uC: Ubiquitous Collaboration Platform for Multimodal Team Interaction Support

A human-centered computing platform that improves teamwork and transforms the “human- computer interaction experience” for distributed teams is presented. This Ubiquitous Collaboration, or uC (“you see”), platform\u27s objective is to transform distributed teamwork (i.e., work occurring when teams of workers and learners are geographically dispersed and often interacting at different times). It achieves this goal through a multimodal team interaction interface realized through a reconfigurable open architecture. The approach taken is to integrate: (1) an intuitive speech- and video-centric multi-modal interface to augment more conventional methods (e.g., mouse, stylus and touch), (2) an open and reconfigurable architecture supporting information gathering, and (3) a machine intelligent approach to analysis and management of heterogeneous live and stored sensor data to support collaboration. The system will transform how teams of people interact with computers by drawing on both the virtual and physical environment

Levels of naturalism in social neuroscience research

In order to understand ecologically meaningful social behaviors and their neural substrates in humans and other animals, researchers have been using a variety of social stimuli in the laboratory with a goal of extracting specific processes in real-life scenarios. However, certain stimuli may not be sufficiently effective at evoking typical social behaviors and neural responses. Here, we review empirical research employing different types of social stimuli by classifying them into five levels of naturalism. We describe the advantages and limitations while providing selected example studies for each level. We emphasize the important trade-off between experimental control and ecological validity across the five levels of naturalism. Taking advantage of newly emerging tools, such as real-time videos, virtual avatars, and wireless neural sampling techniques, researchers are now more than ever able to adopt social stimuli at a higher level of naturalism to better capture the dynamics and contingency of real-life social interaction

Money & Trust in Digital Society, Bitcoin and Stablecoins in ML enabled Metaverse Telecollaboration

We present a state of the art and positioning book, about Digital society tools, namely; Web3, Bitcoin, Metaverse, AI/ML, accessibility, safeguarding and telecollaboration. A high level overview of Web3 technologies leads to a description of blockchain, and the Bitcoin network is specifically selected for detailed examination. Suitable components of the extended Bitcoin ecosystem are described in more depth. Other mechanisms for native digital value transfer are described, with a focus on `money'. Metaverse technology is over-viewed, primarily from the perspective of Bitcoin and extended reality. Bitcoin is selected as the best contender for value transfer in metaverses because of it's free and open source nature, and network effect. Challenges and risks of this approach are identified. A cloud deployable virtual machine based technology stack deployment guide with a focus on cybersecurity best practice can be downloaded from GitHub to experiment with the technologies. This deployable lab is designed to inform development of secure value transaction, for small and medium sized companies

Removing spatial boundaries in immersive mobile communications

Despite a worldwide trend towards mobile computing, current telepresence experiences focus on stationary desktop computers, limiting how, when, and where researched solutions can be used. In this thesis I demonstrate that mobile phones are a capable platform for future research, showing the effectiveness of the communications possible through their inherent portability and ubiquity. I first describe a framework upon which future systems can be built, which allows two distant users to explore one of several panoramic representations of the local environment by reorienting their device. User experiments demonstrate this framework's ability to induce a sense of presence within the space and between users, and show that capturing this environment live provides no significant benefits over constructing it incrementally. This discovery enables a second application that allows users to explore a three-dimensional representation of their environment. Each user's position is shown as an avatar, with live facial capture to facilitate natural communication. Either may also see the full environment by occupying the same virtual space. This application is also evaluated and shown to provide efficient communications to its users, providing a novel untethered experience not possible on stationary hardware despite the inherent lack of computational ability available on mobile devices

