Envisioning Future Playful Interactive Environments for Animals

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-546-4_6Play stands as one of the most natural and inherent behavior among the majority of living species, specifically humans and animals. Human play has evolved significantly over the years, and so have done the artifacts which allow us to play: from children playing tag games without any tools other than their bodies, to modern video games using haptic and wearable devices to augment the playful experience. However, this ludic revolution has not been the same for the humans’ closest companions, our pets. Recently, a new discipline inside the human–computer interaction (HCI) community, called animal–computer interaction (ACI), has focused its attention on improving animals’ welfare using technology. Several works in the ACI field rely on playful interfaces to mediate this digital communication between animals and humans. Until now, the development of these interfaces only comprises a single goal or activity, and its adaptation to the animals’ needs requires the developers’ intervention. This work analyzes the existing approaches, proposing a more generic and autonomous system aimed at addressing several aspects of animal welfare at a time: Intelligent Playful Environments for Animals. The great potential of these systems is discussed, explaining how incorporating intelligent capabilities within playful environments could allow learning from the animals’ behavior and automatically adapt the game to the animals’ needs and preferences. The engaging playful activities created with these systems could serve different purposes and eventually improve animals’ quality of life.This work was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science andInnovation under the National R&D&I Program within the projects Create Worlds (TIN2010-20488) and SUPEREMOS (TIN2014-60077-R), and from Universitat Politècnica de València under Project UPV-FE-2014-24. It also received support from a postdoctoral fellowship within theVALi+d Program of the Conselleria d’Educació, Cultura I Esport (Generalitat Valenciana) awarded to Alejandro Catalá (APOSTD/2013/013). The work of Patricia Pons has been supported by the Universitat Politècnica de València under the “Beca de Excelencia” program and currently by an FPU fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports (FPU13/03831).Pons Tomás, P.; Jaén Martínez, FJ.; Catalá Bolós, A. (2015). Envisioning Future Playful Interactive Environments for Animals. 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Developing a depth-based tracking systems for interactive playful environments with animals

© ACM 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive Version of Record was published in ACM. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology (p. 59). http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2832932.2837007.[EN] Digital games for animals within Animal Computer Interaction are usually single-device oriented, however richer interactions could be delivered by considering multimodal environments and expanding the number of technological elements involved. In these playful ecosystems, animals could be either alone or accompanied by human beings, but in both cases the system should react properly to the interactions of all the players, creating more engaging and natural games. Technologically-mediated playful scenarios for animals will therefore require contextual information about the game participants, such as their location or body posture, in order to suitably adapt the system reactions. This paper presents a depth-based tracking system for cats capable of detecting their location, body posture and field of view. The proposed system could also be extended to locate and detect human gestures and track small robots, becoming a promising component in the creation of intelligent interspecies playful environments.Work supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and funded by the EDRF-FEDER (TIN2014-60077-R). The work of Patricia Pons has been supported by a national grant from the Spanish MECD (FPU13/03831). Alejandro Catalá also received support from a VALi+d fellowship from the GVA (APOSTD/2013/013). Special thanks to our cat participants, their owners, and our feline caretakers and therapistsPons Tomás, P.; Jaén Martínez, FJ.; Catalá Bolós, A. (2015). Developing a depth-based tracking systems for interactive playful environments with animals. ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/2832932.2837007SJan Bednarik and David Herman. 2015. Human gesture recognition using top view depth data obtained from Kinect sensor.Excel. - Student Conf. Innov. Technol. Sci. IT, 1--8.Hrvoje Benko, Andrew D. Wilson, Federico Zannier, and Hrvoje Benko. 2014. Dyadic projected spatial augmented reality.Proc. 27th Annu. ACM Symp. User interface Softw. Technol. - UIST '14, 645--655.Alper Bozkurt, David L Roberts, Barbara L Sherman, et al. 2014. Toward Cyber-Enhanced Working Dogs for Search and Rescue.IEEE Intell. Syst. 29, 6, 32--39.Rita Brugarolas, Robert T. Loftin, Pu Yang, David L. Roberts, Barbara Sherman, and Alper Bozkurt. 2013. 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Beyond the limits of digital interaction: should animals play with interactive environments?

