Browsing by Author "Ferreira, Paulo"
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- Active Learning Strategies for Sustainable Engineering: The case of the European Project Semester at ISEPPublication . Duarte, Abel J.; Malheiro, Benedita; Silva, Manuel F.; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, PedroEngineering aims to improve the quality of daily life on a planet with limited resources. This chapter describes how the European Project Semester offered by the School of Engineering of the Porto Polytechnic contributes to make engineering undergraduates conscious of their environmental and societal impact. The program is a project-based active learning framework where problem-solving is supported by intercultural communication and creativity, ethical and sustainable reasoning, and global contextual analysis. This analysis shows that it fosters scientific, technical, and interpersonal competencies, emphasizing ethical and sustainable design as recommended by several reference institutions through the testimonials left on the project reports and the evolution perceived by the participants during the semester. These findings are supported by a sample of 45 projects conducted by 228 students from 23 countries and 65 degrees. All projects aimed to have a lasting impact on the future engineering practice of participants and, somehow, transform the world positively.
- Airfoil Selection and Wingsail Design for an Autonomous SailboatPublication . Silva, Manuel F.; Malheiro, Benedita; Guedes, Pedro; Ferreira, PauloOcean exploration and monitoring with autonomous platforms can provide researchers and decision makers with valuable data, trends and insights into the largest ecosystem on Earth. Regardless of the recognition of the importance of such platforms in this scenario, their design and development remains an open challenge. In particular, energy efficiency, control and robustness are major concerns with implications in terms of autonomy and sustainability. Wingsails allow autonomous boats to navigate with increased autonomy, due to lower power consumption, and greater robustness, due to simpler control. Within the scope of a project that addresses the design, development and deployment of a rigid wing autonomous sailboat to perform long term missions in the ocean, this paper summarises the general principles for airfoil selection and wingsail design in robotic sailing, and are given some insights on how these aspects influence the autonomous sailboat being developed by the authors.
- Algae and Fish Farming: An EPS@ISEP 2022 ProjectPublication . Blomme, Rose-Farah; Domissy, Zoé; Dylik, Zuzanna; Hidding, Thomas; Röhe, Alina; Duarte, Abel J.; BENEDITA CAMPOS NEVES MALHEIRO, MARIA; JUSTO, Jorge; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, Pedro; Castro Ribeiro, Maria Cristina de; Silva, Manuel; Auer, Michael E.; Rüütmann, TiiaThe European Project Semester (EPS) at Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) is a capstone engineering design program where students, organised in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, create a solution for a proposed problem, bearing in mind ethical, sustainability and market concerns. The project proposals are usually aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). New sustainable food production methods are essential to cope with the continuous population growth and aligned with SDG2 and SDG12. In this context, this paper describes the research and work done by a team of Erasmus students enrolled in EPS@ISEP during the spring of 2022. Since sustainable algae farming can be a suitable source of food, the team's goal was the design and develop a proof-of-concept prototype, named GREEN·flow, of a symbiotic aquaponic system to farm algae and fish. The smart GREEN·flow concept comprises a modular structure and an app for control and supervision. The proposed design was driven by state-of-the-art research, targeted to a specific market niche based on a market analysis, and considering sustainability and ethics concerns, all of which are described in this manuscript. A proof-of-concept prototype was built and tested to verify that it worked as intended.
- Aquaponics System - An EPS@ISEP 2014 Spring ProjectPublication . Llauradó, Ana Mesas; Docherty, Arlene; Méry, Gwénaël; Sokolowska, Natalia; Keane, Sean; Duarte, Abel José; Malheiro, Benedita; Ribeiro, Maria Cristina; Ferreira, Fernando José; Silva, Manuel; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, PedroThe goal of this project, one of the proposals of the EPS@ISEP 2014 Spring, was to develop an Aquaponics System. Over recent years Aquaponics systems have received increased attention due to its possibilities in helping reduce strain on resources within 1st and 3rd world countries. Aquaponics is the combination of Hydroponics and Aquaculture and mimics a natural environment in order to successfully apply and enhance the understanding of natural cycles within an indoor process. By using this knowledge of natural cycles it was possible to create a system with the capabilities similar to that of a natural environment with the benefits of electronic adaptions to enhance the overall efficiency of the system. The multinational team involved in its development was composed of five students, from five countries and fields of study. This paper covers their solution, involving overall design, the technology involved and the benefits it could bring to the current market. The team was able to achieve the final rendered Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings, successfully performed all the electronic testing, and designed a solution under budget. Furthermore, the solution presented was deeply studied from the sustainability viewpoint and the team also developed a product specific marketing plan. Finally, the students involved in this project obtained new knowledge and skills.
