keep on turning”, the researchers also highlight the challenges inherent in biometrics. Don’t miss this episode. We will be back in September. Happy holidays!

Ana Filipa Sequeira (PhD) has a PhD in Electrical and Computers Engineering, a First Degree (5-year) in Mathematics and Master’s Degree in the same field, all from the University of Porto. Ana Filipa works as assistant researcher at INESC TEC, in the field of computer vision and machine learning. In the past, she worked at the University of Reading, UK, collaborating in EU projects related to the application of biometric recognition in Border Control (FASTPASS and PROTECT projects). Moreover, Ana Filipa had a short-term collaboration with the company Iris Guard UK, researching vulnerabilities and developing a proof-of-concept of a robust iris anti-spoofing measure for their EyePay® Technology. Ana Filipa also led the development of several biometric databases, managed biometric competitions and co-authored several research publications.

Ana’s research includes liveness detection techniques (for iris, face and fingerprint), biometric recognition for border control, facial analysis topics, such as emotion recognition, image compliance with standardisation requirements and interpretability of AI for biometrics, among others.

João Pinto holds an integrated Master’s (Bachelor and Master) degree in Bioengineering, a branch of Biomedical Engineering focused on a wide array of subjects related to healthcare and engineering, such as sensors and electronics, signal and image processing, computer aided diagnosis, medical instruments, robotics and bionics, mobile programming and software engineering.

He is currently a Research Assistant at CTM – INESC TEC and a PhD student at FEUP, conducting research in signal and image analysis, combined with machine learning for pattern recognition applications. His work focuses mainly on biometrics, for human identification and authentication, using electrocardiographic signals from off-the-person, highly noisy, unconstrained, and seamless acquisition settings.

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits #6 – Biometric recognition aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

The fifth episode of INESC TEC Science Bits focuses on “Personalised Health Research”. Artur Rocha and Gonçalo Gonçalves, from INESC TEC’s Centre for Information Systems and Computer Graphics, help other health researchers in the development of new treatments before they become common practice. You can find out more about the study “Diaries of a Pandemic”, the Happ-e (the first online cohort for adults born prematurely) and iReceptor Plus, a project that focuses on immunogenetics.

Artur Rocha is a senior researcher at INESC TEC since 1998. He is the assistant coordinator of the Centre for Information Systems and Computer Graphics (CSIG). His current research interests include platforms and methods for collaborative research, privacy-preserving distributed computation, the semantic sensor Web (IoT) and Big Data processing. From October 1996 to December 1997, he was an associate member of CERN – European Laboratory for High Energy Physics, IT Division/Web Office. His research focuses on two major areas: Personalised Health Research (PHR), and Earth and Ocean Observation Science (EOOS). The PHR area comprises: a) personalised Internet-based treatments; and b) human data storage, privacy-preserving processing and controlled FAIR data sharing. Concerning this field, Artur Rocha participates in several projects, such as ICT4Depression (FP7), E-COMPARED (FP7), STOP Depression (EEA Grant), iCare4Depression (FCT), RECAP Preterm (H2020), EUCAN-Connect (H2020) and iReceptor Plus (H2020). In these projects, he is often responsible for the system’s architecture, platform implementation or technical coordination. As to the EOOS, he participates in the implementation of the RAIA Observatory (Interreg projects RAIA, RAIA.co, RAIA TEC, MarRisk and RADAR ON RAIA), SeaBioData(EEA Grant), MELOA (H2020) and C4G – which is the Portuguese node of EPOS (H2020 EPOS-SP).

Gonçalo Gonçalves is a researcher at the Centre for Information Systems and Computer Graphics of INESC TEC since 2017. He holds a MSc in Network and Information Systems Engineering (focus on Parallel and Distributed Systems), from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. His research focuses mainly on software development for e-Health systems.

