Human-Robot Interaction Based on Gaze Gestures for the Drone Teleoperation

Safety in human-robot interaction can be divided into physical safety and perceived safety, where the latter is still under-addressed in the literature. Investigating perceived safety in human-robot interaction requires a multidisciplinary perspective. Indeed, perceived safety is often considered as being associated with several common factors studied in other disciplines, i.e., comfort, predictability, sense of control, and trust. In this paper, we investigated the relationship between these factors and perceived safety in human-robot interaction using subjective and objective measures. We conducted a two-by-five mixed-subjects design experiment. There were two between-subjects conditions: the faulty robot was experienced at the beginning or the end of the interaction. The five within-subjects conditions correspond to (1) baseline, and the manipulations of robot behaviors to stimulate: (2) discomfort, (3) decreased perceived safety, (4) decreased sense of control and (5) distrust. The idea of triggering a deprivation of these factors was motivated by the definition of safety in the literature where safety is often defined by the absence of it. Twenty-seven young adult participants took part in the experiments. Participants were asked to answer questionnaires that measure the manipulated factors after within-subjects conditions. Besides questionnaire data, we collected objective measures such as videos and physiological data. The questionnaire results show a correlation between comfort, sense of control, trust, and perceived safety. Since these factors are the main factors that influence perceived safety, they should be considered in human-robot interaction design decisions. We also discuss the effect of individual human characteristics (such as personality and gender) that they could be predictors of perceived safety. We used the physiological signal data and facial affect from videos for estimating perceived safety where participants’ subjective ratings were utilized as labels. The data from objective measures revealed that the prediction rate was higher from physiological signal data. This paper can play an important role in the goal of better understanding perceived safety in human-robot interaction.

Objective measures of performance are seldom perfect. In response, incentive contracts often include important subjective components that mitigate incentive distortions caused by imperfect objective measures. This paper explores the combined use of subjective and objective performance measures in (respectively) implicit and explicit incentive contracts. Naturally, objective and subjective measures often are substitutes, sometimes strikingly so: we show that if objective measures are sufficiently close to perfect then no implicit contracts are feasible (because the firm's fallback position after reneging on an implicit contact is too attractive). We also show, however, that objective and subjective measures can reinforce each other: if objective measures become more accurate then in some circumstances the optimal contract puts more weight on subjective measures (because the improved objective measures increase the value of the ongoing relationship, and so reduce the firm's incentive to renege). We also analyze the use of subjective weights on objective performance measures, and provide case-study evidence consistent with our analyses.

Subjective versus objective measures of distress, arousal and symptom burden in patients with functional seizures and other functional neurological symptom disorder presentations: A systematic review

Enhancing Humans Trust in Robots through Explanations

Objective vs Subjective Measurements of Palatine Tonsil Size in Patients with OSA

