How Facial Features Convey Attention in Stationary Environments

Awareness detection technologies have been gaining traction in a variety of enterprises; most often used for driver fatigue detection, recent research has shifted towards using computer vision technologies to analyze user attention in environments such as online classrooms. This paper aims to extend previous research on distraction detection by analyzing which visual features contribute most to predicting awareness and fatigue. We utilized the open-source facial analysis toolkit OpenFace in order to analyze visual data of subjects at varying levels of attentiveness. Then, using a Support-Vector Machine (SVM) we created several prediction models for user attention and identified the Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) and Action Units to be the greatest predictors of the features we tested. We also compared the performance of this SVM to deep learning approaches that utilize Convolutional and/or Recurrent neural networks (CNNs and CRNNs). Interestingly, CRNNs did not appear to perform significantly better than their CNN counterparts. While deep learning methods achieved greater prediction accuracy, SVMs utilized less resources and, using certain parameters, were able to approach the performance of deep learning methods

On driver behavior recognition for increased safety:A roadmap

Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADASs) are used for increasing safety in the automotive domain, yet current ADASs notably operate without taking into account drivers’ states, e.g., whether she/he is emotionally apt to drive. In this paper, we first review the state-of-the-art of emotional and cognitive analysis for ADAS: we consider psychological models, the sensors needed for capturing physiological signals, and the typical algorithms used for human emotion classification. Our investigation highlights a lack of advanced Driver Monitoring Systems (DMSs) for ADASs, which could increase driving quality and security for both drivers and passengers. We then provide our view on a novel perception architecture for driver monitoring, built around the concept of Driver Complex State (DCS). DCS relies on multiple non-obtrusive sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for uncovering the driver state and uses it to implement innovative Human–Machine Interface (HMI) functionalities. This concept will be implemented and validated in the recently EU-funded NextPerception project, which is briefly introduced

Emotion Recognition from Facial Expressions using Images with Pose, Illumination and Age Variation for Human-Computer/Robot Interaction

A technique for emotion recognition from facial expressions in images with simultaneous pose, illumination and age variation in real time is proposed in this paper. The basic emotions considered are anger, disgust, happy, surprise, and neutral. Feature vectors that were formed from images from the CMU-MultiPIE database for pose and illumination were used for training the classifier. For real-time implementation, Raspberry Pi II was used, which can be placed on a robot to recognize emotions in interactive real-time applications. The proposed method includes face detection using Viola Jones Haar cascade, Active Shape Model (ASM) for feature extraction, and AdaBoost for classification in real- time. Performance of the proposed method was validated in real time by testing with subjects from different age groups expressing basic emotions with varying pose and illumination. 96% recognition accuracy at an average time of 120 ms was obtained. The results are encouraging, as the proposed method gives better accuracy with higher speed compared to existing methods from the literature. The major contribution and strength of the proposed method lie in marking suitable feature points on the face, its speed and invariance to pose, illumination and age in real time

Towards Real-time Speech Emotion Recognition for Affective E-Learning

The original article is available as an open access file on the Springer website in the following link: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10639-015-9388-2This paper presents the voice emotion recognition part of the FILTWAM framework for real-time emotion recognition in affective e-learning settings. FILTWAM (Framework for Improving Learning Through Webcams And Microphones) intends to offer timely and appropriate online feedback based upon learner’s vocal intonations and facial expressions in order to foster their learning. Whereas the facial emotion recognition part has been successfully tested in a previous study, the here presented study describes the development and testing of FILTWAM's vocal emotion recognition software artefact. The main goal of this study was to show the valid use of computer microphone data for real-time and adequate interpretation of vocal intonations into extracted emotional states. The software that was developed was tested in a study with twelve participants. All participants individually received the same computer-based tasks in which they were requested eighty times to mimic specific vocal expressions (960 occurrences in total). Each individual session was recorded on video. For the validation of the voice emotion recognition software artefact, two experts annotated and rated participants' recorded behaviours. Expert findings were then compared with the software recognition results and showed an overall accuracy of Kappa of 0.743. The overall accuracy of the voice emotion recognition software artefact is 67% based on the requested emotions and the recognized emotions. Our FILTWAM-software allows to continually and unobtrusively observing learners’ behaviours and transforms these behaviours into emotional states. This paves the way for unobtrusive and real-time capturing of learners' emotional states for enhancing adaptive e-learning approaches.The Netherlands Laboratory for Lifelong Learning (NELLL) of the Open University Netherland

