Proactive Interaction Research Articles

Proactive Robots With the Perception of Nonverbal Human Behavior: A Review

Intelligent robot companions contribute significantly in improving living standards in the modern society. Therefore, human-like decision making skills are sought after during the design of such robots. On the one hand, such features enable the robot to be easily handled by its non-expert human user. On the other hand, the robot will have the capability of dealing with humans without causing any disturbance by the robot's behavior. Mimicing human emotional intelligence is one of the best and reasonable ways of laying the foundation for robotic emotional intelligence. As robots are widely deployed in social environments, perception of the situation or intentions of a user prior to an interaction is required to be proactive. Proactive robots are required to understand what is communicated by the human body language prior to approaching a human. Social constraints in an interaction could be demolished by this assessment in this regard. In this review, we incorporate various findings of human-robot interaction, social robotics and psychophysiology to assess intelligent systems which were capable of evaluating the emotional state of humans prior to an interaction. Second, we identify the cues and evaluation techniques that were utilized by such intelligent agents to simulate and evaluate the suitability of a proactive interaction. Available literature has been evaluated to distinguish limitations of existing methods and suggest possible improvements. These limitations, guiding principles to be adhered to and suggested improvements, are presented as an outcome of the review.

Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Suicide Prevention on Facebook

There is a death by suicide in the world every 40 seconds, and suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15–29-year-olds. Experts say that one of the best ways to prevent suicide is for those in distress to hear from people who care about them. Facebook is in a unique position—through its support for networks and friendships on the site—to help connect a person in these difficult situations with people who can support them. Connecting people with the resources they need is part of Facebook’s ongoing efforts to help build a safe community inside and outside of Facebook. This article provides a brief overview of how Facebook’s work to develop suicide prevention tools started and evolved, and the ethical considerations which surfaced during the process in the form of concrete product decisions around the implementation of these tools. This article is structured into three sections. Section 1 reviews what has been done in this space and lists and briefly describes other suicide prevention apps and tools. Section 2 describes Facebook’s overall approach to suicide prevention. Here, we’ll delve first into how that approach originated and how it was influenced by the external community’s proactive interactions with Facebook, highlighting our unique position to help address the problem. Afterwards, we’ll explain how that approach evolved, describing its various stages and iterations: understanding, reactive reporting, queue prioritization, and proactive reporting. This section describes the tools and resources Facebook has developed for people who may be at risk. Particular attention is devoted to the use of ArtificiaI Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to detect posts or live videos where someone might be expressing thoughts of suicide. Section 3 will elaborate on the ethical questions addressed when developing our approach and when making concrete product decisions to implement our suicide prevention tools. In this last section, we’ll expound the competing values and interests that were at stake during the product development process, and how we reached ethical balances between them.

Disability and Otherization: Readings on Cinema in the Light of UD Principles

Cinema and architecture are universal with their inclusiveness in the mental process. The mental process is often generated by the sense of sight in modern times. In this sense, cinema, as a visual art, has started to take an active role in the intellectual, conceptual and creative actions of modern man. With the cinema, the realities of the virtual world have become more convincing than the dreams of the real world. It involves person-environment relationships which might not be ours but “look like ours”. Universal Design (UD) also puts forward a proactive interaction in-between man and environment. UD is based on equitable, flexible, intuitive, perceptible, tolerant-to-error access with appropriate size and space. While its conceptual basis with its guidelines are commonly constructed on the spatial needs of people with disabilities, it highlights disability does not focus on only permanent, visible, bodily or intellectual (dis)abilities. Every kind of otherization creates disability in society. This study aims to investigate how the relationship between architecture and disability in cinema is portrayed by reading through films that are masterpieces covering experiences of different disability groups. Using Visual Analysis method in the study, the codes and categories generated based on the UD Principles are associated with selected visual images and dialogues according to the frames of meaning of the scenes in the films. In this way, this study aims to question the location of UD parameters in physical and social environment through cinema.

Training Joint Attention Skills and Facilitating Proactive Interactions in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Loosely Coupled Collaborative Tabletop-Based Application in a Chinese Special Education Classroom

Joint attention skills, broadly speaking, refer to the ability to share experiences and interests about objects and events with others in a social environment. Due to their impairment in joint attention skills, children with autism are usually facing communication challenges, for example, being reluctant to socialize and share items with others. Previous research, aiming to enhance and promote collaboration among children in this population, had designed collaborative games for children to share a single workspace with highly coupled collaborative tasks, which thus could result in forced collaboration and reduce game playability. To address this issue, we design a collaborative puzzle game to indirectly foster players’ collaboration and proactive interaction, to train their joint attention skills gradually. The application is different from previous ones in two aspects: (a) It supports loosely coupled collaboration between two players and (b) it focuses on measuring/promoting the joint attention skills among players. Specifically, some puzzle pieces of a player will be systematically put in another player’s workspace, and they are expected to notice and share them with the other player to complete the whole game. In addition, the game complexity can also be adaptively adjusted according to the players’ playing behavior.

