Personal Assistants Research Articles

Generations of Knowledge Graphs: The Crazy Ideas and the Business Impact

Knowledge Graphs (KGs) have been used to support a wide range of applications, from web search to personal assistant. In this paper, we describe three generations of knowledge graphs: entity-based KGs , which have been supporting general search and question answering ( e.g. , at Google and Bing); text-rich KGs , which have been supporting search and recommendations for products, bio-informatics, etc. ( e.g. , at Amazon and Alibaba); and the emerging integration of KGs and LLMs, which we call dual neural KGs. We describe the characteristics of each generation of KGs, the crazy ideas behind the scenes in constructing such KGs, and the techniques developed over time to enable industry impact. In addition, we use KGs as examples to demonstrate a recipe to evolve research ideas from innovations to production practice, and then to the next level of innovations, to advance both science and business.

Experience of using the smart telemetric device “Personal Assistant of the Tractor Driver” for sowing winter wheat

The article presents the results of using the smart telemetric device “Personal assistant of the Tractor Driver” to select the most efficient operating modes of the sowing unit in real operation. The authors proposed developments that are aimed at improving the technical characteristics of the tractor in order to increase productivity and reduce the cost of its maintenance. Based on the results of the studies, the authors drew conclusions and presented quantitative and qualitative changes.

Innovative Personal Assistance: Speech Recognition and NLP-Driven Robot Prototype

This paper presents the development and evaluation of a personal assistant robot prototype with advanced speech recognition and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. Powered by a Raspberry Pi microprocessor, it is the core component of the robot's hardware. It is designed to receive commands and promptly respond by performing the requested actions, utilizing integrated speech recognition and NLP technologies. The prototype aims to enhance meeting efficiency and productivity through audio-to-text conversion and high-quality image capture. Results show excellent performance, with accuracy rates of 100% in Indonesian and 99% in English. The efficient processing speed, averaging 9.07 seconds per minute in Indonesian and 15.3 seconds per minute in English, further enhances the robot's functionality. Additionally, integrating a high-resolution webcam enables high-quality image capture at 1280 x 720 pixels. Real-time integration with Google Drive ensures secure storage and seamless data management. The findings highlight the prototype's effectiveness in facilitating smooth interactions and effective communication, leveraging NLP for intelligent language understanding. Integrating NLP-based speech recognition, visual documentation, and data transfer provides a comprehensive platform for managing audio, text, and image data. The personal assistant robot prototype presented in this research represents a significant advancement in human-robot interaction, particularly in meeting and collaborative work settings. Further refinements in NLP can enhance efficiency and foster seamless human-robot interaction experiences.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF DESTRUCTIVE COPING BEHAVIOR OF WOMEN VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The article raises the topic of the formation of destructive coping behavior in women affected by domestic violence, highlights the reasons and consequences of such a choice. The modern world has different sides of manifestation, they can be both positive and negative. What we can mark as a value, what we are proud of and keep, does not raise questions or objections. The opposite of value is something humanity is trying to eradicate or change, which is an unpleasant part of our history. One such aspect is domestic violence. Unfortunately, the scale of this problem is quite large, it has no age limits, but it has a gender difference. The problem of the modern world, as it was hundreds of years ago, is the issue of overcoming domestic violence, which is still widespread in many countries of the world. And this is no exception in Ukraine. The vast majority of cases of domestic violence are recorded against women. Because it occurs in different layers of our society and therefore affects many aspects of life, it needs attention, especially for women who overcome difficulties and form behaviors that help them return to a full, healthy life. The mechanisms of creating opportunities and stimulating changes in victimized women are quite complex, as they affect not only the basic components of personality formation – resilience, self-respect and sufficient self-esteem, but also the external and internal levers of the entire society, modern forms of education of the young generation and the transformation of the country's culture as a whole. Domestic violence is one of the types of difficult life circumstances caused by the victim's need to overcome them. It is the coping behavior of victims under the category of destructiveness that deserves considerable attention. Often under the influence of certain factors determined by the specifics of upbringing (conditions of loyalty to facts of domestic violence), religious aspects (norms of humiliation, gender inequality), cultural characteristics of the family or the victim behavior of the woman herself, a non-constructive reaction to cases of violence is formed. The use of various options for psychological defense (avoidance, displacement, rejection, denial, etc.) will be clear signs of destructive coping. Clearly aware of the reasons for such a negative choice, which is often not an easy choice, but a complex system of formed survival skills, it is worth paying attention to the reverse path – the formation of new coping mechanisms, which requires significant efforts from the affected woman. In order to effectively overcome the consequences of difficult circumstances, it is vital for victims to find and master constructive coping strategies in order to have a healthy and fulfilling life in the future. This requires not only time, but also physical capabilities, psychological conditions, internal personal coherence and social assistance. It is with such a comprehensive approach that one can count on the effectiveness of the created and applied forms and methods of struggle.

