PhD Defence in Informatics Engineering: ”An Optimization Strategy for Resource Allocation in Cyber Physical Production Systems”

Candidate:

Eliseu Moura Pereira

Date, Time and Location:

17th of June 2025, 10:00, Sala de Atos, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

President of the Jury:

Carlos Miguel Ferraz Baquero-Moreno, Full Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto.

Members:

Pedro Nicolau Faria da Fonseca (PhD), Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Computer Science, Universidade de Aveiro;

Paulo Jorge Pinto Leitão (PhD), Principal Coordinating Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança;

André Monteiro de Oliveira Restivo (PhD), Associate Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto;

Gil Manuel Magalhães de Andrade Gonçalves (PhD), Associate Professor with Habilitation, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (Supervisor).

The thesis was co-supervised by João Pedro Correia dos Reis (PhD), Assistant Researcher, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto.

Abstract:

Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPSs) integrate computation, communication, and control technologies, delivering the flexibility needed for dynamic shop floor reconfiguration and efficient manufacturing. A factory with higher shop floor flexibility has the advantage of higher product customization or changeover, when compared to traditional industries. They manifest this advantage mainly when the industry introduces a new product or because the shop floor produces highly variable products needing constant reconfiguration. Several manufacturers adopt such production philosophy, like in the automotive industry, where a high variability of car models and specifications requires different setups/configurations of the shop floor to manufacture them. In sequential production lines, like car assembly lines, reconfigurable CPPSs play an essential role because processing one product can affect the entire production performance, requiring a shop floor reconfiguration to optimize their execution. A significant challenge in CPPSs arises when reacting to changing conditions, such as new products or requirements, reconfiguration is needed. Current systems rely on manual intervention, leading to significant delays, especially in large industries where reprogramming hundreds of machines can take days or weeks. This thesis addresses this issue by proposing a platform that automatically optimizes software assignment to resources, speeding up development, deployment, and reconfiguration, enabling CPPSs to adapt to external disturbances quickly.

With the purpose of accelerating the development, reconfiguration, and execution of software in CPPSs, this thesis aims to optimize Function Blocks (FBs) assignment to the devices existent in an IEC 61499-based Cyber-Physical System (CPS), reducing the total execution time (reconfiguration time plus FB pipeline execution time). With this main goal, the thesis resulted in the development of 3 tools: 1) the Dynamic Intelligent Architecture for Software and Modular Reconfiguration (DINASORE), that enables the development, execution and manual reconfiguration of IEC 61499-based CPSs, 2) the Task Resources Estimator and Allocation Optimizer (TREAO),  that simulates and optimizes the tasks/FBs assignment to the CPS machines, recommending suitable software layouts for the CPS characteristics, and 3) the Task Assignment Optimization and Synchronization Engine (T-Sync), which integrates the previous two tools in a solution and optimizes in run-time the FBs assignment to the devices existent in an IEC 61499-based CPS.

Integrating these tools in T-Sync resulted in a differentiating solution because it 1) allows online FB assignment to optimize the CPS execution continuously and 2) improves the transparency and interoperability between FBs across IEC 61499-based devices. With this solution, the performance (total execution time) running FBs in reconfigurable CPSs improved by 30% in a simulated environment and 61% in a CPS. In addition to T-Sync improving total execution time, DINASORE enhances reconfiguration efficiency and flexibility, while TREAO streamlines CPS development by optimizing task and FB assignments to available resources. Besides the mentioned ones, during this thesis, other algorithms were implemented and tested for task assignment optimization, and other tools were developed to increase the interoperability and portability in CPSs. The future work envisions the automatic generation of FB pipelines from structured requirements, with formal specifications like UML diagrams, consequently integrating TREAO, manufacturing process simulators, and T-Sync to iteratively validate, optimize, simulate factory layouts, and deploy CPS software with enhanced flexibility and adaptability.

Keywords: Cyber-Physical Production Systems; IEC 61499; Machine Learning; Task Assignment.

Raquel Esteves (Alumna MM) gets a Best Paper Student Award

Raquel Esteves, a recent graduate of the Master in Multimedia of the University of Porto, took her dissertation work to the Noise and Vibration Conference and Exhibition by SAE International, held last month in the United States, and returned with the Best Student Thesis Award for her research entitled ‘Sound Design for Electric Vehicles: Enhancing Safety and User Experience Through Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS)’.

