Turning the shelves: empirical findings and space syntax analyses of two virtual supermarket variations

The spatial structure of a virtual supermarket was systematically varied to investigate human behavior and cognitive processes in unusual building configurations. The study builds upon experiments in a regular supermarket, which serve as a baseline case. In a between-participant design a total of 41 participants completed a search task in two different virtual supermarket environments. For 21 participants the supermarket shelves were turned towards them at a 45° angle when entering the store, giving high visual access to product categories and products. For 20 participants the shelves were placed in exactly the opposite direction obstructing a quick development of shopping goods dependencies. The obtained differences in search performance between the two conditions are analyzed using space syntax analyses and comparisons made of environmental features and participants’ actual search path trajectories

The design and evaluation of an electronic estimator of probability density distributions

This thesis discusses the design and evaluation of an instrument that can estimate the probability density distributions of bandlimited, aperiodic electrical phenomena. This estimator can obtain the probability density estimates of signals that are contained within the frequency range of 100 cps. to 20 kcs. However, the basic design logic of the instrument can serve as a design foundation for a device that should be capable of estimating the distributions of signals that range in frequency from a fraction of a cycle to 50 kcs. Transistors and solid-state diodes are used in the instrument's circuitry. This device, however, is not a transistorized version of another instrument. Area error, form factor, and end-point error evaluation techniques are discussed, modified and then combined to develop a procedure which will determine an instrument's frequency-dependency characteristics. The author also introduces an evaluation technique (the pseudo impulse test) that involves the use of a test sgna1 that has a theoretical probability density distribution which contains a series of impulse functions. The pseudo impulse test is a powerful technique whir.h will reveal the operating capahllitie9 of an instrument. All the evaluation techniques discussed here may be used to evaluate any device that is designed to estimate probability density distributions. The appendix contains information that may be helpful to those who would like to duplicate or improve the instrument

Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering

This publication is the Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering from July 6-8, 2022. The EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering brings together international experts working on the interface between advanced computing and modern engineering challenges. Many engineering tasks require open-world resolution of challenges such as supporting multi-actor collaboration, coping with approximate models, providing effective engineer-computer interaction, search in multi-dimensional solution spaces, accommodating uncertainty, including specialist domain knowledge, performing sensor-data interpretation and dealing with incomplete knowledge. While results from computer science provide much initial support for resolution, adaptation is unavoidable and most importantly, feedback from addressing engineering challenges drives fundamental computer-science research. Competence and knowledge transfer goes both ways. &nbsp

Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering

This publication is the Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering from July 6-8, 2022. The EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering brings together international experts working on the interface between advanced computing and modern engineering challenges. Many engineering tasks require open-world resolution of challenges such as supporting multi-actor collaboration, coping with approximate models, providing effective engineer-computer interaction, search in multi-dimensional solution spaces, accommodating uncertainty, including specialist domain knowledge, performing sensor-data interpretation and dealing with incomplete knowledge. While results from computer science provide much initial support for resolution, adaptation is unavoidable and most importantly, feedback from addressing engineering challenges drives fundamental computer-science research. Competence and knowledge transfer goes both ways. &nbsp

Modelling human choices: MADeM and decision‑making

Research supported by FAPESP 2015/50122-0 and DFG-GRTK 1740/2. RP and AR are also part of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics FAPESP grant (2013/07699-0). RP is supported by a FAPESP scholarship (2013/25667-8). ACR is partially supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Turning the Shelves: Empirical Findings and Space Syntax Analyses of Two Virtual Supermarket Variations Judgements of Building Complexity and Navigability in Virtual Reality

Finding a product in a new supermarket is a complex, cognitive process. Earlier studies (Kalff & Strube, 2009, Gil et al., 2009)indicate that shopper’s path choice decisions in such environments are strongly influenced by their background knowledge: the placement of products in a store, especially the collocation of semantically similar types of products (e.g., tinned sweetcorn found with tinned goods rather then fresh corn‐on‐the‐cob). Supermarkets provide an apparently spatially homogenous environment, and it could therefore be expected that a shop’s content (the products) and their placement are the paramount factor in shopper movement, with only limited effects of spatial configuration. In the present study, the spatial structure of a virtual supermarket was systematically varied to investigate cognitive processes and behaviour in unusual building configurations. The study builds upon experiments in a regular supermarket, which serve as a baseline case. In a between‐participant design 41 participants completed a search task in two different virtual supermarket environments. For 21 participants the supermarket shelves were turned towards them at a 45° angle when entering the store, providing high visual access to product categories and products from the main aisle. For 20 participants the shelves were placed in the opposite direction. Both the turning angle of the shelves and the level of congruence between expected and actual location of a product had a significant impact on search times. Environmental features were analysed using space syntax techniques both at the global level of the store, and at the level of individual pairs of start and goal locations for each product, including step depth and isovist measures (particular emphasis is on the visual properties of each product’s location). The area of the main aisle, as visible from each product, as well as the compactness of the isovist generated from the product location, proved to be significant predictors of shopper’s search time. It is suggested that this may reflect the importance of having visual access to a product from relatively long lines of sight. Contrary to the initial hypothesis that higher visual access to a product always yields lower search times, we find that it can also provide distraction. Partialling out these geometric variables for an ANOVA analysis (analysis of variance) reveals that they strongly contribute to the obtained difference of search time between the two layout conditions, and they also have a moderating effect on the influence of background knowledge on search performance. Further analysis suggests that participants rely on different path choice strategies that appear to be influenced by local features of geometry as well as inter‐product similarity at choice points such as corridor intersections. A qualitative analysis of movement trajectories and verbal reports from the study participants was conducted and found to characterize typical decision patterns and possible underlying reasoning along a product search path. In conclusion, despite the predicted strong effect of shopper’s preferences and their prior product knowledge, the spatial layout of the shop was still shown to have a consistent effect upon the selection of search paths and search duration