Our digital world evolves towards ubiquitous and intuitive scenarios, filled with interconnected and transparent computing devices which ease our daily activities. We have approached this evolution of technology in a strictly human-centric manner. There are, however, plenty of species, among them our pets, which could also profit from these technological advances. A new field in Computer Science, called Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI), aims at filling this technological gap by developing systems and interfaces specifically designed for animals. This paper envisions how ACI could be extended to enhance the most natural animal behavior: play. This work explains how interactive environments could become playful scenarios where animals enjoy, learn and interact with technology, improving their wellbeingThis work is partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under the National R&D&I Program within the project CreateWorlds (TIN2010-20488). The work of Patricia Pons is supported by an FPU fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (FPU13/03831). It also received support from a postdoctoral fellowship within the VALi+d Program of the Conselleria d’Educació, Cultura I Esport (Generalitat Valenciana) awarded to Alejandro Catalá (APOSTD/2013/013). We also thank the Valencian Society for the Protection of Animals and Plants (SVPAP) for their cooperation.Pons Tomás, P.; Jaén Martínez, FJ.; Catalá Bolós, A. (2015). Beyond the limits of digital interaction: should animals play with interactive environments?. ACM. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/65361

Assessing machine learning classifiers for the detection of animals' behavior using depth-based tracking

[EN] There is growing interest in the automatic detection of animals' behaviors and body postures within the field of Animal Computer Interaction, and the benefits this could bring to animal welfare, enabling remote communication, welfare assessment, detection of behavioral patterns, interactive and adaptive systems, etc. Most of the works on animals' behavior recognition rely on wearable sensors to gather information about the animals' postures and movements, which are then processed using machine learning techniques. However, non-wearable mechanisms such as depth-based tracking could also make use of machine learning techniques and classifiers for the automatic detection of animals' behavior. These systems also offer the advantage of working in set-ups in which wearable devices would be difficult to use. This paper presents a depth-based tracking system for the automatic detection of animals' postures and body parts, as well as an exhaustive evaluation on the performance of several classification algorithms based on both a supervised and a knowledge-based approach. The evaluation of the depth -based tracking system and the different classifiers shows that the system proposed is promising for advancing the research on animals' behavior recognition within and outside the field of Animal Computer Interaction. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This work is funded by the European Development Regional Fund (EDRF-FEDER) and supported by Spanish MINECO with Project TIN2014-60077-R. It also received support from a postdoctoral fellowship within the VALi+d Program of the Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura I Esport (Generalitat Valenciana) awarded to Alejandro Catala (APOSTD/2013/013). The work of Patricia Pons is supported by a national grant from the Spanish MECD (FPU13/03831). Special thanks to our cat participants and their owners, and many thanks to our feline caretakers and therapists, Olga, Asier and Julia, for their valuable collaboration and their dedication to animal wellbeing.Pons Tomás, P.; Jaén Martínez, FJ.; Catalá Bolós, A. (2017). Assessing machine learning classifiers for the detection of animals' behavior using depth-based tracking. Expert Systems with Applications. 86:235-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2017.05.063S2352468

Customizing smart environments: a tabletop approach

Smart environments are becoming a reality in our society and the number of intelligent devices integrated in these spaces is in-creasing very rapidly. As the combination of intelligent elements will open a wide range of new opportunities to make our lives easier, final users should be provided with a simplified method of handling complex intelligent features. Specifying behavior in these environments can be difficult for non-experts, so that more efforts should be directed towards easing the customization tasks. This work presents an entirely visual rule editor based on dataflow expressions for interactive tabletops which allows be-havior to be specified in smart environments. An experiment was carried out aimed at evaluating the usability of the editor in terms of non-programmers understanding of the abstractions and concepts involved in the rule model, ease of use of the pro-posed visual interface and the suitability of the interaction mechanisms implemented in the editing tool. The study revealed that users with no previous programming experience were able to master the proposed rule model and editing tool for specifying be-havior in the context of a smart home, even though some minor usability issues were detected.We would like to thank all the volunteers that participated in the empirical study. Our thanks are also due to the ASIC/Polimedia team for their computer hardware support. This work was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under the National R&D&I Program within the project CreateWorlds (TIN2010-20488). It also received support from a postdoctoral fellowship within the VALi+d Program of the Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura I Esport (Generalitat Valenciana) awarded to Alejandro Catala (APOSTD/2013/013). 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A meta-model for dataflow-based rules in smart environments: Evaluating user comprehension and performance

