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Sérgio Vinha is an Electrical and Computer Engineer and PhD candidate at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), specializing in automation, control systems, and renewable energy technologies. He obtained his Integrated Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2019 and is currently conducting doctoral research on automatic take-off and landing strategies for airborne wind energy systems. Since 2022, he has been serving as an Invited Lecturer at FEUP, teaching undergraduate courses in Probability and Statistics and Mathematical Analysis. Alongside his teaching activities, he is actively involved in supervising student projects at both undergraduate and master’s levels. His research focuses on advanced control methodologies for airborne wind energy systems, combining theoretical development with experimental validation, and integrating both software and hardware components. He has contributed to several nationally funded research projects and has authored and co-authored multiple publications in international journals and conferences, with presentations at leading venues in control and renewable energy systems. In addition to his academic work, Sérgio is a co-founder of Windwatt, a University of Porto spin-off emerging from the UPWIND project, dedicated to the development of airborne wind energy technologies. Sérgio has also been recognized for his work with several awards in innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as a Best Presentation Award at an international conference. His profile reflects a strong combination of academic excellence, teaching experience, and applied research in emerging energy technologies.
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Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Sérgio Vinha
Gender
Male

Citation names

  • Vinha, Sérgio

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
E01E-894D-7B6F
ORCID iD
0000-0002-6364-6736

Email addresses

  • svinha@fe.up.pt (Professional)

Knowledge fields

  • Engineering and Technology - Electrotechnical Engineering, Electronics and Informatics
  • Engineering and Technology - Electrotechnical Engineering, Electronics and Informatics - Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Engineering and Technology - Electrotechnical Engineering, Electronics and Informatics - Automation and Control Systems

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English Intermediate (B1) Beginner (A1) Elementary (A2) Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1)
Spanish; Castilian Intermediate (B1) Intermediate (B1) Upper intermediate (B2) Beginner (A1) Intermediate (B1)
Education
Degree Classification
2026
Ongoing
 Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores (Doutoramento)
Major in Sem especialidade
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
"Automatic Take-off and landing for Airborne Wind Energy Systems" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2021/02 - 2025
Ongoing
 Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores (Doutoramento)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2019
Concluded
 Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores (Mestrado integrado)
Major in Área de especialização: Automação
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
"Indoor Tracking for drone" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
Affiliation

Teaching in Higher Education

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2022/03/01 - Current Invited Assistant (University Teacher) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
Projects

Grant

Designation Funders
2022/05/01 - 2026/04/30 Autonomous Takeoff and Landing Control of Airborne Wind Energy Systems
UI/BD/152707/2022
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing

Contract

Designation Funders
2023/03/01 - Current UPWind-ATOL : An Airborne Wind Energy System with Automatic Takeoff and Landing capabilities
2022.02801.PTDC
Researcher
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2023/03/01 - 2026/02/28 UPWind-ATOL : Sistema Aéreo de Energia Eólica com capacidade de Decolagem e Aterragem Automáticas
10.54499/2022.02801.PTDC
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Economia, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal

Instituto Politécnico do Porto Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2023/03/01 - 2024/08/31 Algoritmos para Optimização e Configuração de Parques Eólicos com Kites.
2022.02320.PTDC
10.54499/2022.02320.PTDC
Instituto Politécnico do Porto Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal

Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2023/03/01 - 2024/08/31 Design and Optimization Algorithms for Kite Wind Energy Farms.
10.54499/2022.02320.PTDC
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal

Instituto Politécnico do Porto Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2019/10 - 2022/05/01 UPWIND - A Multi-Kite System to Harvest High Altitude Wind Power
02/SAICT/2017-31447-FCT-UPWIND
Research Fellow
Universidade do Porto Centro de Investigação em Sistemas e Tecnologias, Portugal
Concluded
Outputs

