<p dir="ltr">Autonomous robots can perform dangerous and tedious tasks, eliminating the need for human involvement. To deploy an autonomous robot in the field, a typical planning and control hierarchy is used, consisting of a high-level planner, a mid-level motion planner, and a low-level tracking controller. In applications such as simultaneous localization and mapping, package delivery, logistics, and surveillance, a group of autonomous robots can be more efficient and resilient than a single robot. However, deploying a multi-robot team by directly aggregating each robot's planning hierarchy into a larger, centralized hierarchy faces challenges related to scalability, resilience, and real-time computation. Distributed algorithms offer a promising solution for introducing effective coordination within a network of robots, addressing these issues. This thesis explores the application of distributed algorithms in multi-robot systems, focusing on several essential components required to enable distributed multi-robot coordination, both in general terms and for specific applications.</p>

A pesquisa de caráter qualitativo teve como objetivo levantar e discutir maneiras pelas quais o campo do design pode contribuir para a divulgação científica para o público infantil. A partir de um levantamento de casos de comunicação da ciência para crianças no Brasil e exterior, de naturezas e mídias diversas, foram identificados os processos de design empregados e determinados os eixos investigativos da pesquisa: processos colaborativos, processos participativos, ludicidade e design da informação. Para evidenciar e discutir as questões relativas aos quatro eixos, foi realizado um estudo de caso sobre o livro informativo para crianças Lá fora - Guia para descobrir a natureza (textos de Maria Ana Peixe Dias e Inês Teixeira do Rosário, ilustrações de Bernardo P. Carvalho, editora Planeta Tangerina, Portugal, 2014). O estudo de caso baseou-se em revisão bibliográfica relativa a: processos colaborativos, processos participativos, processos voltados ao lúdico, design da informação, livros ilustrados e livros informativos para crianças. As análises sugerem que as contribuições do campo para a divulgação científica para crianças potencializam-se quanto mais abrangente for o escopo de participação do design e quanto mais inicial for o estágio de projetação em que é introduzido. Além disso, de cada eixo investigativo sobressaem contribuições específicas ligadas às forma de participação do design no processo de produção da divulgação, a saber: o rigor informativo, investigativo e crítico, e a criatividade na abordagem dos temas da ciência (processos colaborativos); a defesa da autonomia, do protagonismo e do respeito às necessidades cognitivas e emocionais da criança (processos participativos); a aproximação poética, aberta, imaginativa e complexa dos assuntos tratados (processos voltados à ludicidade); e o cuidado com a usabilidade dos objetos, a legibilidade e a visualização da informação (design da informação). / This qualitative study aimed to raise and discuss ways in which the design field can contribute to science communication for children. Specific applied design processes and certain investigative axes of research were identified from a survey of cases of science communication for children in Brazil and abroad, of different natures and media: collaborative processes, participatory processes, playfulness and information design. In order to highlight and discuss questions relating to these four axes, we conducted a case study of the children\'s information book Lá fora - Guia para descobrir a natureza (texts by Maria Ana Peixe Dias and Inês Teixeira do Rosário, illustrations by Bernardo P. Carvalho, Planeta Tangerina, Portugal, 2014). The case study is based on literature review on: collaborative processes, participatory processes, processes aimed at playfulness, information design, picturebooks and children\'s information books. The analysis suggests that the design field contribution to science communication for children can be enhanced the more comprehensive its scope is and the earlier it is introduced in the design process. In addition, each investigative axis highlights specific contributions, linked to the form of participation that design takes on the production process of the publication, namely: the informative, investigative and critical accuracy, and the creativity in addressing the themes of science (collaborative processes); the defense of autonomy, leadership and respect to cognitive and emotional needs of the child (participatory processes); the poetic, open, imaginative and complex approach of subjects addressed (processes aimed at playfulness); the attention to the usability and readability of objects, and its information visualization (information design).

