Structuring the process of integrity maintenance (extended version)

Two different approaches have been traditionally considered for dealing with the process of integrity constraints enforcement: integrity checking and integrity maintenance. However, while previous research in the first approach has mainly addressed efficiency issues, research in the second approach has been mainly concentrated in being able to generate all possible repairs that falsify an integrity constraint violation. In this paper we address efficiency issues during the process of integrity maintenance. In this sense, we propose a technique which improves efficiency of existing methods by defining the order in which maintenance of integrity constraints should be performed. Moreover, we use also this technique for being able to handle in an integrated way the integrity constraintsPostprint (published version

A Review of integrity constraint maintenance and view updating techniques

Two interrelated problems may arise when updating a database. On one hand, when an update is applied to the database, integrity constraints may become violated. In such case, the integrity constraint maintenance approach tries to obtain additional updates to keep integrity constraints satisfied. On the other hand, when updates of derived or view facts are requested, a view updating mechanism must be applied to translate the update request into correct updates of the underlying base facts. This survey reviews the research performed on integrity constraint maintenance and view updating. It is proposed a general framework to classify and to compare methods that tackle integrity constraint maintenance and/or view updating. Then, we analyze some of these methods in more detail to identify their actual contribution and the main limitations they may present.Postprint (published version

I Can See Your Aim: Estimating User Attention From Gaze For Handheld Robot Collaboration

This paper explores the estimation of user attention in the setting of a cooperative handheld robot: a robot designed to behave as a handheld tool but that has levels of task knowledge. We use a tool-mounted gaze tracking system, which, after modelling via a pilot study, we use as a proxy for estimating the attention of the user. This information is then used for cooperation with users in a task of selecting and engaging with objects on a dynamic screen. Via a video game setup, we test various degrees of robot autonomy from fully autonomous, where the robot knows what it has to do and acts, to no autonomy where the user is in full control of the task. Our results measure performance and subjective metrics and show how the attention model benefits the interaction and preference of users.Comment: this is a corrected version of the one that was published at IROS 201

Who's Better? Who's Best? Pairwise Deep Ranking for Skill Determination

We present a method for assessing skill from video, applicable to a variety of tasks, ranging from surgery to drawing and rolling pizza dough. We formulate the problem as pairwise (who's better?) and overall (who's best?) ranking of video collections, using supervised deep ranking. We propose a novel loss function that learns discriminative features when a pair of videos exhibit variance in skill, and learns shared features when a pair of videos exhibit comparable skill levels. Results demonstrate our method is applicable across tasks, with the percentage of correctly ordered pairs of videos ranging from 70% to 83% for four datasets. We demonstrate the robustness of our approach via sensitivity analysis of its parameters. We see this work as effort toward the automated organization of how-to video collections and overall, generic skill determination in video.Comment: CVPR 201

Anticipated synchronization and the predict-prevent control method in the FitzHugh-Nagumo model system

We study the synchronization region of two unidirectionally coupled, in a master-slave configuration, FitzHugh-Nagumo systems under the influence of external forcing terms. We observe that anticipated synchronization is robust to the different types of forcings. We then use the predict-prevent control method to suppress unwanted pulses in the master system by using the information of the slave output. We find that this method is more efficient than the direct control method based on the master. Finally, we observe that a perfect matching between the parameters of the master and the slave is not necessary for the control to be efficient. Moreover, this parameter mismatch can, in some cases, improve the control

The use of UML activity diagrams and the i* language in the modeling of the balanced scorecard implantation process

Business management is a complex task that can be facilitated using different methodologies and models. One of their most relevant purposes is to align the organization strategy with the daily functioning of the organization. One of these models is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). In this paper, we propose a modeling strategy for the BSC implantation process. We will model it using UML Activity Diagrams and Strategy Dependency models of the language i*. The Activity Diagrams allow determining the order in which involved activities must be performed, and at the same time, to identify which people has the responsability to carry them out. The Strategic Dependency model allows showing the intentional aspects of the actors involved in the most strategic activities of this process. Finally, relationships among the actors and the people involved in the BSC implantation process are modelled using again the language i*. Although this paper only considers the case study of the BSC implantation, our proposal can be generalized to other implantation processes of systems with a high strategic impact on the organization, like ERP or CRM systems.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version