PC Voice Navigation using Python

With the use of a software programmer called PC Voice Navigation System, users may navigate and operate their laptops and desktops by speaking instructions. The development of a PC voice navigation system utilizing the Python programming language is covered in this research report. An intuitive and hands-free user experience is offered by the system thanks to the utilization of text-to-voice synthesis, natural language [1]. processing, and speech recognition. A personal assistant for Linux-based systems is what it seeks to create. Cortana for Windows and Siri for iOS are two examples of virtual assistants that inspire Jarvis. It's been built to offer a User-Friendly Interface (UFI) for carrying out a range of operations by using certain Well-Defined Commands. Either voice commands or

Virtual Bot Powered by Machine Learning and NLP Technologies: Emulating Human-Like Conversations through Speech-to-Text Conversions

-The rapid advancements in machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) technologies have paved the way for the development of virtual bots capable of emulating human-like conversations. These virtual bots, also known as chatbots or conversational agents, utilize speech- to-text conversions to understand user input and generate appropriate responses. This research paper explores the key components and techniques involved in creating a virtual bot that leverages machine learning and NLP to facilitate human-like interactions. We discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with developing such virtual bots, including data collection, model training, and real-time speech recognition. Furthermore, we highlight the potential applications and future directions of virtual bots in various domains, such as customer service, personal assistants, and education. Key Words: Speech to text, NLP, Audio Transcribe.

Stable Walking Feedback Control for a Self-Balanced Lower Limb Exoskeleton for Paraplegics

Self-Balanced lower limb exoskeleton (SBLLE) is designed for rehabilitation and walking assistance for dyskinesia persons with spinal or lower limb muscle injury to regain the locomotion ability in daily activities. In this paper, an innovative feedback control strategy for a fully actuated SBLLE is presented, which helps users to walk stably without crutches or other assistive devices. Exoskeleton is approximated as a simplified center of mass (CoM) model. Based on this simplified dynamic model, the trajectory generation and walking feedback control strategy, which enhances the locomotion stability, is introduced. The proposed strategy is implemented on our exoskeleton, AutoLEE-II, and its stability and dynamic performance are demonstrated in the stable walking simulations and experiments for exoskeleton with a female subject.

Forensic investigation of small-scale digital devices: a futuristic view

Small-scale digital devices like smartphones, smart toys, drones, gaming consoles, tablets, and other personal data assistants have now become ingrained constituents in our daily lives. These devices store massive amounts of data related to individual traits of users, their routine operations, medical histories, and financial information. At the same time, with continuously evolving technology, the diversity in operating systems, client storage localities, remote/cloud storages and backups, and encryption practices renders the forensic analysis task multi-faceted. This makes forensic investigators having to deal with an array of novel challenges. This study reviews the forensic frameworks and procedures used in investigating small-scale digital devices. While highlighting the challenges faced by digital forensics, we explore how cutting-edge technologies like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science may play a role in remedying concerns. The review aims to accumulate state-of-the-art and identify a futuristic approach for investigating SSDDs.

Intelligent Personal Assistants in practice. Situational agencies and the multiple forms of cooperation without consensus

There are at least two perspectives concerning the role of digital and connected media systems in relation to individual agency. One suggests that individuals have a gain in agency while using digital devices and services while other approaches see that users become dependent on tech companies that use data flows to analyse and manipulate user behaviour. In our paper, we want to examine empirically how those two descriptions of agency work out and relate to each other. We use conversation analysis of face-to-interface interactions with smart speakers and intelligent personal assistants to examine the agency in front of the device and we rely on interviews with smart-speaker users to understand the users’ strategies to curtail the potentially unwanted effects of smart and connected devices and services. With reference to concepts of ‘co-operative work’ and ‘cooperation without consensus’ and a discussion of media and data practices, this paper elucidates how the two agencies of users and of device and service providers are intertwined and distributed.