The Sustainable Development Goals and REDD+: assessing institutional interactions and the pursuit of synergies

This paper analyzes potential synergies between two recent sustainable development initiatives, namely the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), a climate mitigation mechanism negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The paper elaborates a conceptual framework based on institutional interactions and distinguishes core, complementary, and supplementary synergies that may be realized between the SDGs and REDD+. Potential synergies are analyzed at the global level, as well as within two national-level contexts: Indonesia, with its long-standing REDD+ programme, and Myanmar, which is in the early stages of implementing REDD+. Both are now also engaging nationally with the SDG implementation process. Our research draws on literature review and document analysis, direct observations of global policy processes relating to REDD+ and SDGs, as well as extensive engagement (of one author) at national level in Indonesia and Myanmar. Our analysis reveals that there are currently significant opportunities to pursue synergies in the implementation of these international initiatives at the national level, although pro-active interaction management is necessary, especially to achieve complementary synergies.

A model to Enhance Interaction for People with Severe Intellectual Disability in Healthcare, Education and Interpreting

Abstract ICT tools are powerful instruments of communication which provide equality to those suffering from severe intellectual disability. We are presenting a model of comprehensive multimodal communication in order to enhance their chances to interact with others and improve professionals’ understanding of intellectual disability. Most of the existing literature on different disabilities focuses its attention on people who have some capacities to perform certain skills to a certain degree. Light and McNaughton (2014) claim that significant support is required to integrate people with severe or profound intellectual disabilities (SID) into their own communities. Our model allows effective learning and proactive interaction for both the disabled and for the professionals. Moreover, it offers resources and a wide range of knowledge about the syndromes and the right strategies to be used.

Employing proactive interaction for service failure prevention to improve customer service experiences

PurposeServices marketing research continues to be largely focused on firms’ reactive interactions for recovering from service failure rather than on proactive customer interactions that may prevent service failure from occurring in the first place. Building on previous studies that assess the efficacy of implementing proactive interaction in service provision contexts, the purpose of this paper is to compare the influences of proactive interaction to prevent service failure and reactive interaction to correct service failure on customer emotion and patronage behavior. Since proactive interaction for service failure prevention is a relatively underexplored and resource-intensive approach, the authors also assess the moderating influences of customer and firm-related characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThe study hypotheses are tested with survey data from two scenario-based experiments conducted in a retail setting.FindingsThe findings reveal that customers prefer service providers that take the initiative to get to them before they have to initiate contact for themselves. The findings also identify the moderating influences of relationship quality, situational involvement, and contact person status and motive.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the development of service provision theory and practice by expanding on previous studies which report that proactive efforts to prepare customers for the adverse effects of service failure are favorably received. The results also shed light on moderating factors that may further inform the exploitation of resource-intensive proactive interaction for service failure prevention. An agenda is proposed to stimulate future research on proactive customer interaction to prevent service failure in service provision contexts.

Pro-Active Interactions in the Substance of Knowledge for the Human Development Risk Management: Engineered Knowledge in the Human-Intellectual Analytical Derivation

Students’ attributes and capabilities are believed to be influenced by many factors including how they are assessed during their studies. The mode of assessment in a student-centred institution is theoretically analysed for the capacitated knowledge in the higher education learning. The normal theoretical assessment in student learning is regarded insufficiently for accountability in the students’ capabilities for decision making when considering the knowledge earned cumulatively through learning activities. The considered risks are prone to the absence of measurable substantive knowledge for proactive interactions in the learning progress. The proposed analytical approach for the accountable measure by the risk pricing institutional differential equation of Black and Scholes is subjected to cost efficacy in the overall complementary knowledge capacity in the mode of assessment. Knowledge acquisition in the learning of students needs to be accumulated through understanding of the associated concepts in relevant competencies by prioritising time and competency efforts accountable toward the accomplishment of learning tasks to characterise quantifiable students’ attributes. The learning approach is proposed to be an integrated cognitive experience based and activity task orientated where knowledge is earned outstandingly throughout the activity by task evaluation. The Green Policy Framework for the critical green growth motivates for an initiative that aids the development and the advancement of well-integrated green environments. The institutional differential equation by Black-Scholes is used in the modelling of the risk management process for the invested human and environment capital and competency progress. The probabilistic diffusion process is used in the modelling of the student-progress guided by the student-centred learning. The findings provided an analytical basis of the value creation in terms of the Black-Scholes institutional equation for the scientific management of the capability efforts in the competency risk. The scientifically managed financial-intellectual value is retained through the engineered knowledge capital model of the human-intellectual derivation. The proactive interactions induce the institutional green growth nurturing effort of accountability through environmental functionality and observations.