BackgroundThe physical and mental demands of handball during training or competition often lead to fatigue which can impair performance. Many attempts have been made to assess the level of fatigue in athletes either by objective (neuromuscular performance) or subjective (questionnaires) measures, however, their interplay over short-, mid-, and long-term periods is currently unknown. Knowledge about both types of assessments is important as load management by coaches is traditionally based on direct adjustments following a training session, adjustments of content structure of training weeks between games, as well as adjustments of load management over the entire competitive season. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the interplay between objective and subjective fatigue measures at multiple test times throughout a handball season.MethodsA total of 100 highly trained (Tier level 3) adolescent or young adult team handball players (23 females) took part in the study. The parameters tested were the Leg Recovery Test (LRT score) which is based on the countermovement jump height (CMJ) and was assessed by a commercial wristwatch (Polar Vantage V2) as an objective measure of neuromuscular fatigue. Additionally, on a subjective level, questionnaire-based athlete self-report measures, specifically the Perceived Recovery Status Scale (PRSS) and the Short Scale of Recovery and Strain (KEB) were assessed. We used non-parametric tests to detect differences between relevant test time points (short-term: immediately following one handball-specific training session, i.e., from T0 to T1; mid-term: over the course of three consecutive training days, i.e., from T0 to T2; long-term: over the course of 8 months of training, i.e., from T0 to T12) and linear mixed models to evaluate the interplay between objective (LRT score) and subjective (KEB score and PRSS score) measures of fatigue across one season.ResultsNon-parametric tests showed that CMJ height (p = .012) and the KEB (p < .001) were higher at T1 compared to T0 for the short-term assessment. Over the course of three consecutive training days (i.e., mid-term assessment), the CMJ height score decreased (T0 to T2: p < .001; T1 to T2: p = .018) and the PRSS score (T0 to T2: p < .001; T1 to T2: p = .003) increased. Linear mixed models revealed no significant effects of KEB or PRSS score on LRT score (i.e., CMJ height) for the short- and mid-term assessments. In terms of the long-term assessments, we detected no general direct or interaction effects of PRSS score, workload, and test time point on LRT score, except for an interaction between PRSS score and workload on LRT score (p = .032), which indicates a workload-dependent association between PRSS and the objective fatigue measure (LRT score).ConclusionAthlete self-reported measures of fatigue indicated significantly higher cumulative fatigue after both short- and mid-term periods, whereas this increase was observed in the LRT score only during the mid-term period. Furthermore, the absence of a relationship between the objective and subjective measures of fatigue during short- and mid-term periods suggests that these measures assess distinct types of fatigue. In the long-term assessments, the significant interaction between the PRSS score and workload on the LRT score suggests that higher workloads are associated with an increased correlation between subjective (PRSS score) and objective (LRT score) measures of fatigue. This indicates that perceived fatigue may be a more sensitive indicator of fatigue, which can be managed to maintain high levels of neuromuscular performance (LRT score). However, with higher workloads (>10 h per week), associations between the objective and subjective measures become apparent, suggesting that workload serves as a common factor influencing overall fatigue.

Subjective and objective measures available at the time of medical school admission were related to subjective and objective clinical performance measures during medical school. Strategies were developed for coding narrative faculty comments from admissions interviews and clinical performance evaluations. Factor analysis was used to examine underlying structures for both admission and clinical performance measures. Summed scores were calculated to represent each factor, and multiple regression was used in predicting each of the clinical factors from the admission factors. Multiple regression showed that admission interview comments best predict narrative clerkship performance, while objective scores best predict an objective measure of clinical knowledge. Conclusions were: (a) narrative information can be coded reliably. (b) Objective and subjective measures are distinct, identifiable structures both at admission and during the third year of medical school. (c) Prediction formulas will vary depending on what outcome variables are chosen.

This study investigated the clinical utility of the combined use of objective and subjective measures of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) prepharmacological and postpharmacological treatment. Adults with ADHD (N = 77) completed the Quantified Behavioral Test, self-ratings of ADHD-related symptoms, and quality of life measures pretreatment and posttreatment. The use of objective and subjective measures of ADHD-related symptoms during initiation and follow-up of pharmacological treatment resulted in significant improvements in quality of life after 6 months. Both objective and subjective measures captured changes in ADHD-related symptoms, with more patients showing clinically relevant treatment effects on objective measures. Convergence rates between objective and subjective measures were low to moderate, and improvements on these measures correlated with increased quality of life. Objective and subjective measures of ADHD capture important components of the condition. The findings from this study have important implications for clinical practice.

Towards establishing future-oriented relations between humans and robots, not only verbal, but also nonverbal robot functions have been studied. However, it is not clear how these different functions should be combined and implemented in robots in order to achieve ‘natural’ human-robot communication or interaction. In this paper, we focus on the timing for the coordination between utterance as a verbal function and body motion as a nonverbal function. To begin with, we investigated the temporal order and correlation between utterance and gesture in an interpersonal (human-human) interaction scenario as a preliminary experiment (Experiment 1). Then, we controlled the robot's response timing based on findings of the first experiment and evaluated the effectiveness of the robot's timing control in human-robot interaction (Experiment 2). It was shown that elderly participants significantly preferred the controlled robot's response. In addition, the timing of utterance and gestures affected the impression of the robot and interpretation of the verbal message. These results are important findings for designing socially interactive robots for the aging society.

