The Effects of Android Robots Displaying Emotion on Humans: Interactions between Older Adults and Android Robots

Often robots are seen as a means to an end to fulfill a logical objective task. Android robots, on the other hand, provide new possibilities to fulfill emotional tasks and could therefore be integrated into assistive scenarios. We explored this possibility by letting older adults and stakeholders have a conversation with an android robot capable of expressing emotion through facial expressions. The study was carried out with a wizard-of-oz approach and data collected with a mixed methods approach. We found that the participants were encouraged to speak more with the robot due to its smile. Simultaneously, many ethical questions were raised about transparency and manipulation. Our research can give valuable insight into the reaction of older adults to android robots that show emotions.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, CHI 202

An architecture for the integration of robots and sensors for the care of the elderly in an ambient assisted living environment

Producción CientíficaIn this paper, the development of an assistance system for the elderly that combines robots with a network of sensors and actuators is described. The architecture was developed with the aim of interaction. With this reason, the system incorporates particular solutions that are adaptable to the needs of the user, such as a pyramid interaction system, a telepresence robot, a biometric bracelet, and others. In the software, the system is composed of two servers: local and web. The local server is in charge of different modules that interact with direct users and their needs. The web server provides different facilities to external users to access the system remotely. A use case is analyzed where the proposed system is validated.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades - Programa Retos Investigación (project. RTI2018-096652-B-I00)Junta de Castilla y León y FEDER - Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación (project VA233P18

Presence 2005: the eighth annual international workshop on presence, 21-23 September, 2005 University College London (Conference proceedings)

OVERVIEW (taken from the CALL FOR PAPERS) Academics and practitioners with an interest in the concept of (tele)presence are invited to submit their work for presentation at PRESENCE 2005 at University College London in London, England, September 21-23, 2005. The eighth in a series of highly successful international workshops, PRESENCE 2005 will provide an open discussion forum to share ideas regarding concepts and theories, measurement techniques, technology, and applications related to presence, the psychological state or subjective perception in which a person fails to accurately and completely acknowledge the role of technology in an experience, including the sense of 'being there' experienced by users of advanced media such as virtual reality. The concept of presence in virtual environments has been around for at least 15 years, and the earlier idea of telepresence at least since Minsky's seminal paper in 1980. Recently there has been a burst of funded research activity in this area for the first time with the European FET Presence Research initiative. What do we really know about presence and its determinants? How can presence be successfully delivered with today's technology? This conference invites papers that are based on empirical results from studies of presence and related issues and/or which contribute to the technology for the delivery of presence. Papers that make substantial advances in theoretical understanding of presence are also welcome. The interest is not solely in virtual environments but in mixed reality environments. Submissions will be reviewed more rigorously than in previous conferences. High quality papers are therefore sought which make substantial contributions to the field. Approximately 20 papers will be selected for two successive special issues for the journal Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments. PRESENCE 2005 takes place in London and is hosted by University College London. The conference is organized by ISPR, the International Society for Presence Research and is supported by the European Commission's FET Presence Research Initiative through the Presencia and IST OMNIPRES projects and by University College London

ICASE/LaRC Symposium on Visualizing Time-Varying Data

Time-varying datasets present difficult problems for both analysis and visualization. For example, the data may be terabytes in size, distributed across mass storage systems at several sites, with time scales ranging from femtoseconds to eons. In response to these challenges, ICASE and NASA Langley Research Center, in cooperation with ACM SIGGRAPH, organized the first symposium on visualizing time-varying data. The purpose was to bring the producers of time-varying data together with visualization specialists to assess open issues in the field, present new solutions, and encourage collaborative problem-solving. These proceedings contain the peer-reviewed papers which were presented at the symposium. They cover a broad range of topics, from methods for modeling and compressing data to systems for visualizing CFD simulations and World Wide Web traffic. Because the subject matter is inherently dynamic, a paper proceedings cannot adequately convey all aspects of the work. The accompanying video proceedings provide additional context for several of the papers

Holographic reality: enhancing the artificial reality experience throuhg interactive 3D holography

