Natural User Interface Usability Research in Context of Curved Displays Systems

Continuous development of information technologies makes us review ex-isting rules and recommendations designed to improve the efficiency of IT use, to ensure optimal working conditions for the users, to increase produc-tivity, security and to protect human health. Relevant researrch in the field of computer engineering is performed in the dissertation. The thesis analyzes natural user interfaces and their usabil-ity (efficiency, productivity and satisfaction with witch a particular user can reach specific goals in a specific environment) for performing of various functions. This dissertation examines factors, which determine efficiency of usability, and how efficiency is influenced by a curved display. The problem is relevant and the raised goal and objectives are new from the point of view of science. First of all, the thesis examines how to improve working conditions by developing graphical user interface of the infor-mation systems. Secondly, the influence of information submission to human, while one is performing task and specific domain tasks using graph-ical user interface, is examined. As there is no common opinion on how to create natural user interfaces and there is no definite set of parameters which determine the efficiency of usability, performed experimental research is an important contribution to the solution of these problems

Could neurolecturing address the limitations of live and recorded lectures?

Lectures are a common teaching method in higher education. However, they have many serious limitations, including boredom, attendance, short attention span, low knowledge transmission and the passivity of students. This paper suggests how a combination of electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking technology could address some of these limitations – an approach that I have called neurolecturing. Neurolecturing could measure students’ attention, learning and cognitive load and provide real time feedback to students and lecturers. It could also play a role in the flipped classroom and artificial intelligence tutoring

Effects of One Neurofeedback Session on Relationship between Fear-Of-Pain and Visual Avoidance of Pain

Chronic pain is increasingly prevalent and costly and will continue to be with the increasing mean age of America’s population. It is important to identify interventions addressing pain-related biopsychosocial aspects. The purpose of the current study was to examine if a single session of specific neurofeedback (NF) protocols had an effect on subjective fear and physiological fear-avoidance behaviors in relation to pain-related stimuli. Correlational analyses revealed that FPQ-III minor pain scores were negatively associated with total fixation duration while looking at pain-related pictures. One-way ANOVAs revealed differences approaching significance for those trained on Left-Hemisphere NF protocols compared to those in Sham training for total fixation duration, moderate effect sizes were found. Statistically significant group differences were found for those trained on Right-Hemisphere protocols compared to those trained on Left-Hemisphere protocols for first fixation durations. Findings support research that implicates NF training as a neuromodulation technique for the subjective pain experience

Could neurolecturing address the limitations of live and recorded lectures?

Lectures are a common teaching method in higher education. However, they have many serious limitations, including boredom, attendance, short attention span, low knowledge transmission and the passivity of students. This paper suggests how a combination of electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking technology could address some of these limitations – an approach that I have called neurolecturing. Neurolecturing could measure students’ attention, learning and cognitive load and provide real time feedback to students and lecturers. It could also play a role in the flipped classroom and artificial intelligence tutoring

Can Portable EEG Headsets be Used to Determine if Students are Learning?

This study examined EEGs recorded from a single-channel, portable EEG headset (NeuroSky MindWave) during the study period of a paired-associate word paradigm which used Swahili words and their English meanings. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in gamma, theta, and beta band powers for when students recalled words correctly vs. when they did not recall correctly on a subsequent test. There were 35 participants who consisted of students that volunteered at the University of Memphis (20 females and 15 males, 31 of which were right-handed and 4 which were left-handed). A paired-samples t-test suggested that there was a higher mean z-score for brainwave activity during the study period in the high gamma range (41-49.75Hz) for when participants did not recall words correctly on a test, which was opposite of what previous research has found regarding encoding. Based on the results of this study, the MindWave seems to capture muscle activity and/or saccadic behavior that is suggested by higher gamma maximums on average in the study period for word-pairs which resulted in failed recall. Exploratory results may lend insight to future work using portable EEG devices. This study\u27s main objective was to determine if portable EEG devices could be used to determine when students learn new information. Further testing, especially using other portable EEG devices is necessary to answer this question

The Effects of One Neurofeedback Session on Eye-Tracking Distractibility when Completing Verbal and Visuospatial Search Tasks

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common and prevalent condition seen in all ages and throughout the world. School-aged and college-aged students seem to have the most difficulty in terms of academic performance, social functioning, and adaptive functioning. Visual attention and visual search are important aspects of attention. Visual attention drives what and how the brain processes and interprets information from the environment. Visual search is the ability to find a visual target within a set of distractors. Electroencephalography (EEG) Neurofeedback is the process of re-training brainwaves through operant conditioning. Neurofeedback (NF) has been suggested to be a non-invasive alternative treatment for ADHD symptoms in school-aged children. However, not enough research has been conducted on the effects of NF training on college-aged students’ visual search abilities. Thus, this study will investigate the effects of right and left hemisphere NF protocols on visual search distractibility

Requirement analysis and sensor specifications – First version

In this first version of the deliverable, we make the following contributions: to design the WEKIT capturing platform and the associated experience capturing API, we use a methodology for system engineering that is relevant for different domains such as: aviation, space, and medical and different professions such as: technicians, astronauts, and medical staff. Furthermore, in the methodology, we explore the system engineering process and how it can be used in the project to support the different work packages and more importantly the different deliverables that will follow the current. Next, we provide a mapping of high level functions or tasks (associated with experience transfer from expert to trainee) to low level functions such as: gaze, voice, video, body posture, hand gestures, bio-signals, fatigue levels, and location of the user in the environment. In addition, we link the low level functions to their associated sensors. Moreover, we provide a brief overview of the state-of-the-art sensors in terms of their technical specifications, possible limitations, standards, and platforms. We outline a set of recommendations pertaining to the sensors that are most relevant for the WEKIT project taking into consideration the environmental, technical and human factors described in other deliverables. We recommend Microsoft Hololens (for Augmented reality glasses), MyndBand and Neurosky chipset (for EEG), Microsoft Kinect and Lumo Lift (for body posture tracking), and Leapmotion, Intel RealSense and Myo armband (for hand gesture tracking). For eye tracking, an existing eye-tracking system can be customised to complement the augmented reality glasses, and built-in microphone of the augmented reality glasses can capture the expert’s voice. We propose a modular approach for the design of the WEKIT experience capturing system, and recommend that the capturing system should have sufficient storage or transmission capabilities. Finally, we highlight common issues associated with the use of different sensors. We consider that the set of recommendations can be useful for the design and integration of the WEKIT capturing platform and the WEKIT experience capturing API to expedite the time required to select the combination of sensors which will be used in the first prototype.WEKI

Neurofeedback Treatment for Traumatized Refugees - A Pilot Study

The aim of this quasi-experimental pilot study was to examine if neurofeedback is associated with a reduction in some of the common symptoms suffered by traumatized refugees who have been exposed to war and/or torture. Furthermore, an ambition was to develop and test methods for conducting research with this group. Twenty-one individuals were divided into either a treatment-group (n=12) or a non-equivalent control-group (n=9). No attrition occurred in the treatment-group, whereas 2 individuals dropped out of the control-group. The treatment consisted of 8-10 sessions of neurofeedback, over a time period of 10-15 weeks. Five instruments were used (the PTSD Checklist: Civilian Version, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist -25, the Symptom Checklist: Subscale Somatization and WHO-5 – Wellbeing Index and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) to measure difference in symptom severity. The main analysis of the data was conducted using mixed-design MANOVA and ANOVA. The results indicated a significant improvement seen over time for the treatment-group when compared to a non-equivalent control-group, on 4 of the 5 instruments. Neurofeedback appears to be a promising treatment for individuals with PTSD, but more research needs to be conducted in a controlled setting before any claims can be made concerning efficacy. This study was conducted in cooperation with the Red Cross Center for Victims of War and Torture in Malmö, Sweden