Toward an “Equal-Footing” Human-Robot Interaction for Fully Autonomous Vehicles

Fully autonomous vehicles can be classified as robots. In this paper we propose to approach the development of autonomous vehicle user interfaces from a Human-Robot Interaction perspective, based on two principles. First, different robots require different user interfaces depending on their level of automation. Second, as the level of robot automation increases so should the automation of the interface itself; creating a spectrum ranging from a conventional “master-slave” level interaction to a fully intelligent “equal-footing” level interaction. Two research questions arise: where along the spectrum described above should autonomous vehicle user interfaces be, and what technological advance would have the great-est impact in enabling those interfaces. This paper presents the theoretical foundation of our research at the intersection of three previously unconnected fields: autonomous vehicles, human-robot interaction and affective computing. We then outline an experimental framework for developing a prototype interface based on our findings.Jaguar Land Rove

Code smells survival analysis in web apps

Web applications are heterogeneous, both in their target platform (split across client and server sides) and on the formalisms they are built with, usually a mixture of programming and formatting languages. This heterogeneity is perhaps an explanation why software evolution of web applications (apps) is a poorly addressed topic in the literature. In this paper we focus on web apps built with PHP, the most widely used server-side programming language. We analyzed the evolution of 6 code smells in 4 web applications, using the survival analysis technique. Since code smells are symptoms of poor design, it is relevant to study their survival, that is, how long did it take from their introduction to their removal. It is obviously desirable to minimize their survival. In our analysis we split code smells in two categories: scattered smells and localized smells, since we expect the former to be more harmful than the latter. Our results provide some evidence that the survival of PHP code smells depends on their spreadness. We have also analyzed whether the survival curve varies in the long term, for the same web application. Due to the increasing awareness on the potential harm-fulness of code smells, we expected to observe a reduction in the survival rate in the long term. The results show that there is indeed a change, for all applications except one, which lead us to consider that other factors should be analyzed in the future, to explain the phenomenon.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

On Budget-Feasible Mechanism Design for Symmetric Submodular Objectives

We study a class of procurement auctions with a budget constraint, where an auctioneer is interested in buying resources or services from a set of agents. Ideally, the auctioneer would like to select a subset of the resources so as to maximize his valuation function, without exceeding a given budget. As the resources are owned by strategic agents however, our overall goal is to design mechanisms that are truthful, budget-feasible, and obtain a good approximation to the optimal value. Budget-feasibility creates additional challenges, making several approaches inapplicable in this setting. Previous results on budget-feasible mechanisms have considered mostly monotone valuation functions. In this work, we mainly focus on symmetric submodular valuations, a prominent class of non-monotone submodular functions that includes cut functions. We begin first with a purely algorithmic result, obtaining a $\frac{2e}{e-1}$-approximation for maximizing symmetric submodular functions under a budget constraint. We view this as a standalone result of independent interest, as it is the best known factor achieved by a deterministic algorithm. We then proceed to propose truthful, budget feasible mechanisms (both deterministic and randomized), paying particular attention on the Budgeted Max Cut problem. Our results significantly improve the known approximation ratios for these objectives, while establishing polynomial running time for cases where only exponential mechanisms were known. At the heart of our approach lies an appropriate combination of local search algorithms with results for monotone submodular valuations, applied to the derived local optima.Comment: A conference version appears in WINE 201

Rapid growth of new atmospheric particles by nitric acid and ammonia condensation

New-particle formation is a major contributor to urban smog$^{1,2}$, but how it occurs in cities is often puzzling$^{3}$. If the growth rates of urban particles are similar to those found in cleaner environments (1–10 nanometres per hour), then existing understanding suggests that new urban particles should be rapidly scavenged by the high concentration of pre-existing particles. Here we show, through experiments performed under atmospheric conditions in the CLOUD chamber at CERN, that below about +5 degrees Celsius, nitric acid and ammonia vapours can condense onto freshly nucleated particles as small as a few nanometres in diameter. Moreover, when it is cold enough (below −15 degrees Celsius), nitric acid and ammonia can nucleate directly through an acid–base stabilization mechanism to form ammonium nitrate particles. Given that these vapours are often one thousand times more abundant than sulfuric acid, the resulting particle growth rates can be extremely high, reaching well above 100 nanometres per hour. However, these high growth rates require the gas-particle ammonium nitrate system to be out of equilibrium in order to sustain gas-phase supersaturations. In view of the strong temperature dependence that we measure for the gas-phase supersaturations, we expect such transient conditions to occur in inhomogeneous urban settings, especially in wintertime, driven by vertical mixing and by strong local sources such as traffic. Even though rapid growth from nitric acid and ammonia condensation may last for only a few minutes, it is nonetheless fast enough to shepherd freshly nucleated particles through the smallest size range where they are most vulnerable to scavenging loss, thus greatly increasing their survival probability. We also expect nitric acid and ammonia nucleation and rapid growth to be important in the relatively clean and cold upper free troposphere, where ammonia can be convected from the continental boundary layer and nitric acid is abundant from electrical storms$^{4,5}$

