920 research outputs found
Enhanced Living Environments
This open access book was prepared as a Final Publication of the COST Action IC1303 “Algorithms, Architectures and Platforms for Enhanced Living Environments (AAPELE)”. The concept of Enhanced Living Environments (ELE) refers to the area of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) that is more related with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Effective ELE solutions require appropriate ICT algorithms, architectures, platforms, and systems, having in view the advance of science and technology in this area and the development of new and innovative solutions that can provide improvements in the quality of life for people in their homes and can reduce the financial burden on the budgets of the healthcare providers. The aim of this book is to become a state-of-the-art reference, discussing progress made, as well as prompting future directions on theories, practices, standards, and strategies related to the ELE area. The book contains 12 chapters and can serve as a valuable reference for undergraduate students, post-graduate students, educators, faculty members, researchers, engineers, medical doctors, healthcare organizations, insurance companies, and research strategists working in this area
Osobni prostor i njegove transformacije u tehnološkom kontekstu
Context and relevance of the research: The creation of autonomous computer agents and humanoid robots is becoming a priority subject of research in various fields of knowledge such as evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, neurobiology, engineering, social robotics, linguistics, philosophy, etc. The gap between technological, natural science and humanitarian-scientific discourse reveals the need for dialogue, scientific discussions, and the development of a common conceptual-categorical system in information technology and humanitarian knowledge. The expansion of the continuum of artificial realities actualizes anthropological problems, including the question of a new ontological status of human, of personal space, within which all aspects and projections of human existence undergo significant changes. Personal space as an ontological phenomenon of Self interacts with different environments (nature, society, culture, extended reality (XR)) has borders with them and in each partially functions. The research aims to develop methodological foundations for the study of personal space, formulate the author’s definition of personal space, and identify conceptual methodological constructs to analyze the transformation of personal space in the development of information technology and social robotics. Used methodology: the principle of integrity, the principle of duality of being, typology of relations I-Thou and I-It by Martin Buber and Semyon L. Frank, system analysis, convergent approach. Key findings: The development of information technologies and social robotics has opened a new stage in forming the technological context of human entry into symbiotic relations, where the boundaries between the natural and the artificial are blurred, which indicates the need to elaborate a convergent approach to studying interdisciplinary problems in technological and humanitarian knowledge. The author’s definition of personal space as a holistic phenomenon of Self is offered for use as a methodological tool to study its changes in the technological context.Kontekst i važnost istraživanja: Stvaranje autonomnih računalnih agenata i humanoidnih robota postaje prioritetna tema istraživanja u raznim poljima znanja. Jaz između tehnološkog i humanitarnog diskursa pokazuje potrebu za dijalogom i razvojem zajedničkog pojmovno-kategorijskog sustava u informacijskoj tehnologiji i humanitarnom znanju. Širenje kontinuuma umjetne stvarnosti aktualizira antropološke probleme, uključujući pitanje novog ontološkog statusa osobe, osobnog prostora, unutar kojeg svi aspekti i projekcije ljudskog postojanja prolaze kroz značajne promjene. Osobni prostor kao ontološki fenomen sebstva komunicira s različitim okruženjima (priroda, društvo, kultura, proširena stvarnost [extended reality – XR]), ima granice s njima i djelomično funkcionira u svakoj. Svrha studije: razviti metodološku osnovu za proučavanje osobnog prostora, formulirati autorovu definiciju osobnog prostora i identificirati konceptualne metodološke konstrukcije za analizu transformacije osobnog prostora u razvoju informacijske tehnologije i socijalne robotike. Upotrijebljena metodologija: načelo integriteta, načelo dualnosti bića, tipologija odnosa (M. Buber, S. Frank), sistemska analiza, konvergentni pristup. Glavni zaključci: Razvoj informacijske tehnologije i socijalne robotike otvorio je novu fazu u formiranju tehnološkog konteksta ulaska čovjeka u simbiotske odnose, gdje su granice između prirodnog i umjetnog nejasne, što ukazuje na potrebu za razvojem konvergentnog pristupa proučavanju interdisciplinarnih problema tehnološkog i humanitarnog znanja. Autorska definicija osobnog prostora kao integralnog fenomena sebstva predlaže se kao metodološki alat za proučavanje njegovih promjena u tehnološkom kontekstu
State of the art on ethical, legal, and social issues linked to audio- and video-based AAL solutions - Uploaded on December 29, 2021
Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies are increasingly presented and sold as essential smart additions to daily life and home environments that will radically transform the healthcare and wellness markets of the future. An ethical approach and a thorough understanding of all ethics in surveillance/monitoring architectures are therefore pressing. AAL poses many ethical challenges raising questions that will affect immediate acceptance and long-term usage. Furthermore, ethical issues emerge from social inequalities and their potential exacerbation by AAL, accentuating the existing access gap between high-income countries (HIC) and low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Legal aspects mainly refer to the adherence to existing legal frameworks and cover issues related to product safety, data protection, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and access to data by public, private, and government bodies. Successful privacy-friendly AAL applications are needed, as the pressure to bring Internet of Things (IoT) devices and ones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) quickly to market cannot overlook the fact that the environments in which AAL will operate are mostly private (e.g., the home). The social issues focus on the impact of AAL technologies before and after their adoption. Future AAL technologies need to consider all aspects of equality such as gender, race, age and social disadvantages and avoid increasing loneliness and isolation among, e.g. older and frail people. Finally, the current power asymmetries between the target and general populations should not be underestimated nor should the discrepant needs and motivations of the target group and those developing and deploying AAL systems. Whilst AAL technologies provide promising solutions for the health and social care challenges, they are not exempt from ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI). A set of ELSI guidelines is needed to integrate these factors at the research and development stage
State of the art on ethical, legal, and social issues linked to audio- and videobased AAL solutions
Working Group 1. Social responsibility: Ethical, legal, social, data protection and privacy issuesAbstract Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies are increasingly presented and sold as essential smart additions to daily life and home environments that will radically transform the healthcare and wellness markets of the future. An ethical approach and a thorough understanding of all ethics in surveillance/monitoring architectures are therefore pressing. AAL poses many ethical challenges raising questions that will affect immediate acceptance and long-term usage. Furthermore, ethical issues emerge from social inequalities and their potential exacerbation by AAL, accentuating the existing access gap between high-income countries (HIC) and low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Legal aspects mainly refer to the adherence to existing legal frameworks and cover issues related to product safety, data protection, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and access to data by public, private, and government bodies. Successful privacy-friendly AAL applications are needed, as the pressure to bring Internet of Things (IoT) devices and ones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) quickly to market cannot overlook the fact that the environments in which AAL will operate are mostly private (e.g., the home). The social issues focus on the impact of AAL technologies before and after their adoption. Future AAL technologies need to consider all aspects of equality such as gender, race, age and social disadvantages and avoid increasing loneliness and isolation among, e.g. older and frail people. Finally, the current power asymmetries between the target and general populations should not be underestimated nor should the discrepant needs and motivations of the target group and those developing and deploying AAL systems. Whilst AAL technologies provide promising solutions for the health and social care challenges, they are not exempt from ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI). A set of ELSI guidelines is needed to integrate these factors at the research and development stage. Keywords Ethical principles, Privacy, Assistive Living Technologies, Privacy by Design, General Data Protection Regulation.publishedVersio
Artificial Emotional Intelligence in Socially Assistive Robots
Artificial Emotional Intelligence (AEI) bridges the gap between humans and machines by demonstrating empathy and affection towards each other. This is achieved by evaluating the emotional state of human users, adapting the machine’s behavior to them, and hence giving an appropriate response to those emotions. AEI is part of a larger field of studies called Affective Computing. Affective computing is the integration of artificial intelligence, psychology, robotics, biometrics, and many more fields of study. The main component in AEI and affective computing is emotion, and how we can utilize emotion to create a more natural and productive relationship between humans and machines.
An area in which AEI can be particularly beneficial is in building machines and robots for healthcare applications. Socially Assistive Robotics (SAR) is a subfield in robotics that aims at developing robots that can provide companionship to assist people with social interaction and companionship. For example, residents living in housing designed for older adults often feel lonely, isolated, and depressed; therefore, having social interaction and mental stimulation is critical to improve their well-being. Socially Assistive Robots are designed to address these needs by monitoring and improving the quality of life of patients with depression and dementia. Nevertheless, developing robots with AEI that understand users’ emotions and can reply to them naturally and effectively is in early infancy, and much more research needs to be carried out in this field.
