5 research outputs found

    Hand features extractor using hand contour – a case study

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    Hand gesture recognition is an important topic in natural user interfaces (NUI). Hand features extraction is the first step for hand gesture recognition. This work proposes a novel real time method for hand features recognition. In our framework we use three cameras and the hand region is extracted with the background subtraction method. Features like arm angle and fingers positions are calculated using Y variations in the vertical contour image. Wrist detection is obtained by calculating the bigger distance from a base line and the hand contour, giving the main features for the hand gesture recognition. Experiments on our own data-set of about 1800 images show that our method performs well and is highly efficient

    Mobile pupillometry in manual assembly : a pilot study exploring the wearability and external validity of a renowned mental workload lab measure

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    Human operators in the upcoming Industry 4.0 workplace will face accelerating job demands such as elevated cognitive complexity. Unobtrusive objective measures of mental workload (MWL) are therefore in high demand as indicated by both theory and practice. This pilot study explored the wearability and external validity of pupillometry, a MWL measure robustly validated in laboratory settings and now deployable in work settings demanding operator mobility. In an ecologically valid work environment, 21 participants performed two manual assemblies - one of low and one of high complexity - while wearing eye-tracking glasses for pupil size measurement. Results revealed that the device was perceived as fairly wearable in terms of physical and mental comfort. In terms of validity, no significant differences in mean pupil size were found between the assemblies even though subjective mental workload differed significantly. Exploratory analyses on the pupil size when attending to the assembly instructions only, were inconclusive. The present work suggests that current lab-based procedures might not be adequate yet for in-the-field mobile pupillometry. From a broader perspective, these findings also invite a more nuanced view on the current validity of lab-validated physiological MWL-measures when applied in real-life settings. We therefore conclude with some key insights for future development of mobile pupillometry

    Attention and Social Cognition in Virtual Reality:The effect of engagement mode and character eye-gaze

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    Technical developments in virtual humans are manifest in modern character design. Specifically, eye gaze offers a significant aspect of such design. There is need to consider the contribution of participant control of engagement. In the current study, we manipulated participants’ engagement with an interactive virtual reality narrative called Coffee without Words. Participants sat over coffee opposite a character in a virtual café, where they waited for their bus to be repaired. We manipulated character eye-contact with the participant. For half the participants in each condition, the character made no eye-contact for the duration of the story. For the other half, the character responded to participant eye-gaze by making and holding eye contact in return. To explore how participant engagement interacted with this manipulation, half the participants in each condition were instructed to appraise their experience as an artefact (i.e., drawing attention to technical features), while the other half were introduced to the fictional character, the narrative, and the setting as though they were real. This study allowed us to explore the contributions of character features (interactivity through eye-gaze) and cognition (attention/engagement) to the participants’ perception of realism, feelings of presence, time duration, and the extent to which they engaged with the character and represented their mental states (Theory of Mind). Importantly it does so using a highly controlled yet ecologically valid virtual experience

    Pervasive Computing Paradigms for Mental Health. 5th International Conference, MindCare 2015, Milan, Italy, September 24-25, 2015, Revised Selected Papers

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    This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Paradigms for Mental Health, MindCare 2015, held in Milan, Italy, in September 2015. The 23 full papers and 6 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 40 submissions. The papers deal with the use of technologies in favor of maintaining and improving mental wellbeing. They focus on building new computing paradigms and on addressing a multitude of challenges in mental healthcare, for example in psychiatric and psychological domains with emphasis on new technologies, such as video and audio technologies and mobile and wearable computing
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