Holography was made know by several science-fiction productions, however this technology dates back to the year 1940. Despite the considerable age of this discovery, this technology remains inaccessible to the average consumer. The main goal of this manuscript is to advance the state of the art in interactive holography, providing an accessible and low-cost solution. The final product intends to nudge the HCI com munity to explore potential applications, in particular to be aquatic centric and environmentally friendly. Two main user studies are performed, in order to determine the impact of the proposed solution by a sample audience. Provided user studies include a first prototype as a Tangible User Interface - TUI for Holographic Reality - HR Second study included the Holographic Mounted Display - HMD for proposed HR interface, further analyzing the interactive holographic experience without hand-held devices. Both of these studies were further compared with an Augmented Reality setting. Obtained results demonstrate a significantly higher score for the HMD approach. This suggests it is the better solution, most likely due to the added simplicity and immersiveness features it has. However the TUI study did score higher in several key parameters, and should be considered for future studies. Comparing with an AR experience, the HMD study scores slightly lower, but manages to surpass AR in several parameters. Several approaches were outlined and evaluated, depicting different methods for the creation of Interactive Holographic Reality experiences. In spite of the low maturity of holographic technology, it can be concluded it is comparable and can keep up to other more developed and mature artificial reality settings, further supporting the need for the existence of the Holographic Reality conceptA tecnologia holográfica tornou-se conhecida através da ficção científica, contudo esta tecnologia remonta até ao ano 1940. Apesar da considerável idade desta descoberta, esta tecnologia continua a não ser acessíveil para o consumidor. O objetivo deste manuscrito é avançar o estado de arte da Holografia Interactiva, e fornecer uma solução de baixo custo. O objetivo do produto final é persuadir a comunidade HCI para a exploração de aplicações desta tecnologia, em particular em contextos aquáticos e pró-ambientais. Dois estudos principais foram efetuados, de modo a determinar qual o impacto da solução pro posta numa amostra. Os estudos fornecidos incluem um protótipo inicial baseado numa Interface Tangível e Realidade Holográfica e um dispositivo tangível. O segundo estudo inclui uma interface baseada num dispositivo head-mounted e em Realidade Holográfica, de modo a analisar e avaliar a experiência interativa e holográfica. Ambos os estudos são comparados com uma experiência semelhante, em Realidade Aumentada. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que o estudo HMD recebeu uma avaliação significante mel hor, em comparação com a abordagem TUI. Isto sugere que uma abordagem "head-mounted" tende a ser melhor solução, muito provavelmente devido às vantagens que possui em relação à simplicidade e imersividade que oferece. Contudo, o estudo TUI recebeu pontuações mais altas em alguns parâmetros chave, e deve ser considerados para a implementação de futuros estudos. Comparando com uma experiência de realidade aumentada, o estudo HMD recebeu uma avaliação ligeiramente menor, mas por uma margem mínima, e ultrapassando a AR em alguns parâmetros. Várias abordagens foram deliniadas e avaliadas, com diferentes métodos para a criação de experiências de Realidade Holográfica. Apesar da pouca maturidade da tecnologia holográfica, podemos concluir que a mesma é comparável e consegue acompanhar outros tipos de realidade artificial, que são muito mais desenvolvidos, o que suporta a necessidade da existência do conceito de Realidade Holográfica

A brain-computer interface for navigation in virtual reality

L'interface cerveau-ordinateur (ICO) décode les signaux électriques du cerveau requise par l’électroencéphalographie et transforme ces signaux en commande pour contrôler un appareil ou un logiciel. Un nombre limité de tâches mentales ont été détectés et classifier par différents groupes de recherche. D’autres types de contrôle, par exemple l’exécution d'un mouvement du pied, réel ou imaginaire, peut modifier les ondes cérébrales du cortex moteur. Nous avons utilisé un ICO pour déterminer si nous pouvions faire une classification entre la navigation de type marche avant et arrière, en temps réel et en temps différé, en utilisant différentes méthodes. Dix personnes en bonne santé ont participé à l’expérience sur les ICO dans un tunnel virtuel. L’expérience fut a était divisé en deux séances (48 min chaque). Chaque séance comprenait 320 essais. On a demandé au sujets d’imaginer un déplacement avant ou arrière dans le tunnel virtuel de façon aléatoire d’après une commande écrite sur l'écran. Les essais ont été menés avec feedback. Trois électrodes ont été montées sur le scalp, vis-à-vis du cortex moteur. Durant la 1re séance, la classification des deux taches (navigation avant et arrière) a été réalisée par les méthodes de puissance de bande, de représentation temporel-fréquence, des modèles autorégressifs et des rapports d’asymétrie du rythme β avec classificateurs d’analyse discriminante linéaire et SVM. Les seuils ont été calculés en temps différé pour former des signaux de contrôle qui ont été utilisés en temps réel durant la 2e séance afin d’initier, par les ondes cérébrales de l'utilisateur, le déplacement du tunnel virtuel dans le sens demandé. Après 96 min d'entrainement, la méthode « online biofeedback » de la puissance de bande a atteint une précision de classification moyenne de 76 %, et la classification en temps différé avec les rapports d’asymétrie et puissance de bande, a atteint une précision de classification d’environ 80 %.A Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) decodes the brain signals representing a desire to do something, and transforms those signals into a control command. However, only a limited number of mental tasks have been previously detected and classified. Performing a real or imaginary navigation movement can similarly change the brainwaves over the motor cortex. We used an ERS-BCI to see if we can classify between movements in forward and backward direction offline and then online using different methods. Ten healthy people participated in BCI experiments comprised two-sessions (48 min each) in a virtual environment tunnel. Each session consisted of 320 trials where subjects were asked to imagine themselves moving in the tunnel in a forward or backward motion after a randomly presented (forward versus backward) command on the screen. Three EEG electrodes were mounted bilaterally on the scalp over the motor cortex. Trials were conducted with feedback. In session 1, Band Power method, Time-frequency representation, Autoregressive models and asymmetry ratio were used in the β rhythm range with a Linear-Discriminant-analysis classifier and a Support Vector Machine classifier to discriminate between the two mental tasks. Thresholds for both tasks were computed offline and then used to form control signals that were used online in session 2 to trigger the virtual tunnel to move in the direction requested by the user's brain signals. After 96 min of training, the online band-power biofeedback training achieved an average classification precision of 76 %, whereas the offline classification with asymmetrical ratio and band-power achieved an average classification precision of 80%

