13,688 research outputs found
Real-time Convolutional Neural Networks for Emotion and Gender Classification
In this paper we propose an implement a general convolutional neural network
(CNN) building framework for designing real-time CNNs. We validate our models
by creating a real-time vision system which accomplishes the tasks of face
detection, gender classification and emotion classification simultaneously in
one blended step using our proposed CNN architecture. After presenting the
details of the training procedure setup we proceed to evaluate on standard
benchmark sets. We report accuracies of 96% in the IMDB gender dataset and 66%
in the FER-2013 emotion dataset. Along with this we also introduced the very
recent real-time enabled guided back-propagation visualization technique.
Guided back-propagation uncovers the dynamics of the weight changes and
evaluates the learned features. We argue that the careful implementation of
modern CNN architectures, the use of the current regularization methods and the
visualization of previously hidden features are necessary in order to reduce
the gap between slow performances and real-time architectures. Our system has
been validated by its deployment on a Care-O-bot 3 robot used during
RoboCup@Home competitions. All our code, demos and pre-trained architectures
have been released under an open-source license in our public repository.Comment: Submitted to ICRA 201
Which activities threaten independent living of elderly when becoming problematic : inspiration for meaningful service robot functionality
Purpose: In light of the increasing elderly population and the growing demand for home care, the potential of robot support is given increasing attention. In this paper, an inventory of activities was made that threaten independent living of elderly when becoming problematic. Results will guide the further development of an existing service robot, the Care-O-bot®. Method: A systematic literature search of PubMed was performed, focused on the risk factors for institutionalization. Additionally, focus group sessions were conducted in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France. In these focus group sessions, problematic activities threatening the independence of elderly people were discussed. Three separate target groups were included in the focus group sessions: (1) elderly persons (n = 41), (2) formal caregivers (n = 40) and (3) informal caregivers (n = 32). Results: Activities within the International Classification of Functioning domains mobility, self-care, and interpersonal interaction and relationships were found to be the most problematic. Conclusions: A distinct set of daily activities was identified that may threaten independent living, but no single activity could be selected as the main activity causing a loss of independence as it is often a combination of problematic activities that is person-specific. Supporting the problematic activities need not involve a robotic solution Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17483107.2013.840861Peer reviewe
Overcoming barriers and increasing independence: service robots for elderly and disabled people
This paper discusses the potential for service robots to overcome barriers and increase independence of
elderly and disabled people. It includes a brief overview of the existing uses of service robots by disabled and elderly
people and advances in technology which will make new uses possible and provides suggestions for some of these new
applications. The paper also considers the design and other conditions to be met for user acceptance. It also discusses
the complementarity of assistive service robots and personal assistance and considers the types of applications and
users for which service robots are and are not suitable
The impact of peoples' personal dispositions and personalities on their trust of robots in an emergency scenario
Humans should be able to trust that they can safely interact with their home companion robot. However, robots can exhibit occasional mechanical, programming or functional errors. We hypothesise that the severity of the consequences and the timing of a robot's different types of erroneous behaviours during an interaction may have different impacts on users' attitudes towards a domestic robot. First, we investigated human users' perceptions of the severity of various categories of potential errors that are likely to be exhibited by a domestic robot. Second, we used an interactive storyboard to evaluate participants' degree of trust in the robot after it performed tasks either correctly, or with 'small' or 'big' errors. Finally, we analysed the correlation between participants' responses regarding their personality, predisposition to trust other humans, their perceptions of robots, and their interaction with the robot. We conclude that there is correlation between the magnitude of an error performed by a robot and the corresponding loss of trust by the human towards the robot. Moreover we observed that some traits of participants' personalities (conscientiousness and agreeableness) and their disposition of trusting other humans (benevolence) significantly increased their tendency to trust a robot more during an emergency scenario.Peer reviewe
Getting to Know Your Robot Customers: Automated Analysis of User Identity and Demographics for Robots in the Wild
Long-term studies with autonomous robots “in the wild” (deployed in real-world human-inhabited environments) are among the most laborious and resource-intensive endeavours in human-robot interaction. Even if a robot system itself is robust and well-working, the analysis of the vast amounts of user data one aims to collect and analyze poses a significant challenge. This letter proposes an automated processing pipeline, using state-of-the-art computer vision technology to estimate demographic factors from users’ faces and reidentify them to establish usage patterns. It overcomes the problem of explicitly recruiting participants and having them fill questionnaires about their demographic background and allows one to study completely unsolicited and nonprimed interactions over long periods of time. This letter offers a comprehensive assessment of the performance of the automated analysis with data from 68 days of continuous deployment of a robot in a care home and also presents a set of findings obtained through the analysis, underpinning the viability of the approach.