The increase in electric vehicles has led to significant changes in car design, particularly in response to the absence of traditional combustion engine sounds. This change has required innovations to increase pedestrian safety and improve the user experience. This work explores the current state of research and development in sound creation for electric vehicles, focusing on the implementation of Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS).

Through a comprehensive review of the literature, the study examined key concepts related to sonification, human-machine interaction, sound design, automation engineering, and environmental considerations such as urban soundscape management, ecological sustainability, and noise pollution. Existing AVAS systems were analysed to identify common approaches, evaluate their effectiveness and explore potential for improvement. In addition, the study also investigated the characteristics of low- and high-fidelity soundscapes to determine the most appropriate sounds for optimising AVAS, aligning them with pedestrian safety and environmental objectives.

The practical component of the research involved designing AVAS prototypes using specialised software tools, including Ableton Live and Wwise Automotive. These sounds were integrated into simulated driving scenarios in Unity to test their performance and determine user preferences and their impact on pedestrian safety and user experience.

The study offers valuable insights for AVAS design, balancing safety, user satisfaction and minimal environmental disturbance. Participants preferred discreet, soft, nature-like melodic sounds with lower frequencies for high-fidelity soundscapes and melodic, low-frequency sounds for low-fidelity soundscapes at higher speeds. They preferred melodic, reliable and futuristic tones for car sounds, avoiding overly epic sounds that could interfere with driving. The emphasis on low and mid frequencies created a sense of connection to the ground.

This research improves electric vehicle technology and promotes a more harmonious interaction between electric vehicles and urban environments.

‘I am grateful to the organisers, reviewers and everyone who has supported me on my journey so far, as well as all the fantastic researchers I had the opportunity to meet and learn from during the event,’ shares Raquel, extending her thanks to the Master in Multimedia and her supervisors Gilberto Bernardes and Eduardo Magalhães for their continued support.

More about this article on this page.

Diogo Castro (L.EIC) gets Gold at the World Boccia Challenger

Diogo Castro, a first-year student on the Bachelor’s Degree in Informatics and Computing Engineering (L.EIC), won the gold medal at the 2nd World Boccia Challenger Tournament, organised by the Pajulahti Olympic and Paralympic Training Centre, which took place from the 9th to the 17th of May 2025 in Finland.

Nuno Teixeira (SICC/FEUP) interviewed the winner after this remarkable achievement:

“At just 18 years old, Diogo Castro is already a force to be reckoned with on the world boccia scene.

After winning the gold medal at the World Youth Championships in March this year in Brazil, the first-year student of the Bachelor’s Degree in Informatics and Conputing Engineering is already looking ahead to the next competitions with ambition, with a special focus on the Paralympic Games.
For now, the FC Porto athlete will participate in the European Championships, to be held in Zagreb, Croatia, between 8 and 16 July, where, as usual, he wants to hear ‘A Portuguesa’ at the end of the competition.

How did Boccia come into your life?
I tried Boccia quite early, when I was eight, but the schedules weren’t compatible with school, so it wasn’t until I was 10 that the opportunity arose to play at FC Porto, but mainly with the aim of socialising and doing something different.

Tell me a little about your sports career in Boccia.
At first, it was just for fun, but over time I realised that the sport was much more than just ‘throwing balls’. As the years went by, and with the achievement of some medals, the way I looked at the sport changed and became more competitive. With several achievements in youth championships, I realised that I could evolve more and more. However, I acquired new equipment, namely the ramp/track and balls, to remain competitive in a sport that is constantly growing.

What do you like most about playing Boccia?
That it is a tactical game, where the athlete who thinks the game through best overcomes the difficulties created by their opponent.

You play in a Boccia class called Bc3. What does it consist of and how is it different from the others?
Athletes are divided into different classes according to their physical condition. In my case, as I don’t have the strength to throw the ball, I use a ramp. Bc3 is the only class that uses a ramp and the help of a ramp operator, who doesn’t see the game and just does what I ask him to do, which is to place the ramp in the direction of the game and the ball at the right height.

