Providing user models direct access to interfaces: an exploratory study of a simple interface with implications for HRI and HCI

Models of users are a way to understand and improve the usability of computer interfaces. We present here a model in ACT-R cognitive-modeling language that interacts with a publicly available driving simulation as a simple analog for robot interfaces. The model interacts with the unmodified Java interface by incorporating a novel use of bitmap parsing. The model's structure starts to describe the knowledge a human operator of a robot must have. The model also indicates some of the aspects of the task will be difficult for the operator. For example, the model's performance makes quantitative predictions about how robot speed will influence navigation quality, correlating well to human performance. While the model does not cover all aspects of human-robot interaction, it illustrates how providing user models access to an interface through its bitmap can lead to more accurate and more widely applicable model users.     

Hardware-based rendering of full-parallax synthetic holograms

We present a method for efficiently calculating the interference of complex-valued two-dimensional wave patterns that is useful during the generation of synthetic holograms. These patterns are represented as a special kind of images (textures), and the interference is calculated in a computer graphics rendering process. This enables us to leverage hardware support for holographic imaging that is implemented in many state-of-the-art computer workstations. Using this approach, we gain a speedup of a factor of 60-90 compared with conventional calculation methods for interfering wave patterns. Our method is evaluated numerically, examples are shown, and the program code is outlined.     

Nitroreduction of nitrated and C-9 oxidized fluorenes in vitro

Intracerebroventricular administration of neuropeptide Y to normal rats induces a syndrome characterised by obesity, hyperinsulinaemia, insulin resistance and over expression of the adipose tissue ob gene. Little is known about the effect of circulating neuropeptide Y on glucose metabolism, insulin secretion and leptin. We therefore aimed to evaluate the effect of an intravenous infusion of neuropeptide Y on glucose disposal, endogenous glucose production, whole body glycolytic flux, and glucose storage as assessed during euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp. In addition, the insulin-stimulated glucose utilisation index in individual tissues was measured by the 2-deoxy-[1-3H]-glucose technique. The effect of neuropeptide Y on insulin secretion was evaluated by hyperglycaemic clamp. Infusion did not induce any change in endogenous glucose production during basal conditions or at the end of the clamp. Glucose disposal was significantly increased in the rats given neuropeptide Y compared with controls (27.8 +/- 1.3 vs 24.3 +/- 1.6 mg x min(-1) x kg(-1); p < 0.05) as was the glycolytic flux (18.9 +/- 1.6 vs 14.4 +/- 0.8 mg x min(-1) x kg(-1); p < 0.05), while glucose storage was comparable in the two groups. In skeletal muscle, the glucose utilisation index was increased significantly in rats given neuropeptide Y. The glucose utilisation index in subcutaneous and epididimal adipose tissue was not significantly different between the two groups. Plasma leptin was significantly increased by hyperinsulinaemia, but was not affected by neuropeptide Y infusion. Both the early and late phase of the insulin response to hyperglycaemia were significantly reduced by neuropeptide Y. In conclusion neuropeptide Y infusion may increase insulin-induced glucose disposal in normal rats, accelerating its utilisation through the glycolytic pathway. Neuropeptide Y reduces both phases of the insulin response to hyperglycaemia.     

The short tandem repeat locus D3S1359

During the last 10 years, there has been a movement to expand the definition of prenatal care to encompass preconceptional counseling. Major organizations throughout the world have endorsed preconceptional counseling as an integral component of care for all women contemplating pregnancy. This article will assist health care providers who interact with women of reproductive age to understand the potential benefits and limitations of preconceptional counseling and to develop an approach to that service relating to nutrition, infections, and metabolic diseases as they impact on reproductive outcome. Although there are many potential benefits of the preconception health care model, barriers to its implementation remain.     

Sex Pheromones of the American Cockroach,Periplaneta americana

Two sex pheromones, periplanone A and periplanone B were isolated from the American cockroach Periplaneta americana. The technique is described for collecting periplanone B from the alimentary tracts of virgin females. Periplanone A was extracted from the excreta of the insects. Mass spectral analysis of the pheromones and related compounds were performed and the results are reported here. Evidence is presented suggesting that periplanone A is in fact a degradation product of periplanone B. A reaction scheme is considered for the pathway: periplanone B → periplanone A → (stable, but inactive) PA 22–VII.     