En la presente tesis se propone una metodología de desarrollo de estrategias híbridas para la mitigación de fallos inducidos por radiación en los sistemas empotrados modernos. La propuesta se basa en los principios del co-diseño de sistemas y consiste en la combinación selectiva, incremental y flexible de enfoques de tolerancia a fallos basados en hardware y software. Es decir, la exploración del espacio de soluciones se fundamenta en una estrategia híbrida de grano fino. El flujo de diseño está guiado por los requisitos de la aplicación. Esta metodología se ha denominado: co-endurecimiento. De esta forma, es posible diseñar sistemas embebidos confiables a bajo coste, donde no sólo se satisfagan los requisitos de confiabilidad y las restricciones de diseño, sino que también se evite el uso excesivo de costosos mecanismos de protección (hardware y software).

A pesquisa de caráter qualitativo teve como objetivo levantar e discutir maneiras pelas quais o campo do design pode contribuir para a divulgação científica para o público infantil. A partir de um levantamento de casos de comunicação da ciência para crianças no Brasil e exterior, de naturezas e mídias diversas, foram identificados os processos de design empregados e determinados os eixos investigativos da pesquisa: processos colaborativos, processos participativos, ludicidade e design da informação. Para evidenciar e discutir as questões relativas aos quatro eixos, foi realizado um estudo de caso sobre o livro informativo para crianças Lá fora - Guia para descobrir a natureza (textos de Maria Ana Peixe Dias e Inês Teixeira do Rosário, ilustrações de Bernardo P. Carvalho, editora Planeta Tangerina, Portugal, 2014). O estudo de caso baseou-se em revisão bibliográfica relativa a: processos colaborativos, processos participativos, processos voltados ao lúdico, design da informação, livros ilustrados e livros informativos para crianças. As análises sugerem que as contribuições do campo para a divulgação científica para crianças potencializam-se quanto mais abrangente for o escopo de participação do design e quanto mais inicial for o estágio de projetação em que é introduzido. Além disso, de cada eixo investigativo sobressaem contribuições específicas ligadas às forma de participação do design no processo de produção da divulgação, a saber: o rigor informativo, investigativo e crítico, e a criatividade na abordagem dos temas da ciência (processos colaborativos); a defesa da autonomia, do protagonismo e do respeito às necessidades cognitivas e emocionais da criança (processos participativos); a aproximação poética, aberta, imaginativa e complexa dos assuntos tratados (processos voltados à ludicidade); e o cuidado com a usabilidade dos objetos, a legibilidade e a visualização da informação (design da informação). / This qualitative study aimed to raise and discuss ways in which the design field can contribute to science communication for children. Specific applied design processes and certain investigative axes of research were identified from a survey of cases of science communication for children in Brazil and abroad, of different natures and media: collaborative processes, participatory processes, playfulness and information design. In order to highlight and discuss questions relating to these four axes, we conducted a case study of the children\'s information book Lá fora - Guia para descobrir a natureza (texts by Maria Ana Peixe Dias and Inês Teixeira do Rosário, illustrations by Bernardo P. Carvalho, Planeta Tangerina, Portugal, 2014). The case study is based on literature review on: collaborative processes, participatory processes, processes aimed at playfulness, information design, picturebooks and children\'s information books. The analysis suggests that the design field contribution to science communication for children can be enhanced the more comprehensive its scope is and the earlier it is introduced in the design process. In addition, each investigative axis highlights specific contributions, linked to the form of participation that design takes on the production process of the publication, namely: the informative, investigative and critical accuracy, and the creativity in addressing the themes of science (collaborative processes); the defense of autonomy, leadership and respect to cognitive and emotional needs of the child (participatory processes); the poetic, open, imaginative and complex approach of subjects addressed (processes aimed at playfulness); the attention to the usability and readability of objects, and its information visualization (information design).

