International Cooperation Actions
International cooperation actions
COST Action CA16219 - Harmonization of UAS Techniques for Agricultural and Natural Ecosystems Monitoring
Title: COST Action CA16219 – Harmonization of UAS Techniques for Agricultural and Natural Ecosystems Monitoring
Coordinator: Gil Gonçalves (MC Member WG1)
Dates start/end: 10-2017 / 10-2021
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: https://www.costharmonious.eu/
Synopsis
nvironmental monitoring plays a central role in diagnosing climate and management impacts on natural and agricultural systems, enhancing the understanding hydrological processes, optimizing the allocation and distribution of water resources, and assessing, forecasting and even preventing natural disasters. Nowadays, most monitoring and data collection systems are based upon a combination of ground-based measurements, manned airborne sensors or satellite observations. These data are utilized in describing both small and large scale processes, but have spatiotemporal constraints inherent to each respective collection system. Bridging the unique spatial and temporal divides that limit current monitoring platforms is key to improving our understanding of environmental systems. In this context, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have considerable potential to radically evolve environmental monitoring. UAS-mounted sensors offer an extraordinary opportunity to bridge the existing gap between field observations and traditional air- and space-borne remote sensing, by providing not just high spatial detail over relatively large areas in a cost effective way, but as importantly providing an entirely new capacity for enhanced temporal retrieval. As well as showcasing recent advances in the field, there is also a need to identify and understand the potential limitations of UAS technology. For these platforms to reach their monitoring potential, a wide spectrum of unresolved issues and applications specific challenges require focused community attention. Indeed, to leverage the full potential of UAS-based approaches, sensing technologies, measurement protocols, post-processing techniques, retrieval algorithms and evaluations techniques need to be harmonized. In this context, a network of scientists is currently cooperating within the framework of a COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action named “Harmonious”. The intention of “Harmonious” is to promote monitoring strategies, establish harmonized monitoring practices, and transfer most recent advances on UAS methodologies to others within a global network.
COST Action CA16116 - Wearable Robots for Augmentation, Assistance or Substitution of Human Motor Functions
Title: COST Action CA16116 – Wearable Robots for Augmentation, Assistance or Substitution of Human Motor Functions
Coordinator: Luisa Jorge (MC Member)
Dates start/end: 03-2017 / 03-2021
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: https://wearablerobots.eu/
Synopsis
Wearable Robots (WRs) is an emerging field of personal devices that are integrated parts of human functioning, and that are constructed of typical robotic components such as actuators, sensors and control algorithms. Where conventional robots were typically intended for use in industrial environments to help in tedious and repetitive tasks and tasks requiring high precision, the situation is currently evolving to one where there is an increasing direct physical interaction between robot and human operator. The interaction with humans in WRs is not only physical, but also includes cognitive aspects, as in the interaction, control of functions is typically shared by human and machine. WRs can be used either to augment, train or supplement motor functions or to replace them completely. Wearable Robots operate alongside human limbs, as is the case in orthotic robots, exoskeletons or robotic suits. WRs are expected to find applications in Medical, Industrial and Consumer Domains, such as neuro-rehabilitation, worker support, or general augmentation. As WRs continuously interact with humans in multiple situations, Human Robot Interaction, Ergonomics, and Ethical, Legal and Societal (ELS) considerations, as well as early involvement of stakeholders are of essential interest. This Action focuses on the European integration of different underlying disciplines in science and engineering, as well as on engaging of stakeholders to improve WR technology and its societal impact.
COST Action CA15222 - European Network for cost containment and improved quality of health care
Title: COST Action CA15222 – European Network for cost containment and improved quality of health care
Coordinator: Paulo Melo (MC Member, STSM Coordinator)
Dates start/end: 10/2016 / 10/2020
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: https://costcares.eu/
Synopsis
An EU R&D roadmap has been designed around the topic of cost containment and quality of care. But a number of challenges will have to be overcome before this roadmap can be effectively realized. Current R&D efforts into cost containment and maintaining quality of care are fragmented, mono-disciplinary and uncoordinated. There is limited or no interaction between the vital scientific disciplines that include medical and care sciences, health economy, health policy, medical technology, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and communication sciences. While there is research into innovative care models, these are often not designed to fit a care system on a macro level, resulting in partial solutions, tested in small scale situations that do not provide the evidence necessary for larger scale implementation.
A complete model would combine an innovative care concept with the organizational, cultural, financial, technical and legal aspects necessary to implement the model on a large scale in a real life setting. Due to the fragmented nature of care system related research, this is however not the case. As a result, many innovative ideas are never tested on a macro level and can therefore not provide the evidence base necessary to create suitable interest amongst politicians and reimbursers and care providers to drive the practical implementation of these innovative care models. Moreover, most R&D is focused on a specific part of the health care sector, not taking into consideration the complexity of the highly fragmented organization of health care. This slows down the uptake of successful innovations by the health care sector. The presented Action should guide and stimulate the integration and collaboration between the scientific and technological parties involved in health care related cost containment and quality research. It sets out to tackle these challenges by:
- Unifying and directing the fragmented mono-disciplinary and uncoordinated ongoing research efforts;
- Working towards the development of new, innovative care systems that can be tested on a macro level;
- Defining the parameters necessary to perform and evaluate large scale implementation studies that will provide an adequate evidence base for new innovative care models;
- Gathering the critical scientific mass necessary to drive ongoing research towards large scale implementation studies and subsequent uptake by stakeholders like policy makers, care managers and politicians.