BackgroundPrior studies have reported associations between neighborhood characteristics and late‐life cognition. These studies assessed neighborhood using either objective (e.g., area‐level data from public database) or subjective (individual‐level perception) measures. However, little research has been done to examine effects of objective and subjective measures simultaneously. The present study aims to investigate the independent associations of objective and subjective neighborhood characteristics with cognitive change in older adults.MethodParticipants include 316 individuals in the Einstein Aging Study (mean age = 77; 67% females; 45% non‐Hispanic Whites, 40% non‐Hispanic Blacks). Subjective neighborhood measures included perceived neighborhood safety, aesthetic quality, social cohesion, and availability of healthy foods (range = 1 poor to 5 excellent). Objective neighborhood measures included violent crime, neighborhood deprivation, volunteering rates, percentage of healthy food retailers, and low access to healthy food. Processing speed was assessed using the brief, smartphone‐administered Symbol Search Test, and was completed 6x/day over two weeks; this was repeated annually from 2017 to 2022. To account for non‐linear retest/practice effects, double negative exponential models were used to estimate the relation of neighborhood measures to asymptotic performance (i.e., fastest response time) at baseline and to change in asymptotic performance over time.ResultMost subjective and objective neighborhood measures were significantly correlated with each other (Table 1). In models containing both objective and subjective neighborhood measures, better perceived safety was associated with greater annual improvement in asymptotic performance (40 milliseconds/year for one point increase in safety) while the objective measure of violent crime was not. Perceived availability of healthy foods was independently associated with a faster baseline asymptotic processing speed (estimate = 160 milliseconds) and with greater annual improvement rate (estimate = 54 milliseconds/year) while the objective measures of food environment were not (Table 2).ConclusionSubjective rather than objective neighborhood characteristics were strongly associated with annual rates of change in processing speed over five years in community‐dwelling older adults. Perception of one’s neighborhood may be a more proximal predictor of cognitive health as it may reflect an individual’s lived experiences and determine one’s psychological states and health‐related behaviors. Alternatively, more fine‐grained objective neighborhood measures (e.g., individual‐level) would be necessary to better characterize objective neighborhood environments.