Measuring perceived empathy in dialogue systems

Dialogue systems, from Virtual Personal Assistants such as Siri, Cortana, and Alexa to state-of-the-art systems such as BlenderBot3 and ChatGPT, are already widely available, used in a variety of applications, and are increasingly part of many people’s lives. However, the task of enabling them to use empathetic language more convincingly is still an emerging research topic. Such systems generally make use of complex neural networks to learn the patterns of typical human language use, and the interactions in which the systems participate are usually mediated either via interactive text-based or speech-based interfaces. In human–human interaction, empathy has been shown to promote prosocial behaviour and improve interaction. In the context of dialogue systems, to advance the understanding of how perceptions of empathy affect interactions, it is necessary to bring greater clarity to how empathy is measured and assessed. Assessing the way dialogue systems create perceptions of empathy brings together a range of technological, psychological, and ethical considerations that merit greater scrutiny than they have received so far. However, there is currently no widely accepted evaluation method for determining the degree of empathy that any given system possesses (or, at least, appears to possess). Currently, different research teams use a variety of automated metrics, alongside different forms of subjective human assessment such as questionnaires, self-assessment measures and narrative engagement scales. This diversity of evaluation practice means that, given two DSs, it is usually impossible to determine which of them conveys the greater degree of empathy in its dialogic exchanges with human users. Acknowledging this problem, the present article provides an overview of how empathy is measured in human–human interactions and considers some of the ways it is currently measured in human–DS interactions. Finally, it introduces a novel third-person analytical framework, called the Empathy Scale for Human–Computer Communication (ESHCC), to support greater uniformity in how perceived empathy is measured during interactions with state-of-the-art DSs.

Research priorities to enhance life for people with spinal cord injury: a Swedish priority setting partnership.

Mixed-method consensus development project. To identify the top ten research priorities for spinal cord injury (SCI). Nationwide in Sweden in 2021-22. The PSP process proposed by the James Lind Alliance was used. It comprises two main phases: question identification and priority selection. People living with SCI, relatives of people with SCI as well as health professionals and personal care assistants working with people with SCI were included. In the first phase, 242 respondents provided 431 inputs addressing potentially unanswered questions. Of these, 128 were beyond the scope of this study. The remaining 303 were merged to formulate 57 questions. The literature review found one question answered, so 56 questions proceeded to the prioritisation. In the second phase, the interim prioritisation survey, 276 respondents ranked the 56 questions. The top 24 questions then proceeded to the final prioritisation workshop, at which 23 participants agreed on the top ten priorities. This paper reveals issues that people living with SCI, relatives of people with SCI as well as health professionals and personal care assistants working with people with SCI find difficult to get answered. The top-priority questions for people living with SCI in Sweden concern specialist SCI care and rehabilitation, followed by a number of questions addressing physical health. Other topics, from the 56 key questions include Mental health, Ageing with SCI, Community support and personal care assistance, and Body functions. This result can guide researchers to design appropriate studies relevant to people with SCI. The project was funded by the Gothenburg Competence Centre for Spinal Cord Injury and the Swedish Association for Survivors of Accident and Injury (RTP).

The effects of workplace violence on the job stress of health care workers: buffering effects of wellbeing HRM practices

Contemporary research has focused on antecedents, incidences, and consequences of workplace violence in the healthcare sector. However, little is known about the role of HRM in supporting healthcare workers to cope with negative emotions arising from workplace violence. Grounded in the conservation of resources theory, this study examines the moderating effects of wellbeing HRM practices (WBHRM) on the relationship between workplace violence and job stress. We also examine the mediation effects of job stress on the relationship between workplace violence and quality of care. Data were gathered from 254 and 225 (Study 1) aged care workers (nurses and personal care assistants) in Australia and 136 healthcare workers (doctors and nurses) in China (Study 2) across multiple waves. We use a new measure of WBHRM in this paper to test our hypotheses. Results show that the presence of WBHRM practices moderated the relationship between workplace violence and job stress. We also found that job stress mediates the relationship between workplace violence and quality of care. The findings contribute to the HRM literature by providing an innovative WBHRM approach to support health care workers to cope with job stress after they experience workplace violence.