Publications

Book chapter
  1. Sérgio Vinha; Gabriel M. Fernandes; Manuel C. R. M. Fernandes; Huu Thien Nguyen; Fernando A. C. C. Fontes. Corresponding author: Sérgio Vinha. "Automatic Circular Take-Off and Landing for Tethered Aircraft". 2026.
    10.1007/978-3-032-17899-2_11
  2. Vinha, Sérgio; Fernandes, Gabriel M.; Fernandes, Manuel C.R.M.; Huu Thien Nguyen ; Fontes, Fernando A. C. C.. Corresponding author: Vinha, Sérgio. "Circular Take-off and Landing Maneuvers in Fixed-Wing Tethered Aircraft". In Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering - ICINCO2024. Springer, 2025.
    In press
Conference paper
  1. Vinha, Sérgio; Fernandes, Gabriel M.; Fernandes, Manuel C.R.M.; Fontes, Fernando A.C.C.. Corresponding author: Vinha, Sérgio. "Motion Primitives on a Spherical Surface with Application to Tethered Aircraft Guidance". Tallin, 2025.
    Published • 10.1109/icca65672.2025.11129856
  2. Fernandes, Gabriel M.; Vinha, Sérgio; Fernandes, Manuel C.R.M.; Fontes, Fernando A. C. C.. Corresponding author: Fernandes, Gabriel M.. "Control of Circular Take-off in Tethered Aircraft Under Wind". Paper presented in 11th IFAC Symposium on Robust Control Design (ROCOND’25), Porto, 2025.
    Submitted
  3. Vinha, Sérgio; Fernandes, Gabriel M.; Fernandes, Manuel C.R.M.; Huu Thien Nguyen ; Fontes, Fernando A. C. C.. Corresponding author: Vinha, Sérgio. "Control of Fixed-Wing Tethered Aircraft in Circular Take-off and Landing Maneuvers". Paper presented in 21st International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO), Porto, 2024.
    Accepted
  4. Vinha, Sérgio; Fernandes, Gabriel M.; Fontes, Fernando A. C. C.. Corresponding author: Vinha, Sérgio. "Circular take-off and landing of tethered aircraft with variable tether length". Paper presented in 16th APCA International Conference on Automatic Control and Soft Computing, Porto, 2024.
    Published
  5. Fernandes, Gabriel M.; Costa, Conrado Guimarães; Vinha, Sérgio; Fontes, Fernando A. C. C.. Corresponding author: Fernandes, Gabriel M.. "A testing platform for Airborne Wind Energy: Modelling, Sensoring, and Actuation". Paper presented in 16th APCA International Conference on Automatic Control and Soft Computing, Porto, 2024.
    Published
  6. Vinha, Sérgio; Fernandes, Gabriel; Huu Thien Nguyen ; Fernandes, Manuel C.R.M.; Fontes, Fernando A. C. C.. Corresponding author: Vinha, Sérgio. "Automatic Circular Take-off and Landing of Tethered Motorized Aircraft". Paper presented in 22nd European Control Conference (ECC), Stockholm, 2024.
    Submitted
  7. Vinha, Sérgio; Fernandes, Gabriel M.; Huu Thien Nguyen ; Fernandes, Manuel C.R.M.; Fontes, Fernando A. C. C.. Corresponding author: Vinha, Sérgio. "Automatic Circular Take-off and Landing of Motorized Tethered Aircraft". Paper presented in 22nd European Control Conference (ECC), Stockholm, 2024.
    10.23919/ecc64448.2024.10590893
  8. Fernandes, Gabriel M.; Vinha, Sérgio; Fernandes, Manuel C.R.M.; Fontes, Fernando A. C. C.. Corresponding author: Fernandes, Gabriel M.. "Automatic Circular Take-off and Landing of Self-Propelled Kite". Paper presented in 10th international Airborne Wind Energy Conference (AWEC 2024), Madrid, 2024.
    Published
Conference poster
  1. Vinha, Sérgio. Corresponding author: Vinha, Sérgio. "A Discussion on Automatic Take-off and Landing Approaches for Airborne Wind Energy Systems". Paper presented in 10th international Airborne Wind Energy Conference (AWEC 2024), 2024.
  2. Huu Thien Nguyen ; Vinha, Sérgio; Manuel Côrte-Real de Matos Fernandes; LUÍS TIAGO DE FREIXO RAMOS PAIVA; Fernando Armenio da Costa Castro e Fontes. Corresponding author: Huu Thien Nguyen. "An Optimal Control and Reinforcement Learning Approach with Multi-Fidelity Simulation Models for Motion Control of Four in-Wheel Motor Vehicles". Paper presented in 62nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2023.
Journal article
  1. Manuel C. R. M. Fernandes; Sérgio Vinha; Luís Tiago Paiva; Fernando A. C. C. Fontes. "L0 and L1 Guidance and Path-Following Control for Airborne Wind Energy Systems". Energies 15 4 (2022): 1390-1390. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15041390.
    10.3390/en15041390
  2. Ali Arshad Uppal; Manuel C. R. M. Fernandes; Sérgio Vinha; Fernando A. C. C. Fontes. "Cascade Control of the Ground Station Module of an Airborne Wind Energy System". Energies (2021): https://doi.org/10.3390/en14248337.
    10.3390/en14248337
Report
  1. Vinha, Sérgio. 2020. Activities Report October 2020 - UPWIND project. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/131940.
  2. Vinha, Sérgio. 2020. Activities Report April 2020 - UPWIND project. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/131955.
  3. Vinha, Sérgio. 2019. Indoor Tracking for Drone. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/131933.
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. Vinha, Sérgio. "Indoor Tracking for Drone". Master, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/121422.
  2. Sérgio Emanuel Costa Vinha. "Indoor Tracking for drone". Master, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/10216/121422.
Activities