How does this connection between you and the ramp operator work?
In my case, the ramp operator is my father, who acts as my arms and legs. It is important to be in tune with the ramp operator, because the information I give him has to be clear and easy to understand, as we have to play within the time limit (six minutes for individuals and seven minutes for pairs).

You are about to represent Portugal in the European Boccia Championships in July. How do you feel about this competition? Are you confident on a good result?
It will be an important competition that could earn me a lot of points for the world rankings, depending on the results. The best players in Europe will be there, who are also among the best in the world. I know that the level of difficulty is higher than any competition I have ever entered, but I am confident in my ability to take on the best. I like to take it step by step and my first goal is to get through the group stage, always trying to go as far as possible, with the dream of bringing home a medal.

Last month, you won the gold medal at the Pajulahti 2025 World Boccia Challenger in Finland, defeating three opponents from the world’s top 20. How did it feel to savour that moment?
For me, it was my first international individual medal for the senior team, which means a lot in terms of my goals. Feeling my efforts rewarded at the highest level by winning the gold medal was undoubtedly a unique feeling. Ending the night listening to ‘A Portuguesa’ made the moment unforgettable.

Were you expecting to win this medal in only your second international competition? What stood out most for you in this competition?
To be honest, the main goal was just to get through the group stage and then dream of winning a medal. It was important to hear praise from my opponents for my performance, as I was the youngest athlete in the competition.

Despite your youth, you already have a very interesting competitive record, with several national titles…
Honestly, I feel that I am at the peak of my short career, both nationally and, above all, internationally, playing for the national team. I am currently among the best boccia players in Portugal, thanks to improvements in equipment and greater dedication on my part in terms of training and competition, which has allowed me to achieve several national and international victories.

At the age of 18, Diogo Castro already has a career full of achievements, including third place in the World Boccia Youth Championship and the National Youth Championship, both in 2023, the National Youth Championship twice, pairs champion in the World Boccia Challenger (in Cairo, Egypt), National Absolute Vice-Champion, all in 2024, and already this year, he won the North Zone Regional Championship, the gold medal in the World Boccia Youth Championship Challenger in Curitiba (Brazil), first place in the World Boccia Challenger in Pajulahti (Finland), third place in pairs, also in the Finnish Challenger, and the silver medal in the Men’s National Individual Championship.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I can say that the most important titles I have won were precisely this season, from winning the regional championship to the world youth championship title in Brazil, ending with the gold medal at the Challenger in Finland.

Did you expect to perform like this when you started your career in boccia?
When I started my career, I was far from thinking that I could be where I am today. It was only in 2023 that I was called up for the world youth championship to represent the national team, and that’s when I realised what I could achieve with boccia.

How far do you hope to go in your sports career?
Currently, my dream of representing the national team at the Paralympics is a clear goal in my growth as an athlete.

Who are your idols in this sport?
I identify a lot with two athletes: Adam Peška and Daniel Michel, largely because their physical challenges are very similar to mine.

You are in your first year of a degree in Informatics and Computing Engineering. Are you enjoying it?
Yes, it’s going according to my expectations.

What made you choose FEUP and the field of Computer Engineering? Was it always your goal to study here at FEUP?
I have always been interested in new technologies, so computer engineering was always among my options. In addition to being close to where I live, FEUP is a nationally and internationally renowned engineering faculty, especially in the field of computer science. Since I made the decision to pursue this field, FEUP has been in my plans.

The transition from secondary school to higher education can be challenging. How was the adjustment?
In the first few weeks, I felt a clear change between the reality of secondary school and university, but I think I adapted well and currently feel well integrated.

The adjustment process can be seen as a two-way street. How does FEUP itself adapt to someone with your particular characteristics? Is there anything that could be done to improve it?
I think FEUP has adapted well to my needs, and it had all the conditions to do so, which clearly facilitated my integration.

How do you balance your Boccia training with your studies at FEUP?
Training is usually at the end of the day, which allows me to attend classes, so it’s easy to balance with training. The biggest difficulties arise during competition periods and national team training camps, when it becomes more difficult to keep up with the coursework.

What would you change to make this balance easier?
I don’t see how I could change anything, as the dates are not flexible and we always have to adapt.

What are your main goals in life as an athlete and engineer?
The ideal would always be to be able to balance my sporting and professional life, i.e. always being available to train and compete without giving up my professional time.