Application-driven visual computing towards industry 4.0 2018

245 p.La Tesis recoge contribuciones en tres campos: 1. Agentes Virtuales Interactivos: autónomos, modulares, escalables, ubicuos y atractivos para el usuario. Estos IVA pueden interactuar con los usuarios de manera natural.2. Entornos de RV/RA Inmersivos: RV en la planificación de la producción, el diseño de producto, la simulación de procesos, pruebas y verificación. El Operario Virtual muestra cómo la RV y los Co-bots pueden trabajar en un entorno seguro. En el Operario Aumentado la RA muestra información relevante al trabajador de una manera no intrusiva. 3. Gestión Interactiva de Modelos 3D: gestión online y visualización de modelos CAD multimedia, mediante conversión automática de modelos CAD a la Web. La tecnología Web3D permite la visualización e interacción de estos modelos en dispositivos móviles de baja potencia.Además, estas contribuciones han permitido analizar los desafíos presentados por Industry 4.0. La tesis ha contribuido a proporcionar una prueba de concepto para algunos de esos desafíos: en factores humanos, simulación, visualización e integración de modelos

Advancing computational biophysics with Virtual Reality

Modelos computacionais são ferramentas poderosas para explorar as propriedades de sistemas biológicos complexos. Na neurociência computacional, permitir fácil exploração e visualização computacional desses modelos é crucial para o progresso do campo. Nos últimos anos, os sistemas de visualização 3D e o hardware de realidade virtual tornaram-se mais acessíveis e isso abre uma janela de oportunidade para os serviços de visualização. O principal problema atual da visualização 3D diz respeito à usabilidade (ou seja, navegação e seleção). Durante esta dissertação, hipotetizaremos que a substituição do 3D por VR irá (1) superar os problemas de usabilidade mencionados e, eventualmente, (2) aumentar a eficácia dos utilizadores em relação às questões do campo de estudo (neurociência). Para avaliar os resultados do trabalho desenvolvido nesta dissertação, será realizada uma experiência de duas partes, em que um grupo de indivíduos deverá executar um conjunto de tarefas pré-determinadas e avaliar sua experiência usando 3D na primeira e VR na última parte. Além da autoavaliação da experiência, dados como tempo de conclusão e correção da tarefa também serão usados para quantificar a eficácia do método de visualização. Dada a experiência mencionada, um protótipo de uma aplicação (baseada na Web) com visualização de Realidade Virtual deve ser desenvolvido. A visualização 3D será fornecida por uma framework de código aberto baseada na Web, chamada Geppetto. Cada uma das decisões tomadas no desenvolvimento do protótipo será analisada adequadamente neste documento, bem como a literatura científica que servirá de base quando necessário. Além do estudo da Realidade Virtual propriamente dita, também serão analisados métodos padronizados para a visualização de informações (neuro) científicas. A solução proposta procurará constituir uma base de trabalho sólida e suficientemente genérica a ser aplicada, não apenas no contexto da neurociência, mas também em vários outros contextos onde a visualização de modelos através de Realidade Virtual poderá ser bem-sucedida.Computational models are powerful tools for exploring the properties of complex biological systems. In computational neuroscience, allowing easy computational exploration and visualization of this models is crucial for the progress of the field. In recent years, Virtual Reality hardware and visualization systems have become more affordable and this opens a window of opportunity for visualization services. The current major problem of 3D visualization concerns usability (i.e., navigation and selection). During this dissertation, we will hypothesize that the replacement of 3D for VR will (1) overcome the usability issues mentioned and eventually (2) boost user effectiveness regarding field of study (neuroscience) concerns. In order to evaluate the results of the work developed under this dissertation, a two-part experiment will be carried out where a group of individuals must perform a set of predetermined tasks and evaluate their experience using 3D in the first and VR in the last part. Besides the self-evaluation of the experiment, data such as completion time and task correctness will also be used to quantify the effectiveness of the visualization method. Given the aforementioned experiment, a prototype of a (web-based) application with Virtual Reality visualization shall be developed. The 3D visualization will be provided by a web-based open-sourced framework called Geppetto. Each of the decisions made in the development of the prototype will be properly analyzed in this document, as well as the scientific literature that will serve as a basis when necessary. Besides the study of Virtual Reality itself, standard methods with respect to the visualization of (neuro)scientific information will also be analyzed. The proposed solution will seek to constitute a solid and sufficiently generic work base to be applied, not only in the scope of neuroscience, but also in several other contexts where visualization through VR might be successful