| 1. |
- Lowe, Robert, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Designing for a Wearable Affective Interface for the NAO Robot : A Study of Emotion Conveyance by Touch
- 2018
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Ingår i: Multimodal Technologies and Interaction. - : M D P I AG. - 2414-4088. ; 2:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We here present results and analysis from a study of affective tactile communication between human and humanoid robot (the NAO robot). In the present work, participants conveyed eight emotions to the NAO via touch. In this study, we sought to understand the potential for using a wearable affective (tactile) interface, or WAffI. The aims of our study were to address the following: (i) how emotions and affective states can be conveyed (encoded) to such a humanoid robot, (ii) what are the effects of dressing the NAO in the WAffI on emotion conveyance and (iii) what is the potential for decoding emotion and affective states. We found that subjects conveyed touch for longer duration and over more locations on the robot when the NAO was dressed with WAffI than when it was not. Our analysis illuminates ways by which affective valence, and separate emotions, might be decoded by a humanoid robot according to the different features of touch: intensity, duration, location, type. Finally, we discuss the types of sensors and their distribution as they may be embedded within the WAffI and that would likely benefit Human-NAO (and Human-Humanoid) interaction along the affective tactile dimension.
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| 2. |
- Dodig Crnkovic, Gordana, 1955, et al.
(författare)
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Morphological Computing and Cognitive Agency
- 2017
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Ingår i: Proceedings (MDPI). - Gothenburg, Sweden : MDPI. - 2504-3900. ; 1:3, s. 185-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Morphological computing, at its core, entails that the morphology (shape + material properties) of an agent (a living organism or a machine) enables and constrains its possible (physical and social)interactions with the environment as well as its development, including its growth and reconfiguration. The role of such computation in cognitive systems includes the off-loading of control onto the body and its interaction with the environment thus enabling flexible and adaptivebehavior. In a more general sense, cognitive agency instantiated by the interaction processes of morphological structures in networks of networks of cognitive agents from cells to organisms and societies is a basis of understanding of embodiment of cognition on variety of levels of (self-)organisation of physical matter from its basic physical structures via chemistry and biology with life itself as cognitive process.
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| 3. |
- Lowe, Robert
(författare)
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Emotions in Robots: Embodied Interaction in Social and Non-Social Environments
- 2019
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Ingår i: Multimodal Technologies and Interaction. - : MDPI AG. - 2414-4088. ; 3:3, s. 1-4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whether they are considered discrete or dimensional, emotions are ’embodied’ phenomena. The embodied agent does not play a merely passive role in emotion processing. Rather, the body itself, in interaction with its external environment, influences how real/imagined, environmental stimuli are perceived and acted upon. The body behaviorally orients and acts, and internally physiologically ‘prepares’ in relation to its external environment [1]. Today, we see a shift towards robots that need to interact in relation to the social and emotional aspects of human environments. There are at least two areas in which ‘embodied’ implementations of emotional processes can enhance robotic performance in human environments: (i) improved human-inter-actor experience and (ii) facilitated competence. The mode of embodiment of the emotion-guided robot entails not only its physical dimension regarding how and what it senses and appears to human inter-actors, but also its internal homeostatic aspects that regulate its goals and those very same interactions. The increased emphasis over the past two decades in the area of social and non-social robotics on emotional activity is a testimony to its perceived importance within the robotics community. The embodied emotional activity in robots is perhaps most famously recognized in terms of emotion expression capabilities, above all with respect to facial expression [2,3]. The extent to which such robots socially appropriately express emotional or empathic states [3], e.g., according to underlying homeostatic computations [2], largely determines the extent to which the robots are positively received by their human inter-actors. Such aspects of embodiment to emotional activity in robots, including how emotions influence decision-making and aspects of functional (including non-social) interactive behavior, are often undervalued or at least sub-ordinated with respect to the expressive facets of emotional embodiment. The aforementioned role of homeostasis has been demonstrated to provide an important function for robots required to behave autonomously over unspecified durations, e.g., in not-well-understood, or otherwise inaccessible, environments [4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. This notion has more recently been extended to incorporate the notion of predictive regulation (or allostasis) [11,12] and has been considered with respect to artificial systems [13,14]. Providing the tools for robots to not just express but also interpret embodied emotional engagement, e.g., through the modality of tactile interaction [15,16,17], also provides an interesting area of relatively recent research. Robotic agents have also been used in clinical settings, e.g., to facilitate the development of autistic children for whom a robot, more predictable than a human, can provide a suitable interacting partner. The physical appearance, mode of embodied interaction, and environmental setting, all provide crucial elements in the emotional engagement that can ensue [18]. Even outside the clinical setting, robots designed to interact with humans over long periods, i.e., not just as care-givers or trainers, but as robotic companions, should engage with humans in ways that are functional, believable, and even creative [19].
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| 4. |
- Lowe, Robert
(författare)
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Habit-Based and Goal-Directed Systems: Knowledge Transfer in Individual and Social Learning
- 2020
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Ingår i: Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics book series (SAPERE, volume 52). - : Springer. ; , s. 153-167
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present chapter discusses value-based habitual and goal-directed systems as studied in the animal and human learning literature. It focuses on the means by which these two systems might interact in knowledge transfer, particularly as it applies to social learning. Knowledge is conceived here in terms of types of logic computations as implemented by neural networks. A discussion of dual-process type structures in the brain is provided as well as neural-dynamic implementations thereof and considerations for how a perspective of the brain as carrying out logic computations might be useful for developing the general cognitive capacities of artificial agents.