- Promoting the importance of R&D into cost containment and quality of care to ensure it is reflected in future calls for proposals, for instance in the Horizon 2020 (H2020) program.
COST Action CA16121 - From Sharing to Caring: Examining Socio-Technical Aspects of the Collaborative Economy
Title: COST Action CA16121 – From Sharing to Caring: Examining Socio-Technical Aspects of the Collaborative Economy
Coordinator: Paulo Melo (MC Member)
Dates start/end: 03/2017 / 03/2021
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: http://sharingandcaring.eu/
Synopsis
The terms “Sharing Economy” or “Collaborative Economy” have been commonly used in recent years to refer to a proliferation of initiatives, business models and forms of work.
The specific aims of the action are:
- To develop a deeper understanding of the collaborative economy phenomenon in all its aspects, by studying in-depth the sociotechnical systems and human practices involved, comparing and reflecting upon local, regional, national and international initiatives;
- To discuss and critique elements of the current discourse on the collaborative economy, and proposing a richer definition and characterisation of the phenomenon;
- To formulate a European research agenda for the socio-technical aspects of the collaborative economy, including specifically the design of future technological platforms, the technical infrastructure, their legal, ethical and financial implications;
- To articulate a European research perspective on the collaborative economy, based on EU values of social innovation, and in line with the Europe 2020 strategy objective to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy by 2020.
The action will produce online resources including publications offering a comprehensive view of the current European collaborative economy and socio-technical and policy recommendations for the future.
Avaliação da distribuição espacial da arborização de vias públicas na Área Urbana de Ponta Grossa-Pr mediante uso de Geotecnologias
Coordinator: Gil Gonçalves
Dates start/end: 07-2016 / 07-2019
Entity: Fundação Araucária, Brasil
Synopsis
Utilização de OBIA para a extração individual de árvores em vias públicas utilizando imagens multiespectrais Pleyades.
ECCS – European Convention For Constructional Steelwork
Title: ECCS – European Convention For Constructional Steelwork
Coordinator: Luís Costa Neves, technical committee member
Dates start/end: …
Entity: ECCS
COST Action TD1409 - Mathematics for industry network (MI-NET)
Title: COST Action TD1409 – Mathematics for industry network (MI-NET)
Coordinator: Joana Dias (MC Substitute)
Dates start/end: 05-2015 / 05-2019
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: https://mi-network.org/
Synopsis
MI-NET, Mathematics for Industry Network is a COST Action funded project (TD 1409) which aims to facilitate more effective widespread application of mathematics to all industrial sectors, by encouraging greater interaction between mathematicians and industrialists.
Mathematics underpins all of modern science and technology but advances in mathematical research are not always applied to maximum advantage in industry. The objective of this Action is to create a Europe-wide partnership to promote collaboration in, and the benefits of, industrial mathematics. The Action will coordinate and support Industrial Workshops,European Study Groups with Industry (ESGI), Modelling Weeks, and Short-Term Scientific Missions to both academic and industrial hosts. Exploiting the mathematical knowledge and methodologies of academics will provide European industry with a competitive advantage. Universities will benefit, as mathematicians are able to focus on particularly relevant and cutting edge research problems. The training of Early-Career Investigators in particular will lead to a new generation with problem solving and communication skills and collaborative links that will be essential to maintain the goals of this Action in the future long after this funding has finished.
COST Action IC1406 - High-Performance Modelling and Simulation for Big Data Applications (cHiPSet)
Title: COST Action IC1406 – High-Performance Modelling and Simulation for Big Data Applications (cHiPSet)
Coordinator: Joana Dias (MC Substitute)
Dates start/end: 04-2015 / 04-2019
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: http://chipset-cost.eu/
Synopsis
The Big Data era poses a critically difficult challenge and striking development opportunities in High-Performance Computing (HPC): how to efficiently turn massively large data into valuable information and meaningful knowledge. Computationally effective HPC is required in a rapidly-increasing number of data-intensive domains, such as Life and Physical Sciences, and Socioeconomic Systems.
Modelling and Simulation (MS) offer suitable abstractions to manage the complexity of analysing Big Data in various scientific and engineering domains. Unfortunately, Big Data problems are not always easily amenable to efficient MS over HPC. Also, MS communities may lack the detailed expertise required to exploit the full potential of HPC solutions, and HPC architects may not be fully aware of specific MS requirements.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for European co-ordination to facilitate interactions among data-intensive MS and HPC experts, ensuring that the field, which is strategic and of long-standing interest in Europe, develops efficiently – from academic research to industrial practice. This Action will provide the integration to foster a novel, coordinated Big Data endeavour supported by HPC. It will strongly support information exchange, synergy and coordination of activities among leading European research groups and top global partner institutions, and will promote European software industry competitiveness.