BackgroundSedentary behavior has been reported to be associated with metabolic and vascular health independent of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). In order to select appropriate options to measure sedentary behavior in practice and research settings, it is worthwhile to characterize the extent to which objective and subjective measures of sedentary behavior quantify adverse health risks in the same population. This cross-sectional analysis compared accelerometer-derived and self-reported sedentary time to identify their association with cardio-metabolic risk factors.MethodsCross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from 661 Japanese workers (145 women) aged 20–64 years. Participants wore a tri-axial accelerometer device for 10 consecutive days and completed the Japan Atherosclerosis Longitudinal Study Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data on body mass index, waist circumference, resting blood pressure, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total:HDL cholesterol ratio, blood glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were obtained from annual health examinations.ResultsBoth accelerometer-derived and self-reported sedentary time were deleteriously associated with triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, total:HDL ratio, and HbA1c after adjustment for potential confounders including MVPA. There were no significant differences in regression coefficients between the two measures. Thus, the magnitude of the associations of both measures with cardio-metabolic risk factors was similar, despite poor agreement between them. Occupational sedentary time was correlated with both measures of total sedentary time, and more consistently associated with cardio-metabolic risk factors than sedentary leisure time.ConclusionsBoth accelerometer and self-report measurements are similarly associated with cardio-metabolic risk factors in a Japanese working adult population. Subjective and objective measures of sedentary behaviors appear to capture different aspects of behaviors. Further efforts to establish data processing methods integrating objective and subjective measures are needed to more effectively assess sedentary time’s relationship to health outcomes.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1307) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The relatively stable individual differences reflected in Grey's revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST), with foundations in neurophysiology and learning theory, appear particularly applicable to the study of pain. However, remarkably little research has been conducted in this area. In acute pain, activation of the behavioural approach system (BAS), the behavioural inhibition system (BIS) and the fight, flight, freezing system might depend on an individual's evaluation of pain. It was thus hypothesised that higher-order interactions of rRST traits and pain attitudes affect pain responsiveness. To investigate relationships between rRST traits and pain attitudes and to identify patterns between clusters of participants, we conducted a study in which N = 275 healthy participants filled in Reuter and Montag's rRST-Q and the General Attitudes Towards Pain Inventory (GATPI). Experimental (pressure, electrical, thermal) and self-report data of pain responsiveness were collected in a subsample (N = 113). We found significant correlations between rRST-Q and GATPI subscales of up to r = 0.34. Two clusters were identified, significantly differing in rRST-Q and GATPI scores. Pain avoiders, characterized by high BIS, flight, freezing and negative pain attitudes, were found to be significantly more pain sensitive than pain approachers, characterized by high BAS, fight and positive pain attitudes. Moderate effects (d = 0.56 to d = 0.70) were demonstrated in subjective and objective measures and across pain modalities. The present study expands the scientific knowledge on factors influencing pain responsiveness. Future research is needed to confirm implications for chronic pain prevention and therapy, particularly concerning pain avoiders. We have identified two clusters of participants, pain avoiders and pain approachers, that not only present differential patterns of revised reinforcement theory traits and general attitudes towards pain but also differ in their pain responsiveness. Pain avoiders appeared more pain sensitive compared to pain approachers, both in objective and subjective measurements, with implications for the improvement of chronic pain prevention and therapy.

BackgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and psoriasis are immune-mediated inflammatory diseases with similarities in pathophysiology, and all can be treated with similar biological agents. Previous studies have shown that there are gender differences with regard to disease characteristics in RA and IBD, with women generally having worse scores on pain and quality of life measurements. The relationship is less clear for psoriasis. Because treatment differences between men and women could explain the dissimilarities, we investigated gender differences in the disease characteristics before treatment initiation and in the biologic treatment prescribed.MethodsData on patients with RA or IBD were collected from two registries in which patients treated with biologic medication were enrolled. Basic demographic data and disease activity parameters were collected from a time point just before the initiation of the biologic treatment. For patients with psoriasis, the data were taken from the 2010 annual report of the Swedish Psoriasis Register for systemic treatment, which included also non-biologic treatment. For all three diseases, the prescribed treatment and disease characteristics were compared between men and women.ResultsIn total, 4493 adult patients were included in the study (1912 with RA, 131 with IBD, and 2450 with psoriasis). Most of the treated patients with RA were women, whereas most of the patients with IBD or psoriasis were men. There were no significant differences between men and women in the choice of biologics. At treatment start, significant gender differences were seen in the subjective disease measurements for both RA and psoriasis, with women having higher (that is, worse) scores than men. No differences in objective measurements were found for RA, but for psoriasis men had higher (that is, worse) scores for objective disease activity measures. A similar trend to RA was seen in IBD.ConclusionsWomen with RA or psoriasis scored significantly higher on subjective, but not on objective, disease activity measures than men, and the same trend was seen in IBD. This indicates that at the same level of treatment, the disease has a greater effect in women. These findings might suggest that in all three diseases, subjective measures are discounted to some extent in the therapeutic decision-making process, which could indicate undertreatment in female patients.

P2-098: Effects of donepezil on sleep in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease: With actigraphic monitoring

Validation of time to task performance assessment method in simulation: A comparative design study