This dissertation presents the results of my work in developing a social robot, called Ryan, equipped with AEI for effective and engaging dialogue with older adults with depression and dementia. Over the course of this research there has been three versions of Ryan. Each new version of Ryan is created using the lessons learned after conducting the studies presented in this dissertation. First, two human-robot-interaction studies were conducted showing validity of using a rear-projected robot to convey emotion and intent. Then, the feasibility of using Ryan to interact with older adults is studied. This study investigated the possible improvement of the quality of life of older adults. Ryan the Companionbot used in this project is a rear-projected lifelike conversational robot. Ryan is equipped with many features such as games, music, video, reminders, and general conversation. Ryan engages users in cognitive games and reminiscence activities. A pilot study was conducted with six older adults with early-stage dementia and/or depression living in a senior living facility. Each individual had 24/7 access to a Ryan in his/her room for a period of 4-6 weeks. The observations of these individuals, interviews with them and their caregivers, and analysis of their interactions during this period revealed that they established rapport with the robot and greatly valued and enjoyed having a companionbot in their room.
A multi-modal emotion recognition algorithm was developed as well as a multi-modal emotion expression system. These algorithms were then integrated into Ryan. To engage the subjects in a more empathic interaction with Ryan, a corpus of dialogues on different topics were created by English major students. An emotion recognition algorithm was designed and implemented and then integrated into the dialogue management system to empathize with users based on their perceived emotion. This study investigates the effects of this emotionally intelligent robot on older adults in the early stage of depression and dementia. The results of this study suggest that Ryan equipped with AEI is more engaging, likable, and attractive to users than Ryan without AEI. The long-term effect of the last version of Ryan (Ryan V3.0) was studied in a study involving 17 subjects from 5 different senior care facilities. The participants in this study experienced a general improvement in their cognitive and depression scores
Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation
This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion
UX research: uma proposta baseada no desenvolvimento do portal da UA
As a process inherent to the HCI area, UX Research can be seen as a
strategy that supports the development of digital products, namely when
usability and accessibility guidelines are used to drive the approach adopted.
Practices and strategies based on user experience can facilitate
understanding the generation of inputs to drive the digital products
development as well as support requirements. In this context, this research is
focused on the observation of the UX Research process in the development of
the new web portal of the University of Aveiro aiming to investigate how UX
Research practice can support the methodological approach used, regarding
requirements support, identification of typology interface problems, and
collection of information towards the continuous improvement of the
development of the University of Aveiro (UA) New Portal. For this purpose, a
Mixed Methodology was used based on the Grounded Theory framework, by
the inductive process of data observation, delimited to the observation of the
new News area of the web portal. Data saturation allowed us to know which
UX Research sources had more capacity to raise data from the end-users,
support requirements, identify types of interface problems, and supply the
development of product solutions. As a consequence of the data processing,
this research presents a UXR flow proposal to support data collection and
engage stakeholders with the end-user needs and interests.Como um processo inerente à área de Interação Humano-Computador (HCI),
a Investigação em Experiência do Utilizador (UX Research) pode ser vista
como uma estratégia de apoio ao desenvolvimento de produtos digitais
quando princípios de usabilidade e acessibilidade são utilizados para
impulsionar a abordagem adoptada. Práticas e estratégias baseadas na coleta
de dados relativos à experiência do utilizador podem facilitar a geração de
inputs para impulsionar desenvolvimento de produtos digitais bem como
suportar a defesa de requisitos. Neste contexto, esta investigação está
centrada na observação do processo de UX Research no desenvolvimento do
novo portal web da Universidade de Aveiro com o objetivo de compreender
como a prática da Investigação em UX pode apoiar a abordagem
metodológica utilizada, no que diz respeito ao suporte de requisitos,
identificação de tipologias de problemas da interface, e recolha de informação
para a melhoria contínua do desenvolvimento do Novo Portal da Universidade
de Aveiro (UA). Para este fim, foi utilizada uma Metodologia Mista, Qualiquantitativa
fundamentada na estrutura de Grounded Theory, em que parte-se
do processo indutivo da observação dos dados, delimitado à observação da
nova Área de Notícias do portal web. O tratamento estatístico permitiu saber
quais as fontes da UX Research com maior capacidade para levantar dados
dos utilizadores finais, qual delas mais dá suporte aos requisitos, ajuda na
identificação de tipos de problemas da interface, e apoia o desenvolvimento
de soluções de produto. Como consequência do processamento de dados,
esta investigação apresenta uma proposta de fluxo de Investigação em UX
para apoiar a recolha de dados e motivar os envolvidos no processo para
atender as necessidades e interesses dos utilizadores finais.Mestrado em Comunicação Multimédi
- …