COST Action CA15212 - Citizen Science to promote creativity, scientific literacy, and innovation throughout Europe
Title: COST Action CA15212 – Citizen Science to promote creativity, scientific literacy, and innovation throughout Europe
Coordinator: Cidália C. Fonte, MC Substitute
Dates start/end: 09-2016 / 09-2020
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: http://cs-eu.net
Synopsis
The main aim of this Action will be to bundle capacities across Europe to investigate and extend the impact of the scientific, educational, policy, and civic outcomes of citizen science with the stakeholders from all sectors concerned (e.g., policy makers, social innovators, citizens, cultural organizations, researchers, charities and non-governmental organizations), in order to gauge the potential of citizen science as enabler of social innovation and socio-ecological transition.
The Action will explore the potential transformative power of citizen science for smart, inclusive, and sustainable ends, and will provide frameworks for the exploitation of the potential of European citizens for science and innovation. The relevance and timeliness of the Action derive from the recent explosion of activity around citizen science, as ordinary people and researchers begin to understand the power of technological devices which allow them to record the environment around them and share and collectively interpret data and knowledge to advance science and society.
Given the trans-disciplinarity of citizen science, the Action will benefit from the different contributions and perspectives from a range of disciplines and research cultures. As the latter rarely overlap and engage directly, the Action provides an ideal means for knowledge sharing and focused development on the topic by enabling better integration of separate national activities at a European and international scale.
COST Action CA15127 - Resilient communication services protecting end-user applications from disaster-based failures (RECODIS)
Title: COST Action CA15127 – Resilient communication services protecting end-user applications from disaster-based failures (RECODIS)
Coordinator: Lúcia Martins, MC Substitute Member; Teresa Gomes, MC Member
Dates start/end: 03-2016 / 02-2020
Entity: COST- UE
Site: http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/ca/CA15127
Synopsis
Disaster-based disruptions seriously degrading the performance of any communication network (following from natural disasters, technology-related disasters, or malicious attacks) are now gaining importance due to observed increase of their intensity and scale. The problem is of the utmost importance due to lack of appropriate mechanisms deployed in practice in Europe. Each time, unavailability of communication networks services, considered as an important part of critical infrastructure, in the presence of disasters implies evident societal problems for people desperately seeking for information, or trying to communicate with each other.
The Action will fill this gap by offering the respective solutions to provide resilient communications in the presence of disaster-based disruptions of all types for existing communication networks (e.g., IPv4-based, current Internet), as well as emerging architectures of the global communications infrastructure (i.e., the Future Internet).
Geographical diversity characteristics of disaster-based disruptions across Europe requires creation of an international and geographically diverse group of researchers to provide the proper solutions. Therefore, COST Action is viewed as the best way to address this issue.
This output-oriented Action will be driven by researchers from academia and industry in strong cooperation with governmental bodies. The aim is to introduce the set of techniques of resilient communications, as well as recommendations on how to deploy/update topologies of communication networks to make them resistant to disruptions that can be applied in practice by network equipment operators and national/international network providers at the European level.
Decision Deck
Decision Deck
Fundações de apoio à ciência em França, Bélgica e Luxemburgo
Março 2007- …
Luís Dias
The literature in the field of multicriteria decision aid proposes methodologies that are acknowledged and used in real world decision processes. These methodologies provide useful solutions to complex decision problems that arise in organizations. Several methods have been implemented through software, but these software were developed in an uncoordinated way. The Decision Deck project aims at collaboratively developing Open Source software tools implementing Multiple Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA). These software components implement the common functionalities of a large range of multiple criteria decision aid methods. From a practical point of view, the Decision Deck project works on developing multiple software resources that are able to interact. Consequently, several complementary efforts focusing on different aspects contribute to Decision Decks various goals:
XMCDA : a standardised XML recommandation to represent objects and data structures issued from the field of MCDA. Its main objective is to allow different MCDA algorithms to interact and be easily callable;
XMCDA web services : distributed open source computational MCDA resources, using the XMCDA standard;
diviz : an open source Java client and server for designing, executing and sharing MCDA methods, via the composition of XMCDA web services;
d2 : a rich open source Java software containing several MCDA methods;
d3 : an open source rich internet application for XMCDA web services management.
PERSON - European Platform for Energy Research in the Socio-economic Nexus
Title: PERSON – European Platform for Energy Research in the Socio-economic Nexus
Coordinator: Marta Lopes
Dates start/end: 2015 / —-
Entity: N.A.
Site: http://person.eu/
Synopsis
The goal of PERSON is to unite and advise European top-class socio-economic energy research on the human dimensions of sustainable energy transitions to promote a secure, clean and efficient energy system.
The scope of the platform is SSH energy research with societal impact. The focus is on both supply and demand of energy, centering on the role of a variety of actors in the energy transition debate. The Platform highlights the crucial role of involving SSH research knowledge in issues of sustainable energy transitions.