- Artistic Robot – An EPS@ISEP 2016 ProjectPublication . Dziomdziora, Adam; Sin, Daniel Nicolae; Robertson, Fraser; Mänysalo, Mikko; Pattiselano, Nona; Duarte, Abel; Malheiro, Benedita; Ribeiro, Cristina; Ferreira, Fernando; Silva, Manuel F.; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, PedroThis paper reports the design and development process of an artistic robot by a team of five engineering and design students from Belgian, Finland, Poland, Romania and Scotland. To contribute to this goal, the team designed and assembled GraphBot, a voice commanded drawing robot prototype, following the EPS@ISEP process. In addition, the team specified their target as young children and, in particular girls, and stated that their motivation was to introduce young generations to the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In terms of outcomes, this project is expected to go beyond the boundaries of the traditional development of scientific and technical competences, by providing the students with a holistic learning experience, fostering also the development of personal and inter-personal skills within a multidisciplinary and multicultural teamwork set-up.
- Balcony Greenhouse – An EPS@ISEP 2017 ProjectPublication . Calderon, Alisson; Mota, António; Hopchet, Christophe; Grabulosa, Cristina; Roeper, Mathias; Duarte, Abel José; Malheiro, Benedita; Ribeiro, Maria Cristina; Ferreira, Fernando José; Silva, Manuel; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, PedroThis paper presents the development process of a sustainable solution to grow aromatic plants in small houses. The solution is called The GreenHouse and is meant for people who live in small houses or city apartments and want fresh home grown aromatic plants, but have neither the time nor the space to grow them. The solution is intended to be sustainable and appropriate for people concerned with eating healthy, fresh food. The project was developed by a team of five students enrolled in the European Project Semester (EPS) at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) during the spring of 2017. EPS@ISEP is a project-based learning framework which aims to foster personal, teamwork and multidisciplinary problem-solving skills in engineering, business and product design students. Research and discussions within the team were done to develop the product. The existing solutions for growing fresh food in industrial and domestic applications as well as marketing, sustainability and ethical topics were researched and discussed. This way it was possible to define the requirements of The GreenHouse. The GreenHouse is semi-automatic and requires little interaction from the customer. It has two covers, a winter cover and a summer cover, to be changed depending on the season and weather. Solar energy and rainwater are used to enable the growth of aromatic plants, making this a sustainable system. The support is adaptable and made to fit different support sizes so it can be hanged on balconies or windows.
- Breeding endangered beetles - An EPS@ISEP 2024 ProjectPublication . Florus, Cedric; Lattunen, Jennifer; Knäuper, Julius; Jugiel, Krzysztof; Silva, Marion; Dekkers, Thomas; Duarte, Abel J.; BENEDITA CAMPOS NEVES MALHEIRO, MARIA; Santos Ribeiro, Maria Cristina; JUSTO, Jorge; Ferreira, Paulo; Silva, Manuel; Guedes, Pedro; Auer, Michael E.; Rüütmann, TiiaHabitat loss, climate change, and pesticide use are key threats affecting beetle populations. This paper describes Scarabreed, a project that contributes to mitigate the beetle decline crisis. It was carried out by a team of six European students from different engineering fields and nationalities within the European Project Semester (EPS) at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), a project-based and teamwork learning framework. The designed solution -- the Beetle Breeder Version 2 (BBV2) -- consists of a smart modular vivarium created especially for beetle breeding. It monitors and controls relevant habitat parameters and offers two user-friendly interfaces (on-device and a Web application). The innovative modular structure of the vivarium allows easy scaling, customisation, and transportation. As a whole, the project offers significant environmental benefits: (i) facilitates the captive breeding of endangered beetle species, promoting population restoration efforts; (ii) fosters, as an educational tool, youth and general public awareness about the crucial role beetles play in ecosystems; and (iii) adopts eco-efficient and responsible business practices by following ethics and sustainability driven design and marketing.
