ICI - IT-UBI | Documentos por Auto-Depósito
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- A Virtual Reality Game as a Tool for Psychotherapy with oCd PatientsPublication . Torrão, André; Natário, João; Carvalho, Paula; Silva, Cláudia M.; Silva, Frutuoso G. M.The treatment of several types of obsessions/compulsions for people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD) can be done using virtual environments (VE). These people experience intrusive, unwanted thoughts that cause anxiety, which trigger intentional repetitive behaviors to decrease their anxiety. The advantage of using a VE to experience and challenge compulsions is that it allows the user to take the risk without taking a real risk asin digital games. This article presents a virtual reality serious game for OCD therapy, which will serve as a tool to expose the patients to stimuli that can trigger OCD symptoms, for example, tidying, cleaning, and checking. The game is more oriented for adolescents and younger adults because OCD usually starts to affect teenagers, accompanying them throughout adulthood, generating a very accentuated degree of disability in all areas of their lives. Despite Covid-19, a small group of specialists did a preliminary evaluation of the game, which has provided promising results on the feasibility of VR interventions for OCD in clinical practice.
- Learning through the dialogue with NPCs using generative AIPublication . Rodrigues, Vanessa; Silva, Frutuoso G. M.The rapid evolution of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is revolutionising various areas, including education and gaming industry. GenAI can create original content to enhance traditional teaching methods, making learning more interactive and personalised. These tools can significantly improve educational outcomes by providing personalised feedback to students and increasing their engagement and motivation. However, the integration of GenAI in education raises ethical concerns, particularly regarding privacy, bias, and the accuracy of AI-generated content, as well as the authenticity and authorship of the work. There is a strong emphasis on the need for robust guidelines and human oversight to mitigate these issues. We used GenAI to create an NPC with a unique personality and life background and enable learners to interact with the NPC without scripted dialogue, creating an engaging game-based learning environment to evaluate the perceptions of the students using GenAI as a learning tool. The prototype developed was evaluated by a group of sixteen students, and the main results are presented and discussed.
- Math-Masters: An Educational Game to Practice the Mathematical OperationsPublication . Marques, João A. B. T.; Ferreira, João L. A. P.; Silva, Frutuoso G. M.Educational games have gained significant popularity in recent years as an innovative and engaging means of enhancing learning. These games use technology and game design principles to create a fun learning environment. Educational games have changed how we learn by combining fun and learning goals. They offer an engaging, interactive, and personalized learning experience, promoting critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. However, the design of educational games must combine the fun factor with the learning goals, which sometimes does not happen, creating the impression that educational games are not fun. In this paper, we describe an educational game to learn multiplication operations in a fun way. The game is a point-and-click deck-building and partially rogue-lite third-person educational game with the purpose of teaching multiplication operations in mathematics. It is themed around medieval fantasy, with monsters on one hand and magic spells on the other. The player has a card deck that he can use to solve the mathematical questions and defeat the monsters. Some preliminary tests were carried out with fifty-eight students, which showed the potential of this kind of tool. Most of the students agreed that the game helped them with the multiplication operation and that they would like to play more levels of the game.
- Traffic Scheduling and Resource Allocation for Heterogeneous Services in 5G New Radio Networks: A Scoping ReviewPublication . Pindi, Ntunitangua René; Velez, Fernando J.The rapid evolution of 5G New Radio networks has introduced a wide range of services with diverse requirements, complicating their coexistence within the shared radio spectrum and posing challenges in traffic scheduling and resource allocation. This study aims to analyze and categorize the methods, approaches, and techniques proposed to ensure efficient joint and dynamic packet scheduling and resource allocation among heterogeneous services—namely eMBB, URLLC, and mMTC—in 5G and beyond, with a focus on Quality of Service and user satisfaction. This scoping review draws from publications indexed in IEEE Xplore and Scopus and synthesizes the most relevant evidence related to packet scheduling across heterogeneous services, highlighting key approaches, core performance metrics, and emerging trends. Following the PRISMA-ScR methodology, 48 out of an initial 140 articles were included for explicitly addressing coexistence, scheduling, and resource allocation. The findings reveal a research emphasis on eMBB and URLLC coexistence, while integration with mMTC remains underexplored. Moreover, the evidence suggests that hybrid and deep learning-based approaches are particularly promising for tackling coexistence and resource management challenges in future mobile networks.
- Wearable sensors for stress monitoring in meniscus injury rehabilitationPublication . Pires, Catarina de Sá Baio; Velez, Fernando J.; Coelho, Paulo Jorge Simões; Pataca, António Oseas; Pires, Ivan Miguel SerranoMonitoring vital signs is essential in identifying physiological stress, particularly in rehabilitating meniscus injuries. Stress can compromise the effectiveness of physiotherapy, affecting recovery. This paper reviews monitoring technologies, such as those that consider heart rate and sweating sensors, and their application in remote patient monitoring. It highlights the importance of collecting real-time data to personalize treatments and optimize recovery and explores the challenges and benefits of this approach. Integrating these technologies can significantly improve therapeutic results, prevent stress, and improve patients' quality of life.
- Smart textiles for health monitoring in industrial environments: a framework for wearable sensor integrationPublication . Vilarinho, Bruna Abreu; Vieira, Andre; Nunes-Pereira, João; Parente, João; Pires, Ivan Miguel Serrano ; Velez, Fernando J.The occupational health and safety of workers in industrial plants are increasingly compromised through exposure to thermal, physical, and psychological stressors. Wearable sensors embedded in garments have been introduced as a promising technology for real-time, continuous health monitoring without compromising workers' mobility or comfort. This paper reviews recent literature on wearable sensor technologies embedded in textiles, with a focus on their applicability in industrial settings. The paper identifies the key physiological parameters commonly monitored (e.g., heart rate, skin temperature, respiratory rate, and skin conductance), the materials and sensor types used, as well as the methods of integration into garments. Based on the findings, a conceptual model for a smart textile monitoring system tailored to industrial workers is proposed. The aim is to support the development of ergonomic, accessible, unobtrusive, and effective solutions that promote occupational health and prevent work-related illnesses.
