INESC TEC - INESC Technology and Science

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Organizational Unit

Publications

Airfoil Selection and Wingsail Design for an Autonomous Sailboat

Publication . Silva, Manuel F.; Malheiro, Benedita; Guedes, Pedro; Ferreira, Paulo

Ocean 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.

2019Book part

Open access

The MopBot Cleaning Robot – An EPS@ISEP 2020 Project

Publication . Tuluc, Corina; Verberne, Frederique; Lasota, Szymon; Almeida, Tomás de; Malheiro, Benedita; JUSTO, Jorge; Ribeiro, Cristina; Silva, Manuel F.; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, Pedro

Waste is one of the biggest problems on Earth today. In the spring of 2020, a team of students enrolled in the European Project Semester at Instituto Superior de Engenharia decided to contribute with the design of an ethically and sustainability-oriented autonomous cleaning robot named MopBot. The project started with the research on similar solutions, ethics, marketing and sustainability to define a concept and create a functional, ethical and sustainability driven design, including the complete control system. Finally, given the undergoing pandemic, the operation of the MopBot was simulated using CoppeliaSim. MopBot is a medium-sized vacuum cleaner, with two vertical brushes, intended to clean autonomously large areas inside buildings such as shopping malls or corridors. It is shipped with a sustainable packaging solution which can be re-purposed as a disposal box for electrical components.

2021-03Conference object

Restricted access

Smart Bicycle Probe – An EPS@ISEP 2020 Project

Publication . Boularas, Mélissa; Szmytke, Zuzanna; Smith, Logan; Isik, Kaan; Ruusunen, Juho; Malheiro, Benedita; JUSTO, Jorge; Ribeiro, Maria Cristina de Castro; Silva, Manuel F.; Ferreira, Paulo; Guedes, Pedro

Air pollution kills approximately 7 million people every year and nine out of ten people are exposed to high levels of airborne pollutants. This paper describes the design of a bicycle air probe by a team of multicultural and multidisciplinary students of the European Project Semester, during the spring of 2020. This learning experience started with the analysis of the state-of-the-art, ethics, marketing and sustainability dimensions, and was followed by the design, development and simulation of a proof-of-concept solution. The result is GOairLight – a bicycle probe paired with a mobile app. The probe collects air quality, humidity and temperature data as cyclists ride, while the mobile app shares the collected data with the community, by means of a cloud database, presents relevant air quality information and suggests less polluted routes. Furthermore, it relies on a sustainable energy source – a dynamo powered by the cyclist – and automatic lighting. The latter feature improves cyclist visibility and raises the awareness towards the cyclist, contributing to increased road safety.

2021-03Conference object

Restricted access