Inde
Designing robots with the context in mind -- One design does not fit all
Robots' visual qualities (VQs) impact people's perception of their
characteristics and affect users' behaviors and attitudes toward the robot.
Recent years point toward a growing need for Socially Assistive Robots (SARs)
in various contexts and functions, interacting with various users. Since SAR
types have functional differences, the user experience must vary by the context
of use, functionality, user characteristics, and environmental conditions.
Still, SAR manufacturers often design and deploy the same robotic embodiment
for diverse contexts. We argue that the visual design of SARs requires a more
scientific approach considering their multiple evolving roles in future
society. In this work, we define four contextual layers: the domain in which
the SAR exists, the physical environment, its intended users, and the robot's
role. Via an online questionnaire, we collected potential users' expectations
regarding the desired characteristics and visual qualities of four different
SARs: a service robot for an assisted living/retirement residence facility, a
medical assistant robot for a hospital environment, a COVID-19 officer robot,
and a personal assistant robot for domestic use. Results indicated that users'
expectations differ regarding the robot's desired characteristics and the
anticipated visual qualities for each context and use case.Comment: Accepted to the 15th International Workshop on Human-Friendly
Robotic
Impatti dell'automazione sul mercato del lavoro. Prime stime per il caso italiano.
The causes of the present decline of demand in labor markets in developed countries are
subject to considerable theoretical debate. More specifically, according to some authors,
globalization and offshoring together with technological innovation, could lead to further
negative impacts on real employment.
Some studies estimate that the contribution of automation is the actual cause of job loss:
in the US the introduction of robots by 2021 could lead to a cut of more than 6% of the
workforce (FORRESTER 2016), and as much as 54% in Europe in the coming decades
(Bowles 2014), although the greatest impact would occur in developing countries, where
automation could weaken the traditional comparative advantages in terms of labor costs
(UN 2016).
The Italian case is particularly interesting, as the automation was introduced in large
enterprises over three decades ago, determining a deep impact in terms of loss for low
skilled jobs.
This paper aims to provide a first quantification of the impacts on Italian labor market
determined by the spread of latest technological innovations, both in terms of employment
levels and social/territorial mobility, by differentiating its effects per macro-geographical
breakdown of the country
Home-based therapy programmes for upper limb functional recovery following stroke
Background: With an increased focus on home-based stroke services and the undertaking of programmes, targeted at upper limb recovery within clinical practice, a systematic review of home-based therapy programmes for individuals with upper limb impairment following stroke was required. Objectives: To determine the effects of home-based therapy programmes for upper limb recovery in patients with upper limb impairment following stroke. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group's Specialised Trials Register (May 2011), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1950 to May 2011), EMBASE (1980 to May 2011), AMED (1985 to May 2011) and six additional databases. We also searched reference lists and trials registers. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in adults after stroke, where the intervention was a home-based therapy programme targeted at the upper limb, compared with placebo, or no intervention or usual care. Primary outcomes were performance in activities of daily living (ADL) and functional movement of the upper limb. Secondary outcomes were performance in extended ADL and motor impairment of the arm. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently screened abstracts, extracted data and appraised trials. We undertook assessment of risk of bias in terms of method of randomisation and allocation concealment (selection bias), blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias), whether all the randomised patients were accounted for in the analysis (attrition bias) and the presence of selective outcome reporting. Main results: We included four studies with 166 participants. No studies compared the effects of home-based upper limb therapy programmes with placebo or no intervention. Three studies compared the effects of home-based upper limb therapy programmes with usual care. Primary outcomes: we found no statistically significant result for performance of ADL (mean difference (MD) 2.85; 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.43 to 7.14) or functional movement of the upper limb (MD 2.25; 95% CI -0.24 to 4.73)). Secondary outcomes: no statistically significant results for extended ADL (MD 0.83; 95% CI -0.51 to 2.17)) or upper limb motor impairment (MD 1.46; 95% CI -0.58 to 3.51). One study compared the effects of a home-based upper limb programme with the same upper limb programme based in hospital, measuring upper limb motor impairment only; we found no statistically significant difference between groups (MD 0.60; 95% CI -8.94 to 10.14). Authors' conclusions: There is insufficient good quality evidence to make recommendations about the relative effect of home-based therapy programmes compared with placebo, no intervention or usual care
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