Environmental High Performance Urban Open Spaces Paving: Experimentations in Urban Barriera (Turin, Italy)

The aim of this paper is to describe the experimentation on environmental high performance urban paving for open space re- design in Urban Barriera program framework in Turin (Italy). Urban Barriera is a program designed to trigger a process of improvement of the “Barriera di Milano” area, the historical neighborhood in the northern part of the city. It was supported by the City of Turin, the Piedmont Region and the European Community, in order to operate on physical, economic, social aspects of the city by encouraging collaboration and proactive interaction between all actors and beneficiaries of urban redevelopment. Particular attention is given to the issue of re-design of urban open spaces, as an instrument for regeneration of the district also from the social point of view. The phase of competitive tender was preceded by a research on environmental high performance paving characterized by good properties related to solar absorption/reflection and permeability, selecting one of this materials for the redevelopment of public open space. In this work, the microclimate conditions of three urban areas were compared, with similar characteristics of morphological urban shape of buildings’ surround but different paving materials. The experimentation started with microclimate monitoring to evaluate outdoor thermal comfort; interviews on citizens and the calculation of thermal comfort indexes completed the analysis. Some of the thermal comfort indexes used are intended for outdoors spaces, but others were developed starting from indoor indexes. A first investigation on the correlation between outdoor thermal comfort indexes and subjective thermal perception have been conducted. The results of this paper analyse thermal comfort conditions during summertime with different paving materials and compare thermal comfort indexes with the subjects’ response. Some considerations on procedural aspects of an ordinary competitive tender concluded the study.

SPARTACUS: Self-Powered Augmented RFID Tag for Autonomous Computing and Ubiquitous Sensing

In recent years, besides the advances made in canonical UHF radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, intense research efforts are being made to design new passive augmented tags that enable RFID-based sensing. These efforts stimulate continued research aimed at providing tags with additional functionalities, besides identification and sensing. In this work, an innovative device, representing a new class of fully passive augmented UHF RFID tags, is presented. It is named SPARTACUS, an acronym for self-powered augmented RFID tag for autonomous computing and ubiquitous sensing. The device, based on an accurate electromagnetic design that exploits polarization diversity of two antennas, which perform both energy harvesting and communication, enables a full two-way proactive interaction with any standard RFID Class-1 Generation-2 reader. It conjugates identification, sensing, local computing, and actuation control, besides being compact, energy-efficient, and easy to use. This paper presents detailed designs of both RF interfaces and digital section, besides discussing system validation and performance evaluation, followed by demonstrating the significance of SPARTACUS in paving the way to new classes of applications in the Internet of Things.

협업성 강화를 위한 증강현실 기반의 협업적 교육 시스템

본 논문에서는 증강현실 기반의 협업적 교육 시스템을 설계하고 구현한다. 기존의 증강현실 교육 시스템이 협업성보다는 시스템과 학습자 간의 상호성만을 고려하였기 때문에 학습자들 간의 협력을 지원하고 장려하는 교육 시스템에 대한 효과적인 접근이 이루어지지 않았다. 협업적 교육은 학습자들이 해답을 찾기 위해 비판적인 사고와 협동의 작업을 통해 공동의 목적을 달성하는 교육 방식으로 학습자 간의 긍정적인 상호의존성, 적극적인 상호작용, 개인 및 그룹의 책임감, 팀워크 발달 등이 필요하다. 협업적 교육이 효과적으로 이루어지기 위해서는 교수자와 시스템의 역할이 중요하다. 교수자는 학습활동 초기에 프로젝트를 정의하고, 학습자 그룹을 형성하며, 그룹의 프로젝트에 대한 활동 평가 기준을 제공하여야 한다. 시스템은 상호작용 측면을 지원하고, 학습 활동을 촉진시켜야 한다. 또한 교수자는 학습자들의 상호작용 활동을 관리하고 평가할 수 있는 시스템을 제공하여야 한다. 본 논문은 이와 같이 협업적 교육 시스템에 대한 고려가 적용된 증강 현실 기반의 협업적 교육 시스템을 제안하고 구현한다. This paper aims to design and implement a collaborative learning system based on the augmented reality. The existing augment reality-based learning systems have just focused on interactivity between a system and learners without consideration of cooperability, thereby leading to an ineffective approach to encouraging an learning system to be more supportive and conducive of and to cooperation among learners. The collaborative learning system is a learning method, with which learners achieve a common objective through critical thinking and cooperative teamwork so as to seek solutions to such fulfillment. This requires positive interdependence, proactive interactions, a sense of responsibility shared by individuals as well as the group, and development of teamwork among learners. Educators and systems assume a critical role in helping the collaborative education be effective. An educator is responsible for defining a project at the outset of learning activities, organizing groups for learners, and providing evaluation criteria applied to a group's project activities. Meanwhile, a system shall support interactions to take place while facilitating learning activities. Furthermore, an educator shall provide a system for managing and evaluating activities involving interactions among learners. This paper suggests and embodies a collaborative learning system based on the augmented reality with consideration of the aforementioned collaborative education.

High-Fidelity Simulation Training in Advanced Resuscitation for Pharmacy Residents

To assess the impact of high-fidelity patient simulation on pharmacy resident knowledge, confidence, and competency with advanced resuscitation algorithms and interventions. An overview of the institutional cardiopulmonary arrest algorithm and a review of pertinent medications and calculations were presented to postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residents, followed by participation in 3 simulated clinical scenarios using a high-fidelity mannequin. An improvement of pharmacy resident knowledge, confidence, and competency with advanced resuscitation skills was observed. In addition, pharmacy residents demonstrated high performance levels with skills requiring advanced competency and proactive interactions with the cardiac arrest team. Incorporating high-fidelity patient simulation into an advanced resuscitation training program can help pharmacy residents achieve competency through the active learning of practical skills.

Multiple contest experiences interact to influence each other’s effect on subsequent contest decisions in a mangrove killifish

Many animals modify behavioural decisions based on information they have previously acquired. Contest behaviour is often affected by previous contest experiences: individuals behave more and less aggressively after a victory and defeat, respectively (winner/loser effect). Individuals in the field sometimes encounter multiple competitors in quick succession, but whether these experiences interact to influence each other's importance is unclear. We tested five hypotheses for experience interaction (no interaction, retroactive interference, proactive interaction, reinforcement and diminishing returns) using Kryptolebias marmoratus. Focal individuals were paired up with opponents having the same 1-month contest outcome (1month before the experiment), as this difference in actual or perceived fighting ability has been shown to affect the fish's response to new experiences. We gave the focal individual of a pair a winning or losing experience on day 1. Then both fish of the pair received the same winning, losing or no-contest experience on day 2. Then we organised fights between the two. The effect of a day-1 losing experience did depend on the fish's actual or perceived fighting ability: one-month losers readily showed loser effects from the day-1 losing experience, irrespective of the day-2 experience (i.e. no interaction between day-1 and day-2 experiences). One-month winners, however, only showed loser effects from a day-1 losing experience when the day-2 experience was also a loss (i.e. reinforcement). Day-1 winning experiences did not interact with day-2 experiences in 1-month losers or winners. Therefore, multiple experiences sometimes reinforce each other, but how they combine to influence behaviour depends on an individual's actual or perceived fighting ability.

Demand-side management for energy in the region

The article deals with a promising approach to solving the problem of investment in the regional electric power industry — the application of demand-side management, the essence of which lies in proactive interaction of energy companies with customers, based on the balance of economic interests. The features of the concept and its tools are revealed, positive results of its implementation for energy market players and the region are shown, and examples of demand-side management programs are given. Institutional and mental barriers to effective implementation of demand-side management tools in power generation are analyzed. The article also proposes algorithms for implementing demand-side management programs in the region, and a mix of motivational activities that combines methods of administrative enforcement and economic stimulus for energy companies and consumers of energy and power, as well as guidelines on project funding and effectiveness evaluation.

Development of the human potential in Russian and foreign countries

The article deals with a promising approach to solving the problem of investment in the regional electric power industry — the application of demand-side management, the essence of which lies in proactive interaction of energy companies with customers, based on the balance of economic interests. The features of the concept and its tools are revealed, positive results of its implementation for energy market players and the region are shown, and examples of demand-side management programs are given. Institutional and mental barriers to effective implementation of demand-side management tools in power generation are analyzed. The article also proposes algorithms for implementing demand-side management programs in the region, and a mix of motivational activities that combines methods of administrative enforcement and economic stimulus for energy companies and consumers of energy and power, as well as guidelines on project funding and effectiveness evaluation.