<p>The introduction of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to speech recognition applications has sparked the rapid development and popularization of digital assistants. These digital assistants perform keyword spotting (KWS), constantly monitoring the audio captured by a microphone for a small set of words or phrases known as keywords. Upon recognizing a keyword, a larger audio recording is saved and processed by a separate, more complex neural network. More broadly, neural networks in speech recognition have popularized voice as means of interacting with electronic devices, sparking an interest in individuals using speech recognition in their own projects. However, while large companies have the means to develop custom neural network architectures alongside proprietary hardware platforms, such development precludes those lacking similar resources from developing efficient and effective neural networks for embedded systems. While small, low-power embedded systems are widely available in the hobbyist space, a clear process is needed for developing a neural network that accounts for the limitations of these resource-constrained systems. In contrast, a wide variety of neural network architectures exists, but often little thought is given to deploying these architectures on edge devices. </p> <p><br></p> <p>This thesis first presents an overview of audio processing techniques, artificial neural network fundamentals, and machine learning tools. A summary of a set of specific neural network architectures is also discussed. Finally, the process of implementing and modifying these existing neural network architectures and training specific models in Python using TensorFlow is demonstrated. The trained models are also subjected to post-training quantization to evaluate the effect on model performance. The models are evaluated using metrics relevant to deployment on resource-constrained systems, such as memory consumption, latency, and model size, in addition to the standard comparisons of accuracy and parameter count. After evaluating the models and architectures, the process of deploying one of the trained and quantized models is explored on an Arduino Nano 33 BLE using TensorFlow Lite for Microcontrollers and on a Digilent Nexys 4 FPGA board using CFU Playground.</p>

This project was implemented as a Master thesis project in Industrial design engineering (IDE). In collaboration with Billerud Karlsborg, the project was initiated to develop proposal for a technological solution for eliminating a manual handling work task in the production line for coated paper products. The design process was implemented  as a Participatory design approach, inviting the workers of the production unit to collaborate in design activites and workshops. The participatory approach was based on the Scandinavian perspective on Participatory design, with influences from the comtemporary views on collaborative design. The project included a holistic ergonomic analysis focused on the assessment of musculoskeletal disorder risk factors in the work task flagged by workers as a cause of work strain. The focused work task documented in detail and assessed through REBA and RULA assessment. The work task involves manual handling of a stack of residual paper that is rolled to a tube, by hand, and subsequently lifted and pushed to a grinder inlet for re-purposing. While the ergonomic analysis confirm that there are postural risk factors present, the pace of work suggests that adequate resting for preventing work stain related to the focused task is possible during work. However, the percieved work strained is suggested to originate from work task in close connection to the focused task. A proposal for a concept that sufficiently eliminates the risk factors found in the focused task is developed based on a human-centered design and anthropometric principles. The development concludes with the construction of a prototype, but time constraints denies evaluation of the prototype with end users. The concept is therefore presented as renders of a 3D-model. / Det här projektet har utförts som ett examensarbete inom Civilingenjör Teknisk design, på uppdrag av Billerud Karlsborg. Syftet med projektet var att utveckla ett tekniskt lösningsförslag till ett av Billerud utvalt arbetsmiljöproblem vid en av arbetstationerna i pappersbruket i Karlsborg. I samarbete med arbetarna i den berörda produktionslinjen genomfördes en participativ designprocess, innefattade planering och genomförande av participativa designaktiviteter och workshops baserade på de skandinaviska teorierna kring participativ design, med influens från nyare perspektiv kring co-design. Som en del i arbetet utfördes en övergipande ergonomisk analys avseende belastningsergonomiska riskkällor vid en fokuserad arbetsstation, med en detaljerad kartläggning av den arbetsuppgift som arbetarna upplever som problematisk. Den fokuserade arbetsuppgiften innefattar manuell hantering av en restprodukt som behöver rullas ihop för hand och därefter lyftas samt skjutas till en kvarn för återvinning. Den ergonomiska analysen utfördes med hjälp av REBA- och RULA-bedömningar, vilka bekräftade att en potentiell risk för belastningsergonomiska skador i det arbetssätt som utövas, men där produktionstakten och systemets styrning tyder på att tillräcklig vila är möjlig under arbetet för att motverka skador från lågintensivt muskelarbete. Arbetsmiljöproblemet bedöms däremot inte vara obefintligt då arbetarnas totala arbete innefattar ytterligare moment av fysisk belastning, och där arbetsmiljöproblemet eventuellt kan vara ett resultat av närliggande moment till den fokuserade arbetsuppgiften. Som lösningsförslag på problemet utvecklas ett koncept som eliminerar de funna riskkällorna i den avgränsade arbetsuppgiften, med utgångspunkt i användarcentrerad design och utefter antropometriska riktlinjer. Utvecklingen av en fysisk prototyp för utvärdering med arbetarna påbörjades, men hann inte slutföras innan projektet avslutades. Istället presenteras konceptet genom rendingar av en 3D-modell.

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