INESC TEC once again participates in another edition of the Mostra of the University of Porto
«Dont’ give up on you!» This was the slogan chosen by the University of Porto to lead the 16th edition of Mostra of the University of Porto that took place between 12 and 15 of April at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar/ the Faculty of Pharmacy of U.Porto. INESC TEC participated with two technologies that were presented by INESC TEC’s Centre for Robotics in Industry and Intelligent Systems (CRIIS) and INESC TEC’s Centre for Biomedical Engineering Research (C-BER).
INESC TEC’s technologies on display
On the one hand, CRIIS brought to the Mostra event an autonomous mobile manipulator for pick and place tasks. This is a robotic system produced with a mobile platform that incorporates a robotic handler capable of picking and placing objects at a different location. The robot can walk autonomously in the surrounding area, avoiding obstacles. In order to get closer to the place of interest, the tracking system is based on the detection of previously mapped natural reflectors or contours.
On the other hand, C-BER presented YOLOv2 – “You Only Look Once”, a computer vision system that, through a neural network trained in many thousands of images, is capable of detecting up to 9000 different types of objects. Through a web cam, it shows real-time object detection and streams live on a television. This type of artificial intelligence, already widely used by Google, Apple, Amazon or Microsoft, can be used in other fields such as medicine, for example, in computer-aided diagnosis.
An opportunity for exploration and knowledge
Four days. 14 Universities. 13 research centres. More than 600 training programmes. All of this was part of the event that is annually organized by the University of Porto. Its main goal is to present the educational offer of the U. Porto, as well as informing the different post-graduate training options.
The Mostra of U.Porto allowed more than 15 thousand visitors to enter dialogue with professors, researchers, students and university technicians, thus being in contact with the different fields of action and research of the University. The public present in the event could also find additional information on this academic world, notably regarding social care, employability, mobility programmes, sport activities, among others.
Approximately 95 school groups came from Greater Porto, Melgaço, Chaves, Valença, Viseu, Tondela, Gafanha da Nazaré, Oliveira do Bairro, Paredes de Coura, Ponte de Lima, Armamar, Vouzela, Vagos, Amarante and Penafiel to participate in this event.
Parallel to the exhibition, the program included piano recitals, information sessions on access to higher education, a Skype call with an astronaut and U.Porto professor, sports demonstrations, musical performances and thematic lectures.
430 visitors per hour
«This project involves millions of people» and together with other initiatives for young people, it only represents «a tip of the iceberg of what is the University of Porto». This is how Sebastião Feyo de Azevedo, Rector of the University of Porto, explained the importance of this event from the academic perspective.
The Rector, who wasn’t present during the opening, delegated Vice-Rectors Maria de Fátima Marinho and Maria João Ramos for the opening of the first day. They were also accompanied by a delegation comprised by Maria Fernanda Rollo, Secretary of State of Science, Technology and Higher Education, as well as representatives of several services of U.Porto and the Portuguese Armed Forces.
Pre-Mostra at the Laboratory of Smart Grids and Electric Vehicles
Besides the main event of the Mostra of U.Porto, several pre-Mostra activities were conducted in order to engage the citizens and consequently invite them for the event. During that time, INESC TEC opened the doors of the Laboratory of Smart Grids and Electric Vehicles, under the responsibility of INESC TEC’s Centre for Power and Energy Systems (CPES).
On 4 and 5 April, Luís Seca, researcher and one of CPES’ coordinators, spoke about “Energy efficiency and electrical vehicles”, highlighting the efficient management of energy in order to reduce costs and impacts on the environment. This was explained during an activity for high school students and their families, which had about 70 participants.
Other initiatives of the program included a session entitled “The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic in 30 min”, the UPFit Active Week, visits to the Astronomy Observatory of Professor Manuel de Barros and an activity of iNIGMA (Association of Mathematics Students of the University of Porto) entitled “Mathematics and Juggling”.
So much work to do for next year
The program of this initiative continued with a series of post-Mostra activities that will be held in the following weeks, especially with the organization of the Faculty of Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering. By involving the whole community, the organization of Mostra of the U.Porto considers the event a "success".
During the closing session, the Rector of the U.Porto commented that "next year we will have another great Mostra of the University of Porto!”
The researcher mentioned in this news piece is associated with INESC TEC.