Real-time lumbosacral joint loading estimation in exoskeleton-assisted lifting conditions via electromyography-driven musculoskeletal models

Lumbar joint compression forces have been linked to the development of chronic low back pain, which is specially present in occupational environments. Offline methodologies for lumbosacral joint compression force estimation are not commonly integrated in occupational or medical applications due to the highly time-consuming and complex post-processing procedures. Hence, applications such as real-time adjustment of assistive devices (i.e., back-support exoskeletons) for optimal modulation of compression forces remains unfeasible. Here, we present a real-time electromyography (EMG)-driven musculoskeletal model, capable of estimating accurate lumbosacral joint moments and plausible compression forces. Ten participants performed box-lifting tasks (5 and 15 kg) with and without the Laevo Flex back-support exoskeleton using squat and stoop lifting techniques. Lumbosacral kinematics and EMGs from abdominal and thoracolumbar muscles were used to drive, in real-time, subject-specific EMG-driven models, and estimate lumbosacral joint moments and compression forces. Real-time EMG-model derived moments showed high correlations (R2 = 0.76 - 0.83) and estimation errors below 30% with respect to reference inverse dynamic moments. Compared to unassisted lifting conditions, exoskeleton liftings showed mean lumbosacral joint moments and compression forces reductions of 11.9 - 18.7 Nm (6 - 12% of peak moment) and 300 - 450 N (5 - 10%), respectively. Our modelling framework was capable of estimating in real-time, valid lumbosacral joint moments and compression forces in line with in vivo experimental data, as well as detecting the biomechanical effects of a passive back-support exoskeleton. Our presented technology may lead to a new class of bio-protective robots in which personalized assistance profiles are provided based on subject-specific musculoskeletal variables.

AI-empowered neural processing for personal and biomedical assistance

AI-empowered neural processing for personal and biomedical assistance

Unleashing the Potentials of Artificial Intelligence for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises: A Systematic Literature Review

Artificial intelligence has undergone rapid evolution, reaching a level of sophistication where it is now considered a personal assistant, aiding humans in their daily tasks. The potential of artificial intelligence can be observed in almost every sector of life including the business sector. Limited resources and skill capabilities especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises tend to hinder progress. However, given the current advanced level of artificial intelligence, it has emerged as an innovative and cost-effective solution to support business actors. This research systematically examines and discusses the potential of utilizing artificial intelligence in the business sector from credible and scientific sources. A systematic literature review methodology is used for this study. The review encompasses Scopus-indexed journals published between 2019 and 2023, with additional open-access publications. Based on the research findings, 106 studies were found, however, after the screening process the number of studies is reduced to 13 articles. Customer churn management emerged as the most prominent utilization of artificial intelligence. On the other hand, from a technological perspective, optimization technique emerged as the most frequently addressed topic in the examined studies.

The applications of chatbot

A chatbot is a program that uses natural language to simulate a human conversation. and can receive questions from users to answer, as well as engage in casual conversation with users in a set format or help them complete a matter. It can free up personnel in an organization that is needed for reasonably stable, repetitive, and demanding tasks or procedures. Natural language processing (NLP), an essential aspect of artificial intelligence, forms the foundation of the system., and neural networks (NNs) that receive natural language and process responses. In recent years, chatbots have grown significantly with the rise of artificial intelligence, with achievements by major Internet companies, various universities, and research institutes. This review provides a detailed study of chatbots in five areas of intelligence in recent years, including education, intelligent question and answer, customer service, entertainment, and personal assistants. The goal is to summarize the cutting-edge and effective technologies in each area. In reviewing these papers, we pay closer attention to the technology in this paper's potential development possibilities and whether relevant experiments or detailed descriptions are done for the proposed future extensions, etc. While we discuss and study the current technologies, we also pay attention to the possibilities and trends in the development of new fields.

Autonomous travel decision-making: An early glimpse into ChatGPT and generative AI

Generative AI technologies, including large language models (LLMs), have the potential to bring significant advancements to the tourism and hospitality industry through an array of ingenious features. ChatGPT, as a type of generative AI, is a state-of-the-art LLM that is bundled with extensive capabilities. This commentary provides an early snapshot of ChatGPT's ability to enhance the tourist decision-making process in the pre-trip, en-route, and post-trip stages. Particularly, ChatGPT greatly differentiates itself from the traditional travel decision-making process by putting the tourist in the driver's seat to actively probe for highly relevant information through a question-and-answer mode. In this research note, we present different scenarios with cases demonstrating how ChatGPT can improve tourists' experience in these three travel stages, with trip planning efficiency, customized recommendations, 24/7 personal assistant, AI-mediated communication fluency, autonomous guided tours, enriched sharing experience, and AI-induced prolonged satisfaction. In summary, these value-added autonomous services provide tourists with travel solutions that are highly cost-effective, offering customized information that allows them to travel with ease.

