Poster: Informing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) by Analysing Human Users’ Problem-solving Strategies

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as an important topic for the industry and for the scientific literature, given its great potential to reduce the costs and to increase the efficacy of business processes. RPA tools are generally developed as rule-based system which mimic the actions of a human users on a software interface in order to automate repetitive, well-defined tasks. Because these solutions follow the same exact steps, they might be less flexible to changes in the interface or the task specifications. Artificial intelligence might overcome some limitations but has its disadvantages. In this paper, we argue that cognitive models inspired from the ways in which human users perform a business task might represent a sound basis to define flexible and efficient RPA solutions. We propose the think aloud protocol as an adequate methodology to develop such cognitive models and we exemplify how this methodology can be applied

Task difficulty of virtual reality-based assessment tools compared to classical paper-and-pencil or computerized measures:A meta-analytic approach

Virtual reality-based assessment tools arise as a promising alternative for classic neuropsychological assessment with an increased level of ecological validity. Because virtual reality cognitive measures recreate tasks that resemble with the demands from the real world it is assumed that they require additional cognitive resources and are more difficult than classical paper-and-pencil or computerized measures. Although research has focused on comparing the performance obtained on virtual reality-based measures with classical paper-and-pencil or computerized measures, no meta-analysis has been conducted on this topic. Thirteen studies met our inclusion criteria: assessed any cognitive process using virtual reality and analogous classical or computerized assessment tools of the same process. Based on a random effects model, the results indicated a moderate effect size in favor of classical and computerized tests (g = −0.77) revealing an increased task difficulty in virtual reality. Overall, results from the current meta-analysis point out that cognitive performance obtained in virtual reality is poorer than the one in classical or computerized assessment which might suggest that tasks embedded in virtual reality have an increased level of complexity and difficulty and require additional cognitive resources

The DREAM Dataset: Supporting a data-driven study of autism spectrum disorder and robot enhanced therapy

We present a dataset of behavioral data recorded from 61 children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The data was collected during a large-scale evaluation of Robot Enhanced Therapy (RET). The dataset covers over 3000 therapy sessions and more than 300 hours of therapy. Half of the children interacted with the social robot NAO supervised by a therapist. The other half, constituting a control group, interacted directly with a therapist. Both groups followed the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) protocol. Each session was recorded with three RGB cameras and two RGBD (Kinect) cameras, providing detailed information of children’s behavior during therapy. This public release of the dataset comprises body motion, head position and orientation, and eye gaze variables, all specified as 3D data in a joint frame of reference. In addition, metadata including participant age, gender, and autism diagnosis (ADOS) variables are included. We release this data with the hope of supporting further data-driven studies towards improved therapy methods as well as a better understanding of ASD in general.CC BY 4.0DREAM - Development of robot-enhanced therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders

Experimental Assessment between Building Regulations and Claustrophobia

During the past decades there was a noticeable effervescence characterizing the space-psychology related studies. These studies established a connection between the characteristics of the environment and behavior. Therefore, this paper would like to join this field of research. Consequently, the issue raised would be the role played by architecture in the context of the space-perception discussion. In order to provide a practical answer, the paper debates the results obtained through an experiment which analyzed the interaction between certain characteristics of a 12 m2 room, according to architectural building regulations in Romania, and the variations of anxiety, comfort and safety. This experiment tested certain situations in which the natural adaptation process has been short-circuited, triggering phobic reactions. Thus, the paper focuses on questioning whether Romanian building regulations take into account aspects regarding the psychological comfort of the individuals

The 2017 University Metaranking Romanian University Ranking

This article continues the work done for the 2016 University Metaranking and updates its results for the 2017 edition, with the new data available for 2017. The 2017 University Metaranking relies on the results of the performance of Romanian universities in international league tables / rankings in the field of higher education. The results are discussed from a qualitative and quantitative point of view; furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is also applied to them. Moreover, alongside the global results, the article discusses results on domains and subjects. Starting from the resulting metaranking, the article proposes a possible classification of Romanian universities into four classes and also suggests possible future public policies concerning especially (research) funding of performant universities at national level. Potential international and national developments are also discussed, with a view of supporting Romanian universities to improve their performance at international level

Touchscreen-Mediated Child-Robot Interactions Applied to ASD Therapy

Abstract — Robots are finding increasing application in the domain of ASD therapy as they provide a number of ad-vantageous properties such as replicability and controllable expressivity. In this abstract we introduce a role for touch-screens that act as mediating devices in therapeutic robot-child interactions. Informed by extensive work with neurotypical children in educational contexts, an initial study using a touchscreen mediator in support of robot-assisted ASD therapy was conducted to examine the feasibility of this approach, in so doing demonstrating how this application provides a number of technical and potentially therapeutic advantages