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Science of Computer Programming Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Science of Computer Programming, [Volume 78, Issue 10, 1 October 2013, Pages 1930–1950] DOI 10.1016/j.scico.2012.06.010A considerable part of the behavior in smart environments relies on event-driven and rule specification. Rules are the mechanism most often used to enable user customization of the environment. However, the expressiveness of the rules available to users in editing and other tools is usually either limited or the available rule editing interfaces are not designed for end-users with low skills in programming. This means we have to look for interaction techniques and new ways to define user customization rules. This paper describes a generic and flexible meta-model to support expressive rules enhanced with data flow expressions that will graphically support the definition of rules without writing code. An empirical study was conducted on the ease of understanding of the visual data flow expressions, which are the key elements in our rule proposal. The visual dataflow language was compared to its corresponding textual version in terms of comprehension and ease of learning by teenagers in exercises involving calculations, modifications, writing and detecting equivalences in expressions in both languages. Although the subjects had some previous experience in editing mathematical expressions on spreadsheets, the study found their performance with visual dataflows to be significantly better in calculation and modification exercises. This makes our dataflow approach a promising mechanism for expressing user-customized reactive behavior in Ambient Intelligence (AmI) environments. The performance of the rule matching processor was validated by means of two stress tests to ensure that the meta-model approach adopted would be able to scale up with the number of types and instances in the space. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education under the National Strategic Program of Research and Project TSI2010-20488. Our thanks also go to the high school "Collegi Parroquial D. Jose Lluch - Alboraya", especially to the teachers and students that participated in the empirical study reported in this paper. A. Catala is supported by an FPU fellowship from the Ministry of Education of Spain with reference AP2006-00181.Catalá Bolós, A.; Pons, P.; Jaén Martínez, FJ.; Mocholi Agües, JA.; Navarro Martínez, EM. (2013). A meta-model for dataflow-based rules in smart environments: Evaluating user comprehension and performance. Science of Computer Programming. 78(10):1930-1950. doi:10.1016/j.scico.2012.06.010S19301950781

Crustal structure of the high Andes in the North Pampean flat slab segment from magnetic and gravity data

The Main Andes at the northern Chilean-Pampean flat slab segment were formed by the inversion of late Oligocene to early Miocene extensional depocenters in Neogene times. Their structure, size and depth are loosely constrained by field data since these sequences have amalgamated forming an almost continuous blanket with scarce basement outcrops. Satellite and aerial gravity and magnetic data are used in this work to define a 3D model that shows the basement structure at depth and adjust 2D structural sections previously based on field data. The results indicate complex basin geometry with depocenters of variable size and depth buried beneath Mesozoic (?)-Paleogene and Neogene sections. Additionally, previously proposed crustal heterogeneities across this orogenic segment are geophysically constrained with a new crustal heterogeneity identified on the basis of a modeled 2D crustal section. We propose hypothetically, that this crustal discontinuity could have played a role in controlling Paleogene extension at the hanging wall of an asymmetric rift basin, explaining the locus and development of the Doña Ana Basin. Finally, this work provides new information about Cenozoic structure and Paleozoic basement architecture, presumably derived from amalgamation history of one of the highest and more inaccessible regions of the Andes.Fil: Sanchez, Marcos Ariel. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Winocur, Diego Alejandro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geologicas. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez Pontoriero, Orlando. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Folguera, Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geologicas. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Martínez, Myriam Patricia. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentin

Evaluación de la gestión del tiempo y costo para un proyecto de rehabilitación de tubería de alcantarillado comparando el método constructivo con zanja abierta vs rehabilitación sin zanja (CIPP) bajo lineamientos PMBOK v.6.

