134 research outputs found
Tactile Navigation Display
No full textThe use of the tactile modality is not common in Human Computer Interaction. However, there may be good reasons to do so. For example in situations in which the visual sense is restricted (e.g., in virtual environments lacking a wide field of view, or for the visually handicapped persons), or overloaded (e.g., flying an airplane or driving in an unknown city). The lack of a wide visual field of view excludes the use of peripheral vision and may therefore degrade navigation, orientation, motion perception, and object detection. Tactile actuators applied to the torso, however, have a 360° horizontal ‘field of touch’, and may therefore be suited to compensate for the degraded visual information
Using neurophysiological signals that reflect cognitive or affective state
Full text linkWhat can we learn from spontaneously occurring brain and other physiological signals about an individual’s cognitive and affective state and how can we make use of this information? One line of research that is actively involved with this question is Passive Brain-Computer-Interfaces (BCI). To date most BCIs are aimed at assisting patients for whom brain signals could form an alternative output channel as opposed to more common human output channels, like speech and moving the hands. However, brain signals (possibly in combination with other physiological signals) also form an output channel above and beyond the more usual ones: they can potentially provide continuous, online information about an individual’s cognitive and affective state without the need of conscious or effortful communication. The provided information could be used in a number of ways. Examples include monitoring cognitive workload through EEG and skin conductance for adaptive automation or using ERPs in response to errors to correct for a behavioral response. While Passive BCIs make use of online (neuro)physiological responses and close the interaction cycle between a user and a computer system, (neuro)physiological responses can also be used in an offline fashion. Examples of this include detecting amygdala responses for neuromarketing, and measuring EEG and pupil dilation as indicators of mental effort for optimizing information systems. The described field of applied (neuro)physiology can strongly benefit from high quality scientific studies that control for confounding factors and use proper comparison conditions. Another area of relevance is ethics, ranging from dubious product claims, acceptance of the technology by the general public, privacy of users, to possible effects that these kinds of applications may have on society as a whole. In this Research Topic we aimed to publish studies of the highest scientific quality that are directed towards applications that utilize spontaneously, effortlessly generated neurophysiological signals (brain and/or other physiological signals) reflecting cognitive or affective state. We especially welcomed studies that describe specific real world applications demonstrating a significant benefit compared to standard applications. We also invited original, new kinds of (proposed) applications in this area as well as comprehensive review articles that point out what is and what is not possible (according to scientific standards) in this field. Finally, we welcomed manuscripts on the ethical issues that are involved. Connected to the Research Topic was a workshop (held on June 6, during the Fifth International Brain-Computer Interface Meeting, June 3-7, 2013, Asilomar, California) that brought together a diverse group of people who were working in this field. We discussed the state of the art and formulated major challenges, as reflected in the first paper of the Research Topic
Gaze-independent ERP-BCIs: augmenting performance through location-congruent bimodal stimuli
No full textGaze-independent event-related potential (ERP) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) yield relatively low BCI performance and traditionally employ unimodal stimuli. Bimodal ERP-BCIs may increase BCI performance due to multisensory integration or summation in the brain. An additional advantage of bimodal BCIs may be that the user can choose which modality or modalities to attend to. We studied bimodal, visual-tactile, gaze-independent BCIs and investigated whether or not ERP components’ tAUCs and subsequent classification accuracies are increased for (1) bimodal versus unimodal stimuli, (2) location-congruent versus location-incongruent bimodal stimuli, and (3) attending to both modalities versus to either one modality. We observed an enhanced bimodal (compared to unimodal) P300 tAUC, which appeared to be positively affected by location-congruency (p=.056) and resulted in higher classification accuracies. Attending either to one or to both modalities of the bimodal location-congruent stimuli resulted in differences between ERP components, but not in classification performance. We conclude that location-congruent bimodal stimuli improve ERP-BCIs, and offer the user the possibility to switch the attended modality without losing performance
Gastrointestinal tract-based implicit measures for cognition, emotion and behavior
Full text linkImplicit physiological measures such as heart rate and skin conductance convey information about someone's cognitive or affective state. Currently, gastrointestinal (GI) tract-based markers are not yet considered while both the organs involved as well as the microbiota populating the GI tract are bidirectionally connected to the brain and have a relation to emotion, cognition and behavior. This makes GI tract-based measures relevant and interesting, especially because the relation may be causal, and because they have a different timescale than current physiological measures. This perspective paper (1) presents the (mechanistic) involvement of the GI tract and its microbiota in emotion, cognition and behavior; (2) explores the added value of microbiome-based implicit measures as complementary to existing measures; and (3) sets the priorities to move forward. Five potential measures are proposed and discussed in more detail: bowel movement, short-chain fatty acids, tyrosine and tryptophan, GI tract flora composition, and cytokine levels. We conclude (1) that the involvement of the GI tract in emotion, cognition and behavior is undisputed, (2) that GI tract-based implicit measures are still in a conceptual phase of development but show potential and (3) that the first step to bring this field forward is to start validation studies in healthy humans and that are designed in the context of implicit measurements
The EmojiGrid as a rating tool for the affective appraisal of touch