Social networks and travel behavior (COST Action TU1305)
Title: COST Action TU1305 – Social networks and travel behavior
Coordinator: João Paulo Costa, MC Member
Dates start/end: 03-2014 / 03-2018
Entity: COST-European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: http://www.tu1305.eu/
Synopsis
The past decade has gone through rapid ICT developments, which had wide societal impacts. ICT enhanced the shift from social groups defined by location to individually-based social networks. High-speed telecoms allow for ad-hoc personalised networks that affect travel behaviour. Unfortunately, research has lagged behind ICT advances, as our understanding of current travel behaviour is limited and existing urban mobility solutions cater to population behaviour that no longer exists. The transport demand models used today are based on inadequate understanding of the new social structure. A new transport paradigm is needed for the ultra-urbanized smart city.
This COST action aims to initiate a new collaboration framework for the various EU research groups that develops a new transport paradigm based upon ICT social networks and their subsequent travel behavior in the urban environment.
The goals are to explore ways in which social activities become mobilised in space, identify how social ties affect the integration of local public transport into urban patterns, and develop a rigorous conceptual framework for new ideas and methodologies. This work will be achieved by creating a joint discussions platform that includes seminars, thematic working groups, discussion sessions, workshops and publishing scientific results.
WINERCOST - Wind energy technology reconsideration to enhance the concept of smart cities (COST Action TU 1304)
Title: COST Action TU 1304 – Wind energy technology reconsideration to enhance the concept of smart cities (WINERCOST)
Coordinator: Luis Neves, MC Member
Dates start/end: 03-2014 / 03-2018
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: http://winercost.com
Synopsis
TU1304 COST Action aims to merge the efforts of the COST countries research groups working on the Wind Energy Technology and design the pathways to introduce it by means of robust applications to the urban and suburban built environment, thus enhancing the concept of Smart Future Cities. This Action revisits safe, cost-effective and societally accepted wind energy technology for consideration in the development of the future urban and suburban habitat.
The principal objectives of WINERCOST is to collect the existing expertise on the Built environment Wind energy Technology (BWT) recently developed as a follow-up of the Onshore/Offshore Wind Energy Technology (ON/OFF-WET) and to investigate effective adoption methods for enabling the concept of Smart Future Cities. In addition, the utmost important issue of the social acceptance strategy will be scrutinized in close collaboration with municipality authorities, industry, manufacturers as well as the international wind energy organizations.
PROFOUND - Towards robust PROjections of European FOrests UNDer climate change (COST Action FP1304)
Title: COST Action FP1304 – Towards robust PROjections of European FOrests UNDer climate change (PROFOUND)
Coordinator: Luísa Gonçalves, MC Member
Dates start/end: 05-2014 / 05-2018
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: http://cost-profound.eu/site/
Synopsis
Changes in climate, environment and management are altering the world’s ecosystems. Forests are of particular importance in this context due to the significant economic, ecological and cultural services they provide. Projecting changes of these services for the next decades is crucial for a concerted European response to environmental change.
There are a number of challenges to meet. Mechanistic forest models that can be extrapolated to new environmental conditions are still associated with considerable predictive uncertainty. The reasons are the lack of harmonized datasets at larger scales and the difficulty to obtain robust methods for parameterisation, evaluation and model comparison that make optimal use of the range of available data types and sources.
PROFOUND addresses these problems by: 1) suggesting ways to harmonize and integrate European forest data for model projections 2) comparing forest modelling approaches in terms of scale, processes captured, data requirements and predictive uncertainty 3) developing standards for (Bayesian) model parameterisation, calibration, evaluation and comparison, and 4) facilitating probabilistic multi-model projections under climatic change.
As a result, PROFOUND will strengthen the integration of forest modellers and data-providing experts across Europe and provide more reliable information about the uncertainty of model predictions to decision makers.
INOGOV - Innovations in Climate Governance: Sources, Patterns and Effects (COST Action IS1309)35151092
Title: COST Action IS1309 – Innovations in Climate Governance: Sources, Patterns and Effects (INOGOV)
Coordinator: Carla Henriques, MC Member
Dates start/end: 06-2014 / 06-2018
Entity: COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Site: https://inogov.eu/
Synopsis
Set against scientific predictions, current international responses to climate change are widely perceived to be inadequate. There is a growing perception, that many mitigation and adaptation measures have been taken outside the international regime. In this sense governance has become considerably more polycentric, with pockets of dynamism especially evident at the national and subnational levels, but also in the so called transnational sphere. However, there is far less agreement on if and how these innovations can be scaled up, if and indeed how they should be coordinated, and where the necessary leadership to achieve this might originate. To address these gaps, INOGOV:
- Identifies ways in which innovative forms of policy and governance for climate change have been stimulated and diffused across time, space and different modes and levels of governing.
- Builds a stronger evaluation capacity to assess their actual and intended effects and impacts.
