Working with roubles and failures in conversation between humans and robots: workshop report.

This paper summarizes the structure and findings from the first Workshop on Troubles and Failures in Conversations between Humans and Robots. The workshop was organized to bring together a small, interdisciplinary group of researchers working on miscommunication from two complementary perspectives. One group of technology-oriented researchers was made up of roboticists, Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) researchers and dialogue system experts. The second group involved experts from conversation analysis, cognitive science, and linguistics. Uniting both groups of researchers is the belief that communication failures between humans and machines need to be taken seriously and that a systematic analysis of such failures may open fruitful avenues in research beyond current practices to improve such systems, including both speech-centric and multimodal interfaces. This workshop represents a starting point for this endeavour. The aim of the workshop was threefold: Firstly, to establish an interdisciplinary network of researchers that share a common interest in investigating communicative failures with a particular view towards robotic speech interfaces; secondly, to gain a partial overview of the "failure landscape" as experienced by roboticists and HRI researchers; and thirdly, to determine the potential for creating a robotic benchmark scenario for testing future speech interfaces with respect to the identified failures. The present article summarizes both the "failure landscape" surveyed during the workshop as well as the outcomes of the attempt to define a benchmark scenario.

Examining the Use of Autonomous Systems for Home Health Support Using a Smart Mirror.

The home is becoming a key location for healthcare delivery, including the use of technology driven by autonomous systems (AS) to monitor and support healthcare plans. Using the example of a smart mirror, this paper describes the outcomes of focus groups with people with multiple sclerosis (MS; n = 6) and people who have had a stroke (n = 15) to understand their attitudes towards the use of AS for healthcare in the home. Qualitative data were analysed using a thematic analysis. The results indicate that the use of such technology depends on the level of adaptability and responsiveness to users' specific circumstances, including their relationships with the healthcare system. A smart mirror would need to support manual entry, responsive goal setting, the effective aggregation of data sources and integration with other technology, have a range of input methods, be supportive rather than prescriptive in messaging, and give the user full control of their data. The barriers to its adoption include a perceived lack of portability and practicality, a lack of accessibility and inclusivity, a sense of redundancy, feeling overwhelmed by multiple technological devices, and a lack of trust in data sharing. These results inform the development and deployment of future health technologies based on the lived experiences of people with health conditions who require ongoing care.

How are Autistic People Involved in the Design of Extended Reality Technologies? A Systematic Literature Review.

The primary aim of this systematic review is to investigate the inclusion of autistic individuals in the design process of immersive technologies. This study follows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses standards for systematic literature reviews. To ensure the research questions and subsequent stages of the review incorporate pertinent parameters, the problem, interest, context framework has also been employed. Findings highlight that, while early proponents of immersive technology emphasized the importance of user involvement in design of new technology, immaturity of the technology often limited the implementation of direct user input to the design process. Nonetheless, analysis of the literature published between 2002-2022 identified 20 studies in which substantial influence of autistic individuals and stakeholders was found in the design process of immersive technologies. The roles of autistic individuals varied from active co-designers and co-creators to essential contributors in refining prototypes and providing critical feedback, ensuring the final products align with their needs and preferences. Results underscore the need to align research and design of immersive technologies more closely with the priorities and preferences of autistic individuals. Further is needed regarding actively involving autistic individuals in the design and implementation of immersive technology applications. On this basis, we maintain that more inclusive and effective deployment of immersive technologies is needed in order to ensure that resultant technologies are fit for purpose and address the actual needs of the autistic community.

Dartanan: Prototype evaluations of a serious game to engage children in the calibration of their hearing aid functionalities.

INTRODUCTION: It is notoriously difficult to obtain a perfect fitting of hearing aids (HAs) for children as they often struggle to understand their hearing loss well enough to discuss the fitting adequately with their audiologist. Dartanan is an 'edutainment' game developed to help children understand the functions of their HA in different sound contexts. Dartanan also has elements of a leisure game for all children, in order to create an inclusive activity. METHODS: Game prototypes were evaluated during two formative evaluations and a summative evaluation. In total 106 children with and without hearing loss in Italy, Spain and the UK played Dartanan. A built-in virtual HA enabled children with hearing loss to use headphones to play.Results and conclusions: During the formative stages, feedback was discussed during focus groups on factors such as the audiological aspects, the extent to which children learned about HA functions, accessibility and usability, and this feedback was presented to the developers. After redevelopment, a summative evaluation was performed using an online survey. It was concluded that the game had met the goals of helping children understand their HA functionalities and providing an inclusive activity. User-evaluations were crucial in the development of the app into a useful and useable service.

Posture, movement, and aircraft passengers: An investigation into factors influencing in-flight discomfort.