Visual Personal Familiarity in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

BACKGROUND: Patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment are at high risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. Besides episodic memory dysfunction they show deficits in accessing contextual knowledge that further specifies a general concept or helps to identify an object or a person. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural networks associated with the perception of personal familiar faces and places in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and healthy control subjects. Irrespective of stimulus type, patients compared to control subjects showed lower activity in right prefrontal brain regions when perceiving personally familiar versus unfamiliar faces and places. Both groups did not show different neural activity when perceiving faces or places irrespective of familiarity. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data highlight changes in a frontal cortical network associated with knowledge-based personal familiarity among patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. These changes could contribute to deficits in social cognition and may reduce the patients' ability to transition from basic to complex situations and tasks

Tailored Print Communication and Telephone Motivational Interviewing Are Equally Successful in Improving Multiple Lifestyle Behaviors in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Computer tailoring and motivational interviewing show promise in promoting lifestyle change, despite few head-to-head comparative studies. Purpose: Vitalum is a randomized controlled trial in which the efficacy of these methods was compared in changing physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption in middle-aged Dutch adults. Methods: Participants (n?=?1,629) were recruited via 23 general practices and randomly received either four tailored print letters, four motivational telephone calls, two of each type of intervention, or no information. The primary outcomes were absolute change in self-reported physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption. Results: All three intervention groups (i.e., the tailored letters, the motivational calls, and the combined version) were equally and significantly more effective than the control group in increasing physical activity (hours/day), intake of fruit (servings/day), and consumption of vegetables (grams/day) from baseline to the intermediate measurement (week 25), follow-up 1 (week 47) and 2 (week 73). Effect sizes (Cohen's d) ranged from 0.15 to 0.18. Participants rated the interventions positively; interviews were more positively evaluated than letters. Conclusions: Tailored print communication and telephone motivational interviewing or their combination are equally successful in changing multiple behaviors. © 2010 The Author(s)

Inclusivity considerations for fully autonomous vehicle user interfaces

Autonomous vehicles could become an important part of the mobility solution for members of society previously excluded from driving. This paper presents the results of an interview study on users’ needs and expectations of fully autonomous vehicles, and specifically on the inclusivity considerations that emerged. Six drivers and two individuals that are currently excluded from driving participated in this study. The main finding was that conventional multi-modal interfaces would indeed enable a broader range of users to operate these vehicles. However, fundamental considerations such as the accessibility of displays and easy ingress/egress were of equal importance. We hope the emerging recommendations would form part of an inclusive set of user requirements to be taken into account by industry and academia when designing fully autonomous vehicle user interfaces

An Inclusive, Fully Autonomous Vehicle Simulator for the Introduction of Human-Robot Interaction Technologies

& #x00A9; 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. As fully autonomous - SAE level 5 - vehicles approach commercialisation, there is need to design and test user interfaces specifically for such use. However, testing in real environments is currently limited or, in many cases, impossible. In this paper, as a solution, we present a dedicated simulator for fully autonomous vehicles. First, we outline the design requirements for this simulator. Inclusive design principles were used to accommodate a large range of diversity in our population. It can thus be used by individuals with visual, auditory and certain physical and cognitive impairments. Second, we describe the capabilities of the simulator in terms of human-robot interaction technologies. We aim to assess both performance and non-performance characteristics of the resulting systems and how they can be integrated in the transportation experience. Third, we collate the knowledge obtained during this project to provide a deeper understanding of human factors in operating fully autonomous vehicles. We hope these results provide a basis for further research and improve the experience of users

Inclusivity considerations for fully autonomous vehicle user interfaces

Autonomous vehicles could become an important part of the mobility solution for members of society previously excluded from driving. This paper presents the results of an interview study on users' needs and expectations of fully autonomous vehicles, and specifically on the inclusivity considerations that emerged. Six drivers and two individuals that are currently excluded from driving participated in this study. The main finding was that conventional multimodal interfaces would indeed enable a broader range of users to operate these vehicles. However, fundamental considerations such as the accessibility of displays and easy ingress/egress were of equal importance. We hope the emerging recommendations would form part of an inclusive set of user requirements to be taken into account by industry and academia when designing fully autonomous vehicle user interfaces

Needs and Expectations for Fully Autonomous Vehicle Interfaces

Fully autonomous vehicles provide an opportunity to improve current transportation solutions; both for drivers and for people unable to drive. In this paper we present the preliminary results of a study aiming to understand user needs and expectations for autonomous vehicle interfaces. We found that users expect a different type of information to be fed back to them depending on whether the vehicles are privately owned or shared. The results of this study will be confirmed by further work and contribute to the development of a baseline fully autonomous vehicle user interface