PhD Defence in Informatics Engineering: ”Intelligent Ticket Management Assistant for Helpdesk Operations”

Candidate:

Leonardo da Silva Ferreira

Date, Time and Location:

13th of June 2025, 9:30, Sala de Atos, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

President of the Jury:

Pedro Nuno Ferreira da Rosa da Cruz Diniz, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

Members:

Pedro Manuel Henriques da Cunha Abreu, PhD, Associate Professor with habilitation, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Ciência e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra;

Paulo Jorge Freitas de Oliveira Novais, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Computer Science, Escola de Engenharia da Universidade do Minho;

Carlos Manuel Milheiro de Oliveira Pinto Soares, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto;

Ana Paula Cunha da Rocha, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto;

Daniel Augusto Gama de Castro Silva, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (Supervisor).

The thesis was co-supervised by Professor Mikel Uriarte Itzazelaia, Associate Professor at the Escuela de Ingeniería de Bilbao, Universidad del País Vasco.

Abstract:

With the dynamic evolution of the internet, particularly in domains such as multimedia services, cloud computing, internet of things, virtualization, and artificial intelligence, companies have witnessed significant expansion in their market and services. However, this growth has also exposed numerous vulnerabilities that threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of organizational and personal data. As information technology analysts work to address security system alerts, artificial intelligence has introduced new avenues for breaching security, ranging from simple, low-cost methods to highly sophisticated attacks. Low-cost approaches include phishing and password spraying, which exploit human error and weak password practices. In contrast, more complex threats include advanced persistent attacks and zero-day exploits, which require significant expertise and resources, often disrupting critical systems. Many organizations rely on cybersecurity helpdesk centers, internal or outsourced, to manage incidents. However, these centers often struggle to respond effectively due to data overload and a lack of qualified operators.

This dissertation addresses the shortage of skilled operators and the high volume of incidents in helpdesk operations by developing a ticket management assistant to support human operators in resolving incidents. The framework integrates a context-aware recommender system that identifies the fastest analyst-procedure pair for each incident and continually improves with each treatment followed. To ensure data privacy, this recommender system is trained using artificial data generated by a custom synthetic data generator. Furthermore, this thesis explores the possibility of enhancing this assistant with automated machine learning functionalities to predict incoming tickets. This feature could help managers anticipate workloads and proactively adjust the composition of the security teams.

The development of this framework is supported by the collaboration with a cybersecurity company, S21sec, which provides anonymized historical incident treatment data structures and taxonomies. However, synthetic data generation techniques are essential due to the absence of granular information on incident resolution and related parameters in the shared data set, which also requires privacy. The implemented generator builds artificial datasets that can mimic distributions similar to those observed in the real dataset while emulating real-world behaviours, including ticket prioritization, scheduling, and treatment.

The artificial data generator is evaluated for its efficiency in replicating real-world datasets using similarity measures such as Hellinger distance and Kullback-Leibler divergence. Furthermore, several ticket scheduling scenarios are explored, varying operators’ numbers and distribution across three work shifts. The results demonstrate that this framework can replicate ticket distributions and treatment durations observed in real datasets. Additionally, it allows for the simulation of real-world helpdesk operations, providing a solid foundation for exploring diverse operational contexts without compromising privacy. The analysis of the ticket scheduling consistently shows that scenarios characterized by a high shift imbalance and fewer operators lead to longer wait times and more tickets scheduled for later treatment.

The recommender system is assessed from two perspectives: scalability and impact on ticket treatment. The first phase uses various test datasets with different sizes and numbers of operators, analyzed with metrics such as the average recommendation time and memory usage. In contrast, the impact on ticket treatment is examined by considering improvements in ticket waiting times before being allocated to an operator and the response time required for their resolution, using different recommendation acceptance degrees. The results indicate that the number of operators the recommender system utilizes has a slightly larger impact on its scalability than the number of test tickets. Both features show a similar linear growth pattern regarding the referred metrics, but the number of operators has a larger slope. Integrating this recommender system into the ticket treatment reduced the average response time by 37.9\% to 45.1\% and the average wait time by 62.2\% to 63.2\%, assuming operators always accept the recommendations. With varying recommendation acceptance rates, the average wait time remains constant, while the response time improvement ranges from 0.4\% to 11.7\%.

