Exploring the Effects of Interaction with a Robot Cat for Dementia Sufferers and their Carers

Research has previously demonstrated the positive effects of robotic companion pets, but while this is important from a research perspective, their cost renders their widespread use currently unfeasible. This research seeks to explore the potential of an affordable robot, with a view to making a realistic difference in quality of life for people with dementia and their carers. Early research results involving participants in the community have proved very positive

Realistic Large-Scale Network Optimisation

This paper considers communication network design problems that arise in the real world, with large numbers of nodes - and link and switch costs dependent upon their traffic capacity. Such costs, in turn, depend upon network topology so are not fixed at the start of, or through, any optimisation process. Realistic topological restrictions are also discussed. The limitations of conventional approaches – both constructive and search based – are noted and the requirements of practical optimisation methods explored. Two workable approaches to network design - one an established local search variant, another a more novel geometric approach – are introduced and combined. Various simple and compound algorithms, ranging from exhaustive search to fast heuristic are compared with experimental results given in conclusion

Collaborative Artificial Intelligence in Music Production

The use of technology has revolutionized the process of music composition, recording, and production in the last 30 years. One fusion of technology and music that has been longstanding is the use of artificial intelligence in the process of music composition. However, much less attention has been given to the application of AI in the process of collaboratively composing and producing a piece of recorded music. The aim of this project is to explore such use of artificial intelligence in music production. The research presented here includes discussion of an auto ethnographic study of the interactions between songwriters, with the intention that these can be used to model the collaborative process and that a computational system could be trained using this information. The research indicated that there were repeated patterns that occurred in relation to the interactions of the participating songwriters

A Comparison of Audio Models for Virtual Reality Video

This paper investigates the relationship between audio models for Virtual Reality (VR) video with respect to the senses of immersion and realism that each model delivers. Mono, Stereo, 5.1 Surround Sound, and a Virtual Spatialised Position configuration was developed for testing in a VR music video and evaluated with a user study. Participants experienced the VR video with these differing audio models as accompaniment a total of four times. Qualitative and quantitative data were recorded to evaluate user experience. The results indicate that no statistical significance was present between the four models in relation to immersion or realism, suggesting that complex audio renderings are not always necessary for effective user experience

Defining Development Standards for Reusable User Interface Components

This paper describes a standard for development of ASP.NET user-interface components. This standard aims to assess the quality of implemented components. The standard covers many issues connected with web component development such as accessibility, cross-browser support, rich design-time support, API usability, globalization, localization, deployment. The paper provides an analysis of standard structure and ideas behind the standard

Emotion, Content & Context in Sound and Music

Computer game sound is particularly dependent upon the use of both sound artefacts and music. Sound and music are media rich in information. Audio and music processing can be approached from a range of perspectives which may or may not consider the meaning and purpose of this information. Computer music and digital audio are being advanced through investigations into emotion, content analysis, and context, and this chapter attempts to highlight the value of considering the information content present in sound, the context of the user being exposed to the sound, and the emotional reactions and interactions that are possible between the user and game sound. We demonstrate that by analysing the information present within media and considering the applications and purpose of a particular type of information, developers can improve user experiences and reduce overheads while creating more suitable, efficient applications. Some illustrated examples of our research projects that employ these theories are provided. Although the examples of research and development applications are not always examples from computer game sound, they can be related back to computer games. We aim to stimulate the reader’s imagination and thought in these areas, rather than attempt to drive the reader down one particular path

The Evolution of Internet Routing Metrics and Cost Calculations

In this paper we examine how metrics impact route selection, looking at which metric(s) are selected and how these metrics are used to calculated cost. Examining multiple and dynamic metrics currently in use and looking toward a proposal of agent carrying dynamic metric information across an autonomous system

High-Level Analysis of Audio Features for Identifying Emotional Valence in Human Singing

Emotional analysis continues to be a topic that receives much attention in the audio and music community. The potential to link together human affective state and the emotional content or intention of musical audio has a variety of application areas in fields such as improving user experience of digital music libraries and music therapy. Less work has been directed into the emotional analysis of human acapella singing. Recently, the Ryerson Audio-Visual Database of Emotional Speech and Song (RAVDESS) was released, which includes emotionally validated human singing samples. In this work, we apply established audio analysis features to determine if these can be used to detect underlying emotional valence in human singing. Results indicate that the short-term audio features of: energy; spectral centroid (mean); spectral centroid (spread); spectral entropy; spectral flux; spectral rolloff; and fundamental frequency can be useful predictors of emotion, although their efficacy is not consistent across positive and negative emotions

Practical Large-Scale Network Design with Variable Costs for Links and Switches

This paper considers communication network design problems that arise in the real world, with large numbers of nodes and link and switch costs dependent upon their traffic capacity. Such costs, in turn, depend upon network topology so are not fixed at the start of, or through, any optimisation process. Realistic topological restrictions are also discussed. The limitations of conventional approaches – both constructive and search based – are noted and the requirements of practical optimisation methods explored. Two workable approaches to network design - one an established local search variant, another a more novel geometric approach - are introduced. Five different algorithms, ranging from exhaustive search to fast heuristic are compared with experimental results given in conclusion