A Framework for Students Profile Detection

Some of the biggest problems tackling Higher Education Institutions are students’ drop-out and academic disengagement. Physical or psychological disabilities, social-economic or academic marginalization, and emotional and affective problems, are some of the factors that can lead to it. This problematic is worsened by the shortage of educational resources, that can bridge the communication gap between the faculty staff and the affective needs of these students. This dissertation focus in the development of a framework, capable of collecting analytic data, from an array of emotions, affects and behaviours, acquired either by human observations, like a teacher in a classroom or a psychologist, or by electronic sensors and automatic analysis software, such as eye tracking devices, emotion detection through facial expression recognition software, automatic gait and posture detection, and others. The framework establishes the guidance to compile the gathered data in an ontology, to enable the extraction of patterns outliers via machine learning, which assist the profiling of students in critical situations, like disengagement, attention deficit, drop-out, and other sociological issues. Consequently, it is possible to set real-time alerts when these profiles conditions are detected, so that appropriate experts could verify the situation and employ effective procedures. The goal is that, by providing insightful real-time cognitive data and facilitating the profiling of the students’ problems, a faster personalized response to help the student is enabled, allowing academic performance improvements

인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼 사용에 대한 중국 교사의 인식

학위논문 (석사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 사범대학 교육학과, 2021. 2. 조영환.최근 교육 분야에서 인공지능(AI)의 도입이 큰 관심을 끌고 있다. 특히 AI 기술과 학습 분석이 결합한 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼은 지금껏 실현되기 어려웠던 맞춤형 학습(personalized learning)과 적응적 학습(adaptive learning)에 도움이 될 수 있도록 발전하고 있다. 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼(AI-based education platform)은 학습자의 행동 추적 등을 통해 이들의 특성을 분석하고 진단을 제공한 뒤 분석 결과를 토대로 학습자에게 인지 수준에 맞는 맞춤형 학습자원과 피드백을 제공한다. 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼은 교사와 학생에게 실시간 학습 데이터와 분석 결과, 그리고 피드백을 제공할 수 있어 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼이 맞춤형 학습에 긍정적인 의미가 있다는 선행 연구도 있었다. 그럼에도 불구하고, 기존 연구는 모델 개발의 차원에서나 엄밀한 실험실 환경에서 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼의 효과를 연구해왔으며, 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼에 대한 교사의 인식과 관련된 연구는 드물었다. 교사는 인공지능 교육 기술의 사용자이기 때문에 인공지능 교육 기술의 교육 도입에 있어 교사들의 인식과 의견은 중요하다. 본 연구는 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼을 활용하는 것에 대한 교사들의 인식을 탐구하였다. 아래 연구 문제를 다루기 위해 질적 연구를 시행하였다. 첫째, 중국 교사들은 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼이 중학교 교육에 활용 있어 어떠한 장점이 있다고 인식하는가? 둘째, 중국 교사들은 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼과 중학교 교수 활동 요소 간 어떠한 모순이 있다고 인식하는가? 셋째, 중국 교사들은 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼을 중학교 교육에 도입할 때 무엇이 필요하다고 인식하는가? 본 연구는 중국 교사들을 연구대상으로 온라인 심층 면담을 하였다. 문헌 리뷰를 통해 면담 질문지를 설계하되 눈덩이표집법 (snowball sampling)을 통해 중국 중학교 교사 14명을 연구참여자로 선정하였다. 선정된 교사들은 모두 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼 사용 경험이 있으며 각 교사를 대상으로 약 1시간 정도 면담을 진행하고 녹음하였다. 면담이 끝난 후 녹음 내용을 전사하였으며, 주제분석을 사용하여 면담 내용을 초기 코드 생성하고 면담 자료 속에서 주제를 도출하였다. 특히 연구 문제 2번의 경우, 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼 활용과 교수 학습활동 내 여러 요소 간의 모순을 분석하기 위해 활동이론을 연구의 틀로 이용하였다. 최종적으로 연구문제 1에 대한 주제 4개, 연구문제 2에 대한 주제 6개, 연구문제 3에 대한 주제 4개를 도출하였다. 연구 결과로 교사들은 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼의 장점에 대해 즉각적인 피드백 제공, 교수학습 지원, 교사의 업무량 감소 등으로 인식하였고, 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼이 다양한 교수학습 자원을 통합할 수 있다고 인식하였다. 아울러 교사들은 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼의 사용에 있어 기존의 교수학습 활동과 상충된 부분이 있다는 점을 인식하였다. 교사들은 기존 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼의 추천 모델이 차별화된 학생들에게 잘 적용되지 못한다는 것을 인식하였다. 그리고 기존 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼이 다양한 학습 자원을 잘 분류되지 못하기 때문에 교사들이 사용하기 불편하다. 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼을 이용할 때 교사의 지적재산권을 보호하기 위한 명확한 규제가 부족하다고 인식하였다. 이와 함께 학부모들은 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼을 사용함으로써 발생할 수 있는 학습자의 인터넷 남용과 시력 저하 문제를 우려하였다. 