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

MediaSync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization

This book provides an approachable overview of the most recent advances in the fascinating field of media synchronization (mediasync), gathering contributions from the most representative and influential experts. Understanding the challenges of this field in the current multi-sensory, multi-device, and multi-protocol world is not an easy task. The book revisits the foundations of mediasync, including theoretical frameworks and models, highlights ongoing research efforts, like hybrid broadband broadcast (HBB) delivery and users' perception modeling (i.e., Quality of Experience or QoE), and paves the way for the future (e.g., towards the deployment of multi-sensory and ultra-realistic experiences). Although many advances around mediasync have been devised and deployed, this area of research is getting renewed attention to overcome remaining challenges in the next-generation (heterogeneous and ubiquitous) media ecosystem. Given the significant advances in this research area, its current relevance and the multiple disciplines it involves, the availability of a reference book on mediasync becomes necessary. This book fills the gap in this context. In particular, it addresses key aspects and reviews the most relevant contributions within the mediasync research space, from different perspectives. Mediasync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization is the perfect companion for scholars and practitioners that want to acquire strong knowledge about this research area, and also approach the challenges behind ensuring the best mediated experiences, by providing the adequate synchronization between the media elements that constitute these experiences

Computer Science's Digest Volume 2

This series of textbooks was created for the students of the Systems Engineering Program at the University of Nariño. They have been intentionally written in English to promote reading in a foreign language. The textbooks are a collection of reflections and workshops on specific situations in the field of computer science, based on the authors’ experiences. The main purpose of these textbooks is essentially academic. The way in which the reflections and workshops were constructed follows a didactic structure, to facilitate teaching and learning, making use of English as a second language. This book covers Internet and Multimedia Technology, System Analysis and Design, and Software Engineerin

The Influence of Visual Storytelling on the Occupational Aspirations of Non-Agricultural Undergraduate Students

The agricultural industry has been experiencing a shortage in qualified college graduates to fill its numerous open positions in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of visual storytelling on the occupational aspirations of non-agricultural undergraduate students. Social media channels, virtual storytelling and the higher education classroom provide a unique opportunity to convey information about and recruit students into the agricultural career field. The diffusion of innovation model provides the framework for the introduction of agricultural jobs in a non-agricultural business classroom while the social cognitive theory provides the understanding of the importance of self-efficacy in decision- making. A posttest only, nonequivalent quasi-experimental study was conducted and used descriptive and independent sample t-tests for statistical analysis. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups, Group A and Group B, to determine who received treatment. Both groups were presented with written job descriptions. Job 1 described an entry-level grain merchandising position based out of a rural elevator. Job 2 described an entry-level analyst position in a grain division of an agricultural company located in an urban setting. Group B was presented with video presentations of job responsibilities for both positions. A total of 31 responses were collected, providing a 0.53% response rate. Collected data showed students’ confidence increased with job duties and responsibilities they had cultivated previous experience within class. However, data did not show a significant relationship between presentation methods of the job descriptions. It is recommended that human resources professionals continue to utilize written job descriptions, especially when recruiting non-agricultural students. Faculty members should actively demonstrate to students how the coursework they complete directly translates into job skills and capabilities

Rediscovering The Interpersonal: Models Of Networked Communication In New Media Performance

This paper examines the themes of human perception and participation within the contemporary paradigm and relates the hallmarks of the major paradigm shift which occurred in the mid-20th century from a structural view of the world to a systems view. In this context, the author’s creative practice is described, outlining a methodology for working with the communication networks and interpersonal feedback loops that help to define our relationships to each other and to media since that paradigm shift. This research is framed within a larger field of inquiry into the impact of contemporary New Media Art as we experience it. This thesis proposes generative/cybernetic/systems art as the most appropriate media to model the processes of cultural identity production and networked communication. It reviews brief definitions of the systems paradigm and some key principles of cybernetic theory, with emphasis on generative, indeterminate processes. These definitions provide context for a brief review of precedents for the use of these models in the arts, (especially in process art, experimental video, interactive art, algorithmic composition, and sound art) since the mid-20th century, in direct correlation to the paradigm shift into systems thinking. Research outcomes reported here describe a recent body of generative art performances that have evolved from this intermedial, research-based creative practice, and discuss its use of algorithms, electronic media, and performance to provide audiences with access to an intuitive model of the interpersonal in a networked world