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| 5. |
- Lowe, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Learning and Adaptation: Neuronal Mechanisms Behind Behaviour Change
- 2018
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Ingår i: Connection science. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0954-0091 .- 1360-0494. ; 30:Special Issue, s. 1-4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This special issue presents perspectives on learning and adaptation as they apply to a number of cognitive phenomena including pupil dilation in humans and attention in robots, natural language acquisition and production in embodied agents (robots), human-robot game play and social interaction, neural-dynamic modelling of active perception and neural-dynamic modelling of infant development in the Piagetian A-not-B task. The aim of the special issue, through its contributions, is to highlight some of the critical neural-dynamic and behavioural aspects of learning as it grounds adaptive responses in robotic- and neural-dynamic systems.
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| 6. |
- Saunders, Harry D., et al.
(författare)
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Energy Efficiency : What Has Research Delivered in the Last 40 Years?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Annual Review of Environment and Resources. - : Annual Reviews. - 1543-5938 .- 1545-2050. ; 46, s. 135-165
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article presents a critical assessment of 40 years of research that may be brought under the umbrella of energy efficiency, spanning different aggregations and domains-from individual producing and consuming agents to economy-wide effects to the role of innovation to the influence of policy. After 40 years of research, energy efficiency initiatives are generally perceived as highly effective. Innovation has contributed to lowering energy technology costs and increasing energy productivity. Energy efficiency programs in many cases have reduced energy use per unit of economic output and have been associated with net improvements in welfare, emission reductions, or both. Rebound effects at the macro level still warrant careful policy attention, as they may be nontrivial. Complexity of energy efficiency dynamics calls for further methodological and empirical advances, multidisciplinary approaches, and granular data at the service level for research in this field to be of greatest societal benefit.
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| 7. |
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The Logic of Social Practices
- 2020
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This book reports on cutting-edge research concerning social practices. Merging perspectives from various disciplines, including philosophy, biology, and cognitive science, it discusses theoretical aspects of social behavior along with models to investigate them, and also presents key case studies. Further, It describes concepts related to habits, routines, and rituals and examines important features of human action, such as intentionality and choice, exploring the influence of specific social practices in different situations. Based on a workshop held in June 2018 at the 6th World Congress of Universal Logic, UNILOG2018, in Vichy, and including additional invited chapters, the book offers fresh insights into the fields of social practice and the cognitive, computational, and philosophical tools to understand them.
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| 8. |
- Alenljung, Beatrice, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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Conveying Emotions by Touch to the Nao Robot : A User Experience Perspective
- 2018
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Ingår i: Multimodal Technologies and Interaction. - : MDPI. - 2414-4088. ; 2:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Social robots are expected gradually to be used by more and more people in a widerrange of settings, domestic as well as professional. As a consequence, the features and qualityrequirements on human–robot interaction will increase, comprising possibilities to communicateemotions, establishing a positive user experience, e.g., using touch. In this paper, the focus is ondepicting how humans, as the users of robots, experience tactile emotional communication with theNao Robot, as well as identifying aspects affecting the experience and touch behavior. A qualitativeinvestigation was conducted as part of a larger experiment. The major findings consist of 15 differentaspects that vary along one or more dimensions and how those influence the four dimensions ofuser experience that are present in the study, as well as the different parts of touch behavior ofconveying emotions.
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| 9. |
- Alenljung, Beatrice, et al.
(författare)
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User Experience of Conveying Emotions by Touch
- 2017
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 26th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN). - : IEEE. - 9781538635179 - 9781538635193 - 9781538635186 ; , s. 1240-1247
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the present study, 64 users were asked to convey eight distinct emotion to a humanoid Nao robot via touch, and were then asked to evaluate their experiences of performing that task. Large differences between emotions were revealed. Users perceived conveying of positive/pro-social emotions as significantly easier than negative emotions, with love and disgust as the two extremes. When asked whether they would act differently towards a human, compared to the robot, the users’ replies varied. A content analysis of interviews revealed a generally positive user experience (UX) while interacting with the robot, but users also found the task challenging in several ways. Three major themes with impact on the UX emerged; responsiveness, robustness, and trickiness. The results are discussed in relation to a study of human-human affective tactile interaction, with implications for human-robot interaction (HRI) and design of social and affective robotics in particular.
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| 10. |
- Billing, Erik, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Finding Your Way from the Bed to the Kitchen: Reenacting and Recombining Sensorimotor Episodes Learned from Human Demonstration
- 2016
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Robotics and Ai. - Lausanne, Switzerland : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-9144. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several simulation theories have been proposed as an explanation for how humans and other agents internalize an "inner world" that allows them to simulate interactions with the external real world - prospectively and retrospectively. Such internal simulation of interaction with the environment has been argued to be a key mechanism behind mentalizing and planning. In the present work, we study internal simulations in a robot acting in a simulated human environment. A model of sensory-motor interactions with the environment is generated from human demonstrations and tested on a Robosoft Kompai robot. The model is used as a controller for the robot, reproducing the demonstrated behavior. Information from several different demonstrations is mixed, allowing the robot to produce novel paths through the environment, toward a goal specified by top-down contextual information. The robot model is also used in a covert mode, where the execution of actions is inhibited and perceptions are generated by a forward model. As a result, the robot generates an internal simulation of the sensory-motor interactions with the environment. Similar to the overt mode, the model is able to reproduce the demonstrated behavior as internal simulations. When experiences from several demonstrations are combined with a top-down goal signal, the system produces internal simulations of novel paths through the environment. These results can be understood as the robot imagining an "inner world" generated from previous experience, allowing it to try out different possible futures without executing actions overtly. We found that the success rate in terms of reaching the specified goal was higher during internal simulation, compared to overt action. These results are linked to a reduction in prediction errors generated during covert action. Despite the fact that the model is quite successful in terms of generating covert behavior toward specified goals, internal simulations display different temporal distributions compared to their overt counterparts. Links to human cognition and specifically mental imagery are discussed.
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