Rafael Sotelo

Presentamos con satisfacción el Número 29 de la Revista Memoria Investigaciones en Ingeniería, publicación gestionada por la Universidad de Montevideo (Uruguay), que una vez más se reafirma como un espacio de encuentro para trabajos que abordan, desde la ingeniería, desafíos técnicos, económicos, ambientales y sociales de gran relevancia. Este nuevo número se distingue por su diversidad geográfica y temática, con contribuciones provenientes de América Latina y Asia, y por un hilo conductor muy definido: el compromiso con la sostenibilidad, la resiliencia y la innovación tecnológica al servicio de la sociedad. El volumen se abre con un estudio sobre las repercusiones económicas y técnicas del cierre de bancos de materiales en el cerro de San Juan, en las ciudades de Tepic y Xalisco, en 2022. Este trabajo pone en evidencia cómo las decisiones relativas al aprovechamiento de recursos naturales impactan, de manera simultánea, en la actividad productiva, la infraestructura y el entorno, aportando elementos clave para la planificación territorial y la gestión responsable de materiales.

As consumer electronics products with diverse functions become increasingly integrated into the fabric of our cities, they have quietly evolved into indispensable core components for the efficient operation of smart cities. These devices not only include increasingly the popular smart wearables, ubiquitous smartphones, and interconnected smart home appliances but also encompass various sensors scattered across urban corners as well as powerful smart terminals. They continuously collect data, optimize decision making, and provide personalized services, bringing unprecedented convenience and improved quality of life to urban residents. Meanwhile, they have significantly driven the intelligent upgrading of key fields, such as urban management, traffic scheduling, and energy distribution.

This paper explores the problem of automating the detection of commercial breaks in live broadcasts and video recordings, distinguishing them from regular channel content with a focus on the use of visual signals, commonly referred to as bumpers, to clearly distinguish commercial content from regular programming. Accurate measurement of commercial break duration is crucial for regulatory compliance, ensuring timely airing for advertisers, and maintaining verifiable records for broadcasters. Through an examination of regulatory frameworks in various countries, such as Spain, Uruguay, and the United States, this paper discusses how these regulations are applied and explores the potential for automated detection technologies to aid broadcasters and regulators in monitoring compliance. The paper describes the results of the implementation of a system for automatic TV advertising detection, including its design and performance analysis.

This article is part of a series exploring the unique characteristics and challenges of managing technology teams in emerging fields, with a particular focus on quantum computing [1-5]. The series delves into the experiences of entrepreneurs, researchers, and organizations at the forefront of the quantum revolution, offering insights into team management, innovation, and ecosystem development. Canada's vibrant quantum computing ecosystem is undergoing rapid expansion driven by a combination of government support, world-class academic institutions, and a thriving entrepreneurial community. The 5th Workshop on Quantum Computing Entrepreneurship, held during IEEE Quantum Week 2024, was organized by volunteers from the IEEE Technology & Engineering Management Society (TEMS), IEEE Entrepreneurship, and the Institut quantique. This workshop explored the key pillars of Canada's quantum ecosystem, showcasing the experiences of those driving the quantum revolution. These pillars encompass national and regional organizations that foster ecosystem growth, quantum accelerators that facilitate technology transfer from academia to industry, and the startups driving commercialization. Beyond offering valuable insights into the Canadian quantum ecosystem, this article also highlights fundamental components essential to any quantum ecosystem, given the current maturity of the technology. Readers involved in policy, entrepreneurship, or technology management can apply these lessons to foster quantum ecosystems in their own regions or organizations.

Quantum computers leverage the principles of quantum mechanics, including superposition and entanglement, allowing them to execute specific computations significantly faster than classical computers. The gate model is a common way to implement quantum algorithms, where the algorithms are broken down into a sequence of simple gates that operate on one or more quantum bits. This manipulation of a quantum computer involves a succession of unitary transformations that affect the different components of the superposition simultaneously, enabling significant parallel data processing and reducing the time of execution. As a result of these capabilities, quantum technology is expected to provide abilities and performance that are currently unattainable by classical methods. However, quantum hardware is under development and is prone to errors, which can negatively impact the performance of quantum methods. To address this challenge, error mitigation techniques are developed to reduce the impact of errors on the final outcomes. By leveraging the speedup offered by quantum hardware and using effective error mitigation techniques, quantum computing holds the promise of outperforming classical methods in various consumer applications (CA).