또 중국의 사회문화적 배경과 교육 특성으로 인해 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼을 활용하는 데 학생들의 글씨 쓰기 능력에 영향을 미칠 수 있으며, 학교 내 전자기기 사용 제한도 데이터 수집의 지속성과 효율성에 영향을 미칠 수 있다고 인식하였다. 교사들은 위의 문제들이 인공지능 교육 플랫폼 사용에 대한 규칙 마련과 인공지능 기술을 개선함으로써 완화될 수 있다고 인식하였다. 또한 교사의 실제 요구에 맞게 개발될 수 있도록 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼 개발 과정에 교육 전문가와 교사가 참여할 필요가 있다. 본 연구는 중국 교사들이 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼에 대한 인식을 탐색하였으며, 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼이 교수학습에서의 장점과 문제점을 밝혔다. 아울러 본 연구는 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼이 교육 분야에 대규모로 도입될 수 있도록 규칙, 인공지능 기술, 그리고 교육 공학의 차원에서 사용 규범과 기술 개선을 제안하였다. 본 연구를 통해 탐색한 내용이 향후 교육 분야의 인공지능 기반 교육 플랫폼 도입에 활용된다면 인공지능 교육 기술에 관한 연구의 발전에도 기여할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.In recent years, the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has attracted widespread attention. In particular, the AI-based education platform based on the combination of AI technology and learning analysis brings new light to the long-standing difficulties in personalized learning and adaptive learning. The AI-based education platform analyzes learners' characteristics by collecting their data and tracking their learning behavior. It then generates cognitive diagnosis for learners and provides them with personalized learning resources and adaptive feedback that match their cognitive level based on systematic analysis. With the help of the AI-based education platform, teachers and students can get real-time educational data and analysis result，as well as the feedback and treatment corresponding to the results. Previous studies have already demonstrated and proved its positive significance to personalized learning. However, these studies mostly start from a model development perspective or in a rigorous laboratory environment. There has been little research on teachers' perceptions of AI-based education platform. As a direct user of AI educational technologies, teachers' perceptions and suggestions are vital for introducing AIEd in education. In this study, the researcher explored teachers' perceptions of using AI-based education platform in teaching. The study conducted qualitative research to address the following research questions: 1) How do Chinese teachers perceive the advantages of AI-based education platforms for teaching and learning in secondary school? 2) How do Chinese teachers perceive the contradictions between AI-based education platforms and the secondary school system? 3）How do Chinese teachers suggest applying AI-based education platforms in secondary school? And it referred to the in-depth online interview with Chinese teachers who had experience with AI-based education platform. Interview questions were constructed through the literature review, and 14 secondary school teachers were selected by the snowball sampling method. The interviews lasted for an average of one hour per teacher and were transcribed from the audio recordings to text documents when finished. Afterward, the data were analyzed using thematic analysis, including generating initial codes, searching and reviewing the categories, and deriving the themes finally. Notably, for research question two, the researcher used the activity theory framework to analyze the contradictions among the use of the AI-based education platform and the various elements of the teaching and learning activities. Finally, four themes for research question 1, six themes for research question 2, and four themes for research question 3 were derived. As for the advantages, teachers believe that AI-based education platforms can provide instant feedback, targeted and systematic teaching support, and reduce teachers' workload. At the same time, AI-based education platforms can also integrate teaching resources in different areas. Teachers also recognized that the AI-based education platforms might trigger contradictions in existing teaching activities. They are aware of the situation that the recommended model of the AI-based education platform is not suitable for all levels of students; that a large number of learning resources are not classified properly enough to meet the needs of teachers, and that there lack clear rules and regulations to protect teachers' intellectual property rights when using the platform. Besides, parents are also concerned about the potential risk of internet addiction and vision problems using AI-based