BACKGROUND: Aircraft passengers' physical activity levels are often limited during flight for extended periods of time, which can have serious impact on health, comfort, and passenger experience. However, several factors, such as limited personal space and social factors, can make movement difficult. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to identify participant behaviour and postures during medium to long-haul flights and their effect on location and severity of physical discomfort. This work investigated how aircraft passengers' comfort ratings changed over time and explored the association between postures and comfort ratings during flight. The study also explored the association between performing in-flight exercises and factors limiting participants' abilities to complete these exercises. METHOD: Twenty-nine participants sat in an aircraft simulated cabin for 180 minutes and periodically performed in-seat exercises. They also completed a questionnaire providing data on demographic information, self-reported discomfort scores for multiple areas of the body, which types of exercises participants performed, and qualitative comments about discomfort. Self-reported comfort ratings were measured at 20 min intervals and posture identification was conducted by analysing the video recordings. RESULTS: Six postures were identified, and it was observed that individual participants changed posture at least once and up to nine times during the three-hour period. Body part areas with the highest reported scores of discomfort ratings were: back of the neck, back-left shoulder, back-right shoulder, back-left buttock, and lower back. Participants reported that they had difficulty in performing recommended in-flight exercises due to limited space. CONCLUSIONS: Limited space in aircraft seating restricts passenger movement. Some body areas are more prone to discomfort.

Human factors considerations in designing for infection prevention and control in neonatal care - findings from a pre-design inquiry.

Qualitative data collection methods drawn from the early stages of human-centred design frameworks combined with thematic analysis were used to develop an understanding of infection prevention practice within an existing neonatal intensive care unit. Findings were used to generate a framework of understanding which in turn helped inform a baseline approach for future research and design development. The study revealed that a lack of clarity between infection transmission zones and a lack of design attributes needed to uphold infection prevention measures may be undermining healthcare workers' understanding and application of good practice. The issue may be further complicated by well-intentioned behavioural attitudes to meeting work objectives; undue influences from spatial constraints; the influence of inadvertent and excessive touch-based interactions; physical and/or cognitive exertion to maintain transmission barriers; and the impact of expanding job design and increased workload to supplement for lack of effective barriers. Practitioner Summary: Despite high hand hygiene compliance within a neonatal intensive care unit, healthcare workers expressed concerns about the unit design and infection prevention practice. Early inquiry methods from human-centred design and thematic analysis helped develop a framework to understand how design can be used to aid infection prevention.

What makes a space invader? Passenger perceptions of personal space invasion in aircraft travel.

The invasion of personal space is often a contributory factor to the experience of discomfort in aircraft passengers. This paper presents a questionnaire study which investigated how air travellers are affected by invasions of personal space and how they attempt to adapt to, or counter, these invasions. In support of recent findings on the factors influencing air passenger comfort, the results of this study indicate that the invasion of personal space is not only caused by physical factors (e.g. physical contact with humans or objects), but also other sensory factors such as noise, smells or unwanted eye contact. The findings of this study have implications for the design of shared spaces. Practitioner Summary: This paper presents a questionnaire study which investigated personal space in an aircraft environment. The results highlight the factors which affect the perception of personal space invasion in aircraft and can therefore inform the design of aircraft cabin environments to enhance the passenger experience.

Distracting people from sources of discomfort in a simulated aircraft environment.

BACKGROUND: Comfort is an important factor in the acceptance of transport systems. In 2010 and 2011, the European Commission (EC) put forward its vision for air travel in the year 2050 which envisaged the use of in-flight virtual reality. This paper addressed the EC vision by investigating the effect of virtual environments on comfort. Research has shown that virtual environments can provide entertaining experiences and can be effective distracters from painful experiences. OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which a virtual environment could distract people from sources of discomfort. METHODS: Experiments which involved inducing discomfort commonly experienced in-flight (e.g. limited space, noise) in order to determine the extent to which viewing a virtual environment could distract people from discomfort. RESULTS: Virtual environments can fully or partially distract people from sources of discomfort, becoming more effective when they are interesting. They are also more effective at distracting people from discomfort caused by restricted space than noise disturbances. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual environments have the potential to enhance passenger comfort by providing positive distractions from sources of discomfort. Further research is required to understand more fully the reasons why the effect was stronger for one source of discomfort than the other.

Randomised controlled trial of video clips and interactive games to improve vision in children with amblyopia using the I-BiT system.

BACKGROUND: Traditional treatment of amblyopia involves either wearing a patch or atropine penalisation of the better eye. A new treatment is being developed on the basis of virtual reality technology allowing either DVD footage or computer games which present a common background to both eyes and the foreground, containing the imagery of interest, only to the amblyopic eye. METHODS: A randomised control trial was performed on patients with amblyopia aged 4-8 years with three arms. All three arms had dichoptic stimulation using shutter glass technology. One arm had DVD footage shown to the amblyopic eye and common background to both, the second used a modified shooter game, Nux, with sprite and targets presented to the amblyopic eye (and background to both) while the third arm had both background and foreground presented to both eyes (non-interactive binocular treatment (non-I-BiT) games). RESULTS: Seventy-five patients were randomised; 67 were residual amblyopes and 70 had an associated strabismus. The visual acuity improved in all three arms by approximately 0.07 logMAR in the amblyopic eye at 6 weeks. There was no difference between I-BiT DVD and non-I-BiT games compared with I-BiT games (stated primary outcome) in terms of gain in vision. CONCLUSIONS: There was a modest vision improvement in all three arms. Treatment was well tolerated and safe. There was no difference between the three treatments in terms of primary stated outcomes but treatment duration was short and the high proportion of previously treated amblyopia and strabismic amblyopia disadvantaged dichoptic stimulation treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01702727, results.

