Constrained haptic-guided shared control for collaborative human–robot percutaneous nephrolithotomy training

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is a procedure used to treat patients with large or irregularly shaped kidney stones. Surgical instruments are inserted through a small incision to access the kidney and remove the calculi. Surgeons who have less experience with the procedure manifest significantly higher rates of complications due to the procedure’s steep learning curve. This issue is further exacerbated by a lack of training opportunities in clinical settings. This paper introduces a teleoperative framework that can provide training to surgeons as well as assistance during procedures, based on two main components. Firstly, a type of constrained inverse kinematics that decouples the tooltip position from its orientation using a remote centre of motion, and incorporates the joint limits analytically. This reduces the workload of the procedure by having the surgeon control only the tooltip position rather than the position and the orientation while preventing the inverse kinematics from returning joint angles outside of the robot’s abilities. This kinematic framework also allows a three-degrees-of-freedom haptic device to control a six-degrees-of-freedom manipulator. Secondly, haptic feedback is provided to help guide and teach the surgeon during the procedure. Haptic feedback allows the surgeon to remain in full control during the procedure while still receiving haptic cues and assistance.Experimental results indicate that the haptic cues improved user’s accuracy, and they had shorter and smoother paths. This leads to a shorter procedure time overall. The results also indicate that the haptic assistance helped teach users the ideal trajectory of the procedure and that users who were taught with haptic feedback performed better than those who never experienced any haptic feedback.     

“OK,Google, why do I use you?” Motivations,post-consumption evaluations,and perceptions of voice AI assistants

Voice-activated, artificial intelligence–based assistants (voice AI assistants) have become an integral part of everyday life because they can be easily activated to complete numerous tasks. However, little is known about what motivates people to use them or how these motivations influence users’ post-consumption evaluations and perceptions. This study develops measures to capture uses and gratifications related to voice AI assistants. It identifies five primary motivations for use—social interaction, personal identity, conformity, life efficiency, and information. Results show that the utilitarian motivations of life efficiency and information influence all post-consumption evaluations and behavioral intentions positively (i.e., users’ attitudes, satisfaction, and intentions to continue using voice AI assistants). However, social motivations are also important. Social interaction and conformity motivations also influence user satisfaction, and the conformity motivation shapes individuals’ intentions to continue using voice AI assistants. The findings further demonstrate that users’ motivations influence perceptions of their voice AI assistants’ roles. In keeping with the “Computers Are Social Actors” (CASA) paradigm, users motivated by social interaction are likely to perceive a voice AI assistant as socially attractive and as a friend, whereas users motivated by life efficiency are likely to perceive it as an assistant. Users motivated by information are more likely to perceive a voice AI assistant as technology, while those motivated by social interaction are less likely to do so. The implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.     

Performance evaluation of a tactile and kinesthetic finger feedback system for teleoperation

Teleoperation during a catastrophic event requires an interface that can perform under frequently changing circumstances caused by unpredictable and dangerous conditions. Thus, teleoperation interfaces are under active development to provide both visual and haptic feedback to the fingers. However, studies of teleoperation systems with finger haptic feedback based on force profiles are difficult to conduct because of interface limitations. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce an intuitive teleoperation interface, an anthropomorphic teleoperated robot, and a hand-wearable force-feedback system that provides various feedbacks to the fingers. We combined these systems to compare and evaluated the performance of tactile and kinesthetic finger feedback using two experiments: maintaining appropriate grip force for variably fragile objects and following a force trajectory that changed in real time. Ten subjects participated in the experiments. The results were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Feedback factors differed significantly. Provision of force feedback to the user’s finger was most effective in both teleoperation experiments.     

基于智能语音识别的机器人研究应用

基于智能语音识别的机器人能够利用机器人辅助学习音乐,提高学习效率和学习兴趣。本智能语音识别机器人利用人工智能技术与用户进行语音交流,识别用户的指令和需求,机器人配合做相应的动作。     

Distributed closed-loop spatial multiplexing for uplink multiuser systems

Focusing on the uplink, where mobile users (each with a single transmit antenna) communicate with a base station with multiple antennas, we treat multiple users as antennas to enable spatial multiplexing across users. Introducing distributed closed-loop spatial multiplexing with threshold-based user selection, we propose two uplink channel-assigning strategies with limited feedback. We prove that the proposed system also outperforms the standard greedy scheme with respect to the degree of fairness, measured by the variance of the time averaged throughput. For uplink multi-antenna systems, we show that the proposed scheduling is a better choice than the greedy scheme in terms of the average BER, feedback complexity, and fairness. The numerical results corroborate our findings.     