Gestión integral y dinámica de las organizaciones empresarialesEl trabajo de grado tiene como finalidad realizar una comparación en costos y tiempo, la renovación de una tubería de alcantarillado pluvial de diámetro de un metro de diámetro en método constructivo a zanja abierta versus tecnología sin zanja (CIPP), en el cual su objetivo principal es la determinación de costos y tiempos en cada metodología y la presentación de un comparativo de los resultados.1. INTRODUCCIÓN 2. GENERALIDADES 3. OBJETIVOS 4. MARCO DE REFERENCIA 5. METODOLOGÍA 6. DESARROLLO 7 ENTREGA DE RESULTADOS E IMPACTO 8. NUEVAS ÁREAS DE ESTUDIO 9. CONCLUSIONES 10. ANEXOS 11. BIBLIOGRAFÍAEspecializaciónEspecialista en Gerencia de Obras Civile

The Balance of Payments and International Investment Position of Spain in 2022

Rationale The balance of payments and international investment position (IIP) are important because of the information they provide on economic relations with the rest of the world, which affect the national economy. Their analysis is of even greater interest in the light of recent events, such as the war in Ukraine and its impact on energy prices. Takeaways •In 2022 the Spanish economy’s net lending fell, owing largely to the deterioration in the energy trade balance. The services balance performed favourably, particularly in the case of travel services, which returned to pre-pandemic levels. •The negative net IIP continued to correct in 2022, standing at 60.5% of GDP, the lowest level in 18 years, thanks to GDP growth, the positive amount of financial transactions with the rest of the world and positive valuation effects. •Spain’s outward foreign direct investment and inward foreign investment in Spain recovered their pre-pandemic levels, with a notably strong performance by the non-financial corporations sector

Uso de videojuegos, agresión, sintomatología depresiva y violencia intrafamiliar en adolescentes y adultos jóvenes

The objective of this research was to determine differences on depressive symptoms, family violence and aggression in 801 adolescents and young people with different levels of exposure to video games with and without violent content. The average age of the participants was 17.5 years, of which 55.4% were male and 44.6% female. To assess depressive symptoms, the Certificate Center for Epidemiologic Studies was used, and for domestic violence, a scale was designed from 16 reactants that measure verbal and physical aggression, humiliation and respect; with regards to aggression, a Likert scale was designed from 13 reactants with four-response options: from never to always. And with regards to the use of video games, it was asked whether they use them or not, the motive why they like them, the approximate time a week playing them, and whether those video games have violent content and its type. The results showed significant differences in the variables evaluated as to the level of exposure to video games with violent content, which generally teenagers and young adults who reported higher exposure (more than 11 hours a week) had higher depressive symptoms, aggression and domestic violence than those with a lower level of exposure. © Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales.El objetivo de la presente investigación fue determinar las diferencias en sintomatología depresiva, violencia intrafamiliar y agresión en 801 adolescentes y jóvenes con diferentes niveles de exposición a videojuegos con y sin contenidos violentos. La media de edad de los participantes fue de 17.5 años,  el 55.4% eran hombres y 44.6% mujeres. Para evaluar la sintomatología depresiva se utilizó la Cédula del Centro de Estudios Epidemiológicos, para la violencia intrafamiliar, se diseñó una escala de 16 reactivos que miden: agresión verbal, agresión física, humillación y respeto; en cuanto a la agresión, se diseño una escala tipo Likert de 13 reactivos con cuatro opciones de respuesta: nunca a siempre. En cuanto al uso de videojuegos, se preguntó si los utilizan o no, motivo por el cual los juegan, el tiempo aproximado a la semana que pasan jugándolos, si los videojuegos que utilizan tiene contenido violento y de qué tipo. Los resultados mostraron diferencias significativas en las variables evaluadas respecto al nivel de exposición de videojuegos con contenido violento, donde de manera general los adolescentes y jóvenes que reportaron una mayor exposición (de 11 horas a más a la semana) presentaron mayor sintomatología depresiva, agresión y violencia intrafamiliar que aquellos con un menor nivel de exposición. © Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales