User Interaction Capabilities Research Articles

Architectural views for social robots in public spaces: business, system, and security strategies

This study delineates a suite of architectural views and a security perspective tailored to guide the deployment and integration of Social Robots in Public Spaces (SRPS). It commences with a business context view that utilizes the customer-producer-supplier model, underscoring the value of SRPS to various stakeholders and illustrating how robots can enhance user experiences and drive economic benefits. The system context view details the intricate interactions among the social robot, stakeholders, public spaces, and external systems, highlighting essential considerations for successful deployment, from technical configurations to stakeholder engagement. The functional view elaborates on the operational dynamics of the robot within its environment, focusing on user interaction and data management capabilities. Additionally, the security perspective delves into security considerations vital for safeguarding the SRPS across various domains, including identity and access management, application and network security, and data privacy. The paper also contextualizes these views through a city ferry use case, demonstrating their practical application and reinforcing the importance of multifaceted planning and analysis in real-world settings. This approach provides a strategic framework views for developing SRPS that are viable, efficient, and secure, fostering successful adoption in diverse public environments.

Analysis of color properties of raster images of histological microspecimens: own research experience

This study is aimed to develop a computer program to analyze the color properties of raster images of histological microspecimens used in pathological anatomy and forensic medicine. When developing a computer program, we used the system for building client applications – Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). The system allows you to create applications with visually attractive user interaction capabilities. The programming language is C#, as well as basic graphics capabilities of the .NET Framework system are used. To speed up the display we applied double buffering. In the course of the research, the authors developed a modern computer program «Analysis of color properties of raster images». This program allows you to analyze the color of each individual pixel of a photograph in RGB and Lab color models, comparing the colors and brightness of individual pixels, selecting groups of points and determining statistical characteristics of them. Characteristic points are well distinguishable in the photographs, studied with the program «Analysis of color properties of raster images». This makes it possible to select and automate these properties, using computer recognition algorithms, completely removing human factor’s influence on the analysis results. The computer program «Analysis of color properties of raster images» is of significant scientific and practical interest for specialists both in the field of morphology (pathologists, forensic experts, etc.), and in the field of other biomedical disciplines.

An exploration-based approach to computationally supported design-by-analogy using D3

AbstractComputational support for design-by-analogy (DbA) is a growing field, as it aids the process for designers looking to draw inspiration from external sources by harnessing the power of data mining and data visualization. This study presents a unique exploration-based approach for the analogical retrieval process using a computational tool called VISION (VisualInteraction tool forSeekingInspiration basedOnNonnegative Matrix Factorization). Leveraging the U.S. patent database as a source of inspiration, VISION enables designers to visualize a patent repository and explore for analogical inspiration in a user-driven manner. To achieve this, we perform hierarchical Nonnegative Matrix Factorization to generate a clustered structure of patent data and employ D3.js to visualize the patent structure in a node-link network, in which user interaction capabilities are enabled for data exploration. In this study, we also analyze the effect of data size (ranging from 100 to 3000 patents) on two performance aspects of VISION – the clustering quality of topic modeling results and the frame rate of interactive data visualization. The findings show that the tool exhibits more randomized and inconsistent topic modeling results when the database size is too small. But, increasing the database size lowers the frame rate to the point that it could diminish designers’ ability to retrieve and recall information. The scope of the work here is to present the creation of the DbA visualization tool called VISION and to evaluate its data scale limitations in order to provide a basis for developing a visual interaction tool for the analogical retrieval process during DbA.

A Low Complexity Active Sensing and Inspection System for Monitoring of Moveable Radiation Environments

Due to the portable property of moveable radiation sources, the traditional monitoring method is becoming increasingly unsuitable and it is urgent to provide an effective and low-cost method. This paper presents an active monitoring scheme for moveable radiation environments, the in situ monitoring, including a radiation detection node, an infrared proximity node, and an alarm node; these three schemes communicate with each other through the ZigBee wireless network. An active monitoring mechanism which realizes the automatic judgment of radiation source inbound or outbound state is proposed, thereby automatically switching the data sampling mode under different working conditions, so as to reduce the energy consumption of nodes. Based on the mobile terminal client application to interact with the monitoring center, a collaborative management mode between enterprise users and the environmental protection department is realized. A testbed of a simple active sensing and inspection system is created to test its user interaction capabilities. Experimental results prove that the system schedule proposed can effectively detect and dynamically monitor the moveable radiation source. The system can be easily replicated and extended to more environmental monitoring network.

Mobile multi-view object image search

High user interaction capability of mobile devices can help improve the accuracy of mobile visual search systems. At query time, it is possible to capture multiple views of an object from different viewing angles and at different scales with the mobile device camera to obtain richer information about the object compared to a single view and hence return more accurate results. Motivated by this, we propose a new multi-view visual query model on multi-view object image databases for mobile visual search. Multi-view images of objects acquired by the mobile clients are processed and local features are sent to a server, which combines the query image representations with early/late fusion methods and returns the query results. We performed a comprehensive analysis of early and late fusion approaches using various similarity functions, on an existing single view and a new multi-view object image database. The experimental results show that multi-view search provides significantly better retrieval accuracy compared to traditional single view search.

A Smart Gateway Architecture for Improving Efficiency of Home Network Applications

A smart home gateway plays an important role in the Internet of Things (IoT) system that takes responsibility for the connection between the network layer and the ubiquitous sensor network (USN) layer. Even though the home network application is developing rapidly, researches on the home gateway based open development architecture are less. This makes it difficult to extend the home network to support new applications, share service, and interoperate with other home network systems. An integrated access gateway (IAGW) is proposed in this paper which upward connects with the operator machine-to-machine platform (M2M P/F). In this home network scheme, the gateway provides standard interfaces for supporting various applications in home environments, ranging from on-site configuration to node and service access. In addition, communication management ability is also provided by M2M P/F. A testbed of a simple home network application system that includes the IAGW prototype is created to test its user interaction capabilities. Experimental results show that the proposed gateway provides significant flexibility for users to configure and deploy a home automation network; it can be applied to other monitoring areas and simultaneously supports a multi-ubiquitous sensor network.

Analyzing Interaction for Automated Adaptation – First Steps in the IAAA Project

Abstract Because of an aging society and the relevance of computer-based systems in a variety of fields of our life, personalization of software systems is becoming more important by the day in order to prevent usage errors and create a good user experience. However, personalization typically is a time-consuming and costly process if it is done through manual configuration. Automated adaptation to specific users’ needs is, therefore, a useful way to reduce the efforts necessary. The IAAA project focuses on the analysis of user interaction capabilities and the implementation of automated adaptations based on them. However, the success of these endeavors is strongly reliant on a careful selection of interaction modalities as well as profound knowledge of the target group’s general interaction behavior. Therefore, as a first step in the project, an extensive task-based user observation with thorough involvement of the actual target group was conducted in order to determine input devices and modalities that would in a second step become subject of the first prototypic implementations. This paper discusses the general objectives of the IAAA project, describes the methodology and aims behind the user observation and presents its results.

Comparing two evolutionary algorithm based methods for layout generation: Dense packing versus subdivision

AbstractWe present and compare two evolutionary algorithm based methods for rectangular architectural layout generation: dense packing and subdivision algorithms. We analyze the characteristics of the two methods on the basis of three floor plan scenarios. Our analyses include the speed with which solutions are generated, the reliability with which optimal solutions can be found, and the number of different solutions that can be found overall. In a following step, we discuss the methods with respect to their different user interaction capabilities. In addition, we show that each method has the capability to generate more complex L-shaped layouts. Finally, we conclude that neither of the methods is superior but that each of them is suitable for use in distinct application scenarios because of its different properties.

A context-aware service provision system for smart environments based on the user interaction modalities

Ambient and pervasive technologies provide several ways to assist people with special needs in smart environments. However, the system's complexity and the size of the contextual information of these environments lead to several difficulties in deploying and providing the assistance services. A service provision mechanism which is aware of the environment context can simplify the deployment of assistance services on environment devices, by taking care of the decision processes. Moreover, the integration of the interaction modalities in the decision processes of such mechanisms allows deliveries of services to users based on their capabilities and preferences. In this paper, we present a context-aware service provision system for smart environment, which takes into account a whole set of contextual information: user profiles, device profiles, software profiles and environment topology. In regards to our previous work, this paper focuses on the modeling of the user interaction capabilities, built around the notion of interaction modalities. We also detail the integration of the model to the service provision reasoning process, as well as its implementation. Finally, we demonstrate the functionalities of this system through technical validations and scenarios carried out in a real smart apartment.

Coupling of interactive manufacturing operations simulation and immersive virtual reality

This paper presents a novel general-purpose simulation analysis application that combines concurrent operations simulation with the advanced data interrogation and user interaction capabilities of immersive virtual reality systems. The application allows for interactive modification of the simulation parameters, while providing the users with the available simulation information by effectively placing the operator in the midst of the environment being simulated. The major contribution of this research is the total integration of the immersive virtual reality environment with the simulation, allowing users in the environment to interactively change the inputs to the simulation as it is running. Implementation and functionality details of the developed application are presented. The experience of using the application to analyze a manufacturing operation in a collaborative scenario is also discussed.

AlignMiner: a Web-based tool for detection of divergent regions in multiple sequence alignments of conserved sequences

BackgroundMultiple sequence alignments are used to study gene or protein function, phylogenetic relations, genome evolution hypotheses and even gene polymorphisms. Virtually without exception, all available tools focus on conserved segments or residues. Small divergent regions, however, are biologically important for specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction, genotyping, molecular markers and preparation of specific antibodies, and yet have received little attention. As a consequence, they must be selected empirically by the researcher. AlignMiner has been developed to fill this gap in bioinformatic analyses.ResultsAlignMiner is a Web-based application for detection of conserved and divergent regions in alignments of conserved sequences, focusing particularly on divergence. It accepts alignments (protein or nucleic acid) obtained using any of a variety of algorithms, which does not appear to have a significant impact on the final results. AlignMiner uses different scoring methods for assessing conserved/divergent regions, Entropy being the method that provides the highest number of regions with the greatest length, and Weighted being the most restrictive. Conserved/divergent regions can be generated either with respect to the consensus sequence or to one master sequence. The resulting data are presented in a graphical interface developed in AJAX, which provides remarkable user interaction capabilities. Users do not need to wait until execution is complete and can.even inspect their results on a different computer. Data can be downloaded onto a user disk, in standard formats. In silico and experimental proof-of-concept cases have shown that AlignMiner can be successfully used to designing specific polymerase chain reaction primers as well as potential epitopes for antibodies. Primer design is assisted by a module that deploys several oligonucleotide parameters for designing primers "on the fly".ConclusionsAlignMiner can be used to reliably detect divergent regions via several scoring methods that provide different levels of selectivity. Its predictions have been verified by experimental means. Hence, it is expected that its usage will save researchers' time and ensure an objective selection of the best-possible divergent region when closely related sequences are analysed. AlignMiner is freely available at http://www.scbi.uma.es/alignminer.

Prototype details of the smartphone-based researcher's companion software (RCS)

Smartphones are handheld devices that include most or all the functionality of traditional personal digital assistants (PDAs) with the additional capability of serving as cell phones. One of the main issues with smartphones is a lack of software programs that meet the needs of certain tasks or application domains. The primary objective of the work presented in this paper has been to create a Researcher's Companion Software that uses the new smartphone technology and incorporates functions and features that meet the specific needs of researchers in various domains. The second objective of our work has been to place a strong emphasis on the software's ease of use and user interaction capabilities, such that researchers from various fields (e.g., engineering, environment studies, social sciences, medicine, arts, education, etc.) can use it almost immediately, without having to go through a lengthy learning process. The Researcher's Companion Software presented in this paper operates on Google's new smartphone platform Android. The RCS enables users to manage references, collaborators, notes, appointments, and checklists, and also provides some advanced capabilities. The key benefit of the RCS is its mobility, which allows researchers to keep track of their research-related information regardless of location, thus significantly improving their overall work productivity.