- Shares usable knowledge with network participants to reach a fuller appreciation of what it means to govern climate change more innovatively.
It draws together scholars and practitioners within and outside Europe who focus on particular aspects of policy and governance innovation, namely their: ‘sources’; ‘diffusion’; and ‘effects’. By using the full suite of COST networking instruments to explore the inter-relationships between these topics, it is extracting greater value from previous research investments.
Application of Spring Lattice Models to Shell Structures (Portuguese-German Integrated Actions, Ref. A 07/16, Fundação das Universidades Portuguesas)
Title: Application of Spring Lattice Models to Shell Structures
Coordinator at INESCC: Vitor Dias da Silva
Dates start/end: 01-2016 / 12-2017
Entity: Portuguese-German Integrated Actions, Ref. A 07/16, Fundação das Universidades Portuguesas
Synopsis: A number of arguments may suggest that solid continua could be investigated with spring cell substitutes instead of finite elements. The main arguments would be a simplified discrete representation, microstructural modelling, uniaxial material laws, the resolution of progressing damage and failure. However, the facts damp the high expectations. Only specific continua can be represented by spring cells.
Policy Evaluation and Incentive Actions for the Technological Innovations in Power Industry: analysis of international experience and proposals for Brazil
Title: Policy Evaluation and Incentive Actions for the Technological Innovations in Power Industry: analysis of international experience and proposals for Brazil
Coordinator: N. Castro (GESEL-UFRJ); C. H. Antunes, L. Dias
Dates start/end: 11-2014 / 05-2016
Entity: Aneel – EDP (Brasil)
Synopsis:
Computational Social Choice (COST Action IC1205)
European Network Exploring Research into Geospatial Information Crowdsourcing: Software and methodologies for harnessing geographic information from the crowd (ENERGIC) (Cost Action IC1203)
Title: European Network Exploring Research into Geospatial Information Crowdsourcing: Software and methodologies for harnessing geographic information from the crowd (ENERGIC) (Cost Action IC1203)
Coordinator: José Paulo Almeida, MC Substitute
Dates start/end: 07-2012 / 12-2016
Entity: COST- UE/ESF
Site: http://vgibox.eu/
Synopsis
New and unprecedented sources of geographic information have recently become available in the form of user-generated Web content. The integration and application of these sources, often termed volunteered geographic information (VGI), offers multidisciplinary scientists an unprecedented opportunity to conduct research on a variety of topics at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Since applications generating VGI are not often designed specifically for data production or analytical purposes, the Action aims at the following to fill this gap, recognizing the potential value of these sources to the EU in citizen-based decision making by: 1) define VGI sources, share and develop data retrieval software, assess VGI quality, 2) define standardization criteria for interoperability with other datasets, 3) identify applications and transfer these applications to business implementation (market analysis, risk management, advertising, etc.). The Action targets fundamental scientific and technological advances by establishing a European network of excellence on GeoWeb technologies. The Action will focus on VGI and gather efforts carried out in an innovative and under-exploited field of Web research and knowledge production. VGI is particularly relevant as it provides information of citizens’ preferences and concerns and is an alternative source of knowledge in a context where governments are putting less resources in data collection.
Towards the Integration of Transectorial IT Design and Evaluation (COST Action IC0904)
Towards the Integration of Transectorial IT Design and Evaluation (COST Action IC0904)
6/7/2009 – 25/11/2013
Paulo Melo, MC Member
The main objective of the Action is to harmonise research and practice on design and evaluation methodologies for computing artefacts, across sectors and disciplines. Third-wave human computer interaction (HCI) is characterised by a diversifying user base and use contexts, new emphasis on user experience and new interaction styles. This implies a need for informed method choice sensitive to domains, user groups and system objectives. Effective method use requires complex judgments about applicability across applications and genres, with failure implying significant financial and human costs. The adoption of ICT across ages and abilities further increases the need for sound D&E methods, which bring about useful, usable, desirable computing artefacts that improve life quality. Effective cross-sectorial transfer of design and evaluation (D&E) methods is plausible and demonstrable. Relevant research work, however, is fragmented and scattered. The Action aims to provide harmonization and leadership currently lacking in this field by bringing together researchers and D&E professionals. Their broad experience of D&E methods deployed in different sectors and disciplines enables comparison of method applications, assessing transferability of both established and novel approaches. These collaborative activities in Working Groups and open Workshops will facilitate production of a generic D&E method selection and application framework and scientific publications reaching the wider research community. The Action will also provide young interdisciplinary researchers with systematic training and networking opportunities such as STSMs and Training Schools.