Human-Machine Communication: Complete Volume. Volume 1

This is the complete volume of HMC Volume 1

Designing a robot to evaluate group formations

Robots are making their way in environments inhabited by people. Whether in domestic or public crowded environments, robots should take into consideration social norms and behaviors in order to become a social robot. This dissertation focuses on the problem of how to develop a robotic platform in order to validate human-robot interaction experiences in realistic environments. More specifically, we are concerned with social interactions in human-robot groups in public scenarios, where a variety of people can converge. Our final goal is the develop of a social robot based on certain theories of group behavior and the use of space, known as spatial relationships. The intermediate goals are related with the design and development of the experiences in the wild: as minor changes as possible in the scenario, definition of social tasks, gradual development of a robotic platform as transparent as possible from the robotic side. Initially, this research introduces several preliminary studies of human-robot interaction (HRI) with the PAL Robotics’ REEM robot at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona. Based on certain theories about the use of space as a form of social communication or interaction, the task under study with the commercial robot is as a museum guide, both when the group was in motion (\ie when it was being guided) as well as a group in a static place. Moreover, a second HRI study with REEM robot accomplishing the task of a teacher's assistant was carried out to analyze the perception of the robot's social presence and identity. Likewise, the development of a robotic platform, known as MASHI, for the study of HRI is presented. Based on the service to be completed by the robot, improvements in the experimental robotic platform (structure, morphology, head, face, arms) were carried out in continuous cycles following the development of HRI experiences. This structure should be hold as simple as possible in order to make it `transparent' in the social HRI study. Next, the field study of human-robot social interaction with the MASHI robot with the role of exhibition guide in a cultural center is presented. Based on direct observation techniques, a study is made of the different spatial relationships that are generated when a robot interacts with a person or groups of people. Finally, a novel approach to represent the spatial relationships of HRI in a qualitative way is introduced for future experiences. In this concluding study, we analyze different spatial arrangements generated in a social scenario with a robot within the guide role. As a main conclusion, it can be stated that people follow social norms, in the form of spatial relationships, when interacting with a robot that provide a social service in a public space. Children, however, recurrently challenge these social norms, probably because they are constantly learning about the norms that regulate our coexistence. Spatial relationships are clearly reinforced when the role assigned to the robot is more explicit and understood by people. Spatial relationships can be affected by the characteristics of the environment, either by the available space or by the elements arranged in it, as well as by the number of people who inhabit it. Overall, this dissertation points out that the provided service, and its understanding from the user’s side, is more important that the robotic skills of the robotic platform in order to improve user experiences in public environments.Los robots se abren paso en entornos habitados por personas. Ya sea en entornos domésticos o públicos, los robots deben tener en cuenta ciertas normas y comportamientos sociales para convertirse en un robot social. Esta disertación se centra en el problema de cómo desarrollar una plataforma robótica para validar experiencias de interacción humano-robot en entornos realistas. Más específicamente, nos preocupamos por las interacciones sociales en grupos humano-robot en escenarios públicos, donde una gran variedad de personas puede converger. Nuestro objetivo final es el desarrollo de un robot social basado en ciertas teorías de comportamiento grupal y el uso del espacio, conocidas como relaciones espaciales. Los objetivos intermedios están relacionados con el diseño y desarrollo de las experiencias `en la naturaleza': cambios mínimos como sea posible en el escenario, definición de tareas sociales, desarrollo gradual de una plataforma robótica lo más transparente posible desde el lado robótico. Inicialmente, esta investigación presenta varios estudios preliminares de interacción humano-robot (HRI) con el robot REEM de PAL Robotics en el Museo de Ciencias CosmoCaixa de Barcelona. Basado en ciertas teorías sobre el uso del espacio como una forma de comunicación o interacción social, la tarea en este estudio con el robot comercial es como guía de museo, tanto cuando el grupo estaba en movimiento (es decir, cuando estaba siendo guiado) como cuando el grupo estaba en un lugar estático. Además, se llevó a cabo un segundo estudio de HRI con un robot REEM que realizaba la tarea de un asistente de profesor para analizar la percepción de la presencia e identidad social del robot. Asimismo, se presenta el desarrollo de una plataforma robótica, conocida como MASHI, para el estudio de la HRI. En función del servicio que debe completar el robot, las mejoras en la plataforma robótica experimental (estructura, morfología, cabeza, cara, brazos) se llevaron a cabo en ciclos continuos siguiendo el desarrollo de las experiencias de HRI. Esta estructura debe mantenerse lo más simple posible para que sea 'transparente' en el estudio de HRI social. A continuación, se presenta el estudio de campo de la interacción social humano-robot con el robot MASHI con el papel de guía de exposición en un centro cultural. Con base en técnicas de observación directa, se realiza un estudio de las diferentes relaciones espaciales que se generan cuando un robot interactúa con una persona o grupos de personas. Finalmente, se introduce un enfoque novedoso para representar las relaciones espaciales de la HRI de forma cualitativa para las experiencias futuras. En este estudio final, analizamos diferentes arreglos espaciales generados en un escenario social con un robot con el rol de guía. Como conclusión principal, se puede afirmar que las personas siguen normas sociales, en forma de relaciones espaciales, cuando interactúan con un robot que brinda un servicio social en un espacio público. Los niños, sin embargo, desafían recurrentemente estas normas sociales, probablemente porque están aprendiendo constantemente sobre las normas que regulan nuestra convivencia. Las relaciones espaciales se refuerzan claramente cuando el rol asignado al robot es más explícito y entendido por las personas. Las relaciones espaciales pueden verse afectadas por las características del entorno, ya sea por el espacio disponible o por los elementos dispuestos en él, así como por el número de personas que lo habitan. En general, esta disertación señala que el servicio prestado, y su comprensión del lado del usuario, es más importante que las habilidades robóticas de la plataforma robótica con el fin de mejorar las experiencias del usuario en entornos públicosPostprint (published version