The potential application of automated machine learning for predictive analysis is explored through a case study, comparing the system’s recommended team dimensionality decisions with expected outcomes. The case study evaluates the system based on prediction accuracy and its ability to suggest team size adjustments. Among the tested dataset distributions, models trained in three years of data outperformed those trained on four years, showing a better mean average error using real data on ticket frequency throughout the year. Regarding team dimensionality recommendations, including hiring or dismissing operators, the tool-based on automated machine learning frequently proposed decisions closely aligned with those that could have been proposed in the same period.

Collectively, these results show that the proposed framework can optimize ticket treatment workflows in real-world applications, leading to more efficient use of resources and reduced operational delays. Furthermore, its ability to simulate real-world operations without compromising privacy allows security operations centers to test several scenarios and refine their strategies.

Keywords: Helpdesk; Ticket; Cybersecurity; Synthetic Data; Recommendation Systems.

PhD Defence in Informatics Engineering: “Inmplode: A Framework to Interpret Multiple Related Rule-Based Models”

Candidate:

Pedro Rodrigo Caetano Strecht Ribeiro

Date, Time and Location:

13th of June 2025, 15:00, Sala de Atos, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto 

President of the Jury:

Rui Filipe Lima Maranhão de Abreu, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto 

Members:

Johannes Fürnkranz, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Computer Science of the Institute for Application-Oriented Knowledge Processing at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria;

José María Alonso Moral, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Electronics and Computing, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain;

José Luís Cabral de Moura Borges, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto;

João Pedro Carvalho Leal Mendes Moreira, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto (Supervisor).

The thesis was co-supervised by Carlos Manuel Milheiro de Oliveira Pinto Soares, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto. 

Abstract:

This thesis investigates the challenges and opportunities presented by the increasing trend of using multiple specialized models, referred to as operational models, to address complex data analysis problems. While such an approach can enhance predictive performance for specific sub-problems, it often leads to fragmented knowledge and difficulties understanding overarching organizational phenomena. This research focuses on synthesizing the knowledge embedded within a collection of decision tree models chosen for their inherent interpretability and suitability for knowledge extraction. For example, a company with chain stores or a university with diverse programs, each using dedicated prediction models (sales or dropout, respectively). While these localized models are important, a global perspective is valuable organization-wide. However, managing many operational models, especially for cross-program/store analysis, can be overwhelming.

A methodology framed within a comprehensive framework is introduced to merge sets of operational models into consensus models. These consensus models are directed towards higher level decision-makers, enhancing the interpretability of knowledge generated by the operational models. The framework, named Inmplode, addresses common challenges in model merging and presents a highly customizable process. This process features a generic workflow and adaptable components, detailing alternative approaches for each subproblem encountered in the merging process.

The framework was applied to four public datasets from diverse business areas and a case study in education using data from the University of Porto. Different model merging approaches were explored in each case, illustrating various process instantiations. The model merging process revealed that the resulting consensus models are frequently incomplete, meaning they cannot cover the entire decision space, which can undermine their intended purpose. To address the issue of incompleteness, two novel methodologies are explored: one relies on the generation of synthetic datasets followed by decision tree training. At the same time, the other uses a specialized algorithm designed to construct a decision tree directly from aggregated (i.e., symbolic) data.

The effectiveness of these methodologies in generating complete consensus models from incomplete rule sets is evaluated across the five datasets. Empirical results demonstrate the feasibility of overcoming the incompleteness issue, contributing to knowledge synthesis and decision tree modeling. However, tradeoffs were identified between completeness and interpretability, predictive performance, and the fidelity of consensus models.

Overall, this research addresses a critical gap in the literature by providing a comprehensive framework for synthesizing knowledge from multiple decision tree models, focusing on overcoming the challenge of incompleteness. The conclusions have implications for organizations seeking to use specialized models while maintaining a holistic understanding of the analyzed phenomenon.

Keywords: interpretability; rule-based models; model merging framework; decision trees; completeness.

DEI Talks | “How to hack the Turing trap with Trustworthy AI?” by José María Alonso Moral (CiTIUS-USC)

Tha talk “How to hack the Turing trap with Trustworthy AI?” will be presented June the 12th, at 18:00, in room B008, moderated by João Mendes Moreira (DEI).