A multi-interface gateway architecture for home automation networks

This paper presents a multi-interface sensor network gateway architecture for home automation and other distributed monitoring applications. The gateway architecture provides multiple interfaces for supporting various application scenarios in home environments, ranging from on-site configuration to mobile access. A gateway prototype following the proposed architecture has been implemented. A testbed of a simple home automation network which includes the gateway prototype has also been created for testing its user interaction capabilities. Results of the demonstration experiment show that the proposed gateway gives good support to managing the home network from different user terminals and allows the users to better interact with the ambient environment.

MOPET: A context-aware and user-adaptive wearable system for fitness training

Cardiovascular disease, obesity, and lack of physical fitness are increasingly common and negatively affect people's health, requiring medical assistance and decreasing people's wellness and productivity. In the last years, researchers as well as companies have been increasingly investigating wearable devices for fitness applications with the aim of improving user's health, in terms of cardiovascular benefits, loss of weight or muscle strength. Dedicated GPS devices, accelerometers, step counters and heart rate monitors are already commercially available, but they are usually very limited in terms of user interaction and artificial intelligence capabilities. This significantly limits the training and motivation support provided by current systems, making them poorly suited for untrained people who are more interested in fitness for health rather than competitive purposes. To better train and motivate users, we propose the mobile personal trainer (MOPET) system. MOPET is a wearable system that supervises a physical fitness activity based on alternating jogging and fitness exercises in outdoor environments. By exploiting real-time data coming from sensors, knowledge elicited from a sport physiologist and a professional trainer, and a user model that is built and periodically updated through a guided autotest, MOPET can provide motivation as well as safety and health advice, adapted to the user and the context. To better interact with the user, MOPET also displays a 3D embodied agent that speaks, suggests stretching or strengthening exercises according to user's current condition, and demonstrates how to correctly perform exercises with interactive 3D animations. By describing MOPET, we show how context-aware and user-adaptive techniques can be applied to the fitness domain. In particular, we describe how such techniques can be exploited to train, motivate, and supervise users in a wearable personal training system for outdoor fitness activity.

Generating OpenMP code using an interactive parallelization environment

Code parallelization using OpenMP for shared memory systems is relatively easier than using message passing for distributed memory systems. Despite this, it is still a challenge to use OpenMP to parallelize application codes in a way that yields effective scalable performance when executed on a shared memory parallel system. We describe an environment that will assist the programmer in the various tasks of code parallelization and this is achieved in a greatly reduced time frame and level of skill required. The parallelization environment includes a number of tools that address the main tasks of parallelism detection, OpenMP source code generation, debugging and optimization. These tools include a high quality, fully interprocedural dependence analysis with user interaction capabilities to facilitate the generation of efficient parallel code, an automatic relative debugging tool to identify erroneous user decisions in that interaction and also performance profiling to identify bottlenecks. Finally, experiences of parallelizing some NASA application codes are presented to illustrate some of the benefits of using the evolving environment.

Interactive Dynamic Simulation Schemes for Articulated Bodies through Haptic Interface

This paper describes interactive dynamic simulation schemes for articulated bodies in virtual environments, where user interaction is allowed through a haptic interface. We incorporated these schemes into our dynamic simulator I-GMS, which was developed in an object-oriented framework for simulating motions of free bodies and complex linkages, such as those needed for robotic systems or human body simulation. User interaction is achieved by performing push and pull operations with the PHANToM haptic device, which runs as an integrated part of I-GMS. We use both forward and inverse dynamics of articulated bodies for the haptic interaction by the push and pull operations, respectively. We demonstrate the userinteraction capability of I-GMS through on-line editing of trajectories for 6-dof (degrees of freedom) articulated bodies.