11 November 2010

2010 MSE Seminars of Software Engineering: SCRUM: Agile Software Development

Dates: November 27, 2010, 10:00h (Auditorim of Novabase/Parque das Nações, Lisboa) and December 4, 2010, 10:00 (Hotel Ipanema Porto, Porto)
Organization: University of Coimbra | Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program
[Admission is free with the registration 3 days prior to each seminar]

Topics:
- Organization and management of agile teams
- Efficient Management of Requirements
- Planning and monitoring
- Estimate

Audience:
- Software Engineers - Team Leaders and Project Managers
- Companies interested in participating in the program CMU | Portugal

Lecturers:
Professor Mário Zenha-Rela, University of Coimbra / Carnegie Mellon University
Professor Licinio Roque, University of Coimbra / Carnegie Mellon University
Professor Pedro Bizarro, University of Coimbra / Carnegie Mellon University
Professor Paulo Rupino, Universidade de Coimbra / Carnegie Mellon University

More information available at http://www.cmuportugal.org/tiercontent.aspx?id=3118

10 November 2010

Priberam Machine Learning Lunch Seminar: Learning simple texture discrimination filters, by Rui Guerreiro (ISR)

Venue: IST Alameda, Sala PA2 (Edif. de Pós-Graduação)
Date: Tuesday, November 16nd, 2010
Time: 13:00
Lunch will be provided

Abstract:
Everyday tasks like walking on the street, recognizing a friend or understanding a scene seem so simple and immediate that transposing it to a computer might seem like an easy task. Only when we try it do we realize our immense talent, as humans, in making sense of the data that reaches our senses. In this talk I illustrate some of these difficulties and particularize for the context of texture discrimination. I introduce a simple supervised learning approach (using Genetic Algorithms) that enables high-frame rate texture discrimination and compare it with current state-of-the-art methods. I further particularize the general methodology to rotationally discriminant and rotationally invariant discrimination. I conclude with experimental results, which illustrate that it is successful in capturing the essence of the texture discrimination problem.

Bio:
Rui Guerreiro received his licenciatura (2002) and MSc (2003) degrees from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Portugal, in Electrical & Electronical Engineering, the latter on the topic of 2D-to-3D conversion using Structure from Motion. In 2003, he joined Siemens S.A. in Lisbon where he worked in high-speed circuit design for communication systems.~In 2005, he joined the Video Processing Group of Philips Research, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, where he worked on picture enhancement topics (motion estimation, halo-free frame-rate up-conversion, multi-band enhancement, temporal compression artifact suppression, spatial color processing, color therapy), 2D-to-3D conversion for 3D-TVs (scene classification, depth-from-focus, motion-based segmentation) and supervised student work on low-cost gaze tracking. In 2009, he started a PhD at IST, on perception-based 2D-to-3D conversion. He has 4 patents and 9 peer-reviewed publications on these topics.

04 November 2010

Anthony Rowe Gives a Lecture in Portugal On Embedded Sensing Systems For Energy-Efficiency In Buildings

Date: Friday, November 5, 2010, 16:00-17:00
Speaker: Anthony Rowe, Carnegie Mellon University
Organization: The Instituto de Telecomunicações and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Place: FEUP Building I, Room I-105

Abstract:
Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is a promising technique for disaggregating per-appliance energy consumption in buildings from aggregate voltage/current measurements. One major limitation of the approach is that it typically requires a training phase during which users must manually label device transitions. This talk presents an inexpensive contactless electromagnetic field (EMF) event-detector that can detect appliance state changes within close proximity based on magnetic and electric field fluctuations. Each detector wirelessly transmits state changes via a sensor network to a circuit-panel energy meter, which can then be used to label and disambiguate appliance transitions detected from the aggregate signals as well as to track the associated energy consumption. Our EMF sensors are able to detect significant power state changes from a few inches away making it possible to externally monitor in-wall wiring to devices (e.g., overhead lights). We also address how this technology can be used as a first step towards the broader goal of net-zero energy buildings.

Bio:
Anthony Rowe is an Assistant Research Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He received a Ph.D. in ECE from CMU in 2010. His research interests include networked real-time embedded systems for sensor and actuator applications. Currently, he is investigating how to design future embedded systems to support applications ranging from building energy optimization to hazardous work-zone safety that are energy-efficient and provide real-time properties.