What does touch tell us about emotions in touchscreen-based gameplay?

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 ACM. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution.Nowadays, more and more people play games on touch-screen mobile phones. This phenomenon raises a very interesting question: does touch behaviour reflect the player’s emotional state? If possible, this would not only be a valuable evaluation indicator for game designers, but also for real-time personalization of the game experience. Psychology studies on acted touch behaviour show the existence of discriminative affective profiles. In this paper, finger-stroke features during gameplay on an iPod were extracted and their discriminative power analysed. Based on touch-behaviour, machine learning algorithms were used to build systems for automatically discriminating between four emotional states (Excited, Relaxed, Frustrated, Bored), two levels of arousal and two levels of valence. The results were very interesting reaching between 69% and 77% of correct discrimination between the four emotional states. Higher results (~89%) were obtained for discriminating between two levels of arousal and two levels of valence

Choreographic and Somatic Approaches for the Development of Expressive Robotic Systems

As robotic systems are moved out of factory work cells into human-facing environments questions of choreography become central to their design, placement, and application. With a human viewer or counterpart present, a system will automatically be interpreted within context, style of movement, and form factor by human beings as animate elements of their environment. The interpretation by this human counterpart is critical to the success of the system's integration: knobs on the system need to make sense to a human counterpart; an artificial agent should have a way of notifying a human counterpart of a change in system state, possibly through motion profiles; and the motion of a human counterpart may have important contextual clues for task completion. Thus, professional choreographers, dance practitioners, and movement analysts are critical to research in robotics. They have design methods for movement that align with human audience perception, can identify simplified features of movement for human-robot interaction goals, and have detailed knowledge of the capacity of human movement. This article provides approaches employed by one research lab, specific impacts on technical and artistic projects within, and principles that may guide future such work. The background section reports on choreography, somatic perspectives, improvisation, the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System, and robotics. From this context methods including embodied exercises, writing prompts, and community building activities have been developed to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The results of this work is presented as an overview of a smattering of projects in areas like high-level motion planning, software development for rapid prototyping of movement, artistic output, and user studies that help understand how people interpret movement. Finally, guiding principles for other groups to adopt are posited.Comment: Under review at MDPI Arts Special Issue "The Machine as Artist (for the 21st Century)" http://www.mdpi.com/journal/arts/special_issues/Machine_Artis

Design and semantics of form and movement (DeSForM 2006)

Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM) grew from applied research exploring emerging design methods and practices to support new generation product and interface design. The products and interfaces are concerned with: the context of ubiquitous computing and ambient technologies and the need for greater empathy in the pre-programmed behaviour of the ‘machines’ that populate our lives. Such explorative research in the CfDR has been led by Young, supported by Kyffin, Visiting Professor from Philips Design and sponsored by Philips Design over a period of four years (research funding £87k). DeSForM1 was the first of a series of three conferences that enable the presentation and debate of international work within this field: • 1st European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM1), Baltic, Gateshead, 2005, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 2nd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM2), Evoluon, Eindhoven, 2006, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 3rd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM3), New Design School Building, Newcastle, 2007, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. Philips sponsorship of practice-based enquiry led to research by three teams of research students over three years and on-going sponsorship of research through the Northumbria University Design and Innovation Laboratory (nuDIL). Young has been invited on the steering panel of the UK Thinking Digital Conference concerning the latest developments in digital and media technologies. Informed by this research is the work of PhD student Yukie Nakano who examines new technologies in relation to eco-design textiles

MIROR-Musical Interaction Relying On Reflexion. Project Final Report

open7siIl progetto è stato valutato dalla Commissione Europea con il massimo del punteggio (15/15) con la seguente valutazione sintetica: Excellent. The proposal successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion in question. Any shortcomings are minor". Ha superato le tre valutazioni annuali con giudizio molto positivo (good) e con brillante giudizio finale. Progetto co-finanziato dalla Comunità Europea, 7° Programma Quadro, ICT-Challenge 4.2, Technology enhanced-learning, Programma Cooperation, no 258338. Il Programma “COOPERATION” è identificato dal DM del 1/7/2011 (Identificazione dei programmi di ricerca di alta qualificazione, finanziati dall'Unione europea o dal Ministero dell'istruzione, dell'universita' e della ricerca di cui all'articolo 29, comma 7, della legge n. 240/2010) come uno dei due programmi di ricerca di alta qualificazione finanziati dall’UE. In dettaglio, dal Coordinatore sono stati ricoperti i seguenti ruoli: • Preparazione della proposta e Coordinameto scientifico del Progetto • Responsabile dei contatti con la Commissione Europea • Supervisione e monitoraggio del lavoro svolto dal Consorzio, attraverso workshops, report tecnici e scientifici e coordinamento dei deliverable • Lieder dei seguenti Work-Packages: • WP1. Project Management • WP5. Psychological Experiments • WP8. Dissemination and Exploitation • Coordinatore dell’ALB • Coordinamento scientifico e organizzativo del gruppo di ricerca dell'Università di Bologna, composto da: o 2 assegni di ricerca post-dottorato o 1 assegno di ricerca o 2 contratti di assistenza alla ricerca o 1 contratto per il sito web o 15 studenti-collaboratori o 3 insegnanti collaboratori • Responsabile delle collaborazioni e convenzioni con l’Istituto Comprensivo di Casalecchio di Reno, la Nuova Scuola di Musica Baroncini di Imola, Il Centro Danza Musikè-Bologna. • Supervisione del Project Management (Dipartimento della Ricerca Europea dell'Università di Bologna - ARIC).The MIROR (Musical Interaction Relying On Reflexion) project is co‐funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme, Theme ICT‐2009.4.2, Technology‐enhanced learning. MIROR is a three‐years project and started on September 1st, 2010. All information regarding MIROR is available through the MIROR Portal at http://www.mirorproject.eu. The MIROR Project-Final Report deals with the description of the development of an adaptive system for music learning and teaching based on the “reflexive interaction” paradigm. The system is developed in the context of early childhood music education. It acts as an advanced cognitive tutor, designed to promote specific cognitive abilities in the field of music improvisation, both in formal learning contexts (kindergartens, primary schools, music schools) and informal ones (at home, kinder centres, etc.). The reflexive interaction paradigm is based on the idea of letting users manipulate virtual copies of themselves, through specifically designed machine‐learning software referred to as “Interactive Reflexive Musical Systems” (IRMS). By definition IRMS are able to learn and configure themselves according to their understanding of the learner's behaviour. In MIROR the IRMS paradigm is extended with the analysis and synthesis of multisensory expressive gesture to increase its impact on the musical pedagogy of young children, by developing new multimodal interfaces. The project is based on a spiral design approach involving coupled interactions between technical and psychopedagogical partners. MIROR integrates both psychological case‐study experiments, aiming to investigate cognitive hypotheses concerning the mirroring behaviour and the learning efficacy of the platform, and validation studies aiming at developing the software in concrete educational settings. The project contributes to promoting the reflexive interaction paradigm not only in the field of music learning, but more generally as a new paradigm for establishing a synergy between learning and cognition in the context of child/machine interaction.openopenA. R. Addessi ; C. Anagnostopoulou; S. Newman; B. Olsson; F. Pachet; G. Volpe; S. YoungA. R. Addessi ; C. Anagnostopoulou; S. Newman; B. Olsson; F. Pachet; G. Volpe; S. Youn