Abstract:

In this talk, in addition to technical aspects (i.e., fundamentals and tools for developing and validating human-centric self-explaining technologies that are aimed at assisting in all phases of the design, analysis and evaluation of trustworthy intelligent systems), we will discuss Ethical, Legal, Socio-Economic and Cultural (ELSEC) implications of Artificial Intelligence. Special emphasis will be placed on how to certify if intelligent systems comply with European values.

About the Speaker:

José María Alonso Moral holds a M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Telecommunication Engineering, both from the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Spain, in 2003 and 2007, respectively. He is currently Associate Professor at the Department of Electronics and Computation of the CiTIUS-USC, Vice-Chair of the Task Force on “Explainable Fuzzy Systems” in the Fuzzy Systems Technical Committee of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (IEEE-CIS), Associate Editor of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine (ISSN: 1556-603X) and the International Journal of Approximate Reasoning (ISSN:0888-613X), member of the IEEE-CIS Task Force on Fuzzy Systems Software, member of the IEEECIS SHIELD Technical Committee which is aimed at researching on Ethical, Legal, Social, Environmental and Human Dimensions of AI. He has published more than 190 papers in international journals, book chapters and conferences. His research interests include explainable and trustworthy artificial intelligence, computational intelligence, interpretable fuzzy systems, natural language generation, and the development of free software tools, etc.

The talk has free entrance, no need to register.

Alexandra Mendes recognised with an “Amazon Research Award”

The winners of the “Amazon Research Awards” (ARA), have been announced last June the 3rd, a program that supports research at academic institutions and non-profit organizations in areas that align with their mission to advance customer-obsessed science.

In the list of 70 winners, representing 44 universities in 10 countries, we find Alexandra Mendes, Assistant Professor at DEI, the winner in the Automated Reasoning area, for her proposal “Overcoming Barriers to the Adoption of Verification-Aware Languages“. This edition marks the first time the award has been granted to Portuguese researchers based in Portugal.

The Professor will focus her work on identifying and resolving obstacles to the adoption of programming languages with support for formal verification, in particular Dafny, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The aim is to promote the usability and adoption of formal verification tools among software developers.

The ARAs are highly competitive, with proposals evaluated by Amazon scientists according to the quality of their scientific content and their potential impact on the research community and society. Current and past winners include researchers from other leading institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard, Stanford and Yale.

All the information about this latest edition of the ARA (Fall 2024) can be found here.

The last Lecture of Prof. A. Augusto de Sousa

Last Monday, 26th of May, the Auditorium José Carlos Marques dos Santos was filled to capacity for the final lecture by Prof. A. Augusto de Sousa, who was bidding farewell to a university career spanning more than 40 years.

Entitled ‘Computer Graphics and Multiple Realities: Explaining a Career‘, the lecture was attended by hundreds of students (both current and former), fellow teachers and staff, family and friends, who were present at this moment of emotional homage.

“Computer graphics allow us to represent and interact with virtual objects, as well as synthesise images of them. The tools, models and algorithms are countless and enable us to develop various realities, whether they are virtual, augmented or mixed. With some imagination, perhaps they can also model the reality of a university professor’s career.” – and so it was in this case. A university career that began in 1983 as an assistant trainee and went on to cover many different paths, always driven by a passion for Teaching and Pedagogy.

The session ended with a celebration featuring performances by TUNAFE, TEUP and Grupo de Fados da FEUP.

The final lecture was broadcasted live and is available to watch here.

Linking Great Partners 2025

On the 3rd of June, the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto will host Linking Great Partners 2025, an emblematic event of the Department of Informatics Engineering (DEI), recognised for the impact of the contribution of students and the university to the regional innovation ecosystem.

It will take place throughout the day in the Auditorium José Carlos Marques dos Santos, in two parts: the LGP Challenge (pitch session, divided into four acts) and Tech in Action (product fair, divided into two parts).

LGP Challenge, the first act – innovating with AI – includes LGP startups that have developed AI-based solutions. The second act – innovating with the market – consists of a panel with startups that explored ideas proposed by students and developed these products by interacting with the market. In the third act – innovating with organisations – startups that have developed solutions to improve organisational processes will be presented. The last act – innovating with society – includes startups that have developed solutions in collaboration with actors from society.

