585 research outputs found
A context aware architecture to support people with partial visual impairments
Nowadays there are several systems that help people with disabilities on their quotidian tasks. The visual impairment is a problem that affects several people in their tasks and movements. In this work we propose an architecture capable of processing information from the environment and suggesting actions to the user with visual impairments, to avoid a possible obstacle. This architecture intends to improve the support given to the user in their daily movements. The idea is to use speculative computation to predict the users’ intentions and even to justify the reactive or proactive users’ behaviors.(undefined
Speculative orientation and tracking system
The current progresses at the intersection of computer science and health care have the
potential of greatly improving the living conditions of people with disabilities by removing
obstacles that impair the normal unfolding of their everyday lives. Assistive technologies,
as an application of scientific knowledge, aim to help users with their diminished capacities
and, usually, imply a small adaptation from individuals so that they can use the devices
that convey assistive functionalities. One of the most commonly diminished capabilities is
that of spatial orientation. This is mirrored by several research works whose goal is to help
human beings to travel between locations. Once set up, most of the systems featured in
these research works requires changes in the configurations to be made manually in order
to achieve a better adjustment to the user. In order to overcome this drawback, the work
presented herein features a framework of Speculative Computation to set up the computation
of the next step of a user using default values. The consequence of the application
of the framework is a faster reaction to user stimuli, which may result in issuing warnings
when he is likely to choose the wrong direction.This work is part-funded by ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE
Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through
the FCT Fundac¸ao para a Ci ˜ encia e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and ˆ
Technology) within project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028980 (PTDC/EEI-SII/1386/2012). The
work of Joao Ramos is supported by a doctoral grant by FCT - Fundac¸ ˜ ao para a Ci ˜ encia e a ˆ
Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) SFRH/BD/89530/2012. The
work of Tiago Oliveira is also supported by the FCT grant with the reference SFRH/BD/85291/-
2012.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Multi-agent Confidential Abductive Reasoning
In the context of multi-agent hypothetical reasoning, agents typically have partial knowledge about their environments, and the union of such knowledge is still incomplete to represent the whole world. Thus, given a global query they collaborate with each other to make correct inferences and hypothesis, whilst maintaining global constraints. Most collaborative reasoning systems operate on the assumption that agents can share or communicate any information they have. However, in application domains like multi-agent systems for healthcare or distributed software agents for security policies in coalition networks, confidentiality of knowledge is an additional
primary concern. These agents are required to collaborately compute consistent answers for a query whilst preserving their own private information. This paper addresses this issue showing how this dichotomy between "open communication" in collaborative reasoning and protection of confidentiality can be accommodated. We present a general-purpose distributed abductive logic programming system for multi-agent hypothetical reasoning with confidentiality. Specifically, the system computes consistent conditional answers for a query over a set of distributed normal logic programs with possibly unbound domains and arithmetic constraints, preserving the private information within the logic programs. A case study on security policy analysis in distributed coalition networks is described, as an example of many applications of this system
Conditional Answer Computation in SOL as Speculative Computation in Multi-Agent Environments1 1This research was supported partly by Grant-in-Aid from The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan.
AbstractIn this paper, we study speculative computation in a master-slave multi-agent system where reply messages sent from slave agents to a master are always tentative and may change from time to time. In this system, default values used in speculative computation are only partially determined in advance. Inoue et al. [8] formalized speculative computation in such an environment with tentative replies, using the framework of a first-order consequence-finding procedure SOL with the well-known answer literal method. We shall further refine the SOL calculus, using conditional answer computation and skip-preference in SOL. The conditional answer format has an great advantage of explicitly representing how a conclusion depends on tentative replies and defaults, both of which are used to derive the conclusion. The dependency representation is significantly important to avoid unnecessary recomputation of tentative conclusions. The skip-preference has the great ability of preventing irrational/redundant derivations
The Abduction of Disorder in Psychiatry
The evolutionary cornerstone of J. C. Wakefield's (1999) harmful dysfunction thesis is a faulty assumption of comparability between mental and biological processes that overlooks the unique plasticity and openness of the brain?s functioning design. This omission leads Wakefield to an idealized concept of natural mental functions, illusory interpretations of mental disorders as harmful dysfunctions, and exaggerated claims for the validity of his explanatory and stipulative proposals. The authors argue that there are numerous ways in which evolutionarily intact mental and psychological processes, combined with striking discontinuities within and between evolutionary and contemporary social/cultural environments, may cause non-dysfunction variants of many widely accepted major mental disorders. These examples undermine many of Wakefield's arguments for adopting a harmful dysfunction concept of mental disorder
An alert mechanism for orientation systems based on Speculative computation
The role of assistive technologies is to help users with
diminished capabilities in the fulfillment of their everyday tasks.