Do Home- and Community-Based Services Delay Frailty Onset in Older Adults With Low Care Needs?

ObjectivesTo assess whether using adult day services or personal assistance services can delay the onset of frailty among older adults with low care needs during a 5-year follow-up study. DesignThis prospective cohort study was conducted using long-term care and health insurance claims data. Setting and ParticipantsThis was a population-based study of 3 municipalities in Osaka, Japan. Initially, 655 nonfrail or prefrail individuals were included from a cohort of 790 population-based adults aged ≥65 years, who were newly certified as being on a support level of the long-term care insurance program from September 2012 to March 2013. MethodsUsing long-term care and health insurance claims data from the Southern Osaka Health and Aging Study, conducted between April 2012 and March 2017, monthly usage of adult day and personal assistance services was measured. Data were analyzed from December 2021 to January 2022. ResultsOf the 655 individuals (median age at baseline: 79 years), 436 (66.6%) were female, 388 (59.2%) were nonfrail, and 267 (40.8%) were prefrail, according to the Veterans Affairs Frailty Index. During the 5-year follow-up period, 222 individuals (33.9%) experienced the onset of frailty. The time-dependent Cox regression models showed that using adult day services lowered the risk of frailty when compared with not using such services [hazard ratio (HR) 0.60, 95% CI 0.42-0.86; P = .006], although personal assistance services usage was not associated with the onset of frailty (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.48-1.03, P = .07). Conclusions and ImplicationsUsing adult day services lowered the risk of frailty in older adults with low care needs over the 5-year follow-up period. The findings support the value of providing adult day services to prevent frailty for those in need of long-term care.

FUNCTIONAL STATUS AMONG PATIENTS WITH STAGE III PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Aims Of Study: The purpose of the study was to assess the functional capabilities of patients with Stage III Parkinson's disease (PD). Functional status of PD patients declines due to impaired postural reflexes and characteristic loss of balance which became evident at Stage III thus activities of daily living (ADLs) are compromised as the severity of the disease increases. Methodology: Descriptive case series was conducted on stage III PD patients (n=64). Patients with age ranges from 45 to 75 years were recruited and patients with other neurological issues were excluded. They were assessed using a Functional independence measure scale having reliability 0.95. Results: Out of 64 patients, 75% required minimal assistance and 9.4% required supervision while performing the ADLs. Whereas, 81% of patients need 2 hours of personal care assistance according to burden of care. Limitations & Future Implications: Only functional status of PD patient is determined no exercise regime or intervention were incorporated to assess their impact on the PD patient functional activities. Thus, future studies should be carried out to find the correlation between aerobic exercises and their impact on PD patient level of functional independence. Originality: Information added was all taken from databases and reduced to similarity index and was not submitted to any other journal. Conclusion: Stage III Parkinson’s disease patient required minimal level of assistance while performing tasks of daily living. However, majority of these patients required 2 hours of personal care assistance on average per day to compete with daily living.

When motherhood is not enough. Challenges of children with disabilities’ personal assistants

The present research aims to investigate the perception of the parent - personal assistant on his/her profession, but also on his/her personal life, with the aim of identifying the challenges, but also the opportunities that this status brings in the lives of the parents. Starting from the purpose of our research, two objectives were pursued, namely to identify the challenges and opportunities of the personal assistant position and to analyze the parents’ perception regarding the decision to become a personal assistant. The study was designed as a qualitative research approach, the interview method was considered the most appropriate to serve the research objectives. The research took place in a day center that offers recovery services to children with disabilities in Timișoara (Romania), the subjects of our research being exclusively mothers. The research revealed that the decision to become a personal assistant for the child with disabilities is dictated by the affection for the child and the sense of duty towards him as a parent, despite the financial well-being previously ensured by a well-paid job. What impacts the respondents’ lives is not the new job, but the confrontation with the child’s disability. If in some cases the disability was accepted relatively easily, the parents offering each other support, the level of cohesion increasing and benefiting of help from the extended family, we also identified a situation where the family fell apart. The only need claimed by the parents is that of counselling, the respondents complainings were on the difficulties they have to manage with regard to stress, fatigue and lack of free time.