- Cattle Monitoring Blimp – An EPS@ISEP 2023 ProjectPublication . Blommestijn, Krijn; Dallongeville, Kylian; Paulsen, Maximilian; Mamos, Michal; Gupta, Sonia; Duarte, Abel J.; Malheiro, Benedita; Ribeiro, Cristina; Justo, Jorge; Silva, Manuel F.; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, PedroThis paper describes the project based learning experience of a multidisciplinary and multicultural team of students enrolled in the spring of 2023 on the European Project Semester at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (EPS@ISEP). Animo is an original blimp based concept that aims to help farmers better manage their livestock. Its development was motivated by the difficulty to effectively monitor cattle herds over vast areas, especially in remote locations where locating animals is challenging. This environmentally friendly solution offers real-time livestock monitoring without thermal engines. Real-time monitoring is achieved through the blimp's extensive animal data collection. Farmers may discover and handle quickly herd welfare issues by accessing information via a user-friendly App. With an emphasis on accessibility and environmental sustainability, Animo seeks to increase agricultural productivity and profitability. The user controls the blimp motion through the app to obtain a comprehensive farm view. Targeting Australia's large cattle stations, it aims to enhance productivity while minimising the environmental impact.
- CDIO and the European Project Semester: a match for capstone projects?Publication . Malheiro, Benedita; Silva, Manuel; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, PedroThe CDIO Initiative is an open innovative educational framework for engineering graduation degrees set in the context of Conceiving – Designing – Implementing – Operating real-world systems and products, which is embraced by a network of worldwide universities, the CDIO collaborators. A CDIO compliant engineering degree programme typically includes a capstone module on the final semester. Its purpose is to expose students to problems of a greater dimension and complexity than those faced throughout the degree programme as well as to put them in contact with the so-called real world, in opposition to the academic world. However, even in the CDIO context, there are barriers that separate engineering capstone students from the real world context of an engineering professional: (i) limited interaction with experts from diverse scientific areas; (ii) reduced cultural and scientific diversity within the teams; and (iii) lack of a project supportive framework to foster the complementary technical and non-technical skills required in an engineering professional. To address these shortcomings, we propose the adoption of the European Project Semester (EPS) framework, a one semester student centred international capstone programme offered by a group of European engineering schools (the EPS Providers) as part of their student exchange programme portfolio. The EPS package is organised around a central module – the EPS project – and a set of complementary supportive modules. Project proposals refer to open multidisciplinary real world problems and supervision becomes coaching. The students are organised in teams, grouping individuals from diverse academic backgrounds and nationalities, and each team is fully responsible for conducting its project. EPS complies with the CDIO directives on Design-Implement experiences and provides an integrated framework for undertaking capstone projects, which is focussed on multicultural and multidisciplinary teamwork, problem-solving, communication, creativity, leadership, entrepreneurship, ethical reasoning and global contextual analysis. As a result, we recommend the adoption of the EPS within CDIO capstone modules for the benefit of engineering students.
- Citizen Engagement in Urban Planning – An EPS@ISEP 2022 ProjectPublication . Cardani, Carla G.; Couzyn, Carmen; Degouilles, Eliott; Benner, Jan M.; Engst, Julia A.; Duarte, Abel J.; Malheiro, Benedita; Ribeiro, Cristina; Justo, Jorge; Silva, Manuel F.; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, PedroInvolving people in urban planning offers many benefits, but current methods are failing to get a large number of citizens to participate. People have a high participation barrier when it comes to public participation in urban planning – as it requires a lot of time and initiative, only a small non-diverse group of citizens take part in governmental initiatives. In this paper, a product is developed to make it as easy as possible for citizens to get involved in construction projects in their community at an early stage. As a solution, a public screen is proposed, which offers citizens the opportunity to receive information, view 3D models, vote and comment at the site of the construction project via smartphone – the solution was named Parcitypate. To explain the functions of the product, a prototype was created and tested. In addition, concepts for branding, marketing, ethics, and sustainability are presented.