Designing a robot to evaluate group formations

Robots are making their way in environments inhabited by people. Whether in domestic or public crowded environments, robots should take into consideration social norms and behaviors in order to become a social robot. This dissertation focuses on the problem of how to develop a robotic platform in order to validate human-robot interaction experiences in realistic environments. More specifically, we are concerned with social interactions in human-robot groups in public scenarios, where a variety of people can converge. Our final goal is the develop of a social robot based on certain theories of group behavior and the use of space, known as spatial relationships. The intermediate goals are related with the design and development of the experiences in the wild: as minor changes as possible in the scenario, definition of social tasks, gradual development of a robotic platform as transparent as possible from the robotic side. Initially, this research introduces several preliminary studies of human-robot interaction (HRI) with the PAL Robotics’ REEM robot at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona. Based on certain theories about the use of space as a form of social communication or interaction, the task under study with the commercial robot is as a museum guide, both when the group was in motion (\ie when it was being guided) as well as a group in a static place. Moreover, a second HRI study with REEM robot accomplishing the task of a teacher's assistant was carried out to analyze the perception of the robot's social presence and identity. Likewise, the development of a robotic platform, known as MASHI, for the study of HRI is presented. Based on the service to be completed by the robot, improvements in the experimental robotic platform (structure, morphology, head, face, arms) were carried out in continuous cycles following the development of HRI experiences. This structure should be hold as simple as possible in order to make it `transparent' in the social HRI study. Next, the field study of human-robot social interaction with the MASHI robot with the role of exhibition guide in a cultural center is presented. Based on direct observation techniques, a study is made of the different spatial relationships that are generated when a robot interacts with a person or groups of people. Finally, a novel approach to represent the spatial relationships of HRI in a qualitative way is introduced for future experiences. In this concluding study, we analyze different spatial arrangements generated in a social scenario with a robot within the guide role. As a main conclusion, it can be stated that people follow social norms, in the form of spatial relationships, when interacting with a robot that provide a social service in a public space. Children, however, recurrently challenge these social norms, probably because they are constantly learning about the norms that regulate our coexistence. Spatial relationships are clearly reinforced when the role assigned to the robot is more explicit and understood by people. Spatial relationships can be affected by the characteristics of the environment, either by the available space or by the elements arranged in it, as well as by the number of people who inhabit it. Overall, this dissertation points out that the provided service, and its understanding from the user’s side, is more important that the robotic skills of the robotic platform in order to improve user experiences in public environments.Los robots se abren paso en entornos habitados por personas. Ya sea en entornos domésticos o públicos, los robots deben tener en cuenta ciertas normas y comportamientos sociales para convertirse en un robot social. Esta disertación se centra en el problema de cómo desarrollar una plataforma robótica para validar experiencias de interacción humano-robot en entornos realistas. Más específicamente, nos preocupamos por las interacciones sociales en grupos humano-robot en escenarios públicos, donde una gran variedad de personas puede converger. Nuestro objetivo final es el desarrollo de un robot social basado en ciertas teorías de comportamiento grupal y el uso del espacio, conocidas como relaciones espaciales. Los objetivos intermedios están relacionados con el diseño y desarrollo de las experiencias `en la naturaleza': cambios mínimos como sea posible en el escenario, definición de tareas sociales, desarrollo gradual de una plataforma robótica lo más transparente posible desde el lado robótico. Inicialmente, esta investigación presenta varios estudios preliminares de interacción humano-robot (HRI) con el robot REEM de PAL Robotics en el Museo de Ciencias CosmoCaixa de Barcelona. Basado en ciertas teorías sobre el uso del espacio como una forma de comunicación o interacción social, la tarea en este estudio con el robot comercial es como guía de museo, tanto cuando el grupo estaba en movimiento (es decir, cuando estaba siendo guiado) como cuando el grupo estaba en un lugar estático. Además, se llevó a cabo un segundo estudio de HRI con un robot REEM que realizaba la tarea de un asistente de profesor para analizar la percepción de la presencia e identidad social del robot. Asimismo, se presenta el desarrollo de una plataforma robótica, conocida como MASHI, para el estudio de la HRI. En función del servicio que debe completar el robot, las mejoras en la plataforma robótica experimental (estructura, morfología, cabeza, cara, brazos) se llevaron a cabo en ciclos continuos siguiendo el desarrollo de las experiencias de HRI. Esta estructura debe mantenerse lo más simple posible para que sea 'transparente' en el estudio de HRI social. A continuación, se presenta el estudio de campo de la interacción social humano-robot con el robot MASHI con el papel de guía de exposición en un centro cultural. Con base en técnicas de observación directa, se realiza un estudio de las diferentes relaciones espaciales que se generan cuando un robot interactúa con una persona o grupos de personas. Finalmente, se introduce un enfoque novedoso para representar las relaciones espaciales de la HRI de forma cualitativa para las experiencias futuras. En este estudio final, analizamos diferentes arreglos espaciales generados en un escenario social con un robot con el rol de guía. Como conclusión principal, se puede afirmar que las personas siguen normas sociales, en forma de relaciones espaciales, cuando interactúan con un robot que brinda un servicio social en un espacio público. Los niños, sin embargo, desafían recurrentemente estas normas sociales, probablemente porque están aprendiendo constantemente sobre las normas que regulan nuestra convivencia. Las relaciones espaciales se refuerzan claramente cuando el rol asignado al robot es más explícito y entendido por las personas. Las relaciones espaciales pueden verse afectadas por las características del entorno, ya sea por el espacio disponible o por los elementos dispuestos en él, así como por el número de personas que lo habitan. En general, esta disertación señala que el servicio prestado, y su comprensión del lado del usuario, es más importante que las habilidades robóticas de la plataforma robótica con el fin de mejorar las experiencias del usuario en entornos público

