Collaboration in Augmented Reality: How to establish coordination and joint attention?

Schnier C, Pitsch K, Dierker A, Hermann T. Collaboration in Augmented Reality: How to establish coordination and joint attention? In: Boedker S, Bouvin NO, Lutters W, Wulf V, Ciolfi L, eds. Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (ECSCW 2011). Springer-Verlag London; 2011: 405-416.We present an initial investigation from a semi-experimental setting, in which an HMD-based AR-system has been used for real-time collaboration in a task-oriented scenario (design of a museum exhibition). Analysis points out the specific conditions of interacting in an AR environment and focuses on one particular practical problem for the participants in coordinating their interaction: how to establish joint attention towards the same object or referent. Analysis allows insights into how the pair of users begins to familarize with the environment, the limitations and opportunities of the setting and how they establish new routines for e.g. solving the ʻjoint attentionʼ-problem

Cytotoxicity screening of 23 engineered nanomaterials using a test matrix of ten cell lines and three different assays

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Engineered nanomaterials display unique properties that may have impact on human health, and thus require a reliable evaluation of their potential toxicity. Here, we performed a standardized <it>in vitro </it>screening of 23 engineered nanomaterials. We thoroughly characterized the physicochemical properties of the nanomaterials and adapted three classical <it>in vitro </it>toxicity assays to eliminate nanomaterial interference. Nanomaterial toxicity was assessed in ten representative cell lines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Six nanomaterials induced oxidative cell stress while only a single nanomaterial reduced cellular metabolic activity and none of the particles affected cell viability. Results from heterogeneous and chemically identical particles suggested that surface chemistry, surface coating and chemical composition are likely determinants of nanomaterial toxicity. Individual cell lines differed significantly in their response, dependent on the particle type and the toxicity endpoint measured.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>In vitro </it>toxicity of the analyzed engineered nanomaterials cannot be attributed to a defined physicochemical property. Therefore, the accurate identification of nanomaterial cytotoxicity requires a matrix based on a set of sensitive cell lines and <it>in vitro </it>assays measuring different cytotoxicity endpoints.</p

Linking Conversation Analysis and Motion Capturing: How to robustly track multiple participants?

Pitsch K, Brüning B-A, Schnier C, Dierker H, Wachsmuth S. Linking Conversation Analysis and Motion Capturing: How to robustly track multiple participants? In: Kipp M, Martin J-C, Paggio P, Heylen D, eds. Proceedings of the LREC Workshop on Multimodal Corpora: Advances in Capturing, Coding and Analyzing Multimodality (MMC 2010). 2010: 63-69.If we want to model the dynamic and contingent nature of human social interaction (e.g. for the design of human robot interaction), analysis and description of natural interaction is required that combines different methodologies and research tools (qualitative/quantitative; manual/automated). In this paper, we pinpoint the requirements and technical challenges for constituting and managing multimodal corpora that arise when linking Conversation Analysis with novel 3D motion capture technologies: i.e. to robustly track multiple participants over an extended period of time. We present and evaluate a solution to by-pass the limits of the current standard Vicon system (using rigid bodies) and ways of mapping the obtained coordinates to a human skeleton model (inverse kinematics) and to export the data into a format that is supported by standard annotation tools (such as ANVIL)

Adaptability of Communicative Resources in AR-based Cooperation

Schnier C, Pitsch K, Dierker A, Hermann T. Adaptability of Communicative Resources in AR-based Cooperation. In: Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Gesture and Speech in Interaction (GESPIN 2011). 2011.We present an initial investigation from a semi-experimental setting, in which an Augmented Reality (AR) system, based on Head Mounted Displays (HMD), has been used for real- time collaboration in a task-oriented scenario (design of a museum exhibition). While allowing for a range of technical augmentations, the setting also restricts – due to the wear of HMDs – the participants’ ‘natural’ communicational resources. Our analysis reveals that – under these particular conditions – some everyday strategies of establishing co- orientation with the co-participant turn out to be not functional for the participants. At the same time, we find that some participants change their referencing strategies to overcome system-based limitations and to develop a – under these particular conditions – more efficient method in orienting the co-participant to specific objects or to the interaction situation itself: Participants transform their individual deictic gestures on several objects into other forms of gestural activities like for example the lifting or the tilting of an object. These particular changes in object trajectory are done in order to orientate the co-participants and establish joint attention. Furthermore, gestural referencing seems to be highly variable and contextual, if important interactional resources are artificially reduced

Enhancing Human Cooperation with Multimodal Augmented Reality

Mertes C, Dierker A, Hermann T, Hanheide M, Sagerer G. Enhancing Human Cooperation with Multimodal Augmented Reality. In: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 5610-56. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer; 2009: 447-451. Humans naturally use an impressive variety of ways to communicate. In this work, we investigate the possibilities of complementing these natural communication channels with artificial ones. For this, augmented reality is used as a technique to add synthetic visual and auditory stimuli to people's perception. A system for the mutual display of the gaze direction of two interactants is presented and its acceptance is shown through a study. Finally, future possibilities of promoting this novel concept of artificial communication channels are explored

Alignment in AR-based Cooperation

Schnier C, Dierker A, Pitsch K, Hermann T. Alignment in AR-based Cooperation. Presented at the Exploring Collaboration with Shareable Interfaces Workshop, Brighton, UK

Dealing with fractured ecologies in Augmented Reality-based cooperation

Schnier C, Pitsch K, Dierker A, Hermann T. Dealing with fractured ecologies in Augmented Reality-based cooperation. Presented at the Conference of the International Institute For Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis (IIEMCA), Fribourg, Switzerland

Dealing with fractured ecologies in AR-based cooperation

Pitsch K, Schnier C, Dierker A, Hermann T. Dealing with fractured ecologies in AR-based cooperation. Presented at the 12th International Pragmatics Conference (IPRA 2011), Manchester, UK