Energy efficiency in large scale distributed systems (COST Action IC0804)
Energy efficiency in large scale distributed systems (COST Action IC0804)
23/1/2009 – 4/5/2013
Luís Neves, MC Member
The main objective of the Action is to foster original research initiatives addressing energy awareness/saving and to increase the overall impact of European research in the field of energy efficiency in distributed systems. The goal of the Action is to give coherence to the European research agenda in the field, by promoting coordination and encouraging discussions among the individual research groups, sharing of operational know-how (lessons-learned, problems found during practical energy measurements and estimates, ideas for real-world exploitation of energy aware techniques, etc.).The Action objectives can be summarized on scientific and societal points of view: sharing and merging existing practices will lead the Action to propose and disseminate innovative approaches, techniques and algorithms for saving energy while enforcing given Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. Notably the different leverages must be regarded together since they might influence each other (deliverables: position paper/survey on existing practices; innovative ideas guidelines/brochures, workshop proceedings, book on the projects topic, summer schools). The Action will create a common forum bridging scientific societies from various origins in computer science from architecture to applications (deliverables: project wiki, discussion lists, postings at popular scientific forums, newsletters). The Action will take particular care of the openness and the applicability of the proposed solutions in a wide spectrum of distributed systems (deliverables: best-case scenarios lists, white papers on Good practices). To broaden the Action societal impact, it will support and raise consciousness in energy saving for different audiences: system administrators, experienced scientists and engineers, industry CEO, general public, etc (deliverables: everyday guides and leaflets, web portal and wiki, blogs of the projects partners, newsletters). To perfect the adoption of energy awareness, the Action will devise economic studies and evaluate gains from energy savings of the different leverages (deliverables: statistical summary and overview).
Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar (COST Action TU 1208)
Title: Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar (COST Action TU 1208)
Coordinator: Luisa Gonçalves, MC Member
Dates start/end: 04-2013 / 04-2017
Entity: COST- UE/ESF
Synopsis:
SUB-URBAN - A European network to improve understanding and use of the ground beneath our cities (COST Action TU1206)
Title: SUB-URBAN – A European network to improve understanding and use of the ground beneath our cities (COST Action TU1206)
Coordinator: Luisa Gonçalves, MC Member
Dates start/end: 09-2014 / 08-2017
Entity: COST- UE/ESF
Synopsis:
Building Integration of Solar Thermal Systems (BISTS) (TUD COST Action TU1205)
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People Friendly Cities in a Data Rich World (COST Action TU 1204)
Title: People Friendly Cities in a Data Rich World (COST Action TU 1204)
Coordinator: Patrícia P. Silva, MC Member
Dates start/end: 04-2013 / 04-2017
Entity: COST- UE/ESF
Synopsis:
Semantic enrichment of 3D city models for sustainable urban development (COST Action TU0801)
Semantic enrichment of 3D city models for sustainable urban development (COST Action TU0801)
3/10/2008 – 3/11/2012
José Paulo Almeida, MC Member
Many urban or environmental models are defined with the objective of helping practitioners and stakeholders in their decision-making processes. Models which represent in 3 dimensions the geometric elements of a city are called 3D city models. These models are increasingly used in different cities and countries for an intended wide range of applications beyond mere visualization. Such uses are made possible by adding semantics to the geometrical aspects, leading to semantically enriched 3D city models. Furthermore, in the perspective of a sustainable development, cities ought to be studied in a comprehensive manner taking into account many interrelations between various urban issues. This can be achieved by identifying and extracting the knowledge underlying in related data and models. Using ontologies is a robust way to achieve the semantic enrichment of 3D city models as well as their interoperability with other urban models, so that they become an effective matrix of urban knowledge in a perspective of sustainability.
This Action will (1) create an integrative platform based on semantically enriched 3D city models, (2) use an ontology-based methodology that could be reused (3) assess the usability of the integrated platform for planning and decision-making.
Keywords: 3D city models, semantic enrichment, ontologies, interoperability
Mapping and the citizen sensor (COST Action TD1202)
Expert Judgment Network: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Uncertainty and Evidence-Based Decision Making (COST Action IS1304)
Title: Expert Judgment Network: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Uncertainty and Evidence-Based Decision Making (COST Action IS1304)
Coordinator: Luis Dias, MC Member; C.H. Antunes, MC Substitute
Dates start/end: 09-2013 / 09-2017
Entity: COST- UE/ESF
Synopsis:
The Transformation of Global Environmental Governance: Risks and Opportunities (TGEG) (COST Action IS0802)
The Transformation of Global Environmental Governance: Risks and Opportunities (TGEG) (COST Action IS0802)
28/7/2008 – 29/10/2012
Carla Henriques, MC Member
Governance for sustainability is one of the great current challenges for political decision-makers, in Europe and beyond. The vital question for European societies is to design effective, stable and legitimate governance systems at local, national and international levels that can ensure a co-evolution of nature and human societies under the overarching goal of sustainable development. This is the starting point of this Action on Transformation of Global Environmental Governance. The Action addresses the current transformation of global environmental governance that can be described as (i) increasing trans-nationalisation, that is, the growing relevance of public and private actors beyond national governments; (ii) increasing supra- and trans-governmentalisation, that is, growing relevance of transnational and supranational institutions; and (iii) increasing fragmentation, that is, increasing segmentation of the policy process through additional layers of decision-making and parallel regulatory systems. However, these transformations are not sufficiently understood. This Action is designed to address this situation as it focuses on the causes and consequences of the transformation of global environmental governance as well as on its effectiveness, legitimacy and robustness. This Action will also increase the ability of policy-makers, business representatives and civil society to understand and influence current environmental governance. Keywords: global environmental governance, transformation of environmental politics, non-state actors, effectiveness and legitimacy of new institutions, segmentation and institutional interplay.
