Presence-Centered Flourishing: A Proposal of Alternative Strategies to Promote Sustainable Living

Flourishing has been identified as a central concept in the new approaches based on the idea of positive psychology emerging at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. A culture based on the idea of harmony may never have existed among the large public in the history of human thought. An educational system of this type could be based on what we propose here as a «presence-centered» pedagogy (in contrast to the contemporary «information-centered» and «skill-centered» pedagogies). The alternative education process that we propose is also particularly fitted to be conducted amongst nature and outdoor spaces rather than within a classroom, based on the extensive literature on the positive effects of contact with nature for human health and wellbeing. From a philosophical perspective, a presence-centered pedagogy would result in the promotion of a new sense of agency: an identity developed by exercising our co-dependence with the rest of the ecosystemic processes and life-support systems, as opposed to an identity conceived as being separated from the external environment. We argue here that such a revolutionary change of human’s self-definition could result in higher likelihood of changing our lifestyles in the direction of sustainability and collective wellbeing

Long-term Evaluation of a Mobile Remote Presence Robot for the Elderly

We are currently working on a project, named ExCITE, the goal of which is to intensively evaluate a tele-presence robot against a wide spectrum of requirements of the elderly. This work is at the intersection of two emerging fields, Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), and involves both long term and cross-cultural user evaluation

Long-Term Evaluation of a Telepresence Robot for the Elderly: Methodology and Ecological Case Study

Telepresence robotic systems are proposed in different contexts and specifically in the area of social robotics for assisting older adults at home. Similarly to other robotic systems, such robots are often designed and then evaluated in laboratory settings for a limited period of time. Lab-based evaluations present limitations because they do not take into account the different challenges imposed by the fielding of robotic solutions into real contexts for longer periods. In order to perform long-term experiments in real ecological settings it is very important to define a structured approach to assess the impact of a prolonged and constant use of the telepresence robot. This paper proposes a methodology in the area of elderly people support, called MARTA, for M ultidimensional A ssessment of telepresence R obo T for older A dults. It introduces the main variables of interest as well as the instruments and administration timeline for assessing relevant changes that may occur over time. MARTA is also validated in a one year-long case study during which a telepresence robot, called Giraff, has been deployed and iteratively assessed. The paper also provides remarks on the technology readiness and suggestions for its improvements

Into the Wild: Pushing a Telepresence Robot Outside the Lab

Most robotic systems are usually used and evaluated in laboratory setting for a limited period of time. The limitation of lab evaluation is that it does not take into account the different challenges imposed by the fielding of robotic solutions into real contexts. Our current work evaluates a robotic telepresence platform to be used with elderly people. This paper describes our progressive effort toward a comprehensive, ecological and longitudinal evaluation of such robots outside the lab. It first discusses some results from a twofold short term evaluation performed in Italy. Specifically we report results from both a usability assessment in laboratory and a subsequent study obtained by interviewing 44 healthcare workers as possible secondary users (people connecting to the robot) and 10 older adults as possible primary users (people receiving visits through the robot). It then describes a complete evaluation plan designed for a long term assessment to be applied "outside the lab" dwelling on the initial application of such methodology to test sites in Italy

Caring About the User\u27s View: The Joys and Sorrows of Experiments with People

Deploying AI, and specifically P&S, technology into the real world entails many stimulating problems for researchers and system designers. Various smart solutions have been produced both for specialized problems and, in fewer cases, for more general purpose domains. An important aspect which is fundamental for any successful application, and more specifically for those which address a broad audience, concerns the users\u27 perception and acceptance of technology. This issue is often either neglected or underestimated. We have been working for two years on the issue of importing experimental techniques from HCI and experimental psychology into smart system development. This approach has both pros - interesting features from the user perspective are discovered and can be used to bias design and research activities - and cons - experimenting with humans adds additional difficulty to the project, and applying a correct methodology is very time consuming. This paper describes a fielded experimental investigation of a fully implemented AI system named ROBO CARE . The system uses constraint-based scheduling technology to actively monitor a pattern of activities executed by an assisted person and uses detected temporal constraint violations to trigger meaningful and contextualized proactive interaction. Dialogue with the users is managed by a robotic mediator who acts as the main communication channel between the users and the intelligent domestic environment. The paper presents an evaluation of elderly people\u27s perception of the intelligent system, focusing on aspects related to the robot\u27s aspect, interaction modalities, content and timing of interaction, providing suggestions and hints for system designers