一种基于Leap Motion的直观体交互技术

Leap Motion系统可高精度实时检测并跟踪手掌、手指的位置和速度等信息,为大屏幕、远距离体交互提供有效途径。通过观察用户手势远距离操控现实环境中的物体,该文设计易于理解的体交互操作手势;借助对Leap Motion传感器工作区域的远近场划分,建立合理的物理空间和信息空间映射关系;针对利用深度相机的手部姿态解算问题,结合Leap Motion传感器的特点,提出一种结合手掌法向和指尖向量的空间姿态算法;结合大屏幕体交互的任务特点,设计了支持连续数据流的非接触式体交互原型系统;最后通过用户实验对原型系统进行评估。结果表明,和传统的2D体交互比较,该文算法的用户体验和表现更为自然、直观和高效。     

适合话音服务平台的结构化小文本搜索引擎的研究

在电信运营商的转型过程中,传统的114语音平台作为以用户需求为核心的信息服务平台逐渐引起了人们的重视,但传统的基于数据库的查询方式越来越不能满足现在的用户信息需求,语音平台的数据特点和服务特点也决定了基于语音平台的信息搜索和信息服务不同于互联网的信息搜索服务。本文根据话音平台信息服务的特点提出了服务话音平台的结构化小文本搜索引擎的设计思想,在充分考虑话音平台信息特点和服务特点的同时,从搜索算法和系统设计的角度设计了适合话音服务平台的结构化小文本搜索引擎。     

Exploratory design and evaluation of a homecare teleassistive mobile robotic system

Telehealth assistive technologies for homes constitute a very promising avenue to decrease load on the health care system, to reduce hospitalization period and to improve quality of life. Teleoperated from a distant location, a mobile robot can become a beneficial tool in health applications. However, design issues related to such systems are broad and mostly unexplored (e.g., locomotion and navigation in-home settings, remote interaction and patient acceptability, evaluation of clinical needs and their integration into health care information systems). Designing a safe and effective robotic system for in-home teleassistance requires taking into consideration the complexities of having novice users remotely navigate a mobile robot in a home environment while they interact with patients. This paper presents the progress made by adopting an interdisciplinary and exploratory design methodology to develop a telepresence assistive mobile robot for homecare assistance of elderly people. Preliminary studies using robots, focus groups and interviews allowed us to derive preliminary specifications to design a new mobile robotic system named Telerobot. Telerobot’s locomotion mechanism provides improved mobility when moving on uneven surfaces, helping to provide stable video feed to the user. Its control system is implemented for safe teleoperation. A study involving 10 rehabilitation professionals confirms that the system is usable in-home environments. Analysis of teleoperation strategies used by novice teleoperators suggest that it is essential in a home environment that the teleoperation interface provides the user with a visual feedback of the objects surrounding the robot, their distances relative to the robot and the size of the robot in the environment. Enhanced user interfaces to augment the operator’s perception of the environment were elaborated and tested in controlled conditions. Based on the progress made so far, the paper outlines issues that will be addressed in future work with the objective of coming up with a complete, efficient and usable in-home teleassistance mobile robotic system.     

基于Android便携式修船数据远程查询系统的研究开发

针对某船厂船舶修理现场的需要,研究开发了一种基于Android内核和架构的查询系统。以用户的角度进行需求分析,主要用socket,serversocket实现手机与电脑之间的通信,实现了收发信息,查询信息的功能,基本上满足了现场即时信息的互通反馈。     

Improving Voice‐Service Support in Cognitive Radio Networks

Voice service is very demanding in cognitive radio networks (CRNs). The available spectrum in a CRN for CR users varies owing to the presence of licensed users. On the other hand, voice packets are delay sensitive and can tolerate a limited amount of delay. This makes the support of voice traffic in a CRN a complicated task that can be achieved by devising necessary considerations regarding the various network functionalities. In this paper, the support of secondary voice users in a CRN is investigated. First, a novel packet scheduling scheme that can provide the required quality of service (QoS) to voice users is proposed. The proposed scheme utilizes the maximum packet transmission rate for secondary voice users by assigning each secondary user the channel with the best level of quality. Furthermore, an analytical framework developed for a performance analysis of the system, is described in which the effect of erroneous spectrum sensing on the performance of secondary voice users is also taken into account. The QoS parameters of secondary voice users, which were obtained analytically, are also detailed. The analytical results were verified through the simulation, and will provide helpful insight in supporting voice services in a CRN.     