- Radio Coverage Assessment and Indoor Communication Enhancement in Hospitals: A Case Study at CHUCBPublication . da Silva, Óscar; Teixeira, Emanuel; Corceiro, Ana; Reis, António; Velez, Fernando J.The adoption of wireless medical technologies in hospital environments is often limited by cellular coverage issues, especially in indoor areas with complex structures. This study presents a detailed radio spectrum measurement campaign conducted at the Cova da Beira University Hospital Center (CHUCB), using the NARDA SRM-3006 and R&S®TSME6 equipment. The signal strength and quality of 5G NR, LTE, UMTS, and NB-IoT technologies were evaluated. Critical coverage gaps were identified, particularly at points 17, 19, and 21. Results revealed that operators MEO and NOS dominate coverage, with MEO providing better 5G NR coverage and NOS excelling in LTE signal quality. Based on the results, the localized installation of femtocells is proposed to improve coverage in these areas. The approach was designed to be scalable and replicable, with a planned application at Cumura Hospital (Guinea-Bissau), reinforcing the applicability of the solution in contexts with limited infrastructure. This work provides both technical and clinical contributions to achieving ubiquitous cellular coverage in healthcare settings.
- Driving Healthcare Monitoring with IoT and Wearable Devices: A Systematic ReviewPublication . João Pedro da Silva Baiense; Zdravevski, Eftim; Coelho, Paulo Jorge Simões; Serrano Pires, Ivan Miguel; Velez, Fernando J.Wearable technologies have become a significant part of the healthcare industry, collecting personal health data and extracting valuable information for real-time assistance. This review article analyzes 35 scientific publications on driving healthcare monitoring with IoT and wearable device applications. These articles were considered in a quantitative and qualitative analysis using the Natural Language Processing framework and the PRISMA methodology to filter the search results. The selected articles were published between January 2010 and May 2024 in one of the following scientific databases: IEEE Xplore, Springer, ScienceDirect (i.e., El- sevier), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), or PubMed Central. The analysis considers population, methods, hardware, features, and communications. The research highlights that data collected from one or numerous sensors is processed and accessible in a database server for various uses, such as informing professional careers or assisting users. The review sug- gests that robust and efficient driving healthcare monitoring with IoT and wearable devices applications can be designed considering the valuable principles presented in this review.
- Fractal Patch Antenna based on Photonic Crystal for Enhanced Millimeter-Wave Communication in Intelligent Transportation SystemsPublication . Bagheri, Nila; Peha, Jon; Velez, Fernando J.; VelezThis paper introduces a Fractal Patch Antenna (FPA) integrated with Photonic Crystals (PhC) designed for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in the Millimeter-wave bands (mmWaves) given the importance of the application of mmWaves in Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) networks, we assumed, as examples, that the antenna is designed to resonate at three frequency bands: 31.42 GHz, 37.76 GHz, and 38.92 GHz. With a gain of 10.88 dBi, at 38.92GHz, the antenna demonstrates promising signal reception and transmission capabilities, which are anticipated to be important for ITS operations. The antenna bandwidth covers multiple frequency bands, enabling versatile communication in mmWaves V2X applications. To evaluate the performance of the antenna, we conducted a detailed analysis of its configuration. This included a comparison of the antenna with and without the PhC integration, as well as an exploration of rectangular lattice structure. In addition, variations in hole sizes and spacing were examined to assess their impact on key parameters such as the gain and reflection coefficient. The integration of fractal geometry and PhC structures results in a compact, high-performance antenna suitable for mmWave communication. The integration of fractal geometry and PhC structure results in compactness and high performance in mmWaves communication applications. Through simulation and analysis, including radiation pattern, gain, and reflection coefficient plot assessment, the antenna performance is thoroughly evaluated. The study highlights the potential of the proposed FPA-PhC antenna configuration to enhance communication networks within the ITS, significantly advancing the ITS system with support from the mmWave bands.
- Design of Communication and Control for Swarms of Aquatic Surface DronesPublication . Christensen, Anders Lyhne; Oliveira, Sancho; Postolache, Octavian; Oliveira, Maria João de; Sargento, Susana; Santana, Pedro; Nunes, Luis; Velez, Fernando J.; Sebastião, Pedro; Costa, Vasco; Duarte, Miguel; Gomes, Jorge; Rodrigues, Tiago; Silva, FernandoThe availability of relatively capable and inexpensive hardware components has made it feasible to consider large-scale systems of autonomous aquatic drones for maritime tasks. In this paper, we present the CORATAM and HANCAD projects, which focus on the fundamental challenges related to communication and control in swarms of aquatic drones. We argue for: (i) the adoption of a heterogeneous approach to communication in which a small subset of the drones have long-range communication capabilities while the majority carry only short-range communication hardware, and (ii) the use of decentralized control to facilitate inherent robustness and scalability. A heterogeneous communication system and decentralized control allow for the average drone to be kept relatively simple and therefore inexpensive. To assess the proposed methodology, we are currently building 25 prototype drones from off-the-shelf components. We present the current hardware designs and discuss the results of simulation-based experiments involving swarms of up to 1,000 aquatic drones that successfully patrolled a 20 km-long strip for 24 hours.