6 research outputs found
Improving Speech Interaction in Vehicles Using Context-Aware Information through A SCXML Framework
Speech Technologies can provide important benefits for the development of more usable and safe in-vehicle human-machine interactive systems (HMIs). However mainly due robustness issues, the use of spoken interaction can entail important distractions to the driver. In this challenging scenario, while speech technologies are evolving, further research is necessary to explore how they can be complemented with both other modalities (multimodality) and information from the increasing number of available sensors (context-awareness). The perceived quality of speech technologies can significantly be increased by implementing such policies, which simply try to make the best use of all the available resources; and the in vehicle scenario is an excellent test-bed for this kind of initiatives. In this contribution we propose an event-based HMI design framework which combines context modelling and multimodal interaction using a W3C XML language known as SCXML. SCXML provides a general process control mechanism that is being considered by W3C to improve both voice interaction (VoiceXML) and multimodal interaction (MMI). In our approach we try to anticipate and extend these initiatives presenting a flexible SCXML-based approach for the design of a wide range of multimodal context-aware HMI in-vehicle interfaces. The proposed framework for HMI design and specification has been implemented in an automotive OSGi service platform, and it is being used and tested in the Spanish research project MARTA for the development of several in-vehicle interactive applications
Using SCXML to integrate semantic sensor information into context-aware user interfaces
This paper describes a novel architecture to introduce automatic annotation and processing of semantic sensor data within context-aware applications. Based on the well-known state-charts technologies, and represented using W3C SCXML language combined with Semantic Web technologies, our architecture is able to provide enriched higher-level semantic representations of user’s context. This capability to detect and model relevant user situations allows a seamless modeling of the actual interaction situation, which can be integrated during the design of multimodal user interfaces (also based on SCXML) for them to be adequately adapted. Therefore, the final result of this contribution can be described as a flexible context-aware SCXML-based architecture, suitable for both designing a wide range of multimodal context-aware user interfaces, and implementing the automatic enrichment of sensor data, making it available to the entire Semantic Sensor We
Integración de Fuentes con Información de Contexto y Sistemas Interactivos
Durante el transcurso de esta Tesis Doctoral se ha realizado un estudio de la problemática
asociada al desarrollo de sistemas de interacción hombre-máquina sensibles al contexto. Este
problema se enmarca dentro de dos áreas de investigación: los sistemas interactivos y las
fuentes de información contextual. Tradicionalmente la integración entre ambos campos se
desarrollaba a través de soluciones verticales específicas, que abstraen a los sistemas interactivos
de conocer los procedimientos de bajo nivel de acceso a la información contextual, pero limitan su
interoperabilidad con otras aplicaciones y fuentes de información. Para solventar esta limitación
se hace imprescindible potenciar soluciones interoperables que permitan acceder a la información
del mundo real a través de procedimientos homogéneos.
Esta problemática coincide perfectamente con los escenarios de \Computación Ubicua" e
\Internet de las Cosas", donde se apunta a un futuro en el que los objetos que nos rodean serán
capaces de obtener información del entorno y comunicarla a otros objetos y personas. Los sistemas
interactivos, al ser capaces de obtener información de su entorno a través de la interacción con
el usuario, pueden tomar un papel especial en este escenario tanto como consumidores como
productores de información.
En esta Tesis se ha abordado la integración de ambos campos teniendo en cuenta este
escenario tecnológico. Para ello, en primer lugar se ha realizado un an álisis de las iniciativas
más importantes para la definición y diseño de sistemas interactivos, y de las principales
infraestructuras de suministro de información. Mediante este estudio se ha propuesto utilizar
el lenguaje SCXML del W3C para el diseño de los sistemas interactivos y el procesamiento de
los datos proporcionados por fuentes de contexto. Así, se ha reflejado cómo las capacidades
del lenguaje SCXML para combinar información de diferentes modalidades pueden también
utilizarse para procesar e integrar información contextual de diferentes fuentes heterogéneas,
y por consiguiente diseñar sistemas de interacción sensibles al contexto. Del mismo modo se
presenta a la iniciativa Sensor Web, y a su extensión semántica Semantic Sensor Web, como
una iniciativa idónea para permitir un acceso y suministro homogéneo de la información a los
sistemas interactivos sensibles al contexto.
Posteriormente se han analizado los retos que plantea la integración de ambos tipos de
iniciativas. Como resultado se ha conseguido establecer una serie de funcionalidades que son
necesarias implementar para llevar a cabo esta integración. Utilizando tecnologías que aportan una gran flexibilidad al proceso de implementación y que se apoyan en recomendaciones y
estándares actuales, se implementaron una serie de desarrollos experimentales que integraban las
funcionalidades identificadas anteriormente.
Finalmente, con el fin de validar nuestra propuesta, se realizaron un conjunto de experimentos
sobre un entorno de experimentación que simula el escenario de la conducción. En este escenario
un sistema interactivo se comunica con una extensión semántica de una plataforma basada en los
estándares de la Sensor Web para poder obtener información y publicar las observaciones que el
usuario realizaba al sistema. Los resultados obtenidos han demostrado la viabilidad de utilizar
el lenguaje SCXML para el diseño de sistemas interactivos sensibles al contexto que requieren
acceder a plataformas avanzadas de información para consumir y publicar información a la vez
que interaccionan con el usuario. Del mismo modo, se ha demostrado cómo la utilización de
tecnologías semánticas en los procesos de consulta y publicación de información puede facilitar la
reutilización de la información publicada en infraestructuras Sensor Web por cualquier tipo de
aplicación, y de este modo contribuir al futuro escenario de Internet de las Cosas.