Mobile tele-echography: user interface design.

Ultrasound imaging allows the evaluation of the degree of emergency of a patient. However, in some instances, a well-trained sonographer is unavailable to perform such echography. To cope with this issue, the Mobile Tele-Echography Using an Ultralight Robot (OTELO) project aims to develop a fully integrated end-to-end mobile tele-echography system using an ultralight remote-controlled robot for population groups that are not served locally by medical experts. This paper focuses on the user interface of the OTELO system, consisting of the following parts: an ultrasound video transmission system providing real-time images of the scanned area, an audio/video conference to communicate with the paramedical assistant and with the patient, and a virtual-reality environment, providing visual and haptic feedback to the expert, while capturing the expert's hand movements. These movements are reproduced by the robot at the patient site while holding the ultrasound probe against the patient skin. In addition, the user interface includes an image processing facility for enhancing the received images and the possibility to include them into a database.     

Impact of Quality of Service Constraints on the Performance of Spectrum Sharing Cognitive Users

This article investigates the impact of choosing a specific quality of service constraint on the performance of the cognitive users in a spectrum sharing cognitive environment. To communicate over a wireless channel reserved to a primary user, the cognitive user has to satisfy the primary user’s quality of service constraint. Cognitive systems under interference temperature and outage probability constraints are investigated in this work. The outage probability of the primary user in an interference temperature-constraint environment is analyzed, and the performance measures of the cognitive users are developed. A comparative study of the cognitive user’s performance under equivalent outage probability and interference temperature constraints is conducted as well. Numerical results are presented to verify the theoretical analysis and compare the performance measures under these constraints. Results of this work illustrate the effects of the communication environment parameters on the cognitive users and detail the performance differences between the equivalent outage probability-constraint and interference temperature-constraint cognitive systems.     

BeWell: Sensing Sleep,Physical Activities and Social Interactions to Promote Wellbeing

Smartphone sensing and persuasive feedback design is enabling a new generation of wellbeing apps capable of automatically monitoring multiple aspects of physical and mental health. In this article, we present BeWell+ the next generation of the BeWell smartphone wellbeing app, which monitors user behavior along three health dimensions, namely sleep, physical activity, and social interaction. BeWell promotes improved behavioral patterns via feedback rendered as an ambient display on the smartphone’s wallpaper. With BeWell+, we introduce new mechanisms to address key limitations of the original BeWell app; specifically, (1) community adaptive wellbeing feedback, which generalizes to diverse user communities (e.g., elderly, children) by promoting better behavior yet remains realistic to the user’s lifestyle; and, (2) wellbeing adaptive energy allocation, which prioritizes monitoring fidelity and feedback responsiveness on specific health dimensions (e.g., sleep) where the user needs additional help. We evaluate BeWell+ with a 27 person, 19 day field trial. Our findings show that not only can BeWell+ operate successfully on consumer smartphones; but also users understand feedback and respond by taking steps towards leading healthier lifestyles.     

Language,modality, and mobile media use experiences: Social responses to smartphone cues in a task-oriented context

With people’s growing use of virtual agents and voice assistants on smartphones, researchers have pointed out that mobile phones are not only acting as intermediaries that connect users from different places, but also communication terminals that present different combinations of social cues. This study applies the Computers are Social Actors paradigm in human-phone interaction and postulates that compared to non-anthropomorphic language and text cues, anthropomorphic language and vocal cues will have more effects on users’ social responses to smartphones. This study also explores the role of individual differences in users’ social responses to smartphones. Based on a lab experiment using a between-subjects factorial design, the study suggests that although anthropomorphic language and voice-based information did not have main effects on users’ social responses, people’s mobile media usage and intensive phone use interacted with these cues in their social responses to the smartphones. In addition, this study implies that it is the combination of social cues, individual differences, and communication contexts that contributes to people’s social reactions to the smartphones. The findings of the study can inform user interface design and precipitate further discussion about the ethical issues in human-phone interaction.     

A social informatics approach to human-robot interaction with a service social robot

The development of an autonomous social robot, Cherry, is occurring in tandem with studies gaining potential user preferences, likes, dislikes, and perceptions of her features. Thus far, results have indicated that individuals 1) believe that service robots with emotion and personality capabilities would make them more acceptable in everyday roles in human life, 2) prefer that robots communicate via both human-like facial expressions, voice, and text-based media, 3) become more positive about the idea of service and social robots after exposure to the technology, and 4) find the appearance and facial features of Cherry pleasing. The results of these studies provide the basis for future research efforts, which are discussed.     