Oral presentation

Presentation title Event name
Host (Event location)
2024/11/16 Control of Fixed-Wing Tethered Aircraft in Circular Take-off and Landing Maneuvers 21st International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO24)
(Porto, Portugal)
2024/07/17 Circular take-off and landing of tethered aircraft with variable tether length 16th APCA International Conference on Automatic Control and Soft Computing
(Porto, Portugal)
2023/05/25 Circular Take-off and Landing for Motorized Kites in Airborne Wind Energy Systems Wind Energy Science Conference 2023
(Glasgow, United Kingdom)
2021/06/23 Kite Path-following with L0 and L1 Controllers Tested on a Small-scale Prototype 9th International Airborne Wind Energy Conference (AWEC 2021)
(Milano, Italy)

Supervision

Thesis Title
Role 		Degree Subject (Type)
Institution / Organization
2025/10/01 - Current Development of a Take-Off and Landing Platform for Integration in an Airborne Wind Energy System
Co-supervisor
 Electrical and Computers Engineering (Master)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2025/02/10 - 2025/06/30 Sensores e Sistemas de Monitorização para AWES
Co-supervisor
 Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores (Degree)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2025/02/01 - 2025/06/30 Desenvolvimento de Sistema de Irrigação Automatizado com Microcontroladores
Supervisor
 Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores (Degree)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2025/02/01 - 2025/06/30 Algoritmo de Sincronização entre Kite e Veículo Auxiliar
Co-supervisor
 Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores (Degree)
Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal

Event participation

Activity description
Type of event 		Event name
Institution / Organization
2023/03 - 2023/03 Intensive week long course on "Hybrid Control Systems", within EECI 2023 International Graduate School on Control.
Workshop
 EECI - International Graduate School on Control
2021/03 - 2021/03 Intensive week long course on "Model-Based Fault Diagnosis - A Linear Synthesis Framework using MATLAB", within EECI 2021 International Graduate School on Control. The aim of this course is to describe the recent developments in the synthesis procedures of fault detection and isolation filters relying on computational approaches suitable to solve the basic synthesis problems in the most general setting. Final grade 20 out of 20.
Workshop
 EECI - International Graduate School on Control

Course / Discipline taught

Academic session Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2026/02/01 - 2026/07/01 Probability and Statistics Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2025/09/01 - 2026/02/28 Mathematical Analysis 1 Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2025/02/01 - 2025/07/01 Probability and Statistics Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2024/09/01 - 2025/01/31 Mathematical Analysis 1 Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2024/02/01 - 2024/07/01 Probability and Statistics Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2023/09/01 - 2024/01/31 Mathematical Analysis 1 Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2023/02/01 - 2023/07/01 Probability and Statistics Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2022/09/01 - 2023/01/31 Mathematical Analysis 1 Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
2022/02/01 - 2022/07/01 Probability and Statistics Electrical and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura) Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Engenharia, Portugal
Distinctions

Award

2024 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award - iUP25k
Universidade do Porto, Portugal
2024 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award - Climate Launchpad
Universidade do Porto, Portugal
2024 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award - BIP PROOF
Universidade do Porto, Portugal
2024 Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award - BIP ACCELERATION
Universidade do Porto Porto Business School, Portugal
2021 DCE21: Best Presentation Award