Virtual Interpersonal Touch: Expressing and Recognizing Emotions Through Haptic Devices

ABSTRACT

This article examines the phenomenon of Virtual Interpersonal Touch (VIT), people touching one another via force-feedback haptic devices. As collaborative virtual environments become utilized more effectively, it is only natural that interactants will have the ability to touch one another. In the work presented here, we used relatively basic devices to begin to explore the expression of emotion through VIT. In Experiment 1, participants utilized a 2 DOF force-feedback joystick to express seven emotions. We examined various dimensions of the forces generated and subjective ratings of the difficulty of expressing those emotions. In Experiment 2, a separate group of participants attempted to recognize the recordings of emotions generated in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, pairs of participants attempted to communicate the seven emotions using physical handshakes. Results indicated that humans were above chance when recognizing emotions via VIT but not as accurate as people expressing emotions through nonmediated handshakes. We discuss a theoretical framework for understanding emotions expressed through touch as well as the implications of the current findings for the utilization of VIT in human-computer interaction.     

Simulation of hole-mobility in doped relaxed and strained Ge

As silicon CMOS begins to reach the limits of its performance, alternative channel materials are being considered. Thus there is renewed interest in employing Germanium for p-MOSFETs, due to the significant improvement in hole mobility as compared to silicon for undoped materials. Of considerable interest from a device point of view is the transport in doped layers. We investigate hole transport at high carrier-densities in doped Germanium layers using a bulk 6-band k·p Monte Carlo simulator, and show that both dynamic and multi-ion screening play a significant role in describing the resulting transport.     

移动终端软件的成功要素

移动终端是一种采用先进通信协议栈的复杂系统,它需要具有与许多网络供应商设备的互操作性、支持先进而丰富的多媒体应用程序,而且,所有这些都必需在一个资源有限的嵌入式系统的约束条件下实现。提供一个满足上述要求的软件解决方案需要考虑许多方面的问题并经历诸多阶段。成功的要素是:平台质量、应用程序集成质量和产品质量。平台质量能让制造商用来生成多种设计方案的移动手机参考设计,必须提供一个用于制造高品质终端用户产品的优质平台。移动手机软件包括三个关键部分——协议栈、应用程序架构和应用程序。协议栈毫无疑问是最为复杂的…     

A unified approach to multistage frequency-response masking filter design using the WLS technique

This paper presents a unified approach to the optimal design of sharp linear-phase finite-impulse-response (FIR) digital filters synthesized using the multistage frequency-response masking (FRM) technique. In this approach, the design of a k-stage FRM filter is achieved in a recursive manner. The minimax design problem arising at each step of the synthesis process is converted into a corresponding weighted least-squares (WLS) problem. The WLS problem is highly nonlinear with respect to the coefficients of the filter. Consequently, it is decomposed into several linear least-squares (LS) problems, each of which can be solved analytically. It is then solved iteratively by using an alternating variable approach. Numerical design examples are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.     

Transformations for nonideal uniform circular arrays operating in correlated signal environments

The Davies transformation is a method to transform the steering vector of a uniform circular array (UCA) to one with Vandermonde form. As such, it allows techniques such as spatial smoothing for direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation in a correlated signal environment, developed originally for uniform linear arrays, to be applied to UCAs. However, the Davies transformation can be highly sensitive to perturbations of the underlying array model. This paper presents a method for deriving a more robust transformation using optimization techniques. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated through a number of DOA estimation examples.     

Bacteria-Responsive Self-Assembly of Antimicrobial Peptide Nanonets for Trap-and-Kill of Antibiotic-Resistant Strains

