Experimental vehicles FASCar®-II and FASCar®-E

The main goal of the large-scale research facility FASCar® are scientific studies and analyses in the field of driver assistance and vehicle automation. This includes also studies of human behavior, acceptance studies, test of new assistance systems and automation, as well as user friendliness. FASCar® makes it possible to test and analyze innovative systems and developed functions in a simulated or even real traffic environment

A systematic review of personal smart technologies used to improve outcomes in adults with acquired brain injuries

Objective:This review aimed to determine the effectiveness of personal smart technologies on outcomes in adults with acquired brain injury.Data sources:A systematic literature search was conducted on 30 May 2019. Twelve electronic databases, grey literature databases, PROSPERO, reference list and author citations were searched.Methods:Randomised controlled trials were included if personal smart technology was used to improve independence, goal attainment/function, fatigue or quality of life in adults with acquired brain injury. Data were extracted using a bespoke form and the TIDieR checklist. Studies were graded using the PEDro scale to assess quality of reporting. Meta-analysis was conducted across four studies.Results:Six studies met the inclusion criteria, generating a total of 244 participants. All studies were of high quality (PEDro ⩾ 6). Interventions included personal digital assistant, smartphone app, mobile phone messaging, Neuropage and an iPad. Reporting of intervention tailoring for individual needs was inconsistent. All studies measured goal attainment/function but none measured independence or fatigue. One study (n = 42) reported a significant increase in memory-specific goal attainment (p = 0.0001) and retrospective memory function (p = 0.042) in favour of the intervention. Another study (n = 8) reported a significant increase in social participation in favour of the intervention (p = 0.01). However, our meta-analyses found no significant effect of personal smart technology on goal attainment, cognitive or psychological function.Conclusion:At present, there is insufficient evidence to support the clinical benefit of personal smart technologies to improve outcomes in acquired brain injury. Researchers need to conduct more randomised studies to evaluate these interventions and measure their potential effects/harms

Políticas de Copyright de Publicações Científicas em Repositórios Institucionais: O Caso do INESC TEC

A progressiva transformação das práticas científicas, impulsionada pelo desenvolvimento das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), têm possibilitado aumentar o acesso à informação, caminhando gradualmente para uma abertura do ciclo de pesquisa. Isto permitirá resolver a longo prazo uma adversidade que se tem colocado aos investigadores, que passa pela existência de barreiras que limitam as condições de acesso, sejam estas geográficas ou financeiras. Apesar da produção científica ser dominada, maioritariamente, por grandes editoras comerciais, estando sujeita às regras por estas impostas, o Movimento do Acesso Aberto cuja primeira declaração pública, a Declaração de Budapeste (BOAI), é de 2002, vem propor alterações significativas que beneficiam os autores e os leitores. Este Movimento vem a ganhar importância em Portugal desde 2003, com a constituição do primeiro repositório institucional a nível nacional. Os repositórios institucionais surgiram como uma ferramenta de divulgação da produção científica de uma instituição, com o intuito de permitir abrir aos resultados da investigação, quer antes da publicação e do próprio processo de arbitragem (preprint), quer depois (postprint), e, consequentemente, aumentar a visibilidade do trabalho desenvolvido por um investigador e a respetiva instituição. O estudo apresentado, que passou por uma análise das políticas de copyright das publicações científicas mais relevantes do INESC TEC, permitiu não só perceber que as editoras adotam cada vez mais políticas que possibilitam o auto-arquivo das publicações em repositórios institucionais, como também que existe todo um trabalho de sensibilização a percorrer, não só para os investigadores, como para a instituição e toda a sociedade. A produção de um conjunto de recomendações, que passam pela implementação de uma política institucional que incentive o auto-arquivo das publicações desenvolvidas no âmbito institucional no repositório, serve como mote para uma maior valorização da produção científica do INESC TEC.The progressive transformation of scientific practices, driven by the development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which made it possible to increase access to information, gradually moving towards an opening of the research cycle. This opening makes it possible to resolve, in the long term, the adversity that has been placed on researchers, which involves the existence of barriers that limit access conditions, whether geographical or financial. Although large commercial publishers predominantly dominate scientific production and subject it to the rules imposed by them, the Open Access movement whose first public declaration, the Budapest Declaration (BOAI), was in 2002, proposes significant changes that benefit the authors and the readers. This Movement has gained importance in Portugal since 2003, with the constitution of the first institutional repository at the national level. Institutional repositories have emerged as a tool for disseminating the scientific production of an institution to open the results of the research, both before publication and the preprint process and postprint, increase the visibility of work done by an investigator and his or her institution. The present study, which underwent an analysis of the copyright policies of INESC TEC most relevant scientific publications, allowed not only to realize that publishers are increasingly adopting policies that make it possible to self-archive publications in institutional repositories, all the work of raising awareness, not only for researchers but also for the institution and the whole society. The production of a set of recommendations, which go through the implementation of an institutional policy that encourages the self-archiving of the publications developed in the institutional scope in the repository, serves as a motto for a greater appreciation of the scientific production of INESC TEC