education platforms. Moreover, the use of the AI-based education platform may also affect students' ability to write Chinese characters due to the socio-historical background and educational characteristics in China. Furthermore, the restricted use of electronic devices on campus may also impact the consistent and effective education data collection. Teachers believe that these problems can be solved by improving rules and AI technology. Moreover, to make the platform more in line with the actual teaching requirements, teachers and education experts can also be involved in the development process of AI-based education platform. This study explored how Chinese teachers perceive the AI-based education platform and found that the AI-based education platform was conducive to personalized teaching and learning. At the same time, this study put forward some suggestions from the perspective of rules, AI technology, and educational technology, hoping to provide a good value for the future large-scale introduction of AI-based education platforms in education.CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Problem Statement 1 1.2. Purpose of Research 7 1.3. Definition of Terms 8 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1. AI in Education 10 2.1.1 AI for Learning and Teaching 10 2.1.2 AI-based Education Platform 14 2.1.3 Teachers' Perception on AI-based Education Platform 18 2.2. Activity Theory 20 CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHOD 23 3.1. Research Design 23 3.2. Participants 25 3.3. Instrumentation 26 3.3.1 Potential Value of AI System in Education 26 3.4. Data Collection 33 3.5. Data Analysis 34 CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS 36 4.1. Advantages of Using AI-based Education Platform 36 4.1.1 Instant Feedback 37 4.1.2 Targeted and Systematic Teaching Support 42 4.1.3 Educational Resources Sharing 46 4.1.4 Reducing Workload 49 4.2. Tensions of Using AI-based Education Platform 51 4.2.1 Inadequately Meet the Needs of Teachers 52 4.2.2 Failure to Satisfy Low and High Achievers 54 4.2.3 Intellectual Property Violation 56 4.2.4 Guardian's Concern 57 4.2.5 School Rules about the Use of Electronic Devices 58 4.2.6 Implication for Chinese Character Education 59 4.3. Suggestion of Using AI-based Education Platform 61 4.3.1 Improving Rules of Using the AI-based Education Platform 61 4.3.2 Improving Rules of Protecting Teachers Right 62 4.3.3 Improving AI Technology 64 4.3.4 Participatory Design 66 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 68 5.1. Discussion 68 5.2. Conclusion 72 REFERENCE 75 APPENDIX 1 98 APPENDIX 2 100 국문초록 112Maste

Subtle interactions for distress regulation: efficiency of a haptic wearable according to personality

The incorporation of empathic systems in everyday life draws a lot of attention from society. Specifically, the use of wearables to perform stress regulation is a growing field of research. Among techniques explored, the haptic emulation of lowered physiological signals has been suggested to be promising. However, some discrepancies remain in empirical research focusing on such biofeedback (BF) regarding their efficacy, and the mechanisms underlying the effects of these wearables remains unclear. Moreover, the influence of individual traits on the efficiency of BF has been marginally studied, while it has been shown that personality could impact both stress and its regulation. The aim of this study is to investigate the outcome of interactions with these technologies from a psycho-physiological standpoint, but also to explore whether personality may influence its efficiency when other interaction devices are present. Participants had to play a challenging game while a lowered haptic BF of their heart rate was induced on their wrist. Results showed variable efficiency of the wearable among the participants: a subjective relaxation was evident for the participants exhibiting the highest neurotic and extraverted traits score. Our results highlight the plurality of the modes of action of these techniques, depending on the individual and on the level of stress to regulate. This study also suggests that tailoring these regulation methods to individual characteristics, such as personality traits, is important to consider, and proposes perspectives regarding the investigation of stress and regulation systems embedded in wearables