Bacterial trapping using nanonets is a ubiquitous immune defense mechanism against infectious microbes. These nanonets can entrap microbial cells, effectively arresting their dissemination and rendering them more vulnerable to locally secreted microbicides. Inspired by this evolutionarily conserved anti-infective strategy, a series of 15 to 16 residue-long synthetic β-hairpin peptides is herein constructed with the ability to self-assemble into nanonets in response to the presence of bacteria, enabling spatiotemporal control over microbial killing. Using amyloid-specific K114 assay and confocal microscopy, the membrane components lipoteichoic acid and lipopolysaccharide are shown to play a major role in determining the amyloid-nucleating capacity as triggered by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria respectively. These nanonets displayed both trapping and killing functionalities, hence offering a direct improvement from the trap-only biomimetics in literature. By substituting a single turn residue of the non-amyloidogenic BTT1 peptide, the nanonet-forming BTT1-3A analog is produced with comparable antimicrobial potency. With the same sequence manipulation approach, BTT2-4A analog modified from BTT2 peptide showed improved antimicrobial potency against colistin-resistant clinical isolates. The peptide nanonets also demonstrated robust stability against proteolytic degradation, and promising in vivo efficacy and biosafety profile. Overall, these bacteria-responsive peptide nanonets are promising clinical anti-infective alternatives for circumventing antibiotic resistance.     

Approximate results for the bit error probability of binary phaseshift keying with noisy phase reference

Approximate results for the bit error probability (BEP) of binary phase shift keying (BPSK) in the presence of a noisy carrier phase reference are presented. The results show correctly the behavior or the BEP as a function of SNR. The accuracy of the approximations is verified by simulations and numerical integration of the BEP formulas. The results are compared with existing bounds     

A new approach to the optimization of robust antenna arrayprocessors

The authors present a method for solving a class of optimization problems with nonsmooth constraints. In particular, they apply the method to the design of narrowband minimum-power antenna array processors which are robust in the presence of errors such as array element placement, look direction misalignment, and frequency offset. They first show that the constrained minimum power problem has a unique global minimum provided that the constraint set is nonempty. Then it is shown how the design problem derived directly from considerations of the sensitivity of the antenna array processor to errors can be transformed into a quadratic programming problem with linear inequality constraints which can be solved efficiently by the standard active set strategy. They also present numerical results for two types of nonsmooth constraints developed to provided robustness. These results confirm the effectiveness of the method     

Effects of environmental uncertainty on organizational intention to adopt distributed work arrangements

Uncertainty in the external environmental context has been shown to affect organizational change and innovation. Distributed work arrangement is an organizational innovation that has the potential to enable a firm to meet the challenges of an uncertain environment more effectively. With the emergence of virtual organizations, such work arrangements are likely to gain increasing popularity. This exploratory empirical study employs a structural model to examine how environmental uncertainty affects organizational predisposition (adoption intention) toward distributed work arrangements. Environmental uncertainty has two different dimensions: environmental complexity (heterogeneity) and environmental variability (dynamism). In this paper, environmental dimensions are modeled to influence adoption of distributed work arrangements through shaping the organizational perceptions of three innovation characteristics: perceived relative advantage, compatibility and complexity. Data analyses using partial least squares statistical technique revealed that environmental complexity is negatively associated with perceived relative advantage, and perceived compatibility. Perceived relative advantage and perceived compatibility are in turn positively related to adoption intention for distributed work arrangements. However, environmental variability has no significant effect on the three innovation characteristics. Contrary to past findings that suggest organizations are more predisposed toward innovations in a complex environment, our study found that organizations in an environment of lower, rather than higher complexity are more likely to adopt distributed work arrangements. Implications for organizations are discussed.     

Transient Modeling and Analysis of Pulse-Width Modulated Z-Source Inverter

The newly proposed Z-Source inverter has been proven in the literature to exhibit both steady-state voltage buck and boost capabilities using a unique LC impedance network coupled between the power source and converter circuit. This paper now presents transient modeling and analysis of a voltage-type Z-source inverter. These aspects are found to be challenging and they need to be carefully investigated before attempting to design advanced control algorithms for controlling the Z-source inverter. Through detailed analysis, the paper identifies several phenomena on the dc and ac-sides of the inverter, which would result in the inverter having a non-minimum-phase transient response. The dc-side phenomenon is associated with the Z-source impedance network, which is shown through small-signal and signal-flow-graph analyses to be having a right-half-plane zero in its control-to-output transfer function. Also, the ac-side phenomenon is shown through space vector analysis to depend on the time intervals of inverter states used for reconstructing the desired inverter output voltage. Based on the ac vectorial analysis, a method for improving the inverter transient response is also presented. Last, simulation results obtained using a switching-functional model and experimental results obtained using a laboratory prototype are presented for validating the described theoretical concepts