Evaluation and development of a novel binocular treatment (I-BiT™) system using video clips and interactive games to improve vision in children with amblyopia ('lazy eye'): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Amblyopia (lazy eye) affects the vision of approximately 2% of all children. Traditional treatment consists of wearing a patch over their 'good' eye for a number of hours daily, over several months. This treatment is unpopular and compliance is often low. Therefore results can be poor. A novel binocular treatment which uses 3D technology to present specially developed computer games and video footage (I-BiT™) has been studied in a small group of patients and has shown positive results over a short period of time. The system is therefore now being examined in a randomised clinical trial. METHODS/DESIGN: Seventy-five patients aged between 4 and 8 years with a diagnosis of amblyopia will be randomised to one of three treatments with a ratio of 1:1:1 - I-BiT™ game, non-I-BiT™ game, and I-BiT™ DVD. They will be treated for 30 minutes once weekly for 6 weeks. Their visual acuity will be assessed independently at baseline, mid-treatment (week 3), at the end of treatment (week 6) and 4 weeks after completing treatment (week 10). The primary endpoint will be the change in visual acuity from baseline to the end of treatment. Secondary endpoints will be additional visual acuity measures, patient acceptability, compliance and the incidence of adverse events. DISCUSSION: This is the first randomised controlled trial using the I-BiT™ system. The results will determine if the I-BiT™ system is effective in the treatment of amblyopia and will also determine the optimal treatment for future development. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01702727.

Validating a low cost approach for predicting human responses to emergency situations.

This paper presents a new approach for predicting human responses to emergency situations. The approach was developed for ergonomists working in emergency response preparedness. It involves presenting participants with a description of a hypothetical emergency scenario before asking them to describe how they would respond. This study builds upon previous investigations (Lawson et al., 2009a, 2009b; Lawson, 2011) which demonstrated significant associations between the predicted behaviour and that reported in a reference study of behaviour in real fires. This further work aimed to evaluate in greater detail the validity, reliability, resources and ethics of the approach. The results demonstrated significant relationships between the predicted behaviours and those from the reference study for both frequencies (r(s) = 0.572, N = 51, p < 0.001) and sequences (r(s) = 0.344, N = 40, p < 0.05) of behaviour. The approach is shown to be replicable and requires low resources. It does not present any notable risk of physical injury.

Clinical evaluation of a non-immersive virtual environment in stroke rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We describe our attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual environment developed to rehabilitate stroke patients in the task of making a hot drink. METHODS: Single case studies were performed in 13/138 (9%) stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation in a UK stroke unit. Participants in AB/BA (n = 5) and ABA (n = 2) design studies received 5 one-hour sessions of attention control training (A phase) and 5 one-hour sessions of virtual environment training (B phase). An AB design with random duration of A and B phases (minimum duration of A and B phases 3 and 5 days respectively, with total duration of 3 weeks) was used in 6 participants. RESULTS: Visual inspection of scores across all cases showed a trend towards improvement over time in both real and virtual hot drink making ability in both control and intervention phases. There was no significant difference (Wilcoxon, p > 0.05) in the improvements in real and virtual hot drink making ability during all control and intervention phases in the 13 cases. Ceiling effects limited the evaluation of effectiveness in 5 of the 8 cases in which daily performance measures were used. CONCLUSIONS: Few people in this setting were suitable for this intervention. The case studies showed no evidence of a strong effect of this intervention, but we had great difficulty in performing single case studies. We conclude that more testing and development of this system is required before it is subjected to rigorous testing of clinical effectiveness.

Validity of a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Virtual environments for use in stroke rehabilitation are in development, but there has been little evaluation of their suitability for this purpose. We evaluated a virtual environment developed for the rehabilitation of the task of making a hot drink. METHODS: Fifty stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation in a UK hospital stroke unit were involved. The performance of stroke rehabilitation patients when making a hot drink had the neurological impairments associated with performance of this task, and the errors observed were compared for standardized task performance in the real world and in a virtual environment. Neurological impairments were measured using standardized assessments. Errors in task performance were assessed rating video recordings and classified into error types. RESULTS: Real-world and virtual environment performance scores were not strongly associated (rho=0.30; P<0.05). Performance scores in both settings were associated with age, Barthel ADL score, Mini Mental State Examination score, and tests of visuospatial function. Real-world performance only was associated with arm function and sequencing ability. Virtual environment performance only was associated with language function and praxis. Participants made different errors during task performance in the real world and in the virtual environment. CONCLUSIONS: Although this virtual environment was usable by stroke rehabilitation patients, it posed a different rehabilitation challenge from the task it was intended to simulate, and so it might not be as effective as intended as a rehabilitation tool. Other virtual environments for stroke rehabilitation in development require similar evaluation.