A study of the importance of cultural factors in the user interaction with, and the design of, interactive science and technology exhibits in museums

This research investigates the cultural factors affecting the use of interactive science exhibits including interactive science and technology exhibits (ISTEs) by visitors to science museums worldwide. Visitors bring differing characteristics and experiences to bear upon the task of using these exhibits. These affect the nature and quality of their interaction with the exhibits. This research has focused on the cultural issues, and has defined them using 10 distinct and coherent ‘dimensions’. This has been achieved by extensive review of relevant earlier research work and building on this with experimental studies with visitors and interviews with science museum experts in the UK and Thailand. Interactive science exhibits now take many forms, and therefore for scientific investigation of their use it is essential to classify them in a form which promotes research validity and reliability. This research has developed a new classification of interactive science exhibits into four classes based upon the user’s perception, cognition and the nature of the interaction. The classes are: (1) simple interaction with direct understanding; (2) simple interaction with complex understanding; (3) multiple interactions with direct understanding; and (4) multiple interactions with complex understanding. This classification was used in experimental studies of interaction with exhibits at science museums. The research methods used mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative research through three separate studies. The data collection methods were: interviews, questionnaires, and video recording observation. The findings were that not only language issues and conceptual understanding are important factors, but other cultural factors were also inter-related and affect visitors’ learning through ISTEs

Ambiente interativo tangível de baixo custo para apoio ao letramento Braille

Orientadora : Profª. Drª. Laura Sánchez GarcíaDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Exatas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Informática. Defesa: Curitiba, 21/09/2017Inclui referências : f. 82-87Resumo: O interesse pelo uso do braille e o domínio do mesmo por parte da população cega tem apresentado queda significativa, caracterizando o fenômeno de "desbraillização". A popularização de leitores de tela facilitou o acesso à informação dos cegos mediado pela tecnologia, porém contribuiu ao mesmo tempo com a diminuição de uso do braille. Diante disso, é importante fornecer uma síntese tecnológica que alie ambos os paradigmas, tanto a manipulação do braille como a síntese de voz. Para tanto, buscou-se como objetivo especificar e instanciar uma arquitetura tangível, extensível e de baixo custo para apoiar práticas de letramento em braille. Este trabalhou foi fundamentado em teorias no domínio do braille e na Interação Humano-Computador, especialmente na linha de Interfaces Tangíveis de Usuário. Foi conduzida uma revisão bibliográfica das propostas tecnológicas que podem apoiar o letramento braille e feita uma análise a partir de um método elaborado para classificar tecnologias braille com base em nove perguntas. Um protótipo funcional da arquitetura especificada foi implementado, com entrada por visão computacional de uma interface tangível com regras visuais também especificadas, para a avaliação com 4 pessoas cegas alfabetizadas em braille. As avaliações foram conduzidas com 4 cenários de tarefas pré-estabelecidos, de forma a observar um conjunto planejado de variáveis em cada contexto. Os resultados obtidos apresentaram a aceitação do conceito tangível pela amostra de participantes, indicando que o uso de um mesmo artefato tangível minimalista representando o braille, para fornecer a entrada em aplicações criativas e interativas com feedback auditivo é viável e motivador aos usuários. Tal resultado, representando uma tecnologia que une a leitura de voz sintética com a manipulação de celas braille, destaca-se como uma alternativa de baixo custo para estimular o uso do braille em contextos motivadores e, consequentemente, para ser apropriada no combate à desbraillização. Como conclusão, a viabilidade técnica foi mostrada pelos resultados, abrindo oportunidade para futuros redesigns que se aproximem das necessidades de tarefas para o público cego por meio de práticas de design participativo. Palavras-chave: braille, interface tangível, letramento, IHC.Abstract: The interest in the use of braille and the domain of the same by the blind population has presented a considerable drop, characterizing a phenomenon of braille literacy crisis. The rise of screen readers facilitated the access to information, mediated by technology, by the blind, but at the same time contributed to the decrease on braille usage. It is important to provide a technological synthesis that aligns both paradigms, braille manipulation and speech synthesis. To do so, it was tried to specify and instantiate a tangible, extensible and low-cost architecture to support braille literacy practices. We looked for theoretical foundations in the fields of braille and Human-Computer Interaction, specially in the area of tangible user interfaces. A literature review was conducted on the technological proposals that can support Braille literacy and an analysis based on a method developed to classify braille technologies based on nine questions. It was implemented a functional prototype of the specified architecture, with input by computer vision of a tangible interface with also specified visual rules, for the evaluation with 4 blind people literate in braille. Evaluations were conducted with 4 pre-set task scenarios, in order to observe a planned set of variables in each context. The results showed acceptance of the tangible concept by the sample of participants, indicating that the use of a minimalist tangible artifact representing braille, to provide input in creative and interactive applications with auditory feedback is feasible and motivating to the users. This result, representing a technology that links synthetic speech reading with the manipulation of Braille cells, stands out as a low-cost alternative to stimulate the use of Braille in motivating contexts and, consequently, to be appropriated in the fight against braille literacy crisis. As a conclusion, technical feasibility was shown by the results, opening up opportunity for future redesigns that approach the task needs of the blind public through participatory design practices. Keywords: braille, tangible interface, literacy, HCI