One of such tasks is orientation. It is crucial for the autonomy
of an individual and, at the same time, it is one of the most
challenging tasks for an individual with cognitive disabilities.
Existing solutions that tackle this problem are mostly concerned
with guidance, tracking and the display of information. However,
there is a dimension that has not been the object of concern
in existing projects, the prediction of user actions. This work
presents a Speculative Module for an orientation system that
is used to alert the user for potential mistakes in his path,
anticipating possible shifts in the wrong direction in critical
points of the route. With this module, it becomes possible to
issue warnings to the user and increase his attention so as to
avoid a deviation from the correct path.This work is part-funded by ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through the FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER- 028980 (PTDC/EEI-SII/1386/2012) and within Project Scope UID/CEC/00319/2013. The work of João Ramos is supported by a doctoral the FCT grant SFRH/BD/89530/2012. The work of Tiago Oliveira is also supported by the FCT grant with the reference SFRH/BD/85291/2012.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Fictionalism of Anticipation
A promising recent approach for understanding complex phenomena is recognition of anticipatory behavior of living organisms and social organizations. The anticipatory, predictive action permits learning, novelty seeking, rich experiential existence. I argue that the established frameworks of anticipation, adaptation or learning imply overly passive roles of anticipatory agents, and that a fictionalist standpoint reflects the core of anticipatory behavior better than representational or future references. Cognizing beings enact not just their models of the world, but own make-believe existential agendas as well. Anticipators embody plausible scripts of living, and effectively assume neo-Kantian or pragmatist perspectives of cognition and action. It is instructive to see that anticipatory behavior is not without mundane or loathsome deficiencies. Appreciation of ferally fictionalist anticipation suggests an equivalence of semiosis and anticipation
Modelling an orientation system based on speculative computation
Progress is inherent to a living society, which may occur in several different
areas (e.g. computation, healthcare) and manners. The present (or now) is the
time that is associated with the events perceived directly and in the first time, making,
for example, the society to be very inquisitive on assistive technologies and how
they may improve the human beings quality of living. This application of scientific
knowledge for practical purposes may help the user in his/her diminished capabilities,
and, usually, implies a small adaptation on the part of the individual in the use
of devices; indeed one of the die down potentials of people with cognitive disabilities
is the one of spatial orientation. On the other hand several were the authors that
have developed systems to help an human being to travel between two locations.
However, once the system is set up the change in the configurations have to be done
manually in order to better adjust the system to the user. In order to go round this
drawback, in this work it is presented a framework of speculative computation to set
up the computation of the next user step using default values. When the information
is obtained the computation is revised. Thus, the system may have a faster reaction
to the user stimulus or it may start warning the user before he/she takes the wrong
direction.This work is part-funded by ERDF - European Regional Development Fund
through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National
Funds through the FCT Fundac¸ ˜ao para a Ciˆencia e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation
for Science and Technology) within project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028980 (PTDC/EEISII/
1386/2012). The work of Jo˜ao Ramos is supported by a doctoral grant by FCT - Fundação para
a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) SFRH/BD/89530/-
2012
Franco-Japanese Research Collaboration on Constraint Programming
International audienceConstraint programming is an emergent technology that allows modeling and solving various problems in many areas such as artificial intelligence, computer programming, computer-aided design, computer graphics, and user interfaces. In this report, we provide recent activities of research collaboration on constraint programming conducted by the authors and other researchers in France and Japan. First, we outline our joint research projects on constraint programming, and then present the backgrounds, goals, and approaches of several research topics treated in the projects. Second, we describe the two Franco-Japanese Workshops on Constraint Programming (FJCP), which we organized in Japan in October 2004 and in France in November 2005. We conclude with future prospects for collaboration between French and Japanese researchers in this area
Orientation method for people with cognitive disabilities
Doctoral Thesis (Degree in Biomedical Engineering)Pessoas com incapacidade (física ou cognitiva) representam uma pequena percentagem da população
de um país. No entanto, os custos de saúde inerentes a este grupo de pessoas são
habitualmente elevados quando comparados com uma pessoa normal. Assim, é necessário encontrar
soluções que ajudem no dia a dia destas pessoas. Aquando do diagnóstico de perdas
cognitivas, se tal já não tiver ocorrido, o paciente pode ser impedido de viver sozinho e a presença
de um cuidador poderá ser necessária. De forma a diminuir esta invasão de privacidade e
permitir uma vida independente do paciente na sua própria casa é necessária adaptar a mesma
ao conceito de casa inteligente, a qual permite que o cuidador aceda de forma remota e verifique
o estado do utilizador. Porém, a casa inteligente não permite a monitorização do utilizador
quando este se encontra no exterior. Assim, de forma a manter-se seguro, este pode tornar-se
um prisioneiro da sua própria habitação.
