Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics

The present book includes a set of selected papers from the Fifth International Conf- ence on Informatics in Control Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2008), held in Funchal, Madeira - Portugal, from 11 to 15 May 2008. The conference was organized in three simultaneous tracks: Intelligent Control Systems and Optimization, Robotics and Automation, and Systems Modeling, Signal Processing and Control. The book is based on the same structure. ICINCO 2008 received 392 paper submissions, from more than 50 different co- tries in all continents. From these, after a blind review process, only 33 where - cepted as full papers, of which 18 were selected for inclusion in this book, based on the classifications provided by the Program Committee. The selected papers reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the conference. The diversity of topics is an important feature of this conference, enabling an overall perception of several important sci- tific and technological trends. These high quality standards will be maintained and reinforced at ICINCO 2009, to be held in Milan, Italy, and in future editions of this conference.

Joaquim B. Filipe is a Coordinator Professor in the Department of Systems and Informatics of the School of Technology of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (EST-Setúbal), currently Head of Department and also the President of the Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communications (INSTICC - http://www.insticc.org).

He holds an M.Sc. degree awarded by the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, in 1984, an MBA degree, awarded by the New University of Lisbon in 1995, and a PhD degree, awarded by the School of Computing of Staffordshire University, UK, in 2001.

His main areas of research are situated in the Informatics field, especially in Artificial Intelligence and Multi-Agent System applications with an emphasis on the study of social issues in activity coordination, including agent-based organizational modeling and simulation, where he has been actively involved in several national and international R&D projects. He is also interested in applying Organizational Semiotics to the analysis and development of Information Systems, having participated in several projects for developing e-learning systems and web-based information systems.

Professor Filipe has published over 50 technical papers in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Agents and Organizational Modeling. He has edited more than 20 books and he is a member of the editorial board of 7 journals. He has been an invited keynote speaker and also served as a member of the program committee, or as a member of the organizing committee, as conference chair or program chair, in more than 30 conferences.