Sensory Manipulation as a Countermeasure to Robot Teleoperation Delays: System and Evidence

In the field of robotics, robot teleoperation for remote or hazardous environments has become increasingly vital. A major challenge is the lag between command and action, negatively affecting operator awareness, performance, and mental strain. Even with advanced technology, mitigating these delays, especially in long-distance operations, remains challenging. Current solutions largely focus on machine-based adjustments. Yet, there's a gap in using human perceptions to improve the teleoperation experience. This paper presents a unique method of sensory manipulation to help humans adapt to such delays. Drawing from motor learning principles, it suggests that modifying sensory stimuli can lessen the perception of these delays. Instead of introducing new skills, the approach uses existing motor coordination knowledge. The aim is to minimize the need for extensive training or complex automation. A study with 41 participants explored the effects of altered haptic cues in delayed teleoperations. These cues were sourced from advanced physics engines and robot sensors. Results highlighted benefits like reduced task time and improved perceptions of visual delays. Real-time haptic feedback significantly contributed to reduced mental strain and increased confidence. This research emphasizes human adaptation as a key element in robot teleoperation, advocating for improved teleoperation efficiency via swift human adaptation, rather than solely optimizing robots for delay adjustment.Comment: Submitted to Scientific Report

Introduction: The Third International Conference on Epigenetic Robotics

This paper summarizes the paper and poster contributions to the Third International Workshop on Epigenetic Robotics. The focus of this workshop is on the cross-disciplinary interaction of developmental psychology and robotics. Namely, the general goal in this area is to create robotic models of the psychological development of various behaviors. The term "epigenetic" is used in much the same sense as the term "developmental" and while we could call our topic "developmental robotics", developmental robotics can be seen as having a broader interdisciplinary emphasis. Our focus in this workshop is on the interaction of developmental psychology and robotics and we use the phrase "epigenetic robotics" to capture this focus

Judicial decision-making and extra-legal influences: Neurolinguistic Programming as a candidate framework to understand persuasion in the legal context

Jurister försöker påverka rättsliga beslutsprocesser med hjälp av övertalning, men den befintliga litteraturen om övertalning i rättssalen är förvånansvärt begränsad med fokus på enskilda tekniker i isolering; inga omfattande integrerade ramverk finns tillgängliga. Vi föreslår en populär kommersiell metod för övertalning, Neurolingvistisk Programmering (NLP), som startpunkt för att utveckla en modell som kan fylla detta gap. Först presenterar vi en bred analys av rättsliga beslutsprocesser och utomrättsliga faktorer som påverkar dem. Därefter utsätter vi centrala aspekter av NLP för noggrann granskning. Slutligen syntetiserar vi dessa trådar i en mångfacetterad bedömning av NLPs potentiella användbarhet som ett omfattande och integrerat ramverk för att förstå och beskriva juristers övertalningsprocesser i rättssalen. Vi hävdar att NLP kan beskriva dessa beteenden och strategier både genom en självreflexiv logik, som ett resultat av dess breda inflytande, men också för mer generella övertalningsprocesser tack vare ett stort antal överensstämmelser mellan NLP-begrepp och resultat från vetenskaplig litteratur. Även om dessa överensstämmelser är ytliga, tyder det faktum att NLP integrerar sina förenklade koncept i ett sammanhållet ramverk, som spänner argumentations- och presentations-dimensioner för övertalning, att det förhållandevis enkelt kan anpassas till en praktisk modell för att beskriva och förstå övertalning i rättssalen. Vidare forskning är indikerad.Trial advocates seek to influence the outcomes of judicial decision-making processes using persuasion, but the existing literature regarding persuasion in the courtroom is surprisingly piecemeal, focusing on individual techniques in isolation; no comprehensive frameworks for integrating these techniques, or for systematically analyzing advocates’ attempts to enact persuasion in the courtroom, have been developed. We propose a popular commercial technology for persuasion, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), as a candidate framework that might be modified and adapted to fill this gap. First we present a wide-ranging, discursive analysis of judicial decision-making processes and extra-legal factors that influence them. Next, core aspects of NLP theory are subjected to careful examination. Finally, these threads are synthesized into a multifaceted assessment of NLP’s potential utility as a comprehensive and integrative framework for understanding and describing how litigators enact persuasion in the courtroom. We argue that NLP can describe these behaviors and strategies both by way of a self-reflexive logic resulting from its popular influence, but also as a more general, context independent model by virtue of a large number of correspondences between NLP concepts and findings from the scholarly literature. Although these correspondences are superficial, the fact that NLP integrates its simplified, folk concepts into a coherent framework spanning argumentative and presentational dimensions of persuasion suggests that it might readily be adapted into a useful descriptive model for understanding persuasion in the courtroom. Further scholarly attention is indicated

Towards a Unified Theory of Neocortex: Laminar Cortical Circuits for Vision and Cognition

A key goal of computational neuroscience is to link brain mechanisms to behavioral functions. The present article describes recent progress towards explaining how laminar neocortical circuits give rise to biological intelligence. These circuits embody two new and revolutionary computational paradigms: Complementary Computing and Laminar Computing. Circuit properties include a novel synthesis of feedforward and feedback processing, of digital and analog processing, and of pre-attentive and attentive processing. This synthesis clarifies the appeal of Bayesian approaches but has a far greater predictive range that naturally extends to self-organizing processes. Examples from vision and cognition are summarized. A LAMINART architecture unifies properties of visual development, learning, perceptual grouping, attention, and 3D vision. A key modeling theme is that the mechanisms which enable development and learning to occur in a stable way imply properties of adult behavior. It is noted how higher-order attentional constraints can influence multiple cortical regions, and how spatial and object attention work together to learn view-invariant object categories. In particular, a form-fitting spatial attentional shroud can allow an emerging view-invariant object category to remain active while multiple view categories are associated with it during sequences of saccadic eye movements. Finally, the chapter summarizes recent work on the LIST PARSE model of cognitive information processing by the laminar circuits of prefrontal cortex. LIST PARSE models the short-term storage of event sequences in working memory, their unitization through learning into sequence, or list, chunks, and their read-out in planned sequential performance that is under volitional control. LIST PARSE provides a laminar embodiment of Item and Order working memories, also called Competitive Queuing models, that have been supported by both psychophysical and neurobiological data. These examples show how variations of a common laminar cortical design can embody properties of visual and cognitive intelligence that seem, at least on the surface, to be mechanistically unrelated.National Science Foundation (SBE-0354378); Office of Naval Research (N00014-01-1-0624