Enabling Social Interaction Through Embodiment in ExCITE

No abstract availableThe emerging demographic trends toward an aging population involve an unflagging research of ways of assisting elderly people to stay independent for as long as possible. This means to be active at home and in the labour market, to prevent social isolation and promote societal inclusion. Both ICT and robotics technologies can contribute to help achieving these goals. This paper introduces the aims of the Ambient Assisted Living project ExCITE whose main objective is to enhance a robotic platform for telepresence with features enabling social interaction from a domestic environment to the outside world. The whole ExCITE project uses a user-centered approach hence it evolves around an intensive evaluation to be performed in situ, on a PanEuropean scale. An existing prototype, called Giraff, is to be deployed to targeted end-users, and refined taking into account outcome of the evaluation. This paper introduces the objectives of ExCITE and offers a description of its initial activities particularly focused on the user evaluation

Psychological implications of domestic assistive technology for the elderly

The ROBOCARE Domestic Environment (RDE) is the result of a three-year project aimed at developing cognitive support technology for elderly people. Specifically, the domestic environment is equipped with sensors, intelligent software components and devices which cooperate to provide cognitive support to the assisted person. The ROBOCARE interaction capabilities have been concentrated in a robotic mediator who acts as the main communication channel between the users and the intelligent domestic environment. This paper presents an evaluation of elderly people\u27s perception of assistive robots and smart domotic environments. Results show how the acceptability of robotic devices in home settino does not depend only on the practical benefits they can provide, but also on complex relationships between the cognitive, affective and emotional components of people\u27s images of robot. Specially, we analyzes a number of evaluation criteria related to the robot\u27s aspect, the way in which it communicates with the user, and the perceived usefulness of its support services. Among these criteria, the paper proposes and reports an evaluation of how perceived frailty, with reference to both health in general and fear of cognitive weakening, more specifically, can influence the evaluation of a potential aid in everyday life, namely the robotic assistant. The paper also provides a discussion which can be useful for the design of future assistive agents and socially interactive robotic

Psychological Predictors of Energy Saving Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Approach

Understanding how psychological processes drive human energy choices is an urgent, and yet relatively under-investigated, need for contemporary society. A knowledge gap still persists on the links between psychological factors identified in earlier studies and people’s behaviors in the energy domain. This research applies a meta-analytical procedure to assess the strength of the associations between five different classes of individual variables (i.e.,: attitudes, intentions, values, awareness, and emotions) and energy-saving behavioral intentions and behaviors (self-reported and actual). Based on a systematic review of studies published between 2007 and 2017, we estimate the average effect size of predictor-criterion relations, and we assess relevant moderators and publication bias, drawing on data obtained from 102 independent samples reported in 67 published studies (N = 59.948). Results from a series of five single meta-analyses reveal a pattern of significant positive associations between the selected psychological determinants and energy-saving indicators: associations between individual-level predictors and energy-saving outcomes are positive and moderate in size, ranging from large effects for emotions to small-moderate effects for pro-environmental values. Interestingly, moderation analysis reveals, among other things, that attitude-behavior links are not statistically significant when actual behavior is considered as an outcome. Implications for policy interventions are discussed

Psychophysiological Methods to Evaluate User’s Response in Human Robot Interaction: A Review and Feasibility Study

Implementing psychophysiological measures is a worthwhile approach for understanding human reaction to robot presence in terms of individual emotional state. This paper reviews the suitability of using psychophysiological assessment in human-robot interaction (HRI) research. A review of most common psychophysiological parameters used in a controlled laboratory setting is provided and advantages and challenges of their utilization in HRI experiments are described. Exemplar studies focused on the implementation of psychophysiological measures for the evaluation of the emotional responses of the participants to the robots’ presence are described. Based on the reviewed literature, the paper also describes the results of our own research experience to make the most of the emerged recommendations. We planned and performed a study aimed at implementing psychophysiological measurements for assessing the human response of two groups of older adults (Healthy vs. Mild Cognitive Impairment subjects) towards a telepresence robot. Finally, the paper provides a summary of lessons learned across the field in using psychophysiological measures in HRI studies

Transitions to sustainability, lifestyles changes and human well-being: cultural, environmental and political challenges ((Transiciones hacia la sostenibilidad, cambios de estilos de vida y bienestar humano: desafíos culturales, medioambientales y políticos))

In this paper, we present a special issue of PsyEcology that contains a selection of papers submitted by registered participants to the 25th IAPS Conference, held in Rome, Italy, from 8–13 July 2018, under the theme ‘Transitions to sustainability, lifestyles changes and human well-being: cultural, environmental and political challenges.