MONITORING ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH THE ROBOCARE DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT: INTERACTION SYNTHESIS AND USER EVALUATION

This article describes aspects of a fully implemented artificial intelligence (AI) system that integrates multiple intelligent components to actively assist an elderly person at home. Specifically, we describe how constraint‐based scheduling technology is used to actively monitor a pattern of activities executed by the person and how detected temporal constraint violations are used to trigger meaningful and contextualized proactive interactions. This article also presents a psychological evaluation of the system focusing on elderly people's attitudes, in which system acceptability, perceived utility, interaction modality, and emotional response are considered.

Interaction Modeling and Prediction in Smart Spaces: A Bio-Inspired Approach Based on Autobiographical Memory

In Smart Spaces (SSs), the capability of learning from experience is fundamental for autonomous adaptation to environmental changes and for proactive interaction with users. New research trends for reaching this goal are based on neurophysiological observations of human brain structure and functioning. A learning technique that is used to provide the SS with the so-called Autobiographical Memory is presented here by drawing inspiration from a bio-inspired model of the interactions occurring between the system and the user. Starting from the hypothesis that user's actions have a direct influence on the internal system state variables and vice versa, a statistical voting algorithm is proposed for inferring the cause/effect relationships among users and the system. The main contribution of this paper lies in proposing a general framework that is able to allow the SS to be aware of its present state as well as of the behavior of its users and to be able to predict the expected consequences of user actions.

Rule-based intelligence for domotic environments

In the last years Home Automation systems gained new momentum, permeating many human-related environments, from homes to hospitals. The rapid evolution of such systems showed several interoperability pitfalls and a generally insufficient support for advanced user–home interaction. To tackle these emerging issues, recent research works defined the concept of Intelligent Domotic Environments (IDEs) where different automation systems, appliances and devices are integrated into a single powerful environment, capable of providing Ambient Intelligence (AmI) functionalities. IDEs represent one of the first attempts to define a framework for AmI environments based on off-the-shelf domotic systems. This paper contributes to extend IDE capabilities by supporting basic intelligence requirements through a rule-based reasoning mechanism. Starting from a formal model of IDE elements (DogOnt), rules are defined to evaluate environment properties. Property checking is done both off-line, for structural properties, i.e., properties involving the physical structure and configuration of the IDE, and on-line for properties dependent on current IDE states. Two rule languages, SWRL and JenaRules, are considered for rule formalization and their reasoning performance is evaluated by comparing two different rule engines, namely Jess and Jena. Results show that rule-based reasoning can deal with quite complex property checking, effectively addressing basic intelligence for IDEs and providing the basis for more advanced behaviors such as user adaptation and proactive interaction.

Aesthetic experience of proactive interaction with cultural art

'Interactive brick sculpture' is developed to provide participants with varied participatory and perceptual experiences. It offers an attractive and pleasurable experience to refresh the value of traditional culture in the digital era. This project creates an interactive environment with ambiance interface of proactive computing. The projected brick images are freely manipulated by participants' gestures and movements. Via customised involvement, it arouses the interest in people of any age to experience traditional crafts in a pleasurable and natural environment. 'Interactive brick sculpture' also persuades participants' collaborative relationship and engages them to create various brick patterns together through their physical interaction with the artwork. Furthermore, the elements of aesthetic interaction and pleasure for the aesthetic experience are discussed in this study.

Model for supporting awareness in the CSCL ALLEGRO environment through a blackboard architecture

This paper is aimed at describing collaborative activities, the awareness process and blackboard architecture used within the ALLEGRO system, a multi-agent learning and teaching environment which has included artificial intelligence mechanisms (instructional planning (IP), cased-based reasoning (CBR), multi-agent systems (MAS), intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) and computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL)). The proposed model of awareness promotes communication, collaboration and coordination in CSCL ALLEGRO. MAS-CommonKADS methodology was applied for building the Multi-Agent system. ALLEGRO based its instructional approach on the following three pedagogical paradigms: conductive behavior, cognitive mechanisms (distributed cognition and problem-based learning) and social-historical theory. The system was validated via several case studies regarding the graphical digital domain for postgraduate architectural studies. The proposed awareness model lets students develop important skills such as conscious behavior, communication, collaboration and coordination in the CSCL component of the ALLEGRO system. This model facilitates students acquiring a perception of what others are doing inside the CSCL, thereby using such knowledge for interacting with the environment and developing leading to expressing and exchanging ideas and opinions with other students, transforming the class into an open virtual forum for reflection, proactive interaction and a critical space for exchanging ideas. The proposed instructional model is a valuable resource from the technological and pedagogical point of view as different theories are integrated, some of them conflicting with others.