Action Semantics in Smart Objects

We present a method of formal description of the action semantics in smart objects. Smart objects were primarily used for behavioral animation in the past. We demonstrate, how a formally described semantics can be used for action planning purposes by intelligent agents trying to achieve a goal. The described approach also reduces the complexity of common planning approaches by reducing the amount of information the agent has to process

Magic wand and the Enigma of the Sphinx

This paper presents an evaluation of the benefits and user acceptance of a multimodal interface in which the user interacts with a game-like interactive virtual reality application "The Enigma of the Sphinx". The interface consists of a large projection screen as the main display, a "magic wand", a stereo sound system and the user's voice for "casting spells". We present our conclusions concerning "friendliness" and sense of presence, based on observations of more than 150 users in a public even

Predictors of long-term stability of maxillary dental arch dimensions in patients treated with a transpalatal arch followed by fixed appliances

Background: The aim of this retrospective study was to identify which dental and/or cephalometric variables were predictors of long-term maxillary dental arch stability in patients treated with a transpalatal arch (TPA) during the mixed dentition phase followed by full fixed appliances in the permanent dentition. Methods: Thirty-six patients, treated with TPA followed up by full fixed appliances, were divided into stable and relapse groups based on the long-term presence or not of relapse. Intercuspid, interpremolar and intermolar widths, arch length and perimeter, crowding, and upper incisor proclination were evaluated before treatment (T0), post-TPA treatment (T1), post-fixed appliance treatment (T2), and a minimum of 3 years after full fixed appliances’ removal (T3). A binary logistic regression was performed thereafter to evaluate the impact of the dental arch and cephalometric measurements at T1 and the changes between T0 and T1 as predictive variables for relapse at T3. Results: The proposed model explained 42.7 % of the variance in treatment stability and correctly classified 72.2 % of the sample. Of the seven predictive variables, only upper anterior crowding (p = 0.029) was statistically significant. For every millimeter of decreased crowding at T1 (after TPA treatment/before starting the fixed orthodontic treatment), there was an increase of 3.57 times in the odds of having stability. Conclusions: The best predictor of relapse was maxillary crowding before treatment. The odds of relapse increase by 3.6 times for every millimeter of crowding at baseline

Speculative planning with delegation

This paper presents a novel method of collaborative problem solving for intelligent agents in virtual environments. We describe a planner for STRIPS-like domains enhanced by techniques of "delegated computing". Instead of having one central planner with complete information about the world, the concept of delegation is used. In this way, we achieve agent collaboration in a dynamic system, where each of the agents has its own partial plan, but the plans are implicitly coordinated towards a common goal. We demonstrate these techniques in a virtual reality simulation with virtual humans solving a logistical proble

The smart dice cup: A radio controlled sentient interaction device

In this paper, we present the Smart Dice Cup, a novel interaction device aimed at gaming applications in smart home environments. The Smart Dice Cup is used in a similar way as a traditional leather dice cup to generate random numbers. Integrated accelerometers relate the shaking of the device to the resulting rolls of the dice. In addition to an autonomous stand-alone mode, where the Smart Dice Cup serves as self-sustained gaming system, the device is also capable of communicating with its surrounding environment serving as an input device for other pervasive gaming applications

The enigma of the sphinx

This paper presents an evaluation of the benefits and user acceptance of a multimodal interface in which the user interacts with a game-like interactive virtual reality application "The Enigma of the Sphinx". The interface consists of a large projection screen as the main display, a "magic wand", a stereo sound system and the user's voice for "casting spells". We present our conclusions concerning "friendliness" and sense of presence, based on observations of more than 150 users in a public even

At Europe's frontline:factors determining migrants decision making for onwards migration from Greece and Turkey.

Limited research has been conducted on migrants' decision making factors in transit and this is an important area of investigation that goes beyond the origin-destination country dichotomy most commonly represented in migrant decision making. This paper examines the decision making factors for onwards migration or stay of migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria in Greece and Turkey. This paper is based on a unique dataset of surveys collected with 1056 migrants in Athens and Istanbul from May- July 2015. The decision for onwards migration or stay is examined through a probit regression analysis. Four categories of influencing variables are discussed: the country of origin, current conditions in the transit country, the initial migration destination choice and previous onwards migration attempts. The results demonstrate that first; the majority of respondents in both countries seek to migrate onwards (75% in Greece and 63% in Turkey) and that conditions in the transit country are highly significant in influencing onwards migrate decisions including their current subjective living conditions, employment, experiences of abuse, and speaking the local language. This paper contextualizes the findings and highlight the complexity of factors influencing migrants' decision making in Greece and Turkey