Multi-Sensory Interaction for Blind and Visually Impaired People

This book conveyed the visual elements of artwork to the visually impaired through various sensory elements to open a new perspective for appreciating visual artwork. In addition, the technique of expressing a color code by integrating patterns, temperatures, scents, music, and vibrations was explored, and future research topics were presented. A holistic experience using multi-sensory interaction acquired by people with visual impairment was provided to convey the meaning and contents of the work through rich multi-sensory appreciation. A method that allows people with visual impairments to engage in artwork using a variety of senses, including touch, temperature, tactile pattern, and sound, helps them to appreciate artwork at a deeper level than can be achieved with hearing or touch alone. The development of such art appreciation aids for the visually impaired will ultimately improve their cultural enjoyment and strengthen their access to culture and the arts. The development of this new concept aids ultimately expands opportunities for the non-visually impaired as well as the visually impaired to enjoy works of art and breaks down the boundaries between the disabled and the non-disabled in the field of culture and arts through continuous efforts to enhance accessibility. In addition, the developed multi-sensory expression and delivery tool can be used as an educational tool to increase product and artwork accessibility and usability through multi-modal interaction. Training the multi-sensory experiences introduced in this book may lead to more vivid visual imageries or seeing with the mind’s eye

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

Electroencephalogram Signal Processing For Hybrid Brain Computer Interface Systems

The goal of this research was to evaluate and compare three types of brain computer interface (BCI) systems, P300, steady state visually evoked potentials (SSVEP) and Hybrid as virtual spelling paradigms. Hybrid BCI is an innovative approach to combine the P300 and SSVEP. However, it is challenging to process the resulting hybrid signals to extract both information simultaneously and effectively. The major step executed toward the advancement to modern BCI system was to move the BCI techniques from traditional LED system to electronic LCD monitor. Such a transition allows not only to develop the graphics of interest but also to generate objects flickering at different frequencies. There were pilot experiments performed for designing and tuning the parameters of the spelling paradigms including peak detection for different range of frequencies of SSVEP BCI, placement of objects on LCD monitor, design of the spelling keyboard, and window time for the SSVEP peak detection processing. All the experiments were devised to evaluate the performance in terms of the spelling accuracy, region error, and adjacency error among all of the paradigms: P300, SSVEP and Hybrid. Due to the different nature of P300 and SSVEP, designing a hybrid P300-SSVEP signal processing scheme demands significant amount of research work in this area. Eventually, two critical questions in hybrid BCl are: (1) which signal processing strategy can best measure the user\u27s intent and (2) what a suitable paradigm is to fuse these two techniques in a simple but effective way. In order to answer these questions, this project focused mainly on developing signal processing and classification technique for hybrid BCI. Hybrid BCI was implemented by extracting the specific information from brain signals, selecting optimum features which contain maximum discrimination information about the speller characters of our interest and by efficiently classifying the hybrid signals. The designed spellers were developed with the aim to improve quality of life of patients with disability by utilizing visually controlled BCI paradigms. The paradigms consist of electrodes to record electroencephalogram signal (EEG) during stimulation, a software to analyze the collected data, and a computing device where the subject’s EEG is the input to estimate the spelled character. Signal processing phase included preliminary tasks as preprocessing, feature extraction, and feature selection. Captured EEG data are usually a superposition of the signals of interest with other unwanted signals from muscles, and from non-biological artifacts. The accuracy of each trial and average accuracy for subjects were computed. Overall, the average accuracy of the P300 and SSVEP spelling paradigm was 84% and 68.5 %. P300 spelling paradigms have better accuracy than both the SSVEP and hybrid paradigm. Hybrid paradigm has the average accuracy of 79 %. However, hybrid system is faster in time and more soothing to look than other paradigms. This work is significant because it has great potential for improving the BCI research in design and application of clinically suitable speller paradigm

An analysis of Print Media information and its accessibility to people with visual impairments

Media is considered as one of the most powerful tools in disseminating information thereby shaping people’s lives. While there have been various studies about the relationship between media and people with disabilities, much of the emphasis has been on the media’s representation of people with disabilities than accessibility of print content in formats friendly to people with visual impairments. This research is a qualitative study which looked at the accessibility of online published print media information to people with visual impairments in terms of format. This was done by analysing content in online newspapers and magazines to determine its accessibility to them. Online interviews were also conducted to find out how print media is accessible to people with visual impairments. The Uses and Gratifications and the Social Responsibility theories were selected to frame the study on how media satisfies their specific needs and desires as well as having certain social obligations to society respectively. The findings of this study were that print media was inaccessible to people with visual impairments both in terms of formats and content. There is no print media known to people with visual impairments producing information in Braille format. The electronic version of printed media proved to be inaccessible due to the lack of media adherence to the Web Accessibility Guidelines. The research also established the underrepresentation and lack of representation in some print media due to print media’s lack of interest to cover disability issues. To respond to these needs, a framework was developed to ensure that people who are visually impaired are able to access print media information.Communication ScienceD. Phil. (Communication studies