Full text linkIn this study we evaluate the convergent validity of a new graphical self-report tool (the EmojiGrid) for the affective appraisal of perceived touch events. The EmojiGrid is a square grid labeled with facial icons (emoji) showing different levels of valence and arousal. The EmojiGrid is language independent and efficient (a single click suffices to report both valence and arousal), making it a practical instrument for studies on affective appraisal. We previously showed that participants can intuitively and reliably report their affective appraisal (valence and arousal) of visual, auditory and olfactory stimuli using the EmojiGrid, even without additional (verbal) instructions. However, because touch events can be bidirectional and dynamic, these previous results cannot be generalized to the touch domain. In this study, participants reported their affective appraisal of video clips showing different interpersonal (social) and object-based touch events, using either the validated 9-point SAM (Self-Assessment Mannikin) scale or the EmojiGrid. The valence ratings obtained with the EmojiGrid and the SAM are in excellent agreement. The arousal ratings show good agreement for object-based touch and moderate agreement for social touch. For social touch and at more extreme levels of valence, the EmojiGrid appears more sensitive to arousal than the SAM. We conclude that the EmojiGrid can also serve as a valid and efficient graphical self-report instrument to measure human affective response to a wide range of tactile signals
Cyber-Physical Humans at the Intersection of Digital Twins, Immersive Internet and Telepresence
No full textThe digital transformation is ongoing and affects all aspects of our professional and personal life. This paper sketches three transformations and introduces the concept of Cyber-Physical Humans as an inevitable result of their merger. Cyber-Physical Humans connect the cyberspace (back) with the physical space and derive their value in their capability to interact directly, or indirectly, with the physical world. This means that in the real world, we can encounter representations of people present in cyberspace for instance as holographic projection or as robotic avatar. Emerging technologies allow us to be present in the real world, in a digital world, in a remote world, or in multiple worlds at the same time. It is no longer hypothetical to be in the real world and talk with one colleague who is present through a holographic projection from the metaverse and another who is present through a robotic avatar operated in telepresence from a remote control station. These digital transformations will blur the lines between the real, the virtual, and the remote world with potentially huge consequences for the way we live, work and communicate. This predictably comes with great opportunities and risks amongst others health risks (isolation, problematic use, cyber sickness), and security & privacy risks (deep-fakes, alternate presentations, spoofing, identity theft). It is important to address these risks to ensure that the benefits of Cyber-Physical Humans are maximized while minimizing the negative consequences
Connected Through Mediated Social Touch: “Better Than a Like on Facebook.” A Longitudinal Explorative Field Study Among Geographically Separated Romantic Couples
Full text linkIn recent years, there has been a significant increase in research on mediated communication via social touch. Previous studies indicated that mediated social touch (MST) can induce similar positive outcomes to interpersonal touch. However, studies investigating the user experience of MST technology predominantly involve brief experiments that are performed in well-controlled laboratory conditions. Hence, it is still unknown how MST affects the relationship and communication between physically separated partners in a romantic relationship, in a naturalistic setting and over a longer period of time. In a longitudinal explorative field study, the effects of MST on social connectedness and longing for touch among geographically separated romantic couples were investigated in a naturalistic setting. For 2 weeks, 17 couples used haptic bracelets, that were connected via the internet, to exchange mediated squeeze-like touch signals. Before and after this period, they reported their feelings of social connectedness and longing for touch through questionnaires. The results show that the use of haptic bracelets (1) enhanced social connectedness among geographically separated couples but (2) did not affect their longing for touch. Interviews conducted at the end of the study were analyzed following the thematic analysis method to generate prominent themes and patterns in using MST technology among participant couples. Two main themes were generated that captured (a) the way the bracelets fostered a positive one-to-one connection between partners and (b) the way in which participants worked around their frustrations with the bracelets. Detailed findings and limitations of this longitudinal field study are further discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.Human Information Communication Desig
Social Touch in Human–Robot Interaction: Robot-Initiated Touches can Induce Positive Responses without Extensive Prior Bonding
Full text linkSocial touch interactions can, depending on the type and strength of the dyadic social relationship, elicit a plethora of physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses; both beneficial and disadvantageous. With the intention to expand the communicative capabilities of humanoid social robots, we investigated whether robot-initiated touches could elicit beneficial responses in the human user that are comparable to responses to human touch. In addition, we investigated whether having a pre-existing positive social bond with the robot modulates these responses. To this end, we conducted a {\$}{\$}2 {\backslash}times 2{\$}{\$}2{\texttimes}2between subjects experiment (N = 67) in which participants either did or did not establish a bond with the robot prior to interacting with it during stressful circumstances. This interaction either did or did not comprise robot-initiated touches. We hypothesized that robotic touches would attenuate the subjective and physiological stress responses during the stressful event (H1a), enhance the perceived relation with the robot (H1b), and increase one's pro-social behavior (H1c), as contrasted with interactions without touch. Based on findings from human touch, we also expected that the effects of H1a and H1b would be more outspoken when a bond with the robot was established (H2). Our findings imply that robotic touches attenuated physiological stress responses and increased the perceived intimacy of the human--robot bond. No effects were found on pro-social behavior and all effects were independent of whether a bond was formed or not. Although no full support for our hypotheses was found, the findings suggest that robot-initiated touch can, under specific circumstances, be a valuable extension of a social robot's nonverbal communication repertoire
Navigation with a passive brain based interface
No full textIn this paper, we describe a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) for navigation. The system is based on detecting brain signals that are elicited by tactile stimulation on the torso indicating the desired direction
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