An empirical study on green practices of mobile phone users

Given the market’s saturation with smartphones and the increased power needs that these have as compared with older feature phones, the users’ green practices and behavior is emerging as an important research topic. The environmental aspects and general awareness issues are not addressed in this study; however, the limited battery life of smartphones is a decisive factor that shapes the users’ behavior, practices and preferences. As such, the users need to follow green practices and carefully assess the energy related characteristics (speed, screen size, weight, and price) that they value the most in a smartphone, to maximize their experience. Based on our previous work that gathered relevant data from 313 users, we extended the analysis in order to examine the user battery life and charging practices, buying habits, green practices and preferences. To that end, we used quantitative statistics and Fuzzy Decision Tree analysis to propose relevant Fuzzy Decision Rules that can classify the results and profile the users.     

面向FTTH规模部署的单话音终端技术及其应用

随着国内FTTH网络的大规模发展和大量宽带用户向FTTH的迁移,单话音用户的FTTH接入成为一个重要问题.现有的FTTH终端体系需要进一步发展和完善.本文在对现有各类FTTH终端分析的基础上,研究了单话音终端的需求,在现有的SFU和HGU终端体系上提出了1FE+1POTS SFU的单话音终端方案.最后,本文对单话音终端的应用模式做了系统的阐述,并对其应用前景做了预测.     

Control software with supporting features to enhance the quality of tactile feedback

Tactile displays are devices for cutaneous stimulation to be integrated in haptic feedback systems e.g. in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery. In general, there are severely limited in performance due to the necessary small size. In this work, we have developed a control software with the goal to allow simple hardware to present sensible tactile information to the user. For the development and evaluation of the software including various features to improve tactile feedback, a tactile display with twelve servo-driven pins was used. With the pins moving upwards and downwards, height maps can be presented to the user’s finger. The feedback system runs at a frequency of 50 Hz which generates the sensation of a fluid movement. The supporting features include a simulation of shear forces which give the user information on the movement direction of the sensor. A smoothing algorithm was implemented to prevent jerky pin movements. High effort was put in the generation of well distinguishable vibration patterns. These serve to enhance the presentation of the height maps or even allow a second layer of information.In an evaluation series, the control software and the support functions were extensively tested. The users were capable of distinguishing differences in height as low as 0.05 mm or differences in width smaller than the pin spacing. The task to find an invisible object only with the help of different vibration patterns was solved with great success. In a practical test, the users had to pursuit invisible paths standing out from the surroundings for 1 mm and less using the mouse relying only on tactile feedback. The users showed very good performance here with each user finishing every part of the test. This leads to the conclusion that our control software is an appropriate mean to create sensible tactile feedback even with limited hardware.     

Teleoperation of a robot manipulator using a vision-based human-robot interface

Remote teleoperation of a robot manipulator by a human operator is often necessary in unstructured dynamic environments when human presence at the robot site is undesirable. Mechanical and other contacting interfaces used in teleoperation require unnatural human motions for object manipulation tasks or they may hinder human motion. Previous vision-based approaches have used only a few degrees of freedom for hand motion and have required hand motions that are unnatural for object manipulation tasks. This paper presents a noncontacting vision-based method of robot teleoperation that allows a human operator to communicate simultaneous six-degree-of-freedom motion tasks to a robot manipulator by having the operator perform the three-dimensional human hand-arm motion that would naturally be used to complete an object manipulation task. A vision-based human-robot interface is used for communication of human motion to the robot and for feedback of the robot motion and environment to the human operator. Teleoperation under operator position control was performed with high accuracy in object placement on a target. Semi-autonomous traded and shared control using robot-vision guidance aided in achieving a more accurate positioning and orientation of the end-effector for object gripping tasks.     

End-to-End Security Protocol for Mobile Communications with End-User Identification/Authentication

As great progress has been made in mobile communications, many related researches on this topic have been proposed. In most of the proposed protocols so far, it has been assumed that the person using the mobile station is the registrar of the SIM card; as a matter of, the previous protocols for authentication and session key distribution are built upon this assumption. This way, the mobile user can only verify the identity of the owner of the SIM card. This means that the mobile user can only know that who registers the SIM card with which he communicates. Note that the human voice can be forged. To make sure that the speaker at the other end is the right owner of the SIM card, concept of the password is involved to construct the end-to-end security authentication protocol. In the proposed protocol, each mobile user can choose a password. When two mobile users want to communicate with each other, either user can request to perform a end-user identification process. Only when both of the end users input the correct passwords can the correct common session key be established.