Balancing User Experience for Mobile One-to-One Interpersonal Telepresence

The COVID-19 virus disrupted all aspects of our daily lives, and though the world is finally returning to normalcy, the pandemic has shown us how ill-prepared we are to support social interactions when expected to remain socially distant. Family members missed major life events of their loved ones; face-to-face interactions were replaced with video chat; and the technologies used to facilitate interim social interactions caused an increase in depression, stress, and burn-out. It is clear that we need better solutions to address these issues, and one avenue showing promise is that of Interpersonal Telepresence. Interpersonal Telepresence is an interaction paradigm in which two people can share mobile experiences and feel as if they are together, even though geographically distributed. In this dissertation, we posit that this paradigm has significant value in one-to-one, asymmetrical contexts, where one user can live-stream their experiences to another who remains at home. We discuss a review of the recent Interpersonal Telepresence literature, highlighting research trends and opportunities that require further examination. Specifically, we show how current telepresence prototypes do not meet the social needs of the streamer, who often feels socially awkward when using obtrusive devices. To combat this negative finding, we present a qualitative co-design study in which end users worked together to design their ideal telepresence systems, overcoming value tensions that naturally arise between Viewer and Streamer. Expectedly, virtual reality techniques are desired to provide immersive views of the remote location; however, our participants noted that the devices to facilitate this interaction need to be hidden from the public eye. This suggests that 360$^\circ$ cameras should be used, but the lenses need to be embedded in wearable systems, which might affect the viewing experience. We thus present two quantitative studies in which we examine the effects of camera placement and height on the viewing experience, in an effort to understand how we can better design telepresence systems. We found that camera height is not a significant factor, meaning wearable cameras do not need to be positioned at the natural eye-level of the viewer; the streamer is able to place them according to their own needs. Lastly, we present a qualitative study in which we deploy a custom interpersonal telepresence prototype on the co-design findings. Our participants preferred our prototype instead of simple video chat, even though it caused a somewhat increased sense of self-consciousness. Our participants indicated that they have their own preferences, even with simple design decisions such as style of hat, and we as a community need to consider ways to allow customization within our devices. Overall, our work contributes new knowledge to the telepresence field and helps system designers focus on the features that truly matter to users, in an effort to let people have richer experiences and virtually bridge the distance to their loved ones

Designing to Support Workspace Awareness in Remote Collaboration using 2D Interactive Surfaces

Increasing distributions of the global workforce are leading to collaborative workamong remote coworkers. The emergence of such remote collaborations is essentiallysupported by technology advancements of screen-based devices ranging from tabletor laptop to large displays. However, these devices, especially personal and mobilecomputers, still suffer from certain limitations caused by their form factors, that hinder supporting workspace awareness through non-verbal communication suchas bodily gestures or gaze. This thesis thus aims to design novel interfaces andinteraction techniques to improve remote coworkers’ workspace awareness throughsuch non-verbal cues using 2D interactive surfaces.The thesis starts off by exploring how visual cues support workspace awareness infacilitated brainstorming of hybrid teams of co-located and remote coworkers. Basedon insights from this exploration, the thesis introduces three interfaces for mobiledevices that help users maintain and convey their workspace awareness with their coworkers. The first interface is a virtual environment that allows a remote person to effectively maintain his/her awareness of his/her co-located collaborators’ activities while interacting with the shared workspace. To help a person better express his/her hand gestures in remote collaboration using a mobile device, the second interfacepresents a lightweight add-on for capturing hand images on and above the device’sscreen; and overlaying them on collaborators’ device to improve their workspace awareness. The third interface strategically leverages the entire screen space of aconventional laptop to better convey a remote person’s gaze to his/her co-locatedcollaborators. Building on the top of these three interfaces, the thesis envisions an interface that supports a person using a mobile device to effectively collaborate with remote coworkers working with a large display.Together, these interfaces demonstrate the possibilities to innovate on commodity devices to offer richer non-verbal communication and better support workspace awareness in remote collaboration