Dynamic response of a double effect evaporator

The open loop dynamic response of a laboratory scale double effect evaporator has been adequately described by a simple mathematical model based on the unsteady state material and energy balances associated with the various elements of the system. Excellent agreement has been achieved between the experimentally determined response of the evaporator to large disturbances in steam rate and feed rate and the predicted response based on the digital computer solution of the non linear model.     

Integrating context-free and context-dependent attentional mechanisms for gestural object reference

We present a vision system for human-machine interaction based on a small wearable camera mounted on glasses. The camera views the area in front of the user, especially the hands. To evaluate hand movements for pointing gestures and to recognise object references, an approach to integrating bottom-up generated feature maps and top-down propagated recognition results is introduced. Modules for context-free focus of attention work in parallel with the hand gesture recognition. In contrast to other approaches, the fusion of the two branches is on the sub-symbolic level. This method facilitates both the integration of different modalities and the generation of auditory feedback.Published online: 5 October 2004Robert Rae: Now at PerFact Innovation, Lampingstr. 8, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany     

BCI Competition 2003--Data set IIb: support vector machines for the P300 speller paradigm

We propose an approach to analyze data from the P300 speller paradigm using the machine-learning technique support vector machines. In a conservative classification scheme, we found the correct solution after five repetitions. While the classification within the competition is designed for offline analysis, our approach is also well-suited for a real-world online solution: It is fast, requires only 10 electrode positions and demands only a small amount of preprocessing.     

Rooming-in at the maternity department. Results of a questionnaire-action

The authors report from the Univ.-Frauenklinik in Giessen, where rooming-in was first introduced in 1976; the newborn baby's bed is now put in the mother's room. When 171 outpatients, who had never heard of rooming-in, and 81 patients in the maternity ward were consulted, the women agreed to a trial period for rooming-in. It was shown that more than 70% of the women would have prefered a clinic where rooming-in was possible to a traditional type clinic. This tendency was particularly strongly felt among women with a higher level of secondary education and among women who held the view that the fathers should be more involved in the family and in the upbringing of small children. The results of individual questionnaires showed that support for rooming-in was significantly strong on the grounds of interhuman relations; also, the rejection of the traditional mother-image was apparent. Reasons for the introduction of rooming-in, as well as the difficulties involved in putting it into practice are outlined.     

Interactive online learning

This paper describes a system for visual object recognition based on mobile augmented reality gear. The user can train the system to the recognition of objects online using advanced methods of interaction with mobile systems: Hand gestures and speech input control “virtual menus,” which are displayed as overlays within the camera image. Here we focus on the underlying neural recognition system, which implements the key requirement of an online trainable system—fast adaptation to novel object data. The neural three-stage architecture can be adapted in two modes: In a fast training mode (FT), only the last stage is adapted, whereas complete training (CT) rebuilds the system from scratch. Using FT, online acquired views can be added at once to the classifier, the system being operational after a delay of less than a second, though still with reduced classification performance. In parallel, a new classifier is trained (CT) and loaded to the system when ready. The text was submitted by the authors in English. Gunther Heidemann was born in 1966. He studied physics at the Universities of Karlsruhe and Münster and received his PhD (Eng.) from Bielefeld University in 1998. He is currently working within the collaborative research project “Hybrid Knowledge Representation” of the SFB 360 at Bielefeld University. His fields of research are mainly computer vision, robotics, neural networks, data mining, bonification, and hybrid systems. Holger Bekel was born in 1970. He received his BS degree from the University of Bielefeld, Germany, in 1997. In 2002 he received a diploma in Computer Science from the University of Bielefeld. He is currently pursuing a PhD program in Computer Science at the University of Bielefeld, working within the Neuroinformatics Group (AG Neuroinformatik) in the project VAMPIRE (Visual Active Memory Processes and Interactive Retrieval). His fields of research are active vision and data mining. Ingo Bax was born in 1976. He received a diploma in Computer Science from the University of Bielefeld in 2002. He is currently pursuing a PhD program in Computer Science at the Neuroinformatics Group of the University of Bielefeld, working within the VAMPIRE project. His fields of interest are cognitive computer vision and pattern recognition. Helge J. Ritter was born 1958. He studied physics and mathematics at the Universities of Bayreuth, Heidelberg and Munich. After a PhD in physics at Technical University of Munich in 1988, he visited the Laboratory of Computer Science at Helsinki University of Technology and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since 1990 he has headed the Neuroinformatics Group at the Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University. His main interests are principles of neural computation and their application to building intelligent systems. In 1999, she was awarded the SEL Alcatel Research Prize, and in 2001, the Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation DFG.