International Summerschool Computer Science 2014: Proceedings of Summerschool 7.7. - 13.7.2014

Proceedings of International Summerschool Computer Science 201

Non-acted multi-view audio-visual dyadic Interactions. Project master thesis: multi-modal local and recurrent non-verbal emotion recognition in dyadic scenarios

Treballs finals del Màster de Fonaments de Ciència de Dades, Facultat de matemàtiques, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2019, Tutor: Sergio Escalera Guerrero i Cristina Palmero[en] In particular, this master thesis is focused on the development of baseline emotion recognition system in a dyadic environment using raw and handcraft audio features and cropped faces from the videos. This system is analyzed at frame and utterance level with and without temporal information. For this reason, an exhaustive study of the state-of-the-art on emotion recognition techniques has been conducted, paying particular attention on Deep Learning techniques for emotion recognition. While studying the state-of-the-art from the theoretical point of view, a dataset consisting of videos of sessions of dyadic interactions between individuals in different scenarios has been recorded. Different attributes were captured and labelled from these videos: body pose, hand pose, emotion, age, gender, etc. Once the architectures for emotion recognition have been trained with other dataset, a proof of concept is done with this new database in order to extract conclusions. In addition, this database can help future systems to achieve better results. A large number of experiments with audio and video are performed to create the emotion recognition system. The IEMOCAP database is used to perform the training and evaluation experiments of the emotion recognition system. Once the audio and video are trained separately with two different architectures, a fusion of both methods is done. In this work, the importance of preprocessing data (i.e. face detection, windows analysis length, handcrafted features, etc.) and choosing the correct parameters for the architectures (i.e. network depth, fusion, etc.) has been demonstrated and studied, while some experiments to study the influence of the temporal information are performed using some recurrent models for the spatiotemporal utterance level recognition of emotion. Finally, the conclusions drawn throughout this work are exposed, as well as the possible lines of future work including new systems for emotion recognition and the experiments with the database recorded in this work

Bi & tri dimensional scene description and composition in the MPEG-4 standard

MPEG-4 is a new ISO/IEC standard being developed by MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). The standard is to be released in November 1998 and version 1 will be an International Standard in January 1999 The MPEG-4 standard addresses the new demands that arise in a world in which more and more audio-visual material is exchanged in digital form MPEG-4 addresses the coding of objects of various types. Not only traditional video and audio frames, but also natural video and audio objects as well as textures, text, 2- and 3-dimensional graphic primitives, and synthetic music and sound effects. Using MPEG-4 to reconstruct an audio-visual scene at a terminal, it is hence no longer sufficient to encode the raw audio-visual data and transmit it, as MPEG-2 does m order to synchronize video and audio. In MPEG-4, all objects are multiplexed together at the encoder and transported to the terminal Once de-multiplexed, these objects are composed at the terminal to construct and present to the end user a meaningful audio-visual scene. The placement of these elementary audio-visual objects in space and time is described in the scene description of a scene. While the action of putting these objects together in the same representation space is the composition of audio-visual objects. My research was concerned with the scene description and composition of the audio-visual objects that are defined in an audio-visual scene Scene descriptions are coded independently irom sticams related to primitive audio-visual objects. The set of parameters belonging to the scene description are differentiated from the parameters that are used to improve the coding efficiency of an object. While the independent coding of different objects may achieve a higher compression rate, it also brings the ability to manipulate content at the terminal. This allows the modification of the scene description parameters without having to decode the primitive audio-visual objects themselves. This approach allows the development of a syntax that describes the spatio-temporal relationships of audio-visual scene objects. The behaviours of objects and their response to user inputs can thus also be represented in the scene description, allowing richer audio-visual content to be delivered as an MPEG-4 stream