Knowledge Discovery from Moving Objects - MOVE (COST Action IC0903)
Knowledge Discovery from Moving Objects – MOVE (COST Action IC0903)
26/6/2009 – 26/10/2013
Cidália C. Fonte, MC Member
The main objective of the Action is to develop improved methods for knowledge extraction from massive amounts of data regarding moving objects. This Action aims to build a network for collaboration that leads to the improvement of ICT methods for knowledge extraction from massive amounts of data about moving objects. This knowledge is essential to substantiate decision making in public and private sectors. Moving object data typically include trajectories of concrete objects (e.g. humans, vehicles, animals, and goods), as well as trajectories of abstract concepts (e.g. spreading diseases). While movement records are nowadays generated in huge volumes, methods for extracting useful information are still immature, due to fragmentation of research and lack of comprehensiveness from monodisciplinary approaches. Overcoming these limitations calls for COST-like networking. In response to a strong expression of interest from the academic, industrial, and user communities, this Action will empower the development of substantial and widely applicable methods in mobility analysis, focusing on representation and analysis of movement, including spatio-temporal data mining, and visual analytics. Results will be demonstrated through showcases for decision makers. Researchers from various subdomains in computer and geographic information sciences will join domain specialists from a broad range of relevant applications, from courier services and transportation to ecology, and epidemiology, among others. This will make Europe a central stakeholder in an emerging key domain.
Pre-payment and tariff options – theoretical formulation and assessment of consumer reaction
Title: Pre-payment and tariff options – theoretical formulation and assessment of consumer reaction
Coordinator: R. Souza (PUC Rio, Brasil), C. H. Antunes
Dates start/end: 04-2013 / 06-2014
Entity: Aneel – CPFL (Brasil)
Synopsis:
Energy in the city of the future
Title: Energy in the city of the future
Coordinator: N. Castro (GESEL-UFRJ); P.P. Silva, A.G. Martins, C.H. Antunes
Dates start/end: 04-2013 / 06-2014
Entity: Aneel – CPFL (Brasil)
Synopsis:
Renovation of Residential Multi-Story Apartment Blocks Within Passive House Concept and Design (RenoPassCoDe)
Title: Renovation of Residential Multi-Story Apartment Blocks Within Passive House Concept and Design (RenoPassCoDe)
Coordinator: João Ramos (IPL)
Dates start/end: 09-2013 / 08-2014
Entity: UE – Lifelong Learning Program – Erasmus
Synopsis:
Integrated assessment technologies to support the sustainable development of urban areas (COST Action TU0902)
Integrated assessment technologies to support the sustainable development of urban areas (COST Action TU0902)
26/5/2009 – 14/10/2013
Dulce Coelho, MC Member
The main objective of the Action is to develop better representations of the urban systems interactions and dynamics as well as new configurations of urban areas so that they consume fewer resources, emit less pollution, are more resilient to the impacts of climate change and are more sustainable in general. It is widely recognised that urban areas need to curb greenhouse gas emissions, reduce consumption of resources and adapt to be more resilient to climate change impacts – and become more sustainable in general. Whilst many initiatives address aspects of sustainability, this Action is distinct in its focus upon assessment technologies for simulation and integrated assessment of urban areas from a multi-functional point of view at a whole city scale. Models, techniques and tools that are required to enable management of the highly connected technological, human and natural systems that make up cities are now emerging. Meanwhile, planning decisions are being made without sufficient understanding of long term changes, impacts and uncertainties. The implications for sustainability within Europe and internationally are critical. This COST Action will build a new European coalition of researchers equipped to address the intricate challenge of integrated assessment in cities. Whilst cultivating a diversity of multi-disciplinary approaches this coalition will develop collective understanding, share techniques and work jointly in disseminating results. This Action is a timely opportunity and suitable mechanism to take European research on urban integrated assessment from its current infant and rather fragmented state to being a consolidated and internationally leading activity.
Weather Intelligence for Renewable Energies (WIRE) (COST Action ES1002)
Weather Intelligence for Renewable Energies (WIRE) (COST Action ES1002)
27/07/2010 – 09/11/2014
Paulo Santos, MC Member
Due to climate change and shrinking fossil resources, the transition to more and more renewable energy shares is unavoidable. But, as wind and solar energy is strongly dependent on highly variable weather processes, increased penetration rates will also lead to strong fluctuations in the electricity grid which need to be balanced. Proper and specific forecasting of ‘energy weather’ is a key component for this. Therefore, it is timely to scientifically address the requirements to provide the best possible specific weather information for forecasting the energy production of wind and solar power plants for the next minutes up to several days ahead. Towards such aims, this Action will have two main lines of activity: first develop dedicated post-processing algorithms coupled with weather prediction models and measurement data especially remote sensing observations; second investigate the difficult relationship between the highly intermittent weather dependent power production and the energy distribution towards end users. The second goal will raise new challenges as this will require from the energy producers and distributors definitions of the requested forecast data and new technologies dedicated to the management of power plants and electricity grids.
