HUMAN ROBOT INTERACTION THROUGH SEMANTIC INTEGRATION OF MULTIPLE MODALITIES, DIALOG MANAGEMENT, AND CONTEXTS

The hypothesis for this research is that applying the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) concepts of using multiple modalities, dialog management, context, and semantics to Human Robot Interaction (HRI) will improve the performance of Instruction Based Learning (IBL) compared to only using speech. We tested the hypothesis by simulating a domestic robot that can be taught to clean a house using a multi-modal interface. We used a method of semantically integrating the inputs from multiple modalities and contexts that multiplies a confidence score for each input by a Fusion Weight, sums the products, and then uses the input with the highest product sum. We developed an algorithm for determining the Fusion Weights. We concluded that different modalities, contexts, and modes of dialog management impact human robot interaction; however, which combination is better depends on the importance of the accuracy of learning what is taught versus the succinctness of the dialog between the user and the robot

Accessible Integration of Physiological Adaptation in Human-Robot Interaction

Technological advancements in creating and commercializing novel unobtrusive wearable physiological sensors have generated new opportunities to develop adaptive human-robot interaction (HRI). Detecting complex human states such as engagement and stress when interacting with social agents could bring numerous advantages to creating meaningful interactive experiences. Bodily signals have classically been used for post-interaction analysis in HRI. Despite this, real-time measurements of autonomic responses have been used in other research domains to develop physiologically adaptive systems with great success; increasing user-experience, task performance, and reducing cognitive workload. This thesis presents the HRI Physio Lib, a conceptual framework, and open-source software library to facilitate the development of physiologically adaptive HRI scenarios. Both the framework and architecture of the library are described in-depth, along with descriptions of additional software tools that were developed to make the inclusion of physiological signals easier for robotics frameworks. The framework is structured around four main components for designing physiologically adaptive experimental scenarios: signal acquisition, processing and analysis; social robot and communication; and scenario and adaptation. Open-source software tools have been developed to assist in the individual creation of each described component. To showcase our framework and test the software library, we developed, as a proof-of-concept, a simple scenario revolving around a physiologically aware exercise coach, that modulates the speed and intensity of the activity to promote an effective cardiorespiratory exercise. We employed the socially assistive QT robot for our exercise scenario, as it provides a comprehensive ROS interface, making prototyping of behavioral responses fast and simple. Our exercise routine was designed following guidelines by the American College of Sports Medicine. We describe our physiologically adaptive algorithm and propose an alternative second one with stochastic elements. Finally, a discussion about other HRI domains where the addition of a physiologically adaptive mechanism could result in novel advances in interaction quality is provided as future extensions for this work. From the literature, we identified improving engagement, providing deeper social connections, health care scenarios, and also applications for self-driving vehicles as promising avenues for future research where a physiologically adaptive social robot could improve user experience

Computer Game Innovation

Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics. Institute of Information TechnologyWydział Fizyki Technicznej, Informatyki i Matematyki Stosowanej. Instytut InformatykiThe "Computer Game Innovations" series is an international forum designed to enable the exchange of knowledge and expertise in the field of video game development. Comprising both academic research and industrial needs, the series aims at advancing innovative industry-academia collaboration. The monograph provides a unique set of articles presenting original research conducted in the leading academic centres which specialise in video games education. The goal of the publication is, among others, to enhance networking opportunities for industry and university representatives seeking to form R&D partnerships. This publication covers the key focus areas specified in the GAMEINN sectoral programme supported by the National Centre for Research and Development

Skyler and Bliss

Hong Kong remains the backdrop to the science fiction movies of my youth. The city reminds me of my former training in the financial sector. It is a city in which I could have succeeded in finance, but as far as art goes it is a young city, and I am a young artist. A frustration emerges; much like the mould, the artist also had to develop new skills by killing off his former desires and manipulating technology. My new series entitled HONG KONG surface project shows a new direction in my artistic research in which my technique becomes ever simpler, reducing the traces of pixelation until objects appear almost as they were found and photographed. Skyler and Bliss presents tectonic plates based on satellite images of the Arctic. Working in a hot and humid Hong Kong where mushrooms grow ferociously, a city artificially refrigerated by climate control, this series provides a conceptual image of a imaginary typographic map for survival. (Laurent Segretier

Proceedings of the 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference

Proceedings of the SMC2010 - 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference, July 21st - July 24th 2010

Extracting proofs from documents

Often, theorem checkers like PVS are used to check an existing proof, which is part of some document. Since there is a large difference between the notations used in the documents and the notations used in the theorem checkers, it is usually a laborious task to convert an existing proof into a format which can be checked by a machine. In the system that we propose, the author is assisted in the process of converting an existing proof into the PVS language and having it checked by PVS. 1 Introduction The now-classic ALGOL 60 report [5] recognized three different levels of language: a reference language, a publication language and several hardware representations, whereby the publication language was intended to admit variations on the reference language and was to be used for stating and communicating processes. The importance of publication language ---often referred to nowadays as "pseudo-code"--- is difficult to exaggerate since a publication language is the most effective way..