Laban Movement Analysis as an Aid to Teach Bharatanatyam Dance Form: A Literature Review

Abstract This Capstone Thesis literature review investigates the Bhava (emotions) aspect of Bharatanatyam in relation to the effort qualities of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA). Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest and the richest classical dance forms of India. Bharatanatyam can be broadly divided into Natya, Nritta, and Nritya, and all three formed the basis of the dance form. Dance/Movement Therapy is the therapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive and physical growth and well-being. Laban Movement Analysis is a Dance/Movement system to analyze all movements and micro-movements of the body. Laban Movement Analysis also known as the Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis, makes observations based on four parts of the movement, namely body (bodily dimensions of movement), effort (human effort or movement dynamics), space (the kinesphere) and shape (shape change and shape quality). This capstone thesis examined the various researches conducted on LMA effort qualities linked with emotions and hypothesized a link between the LMA effort qualities and Bhava (emotions)

The Warburg Dance Movement Library-The WADAMO Library: A Validation Study

The Warburg Dance Movement Library is a validated set of 234 video clips of dance movements for empirical research in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience of action perception, affect perception and neuroaesthetics. The library contains two categories of video clips of dance movement sequences. Of each pair, one version of the movement sequence is emotionally expressive (Clip a), while the other version of the same sequence (Clip b) is not expressive but as technically correct as the expressive version (Clip a). We sought to complement previous dance video stimuli libraries. Facial information, colour and music have been removed, and each clip has been faded in and out. We equalised stimulus length (6 seconds, 8 counts in dance theory), the dancers’ clothing and video background and included both male and female dancers, and we controlled for technical correctness of movement execution. The Warburg Dance Movement Library contains both contemporary and ballet movements. Two online surveys (N = 160) confirmed the classification into the two categories of expressivity. Four additional online surveys (N = 80) provided beauty and liking ratings for each clip. A correlation matrix illustrates all variables of this norming study (technical correctness, expressivity, beauty, liking, luminance, motion energy)

The Way of Transformation (The Laban-Malmgren System of Dramatic Character Analysis)

The dissertation is a 'critical edition' of a system of actor training based on three main sources: a vocabulary of movement analysis developed by Rudolf Laban in the last years of his life; C. G. Jung's theory of psychological functions and types; and the acting system of C. Stanislavski and his main followers. The three strands were brought together by the dancer and acting teacher Yat Malmgren (1916-2002), who taught his system for over forty years to some of the major figures of world theatre and film: Peter Brook, Pierce Brosnan, Simon Callow, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Adrian Noble among others. The dissertation is presented in two volumes: - Volume I sets the system in context, historically as well as in terms of current discourses about the nature of acting. It includes a survey of its origins, followed by an in-depth examination of its three main sources, focusing on the central concept of energy in acting. Further chapters describe: a. a systematic, step-by-step psychophysical approach to analysing character, the actor's own self and to ways of bridging the two in the process of transformation. The author captures the salient features of a method of work which informs aspects of Western acting practice. b. the light thrown by the system on the idea of theatre character. The author puts forward the idea of a character 'independent' of both actor and text. c. the applications of the system in training and professional practice, based on interviews with a number of prominent British actors and directors. - Volume II consists of a detailed, annotated description of the system. It is based on a free transcript of recordings of Yat Malmgren's teaching and amounts to a 'manual' for those interested in studying and/or teaching the system. The volume is illustrated throughout. Appendices include original materials derived from Laban's last years of work, published here for the first time

Design and semantics of form and movement

Contemporary cognitive science and neuroscience offer us some rather precise insights into the mechanisms that are responsible for certain body movements. In this paper, we argue that this knowledge may be highly relevant to the design of meaningful movement and behavior, both from a theoretical and practical point of view. Taking the example of a leech, we investigate and identify the basic principles of "embodied movement" that govern the motion of this simple creature, and argue that the development and adoption of a design methodology that incorporates these principles right from the start, may be the best way forward, if one wants to realize and design movements with certain desirable characteristics

Towards the creation of an annotation system and a digital archive platform for contemporary dance

Tese de mestrado. Multimédia. Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201