Algorithmic Decision Theory (COST Action ICT 0602)
Algorithmic Decision Theory (COST Action ICT 0602)
COST- UE/ESF
7/2 /2007 – 2/5/2011
C. H. Antunes, MC Member
The Action aims to put together researchers coming from different fields such as Decision Theory, Discrete Mathematics, Theoretical Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence in order to improve decision support in the presence of massive data bases, combinatorial structures, partial and/or uncertain information and distributed, possibly interoperating decision makers. Such problems arise in several real-world decision making problems such as humanitarian logistics, epidemiology, risk assessment and management, e-government, electronic commerce, and the implementation of recommender systems. The Action will coordinate ongoing research projects and provide a more solid framework to already existing networked activities.
Keywords: Decision Theory, Artificial Intelligence, Algorithmic Efficiency, Uncertainty Management, Decision Support, Robustness
VRTUOSI - Virtual Mobility in Decision Sciences
VRTUOSI – Virtual Mobility in Decision Sciences
UE – Lifelong Learning Programme – Erasmus Programme
Outubro 2009 – Setembro 2011
David Rios Ínsua (URJC, Espanha) / C. H. Antunes, L. Dias, M. J. Alves
Although the Erasmus exchange scheme at undergrad level has been of of the great successes of the EU, its implementation at postgraduate level, specially with mature students, presents some problems as they may find it more difficult to have time to leave their current location for family of job reasons. At the same time, the Lisbon objectives, and other governmental and private reports, acknowledge the urgent need to train IT specialists with management and quantitative skills, and management specialists with an IT quantitative profile. VRTUOSI addresses both needs, by developing a set of highly tuned postgraduate courses in the broad fields of Decision Sciences & Technologies that will be provided to the world educational community. Courses are delivered by leading European teams in the field of Decision Sciences & Technologies and recognized as free elective 3 ECTS courses at the participating universities.
Enhancing Lifelong Learning fot the Electrical and Information Engineering Community
Lifelong Learning Programme
European Commission, Erasmus Thematic Network, N° 142814-LLP-1-2008-FR-ERASMUS-ENW
Outubro 2008 – Maio 2012
Carlos Machado Ferreira, Member (Partner 12)
ELLEIEC is an ERASMUS thematic network which is funded by the European Commission for a three-year period (October 2008-September 2011, extended to May 2012). Following the EC directive and decision (Official Journal of the European Union 24th November 2006) establishing an action programme in the field of Life Long Learning (LLL) (2007-2013), this project tries to give an overview of this aspect in the field of Electrical and Information Engineering. On the basis to the work of about one hundred teachers of higher education institutions of the European Union, a synthesis of the LLL in the Electrical and Information Engineering field was analyzed with the objectives to suggest several experimental approaches and specific demonstrators. After an analysis of the effective situation of the LLL at bachelor, master, and doctorate levels, some recommendations are suggested in order to harmonize, at least in this field, the LLL procedures. The LLL is a pertinent way to progress in companies and even to create a company as long as the chosen education complement is adapted to the professional needs. One way to succeed is the introduction of new paths for educational purpose oriented to all kind of citizens in the lifelong learning spirit with scientific competences and operational skills. However, in the field of EIE, due to the high scientific level that is required, the related curricula contents are usually poor in economical, human science and management. This point justifies the set-up of a Virtual Centre for Enterprise System Specification that could constitute a solid tool able to lead the employees to create a new company or to be involved in the management of an existing one. Concerning the scientific and technical competences gained during informal courses, it is hard to recognize them by a corresponding diploma or ECTS validation. In addition, a concrete link between job position and qualification framework is not well organized for lifelong learning education. The set-up international curricula (ICN) deliberately oriented towards a matching between technical skills and content, should fulfil this aim. These ICN constitute a tool giving access via links to specific courses built on an agreement between skills and competences adapted to professional purpose and leading to a diploma in the frame of LLL. These courses are described in term of ECTS and in the frame of qualification framework. These courses are effectively running in several European institutions, are spent either in the frame of e-learning or in face to face form. This extension to LL is able to ensure a sustainability of our programme.
The work done consists of three parts:
I. The first one is dedicated to the Analysis of LLL in EIE in Europe at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, together with some recommendations.
II. The second part concerns best practices for the use of new technologies in EIE education in Europe and proposes Guidelines for e-learning and intensive course’s assessment.
III. The last one proposes two demonstrators of good practice for enhancing LLL in EIE in Europe: Virtual Centre of Entrepreneurship (VCE) and International Curricula Network (ICN)
ELLEIEC: http://greenelleiec.eu/
Virtual Centre for Enterprise (VCE): http://www.vce.york.ac.uk/
International Curricula Network (ICN): http://greenelleiec.eu/index.asp