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits #5 – Personalised Health Research aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

The fourth episode of the INESC TEC Science Bits podcast addresses one of the “hottest” subjects in recent years: cryptocurrencies. Francisco Cruz and Francisco Maia, researchers at INESC TEC’s High-Assurance Software Lab (HASLab), talk about the social and technological aspects of this market – which, approximately three years ago, registered a significant increase in the number of followers worldwide. What is – and what isn’t’ – Blockchain? How can Keyruptive, INESC TEC’s spin-off, combine convenience with security in the storage of digital currencies? Find out all the answers in this episode.

Francisco Maia is one of the co-founders of Keyruptive, an INESC TEC’s spin-off. He’s an associated researcher at INESC TEC, and he holds a PhD in large-scale storage systems, from a joint programme of the Universities of Minho, Aveiro and Porto (2015). He also participated in multiple national and international projects, like the SafeCloud project (H2020). This project, led by INESC TEC, focused on the development of a vast set of technology for the design of safer information storage and processing systems in cloud computing environments. Francisco Maia is the author of more than 20 scientific articles published in renowned international conferences, such as Eurosys, SRDS and DAIS. He is the president of Associação AMU, a Portuguese IPSS/NGDO for social emergency, social integration and development cooperation.

Francisco Cruz is one of the co-founders of Keyruptive, a spin-off of INESC TEC. He is an associate researcher at INESC TEC, within the scope of the HASLab. He holds a PhD (2016) from the MAP-i doctoral programme of the Universities of Minho, Aveiro, and Porto. His research focuses on distributed databases and big data. He contributed extensively to the community, thanks to his work on autonomous reconfiguration and elasticity systems for Cloud Computing. He published several works in international events, such as Eurosys, SRDS and DAIS. He also participated in several European projects, such as CumuloNimbo – which aimed to redesign distributed databases for large-scale solutions

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits #4 – Cryptocurrencies aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

The third episode of INESC TEC Science Bits invites listeners to break with the laws of classical physics. Quantum Physics is one of the more interesting fields of what we call Modern Physics and it stems from the understanding that the laws of physics seem different at the microscopic scale, thus challenging the human intuition concerning the macroscopic world.

During this episode, the interviewees go back to the origins of quantum physics and share the ambitions of INESC TEC’s Centre for Applied Photonics on various research topics, in particular “Quantum sensors and metrology” and “Quantum simulation”. Can a cat be alive and dead at the same time? Find out the answers on this trip to the microscopic world.

Ariel Guerreiro is expert in Nonlinear and Quantum Optics, with emphasis in light-matter interaction, and with an international scientific career collaborating with top-ranked institutes in Europe and the United states. He was awarded a Calouste Gulbenkian Scientific Research, a Rank Prize on Optoelectronics, and held the prestigious Casimir Research Fellowship at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. He completed his PhD in Physical Engineering in 2004 by the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon, a Master in Management and Business Administration (MBA) in 2010 by the University of Porto and a Degree in Technological Physics in 1998 by the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon.

Ariel combines training in Nonlinear and Quantum Optics, Plasma Physics, High Performance Computing, and Nanophotonics. His research started in the topic of quantum-optical macroscopic effects and macroscopic entanglement, evolving to the study of light-matter dynamics. In parallel, he applied his skills to the development of optical sensors based on nanoplasmonics and optical metamaterials. Currently his research focuses on quantum-enhanced optical properties of atomic systems and their applications in quantum simulation and information systems.

He published 50 articles in specialized magazines, has 4 chapters in books and coordinated the edition of 1 scientific publication. Supervised 5 doctoral thesis and 13 master dissertations. Ariel is an Assistant Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department of the University of Porto and has been recently appointed area manager of Quantum Engineering at the Centre for Applied Photonics at INESC TEC.

Nuno Azevedo Silva graduated in Physics in 2011 and completed his MSc degree in Theoretical Physics in 2013 at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. Following a brief experience under a research grant, he engaged in the MAP-Fis doctoral program at the University of Porto, concluding his Ph.D. in Physics in 2019, the year he was also a visiting scholar at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at UT Austin during the fall semester. Collaborator of INESC TEC since 2012, he is currently a Post-doc researcher at the Center for Applied Photonics, and his work spans across the fields of Nonlinear and Quantum Optics, Quantum Fluids, and High-performance computing for scientific purposes.