ABSTRACT
In this Thesis, we have addressed the difficulties related to the development of context-aware
human-machine interaction systems. This issue is part of two research fields: interactive systems
and contextual information sources. Traditionally both fields have been integrated through
domain-specific vertical solutions that allow interactive systems to access contextual information
without having to deal with low-level procedures, but restricting their interoperability with
other applications and heterogeneous data sources. Thus, it is essential to boost the research
on interoperable solutions that provide access to real world information through homogeneous
procedures.
This issue perfectly matches with the scenarios of \Ubiquitous Computing" and \Internet of
Things", which point toward a future in which many objects around us will be able to acquire
meaningful information about the environment and communicate it to other objects and to
people. Since interactive systems are able to get information from their environment through
interaction with the user, they can play an important role in this scenario as they can both
consume real-world data and produce enriched information.
This Thesis deals with the integration of both fields considering this technological scenario. In
order to do this, we first carried out an analysis of the most important initiatives for the definition
and design of interactive systems, and the main infrastructures for providing information. Through
this study the use of the W3C SCXML language is proposed for both the design of interactive
systems and the processing of data provided by different context sources. Thus, this work has
shown how the SCXML capabilities for combining information from different modalities can
also be used to process and integrate contextual information from different heterogeneous sensor
sources, and therefore to develope context-aware interaction systems. Similarly, we present the
Sensor Web initiative, and its semantic extension Semantic Sensor Web, as an appropriate
initiative to allow uniform access and delivery of information to the context-aware interactive
systems.
Subsequently we have analyzed the challenges of integrating both types of initiatives: SCXML
and (Semantic) Sensor Web. As a result, we state a number of functionalities that are necessary
to implement in order to perform this integration. By using technologies that provide exibility
to the implementation process and are based on current recommendations and standards, we
implemented a series of experimental developments that integrate the identified functionalities. Finally, in order to validate our approach, we conducted different experiments with a testing
environment simulating a driving scenario. In this framework an interactive system can access
a semantic extension of a Telco plataform, based on the standards of the Sensor Web, to
acquire contextual information and publish observations that the user performed to the system.
The results showed the feasibility of using the SCXML language for designing context-aware
interactive systems that require access to advanced sensor platforms for consuming and publishing
information while interacting with the user. In the same way, it was shown how the use of semantic
technologies in the processes of querying and publication sensor data can assist in reusing and
sharing the information published by any application in Sensor Web infrastructures, and thus
contribute to realize the future scenario of \Internet of Things"
A Ubiquitous Sensor Network Platform for Integrating Smart Devices into the Semantic Sensor Web
Ongoing Sensor Web developments make a growing amount of heterogeneous sensor data available to smart devices. This is generating an increasing demand for homogeneous mechanisms to access, publish and share real-world information. This paper discusses, first, an architectural solution based on Next Generation Networks: a pilot Telco Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) Platform that embeds several OGC® Sensor Web services. This platform has already been deployed in large scale projects. Second, the USN-Platform is extended to explore a first approach to Semantic Sensor Web principles and technologies, so that smart devices can access Sensor Web data, allowing them also to share richer (semantically interpreted) information. An experimental scenario is presented: a smart car that consumes and produces real-world information which is integrated into the Semantic Sensor Web through a Telco USN-Platform. Performance tests revealed that observation publishing times with our experimental system were well within limits compatible with the adequate operation of smart safety assistance systems in vehicles. On the other hand, response times for complex queries on large repositories may be inappropriate for rapid reaction needs
Risk of recurrence after discontinuing anticoagulation in patients with COVID-19- associated venous thromboembolism: a prospective multicentre cohort studyResearch in context
Summary: Background: The clinical relevance of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) after discontinuing anticoagulation in patients with COVID-19-associated VTE remains uncertain. We estimated the incidence rates and mortality of VTE recurrences developing after discontinuing anticoagulation in patients with COVID-19-associated VTE. Methods: A prospective, multicenter, non-interventional study was conducted between March 25, 2020, and July 26, 2023, including patients who had discontinued anticoagulation after at least 3 months of therapy. All patients from the registry were analyzed during the study period to verify inclusion criteria. Patients with superficial vein thrombosis, those who did not receive at least 3 months of anticoagulant therapy, and those who were followed for less than 15 days after discontinuing anticoagulation were excluded. Outcomes were: 1) Incidence rates of symptomatic VTE recurrences, and 2) fatal PE. The rate of VTE recurrences was defined as the number of patients with recurrent VTE divided by the patient-years at risk of recurrent VTE during the period when anticoagulation was discontinued. Findings: Among 1106 patients with COVID-19-associated VTE (age 62.3 ± 14.4 years; 62.9% male) followed-up for 12.5 months (p25-75, 6.3–20.1) after discontinuing anticoagulation, there were 38 VTE recurrences (3.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5–4.7%), with a rate of 3.1 per 100 patient-years (95% CI: 2.2–4.2). No patient died of recurrent PE (0%, 95% CI: 0–7.6%). Subgroup analyses showed that patients with diagnosis in 2021–2022 (vs. 2020) (Hazard ratio [HR] 2.86; 95% CI 1.45–5.68) or those with isolated deep vein thrombosis (vs. pulmonary embolism) (HR 2.31; 95% CI 1.19–4.49) had significantly higher rates of VTE recurrences. Interpretation: In patients with COVID-19-associated VTE who discontinued anticoagulation after at least 3 months of treatment, the incidence rate of recurrent VTE and the case-fatality rate was low. Therefore, it conceivable that long-term anticoagulation may not be required for many patients with COVID-19-associated VTE, although further research is needed to confirm these findings. Funding: Sanofi and Rovi, Sanofi Spain