There are 29 proto-startups created by around 320 students enrolled in the Project Management Laboratory (LGP) course, from various courses at the Faculty of Engineering (FEUP) and the Faculty of Economics (FEP) to respond to the real challenges presented by the 23 partner organisations and opportunities identified in the market.

Using agile software development and experimentation methods, the student teams developed several innovative technological solutions, such as ‘Saudade à Viola’, a project developed in collaboration with artist Gil Ferreira, where a digital avatar joins him on stage, reacting in real time to his voice and adding visual elements to the story of each song; and the ‘HackTrack’ platform platform for learning about cybersecurity through real-world challenges, in collaboration with the Visionarium Association. This 2025 edition also saw the design of the products ‘Immersia Stations’, a solution for interactive and immersive experiences in museums, and ‘Há Cartas?’ (Are there cards?), a mobile application that allows you to turn any moment into an opportunity to play cards, even if everyone has forgotten to bring them. These are just a few examples of the products that will be presented during the event.

Luis Filipe Teixeira, coordinator of the course unit and Associate Professor at DEI, highlights that this approach ‘gives students an opportunity to acquire not only technical skills, but also collaboration, resilience and creativity, as they navigate the uncertainty and complexity of developing technological products for customers and the market.’
He adds that ‘LGP promotes an environment where experimentation is encouraged and where students take on entrepreneurial roles, engage with real stakeholders and learn by doing.’

For Raul Vidal, Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, “by involving students from various curricular spheres and different profiles in collaborative work that encourages critical and creative thinking, LGP is a unique opportunity to develop skills in project management, teamwork, customer interaction, marketing, communication, and many other areas that make our students future professionals with a truly distinctive profile and prepare them to be future leaders.”

Linking Great Partners 2025 will be broadcasting live on the event’s YouTube channel.

PhD Defense in Digital Media “Interaction methods for digital musical instruments: Application in personal devices”

Candidate:
Alexandre Resende Clément

Date, Time and Location:
5th of June 2025, 14:30, Sala de Atos, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto

President of the Jury:
António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho, PhD, Associate Professor with Habilitation, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto

Members:
Marcelo Mortensen Wanderley, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Music Research, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Canadá;
Damián Keller, PhD, Associate Professor, Centro de Educação, Letras e Artes da Universidade Federal do Acre, Brasil;
Sofia Carmen Faria Maia Cavaco, PhD, Assistant Professor, Informatics Department, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa;
Rui Pedro Amaral Rodrigues, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto;
Gilberto Bernardes de Almeida, PhD, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto (Supervisor).

Abstract:

“This thesis explores the potential of mobile handheld devices as tools for digital musical instrument interaction and participatory performance. Guided by the principles of ubiquitous music and intuitive interaction, the research investigates how mobile handheld devices can address challenges and unlock opportunities in contemporary music-making through participatory frameworks, gesture mappings, and multimodal feedback. Three experiments form the foundation of this study. The first describes and evaluates a system that enables large-scale audience participation in multimedia performances. It highlights the ability of mobile handheld devices to engage users and foster collaboration but reveals challenges in designing intuitive interactions for untrained participants. The second experiment examines how users instinctively map gestures to core musical parameters, such as pitch, duration, and amplitude, identifying natural trends – and the influence of musical training and experience on interaction strategies. The third focuses on evaluating the impact of multimodal feedback, combining auditory, visual, and haptic modalities, in note pitch tuning tasks.
The findings underscore the importance of designing standardised interaction guidelines and integrating multimodal feedback to make digital musical instruments more accessible and intuitive. Experiment 1 showed that the lack of a unified interaction model limited intuitive engagement, highlighting the need for standards that balance individual creativity with group intent. Experiment 2 found clear user preferences for gesture mappings of onset, pitch, and duration, shaped by cultural familiarity, and supporting context-aware design. Experiment 3 showed that while multimodal feedback had little immediate effect on accuracy, it improved user confidence and may aid long-term learning. This research advances the understanding of how mobile handheld devices can support participatory and creative music-making, contributing to the development of inclusive, user-friendly, and versatile musical tools.”