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits # 3 – Quantum Engineering and Technology aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

The second episode of INESC TEC Science Bits is somehow different, since we are all staying at home. Therefore, we ask you to get comfortable and follow us on this journey through the latest trends in science and technology. For this episode, we invited two INESC TEC researchers to discuss “Smart Cities”: David Rua, from the Centre for Power and Energy Systems, and Fábio Coelho, from the High-Assurance Software Laboratory.

During the course of this “smart” talk, the interviewers explain what Smart Cities are, and address the main challenges researchers need to overcome to develop them. Other concepts like “Big Data”, “Blockchain” and “cloud” came up also came up during the conversation.

David Rua is a senior researcher at INESC TEC’s Centre for Power and Energy Systems and Area Manager of the X-Energy Management Systems, which is dedicated to the development of interoperable solutions of energy management in buildings. David Rua has a PhD in Sustainable Energy Systems (Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto), and his research activities have mainly been focused on communication systems for smart grids, energy management in residential buildings and the integration of renewable generation in the electric systems. He has also participated in several European projects – InterConnect, MERGE, evolvDSO, SmarterEMC2, AnyPLACE and InteGrid, aimed at developing strategies for the integration of distributed energy resources and the optimisation of energy use.

Fábio Coelho is currently working as a senior researcher at HASLab, one of INESC TEC’s research units. He obtained a Computer Networks Engineering degree from the Polytechnic of Lisbon, in 2011, and an MSc degree in Computer Science from the University of Minho (2013). He has a PhD (2018) granted through the MAP-i Doctoral Programme, from the universities of Minho, Aveiro, and Porto. His research is focused on cloud-based SQL HTAP databases, cloud-based ICT platforms, non-relational databases, cloud computing, and distributed systems. Fábio has several international publications in top-tier conferences, such as SRDS, DAIS, and ICPE. He participated in several national and EU projects such as CoherentPaaS, LeanBigData, CloudDBAppliance, Integrid and InterConnect.

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits # 2 – Smart Cities aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.

INESC TEC Science Bits is a podcast, produced by INESC TEC and Engenharia Rádio, which aims to shed a light on the latest trends in science and technology, trying to dive deeper in each subject with the help of INESC TEC experts and researchers.

In this first episode, two researchers from INESC TEC Centre for Industrial Engineering and Management talk about Business Analytics, namely Prescriptive Analytics, a research line with the potential to be a leading-edge element in management and industry.

During this conversation, the guest speakers explain what is Business Analytics and the sequence according to which the different types of Analytics should be conducted – giving examples of Prescriptive Analytics in Business or in Industry and trying to forecast the future developments in Prescriptive Analytics.

Bernardo Almada Lobo is a Full Professor at Industrial Engineering and Management, FEUP, and a Member of the Board at INESC TEC. He is also a co-founder of LTPlabs (INESC TEC and FEUP spin-off) and member of the Board of Trustees of the Fundação Belmiro de Azevedo. His main area of activity is Science Management /Operations Research. He develops and applies advanced analytical models and methods to help make better decisions, thus helping solve managerial problems in various sectors (manufacturing, health, retail and mobility) – with a special focus on Operations Management.

Gonçalo Figueira is a researcher at INESC TEC Centre for Industrial Engineering and Management, and a visiting lecturer at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at FEUP. His research interests include supply chain management, operations research and decision support systems. Gonçalo Figueira has published in international journals and worked as a researcher/consultant in several R&D projects, namely in the fields of production planning, supply chain design, scheduling, disturbance management and inventory replenishment.

O conteúdo INESC TEC Science Bits # 1 – Business Analytics aparece primeiro em Engenharia Rádio.