Para que a pessoa com perdas cognitiva tenha uma normal interação com a sociedade surge
a necessidade de um sistema de orientação adaptável ao exterior e que esteja em conformidade
com este grupo de utilizadores. Se se considerarem os dois principais sistemas operativos para
dispositivos móveis (i.e., iOS e Android) existe um grande número de aplicações que guiam o
utilizador até ao destino pretendido utilizando GPS. Porém, existem muito poucas que sejam adequadas
para pessoas com incapacidade. Por outro lado, para além da capacidade de orientação,
existe uma outra característica deveras significativa do ponto de vista do cuidador, a capacidade
de localização que lhe permite o acesso de forma remota à localização do utilizador final. Esta
característica é vital uma vez que os métodos tradicionais de orientação são realmente dispendiosos, levando os cuidadores a acompanhar os pacientes durante as suas deslocações. Desta
forma, tanto o tempo como os recursos despendidos durante a aprendizagem são desperdiçados.
Vários autores desenvolveram sistemas de orientação adaptados tendo em consideração as
características e especificidades do utilizador. A principal preocupação centrava-se na interface
do utilizador, uma vez que consideravam que os sistemas disponíveis eram demasiado complexos
para serem utilizados por este tipo de indivíduos.
O sistema desenvolvido (i.e., CogHelper) tem uma interface adaptada ao utilizador, a qual
utiliza realidade aumentada para concretizar o processo de orientação. O sistema possui também
a capacidade de localização em tempo real onde o(s) cuidador(es) podem monitorizar o utilizador
final. O nosso principal objectivo não recaiu sobre a interface do utilizador, uma vez que esta já
tinha sido previamente estudada, mas na forma como a informação era fornecida ao utilizador.
Desta forma, o caminho selecionado para guiar o utilizador é adaptado às suas preferências.
De forma a prevenir possíveis erros durante o percurso, o sistema calcula possíveis pontos nos
quais o utilizador pode tomar uma decisão errada, e alertá-lo de forma a manter-se no caminho
correto. Estas características baseiam-se num módulo de pattern mining (para fornecer o
caminho adaptado) e numa abordagem de computação especulativa (para antecipar possíveis
erros do utilizador).People with disabilities (physical or cognitive) represent a small percentage of a country population.
However, the health costs are usually higher when compared to an ordinary person. Thus,
one should seek solutions to help the day life of such group of people. When diagnosed with
cognitive disabilities the patient may be prevented to live alone and a caregiver may be needed.
To avoid this privacy invasion and enable the patient to live independently in his home, there is the
need to adapt it to the concept of smart house, which enables the caregiver to remotely access
and check the user status. However, the smart house is not able to monitor the user when he
goes outside its premises. Thus, in order to keep the user safe, he may become a prisoner of his
own home.
To engage people with cognitive disabilities in a normal interaction with the surrounding environment
there is the need of a portable orientation system that works outdoors and is adapted
to this audience. If one look over the two main operative systems for mobile devices (i.e., iOS
and Android) there is a huge number of applications that guides the user through GPS to the
intended destination. However, there are just a few adapted to people with disabilities. Besides
the orientation feature there is also another important one from the perspective of the caregivers,
i.e., a localization feature which allows these second type of users to remotely access the main
user location. This is specially important since traditional methods are very expensive, and due
to this lack of information caregivers tend to be all the time with the patient during his journey.
Thus, the effort and resources spent to teach the user are wasted.
Different authors had developed adapted orientation systems considering the user specificities and characteristics. Their main concern was the user interface, since they considered that
available systems were too complex to be used by these group of people.
The system that was developed (i.e., CogHelper) has an adapted interface, which uses augmented
reality to provide the orientation to the user. It has also a real-time localization feature
where caregivers may know the user location. Our focus was not on the user interface, since it
was already studied, but on how to provide the necessary information to the user. Thus, the path
followed by the user is adapted to his preferences. In order to avoid mistakes during the traveling
path, the system may calculate possible locations in which the user takes the wrong turn and
alert him to keep on the correct path. These features are based on a pattern mining module (to
provide the preferred path) and on a speculative computation approach (to anticipate possible
user mistakes).The work of João Ramos is supported by a doctoral grant by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a
Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/89530/2012)
- …