This thesis project explores combining interactive technology and the natural world, through a more-than-human design approach. This project aims to step away from an industry-driven design by valuing plants as equal in the design process. Throughout this report, an overview of the relevant theory and examples are elaborated on. This overview has informed the project in two ways. It formed the foundation of a concept aiming to improve the user’s interconnectedness with nature and it formed the foundation of an evaluation tool developed for aiding designers in design for plants by addressing three design fields: Design for Care, Design for Cohabitation, and Design for Noticing. The concept and the evaluation tool have been developed in parallel and informed each other throughout the project. The final concept contributes to the discussion about addressing more-than-human actors in design. In this case by addressing plant blindness. The evaluation tool contributes to more-than-human design as a tool to evaluate ideas and projects. This project included an extensive analysis of a design collection, workshops regarding the materiality of living plants and assessment of the evaluation tool, an interdisciplinary design approach, and a prototyping phase during which assumptions regarding the concept were tested.

Under det senaste decenniet har det i Sverige blivit allt populärare att åka motorcykel. Enobligatorisk riskutbildning för behörighet A och A1 infördes från och med den 1 november2009. Då riskutbildningen är ny har få utvärderingar gjorts.Denna studie utvärderar riskutbildningen för motorcyklister utifrån trafikskolläraresperspektiv. Målet har varit att sammanställa synpunkter och erfarenheter från lärarna påutbildningen. Ett ytterligare mål har varit att undersöka trafikskollärarnas upplevda effekter avutbildningen på elevers trafikbeteende. Sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med trafikskolläraresamt en observationsstudie på olika trafikskolor genomfördes. Utöver detta genomfördesdeltagande observation av en fortbildning där 15 trafikskollärare deltog. Resultatet frånstudien visar att lärarna anser att behovet av riskutbildningen är stort och attimplementationen av den nya riskutbildningen gått bra. Förutom att elever efter utbildningenrefererar till den, vilket enligt lärarna indikerar att de tagit till sig vad som sagts, märks det nui större utsträckning än tidigare att elever kör lugnare och tänker sig mer för i vissasituationer. Detta påtalades vara ett klart önskvärt resultat.

Under 1980-talet introducerades den första tågsimulatorn i svensk lokförarutbildning. Denna simulator är fortfarande den enda fullskalesimulator som används för att utbilda lokförare i Sverige. En anledning till att det inte finns fler tycks vara att det bl.a. saknas pedagogiska och ekonomiska motiv för en utvidgad användning av simulatorer i undervisning och träning. Energibesparingar inom spårtrafik dvs. att köra tåg energieffektivt är idag mycket aktuellt hos alla tågoperatörer i Sverige. Vissa operatörer utbildar redan sina förare teoretiskt i energieffektiv körning och tester av energieffektiv körning i verklig trafik har visat på en möjlig besparing om 16 % energi efter det att lokförare genomgått en teoretisk utbildning i energieffektiv körning. Då det emellertid fanns en del osäkerhet i mätdata från de tester som genomförts i verklig trafik och betingelserna samt försöksprocedur varierade mellan förarna fanns det ett behov av att undersöka besparingspotentialen under mer kontrollerade former. Dessutom visade sig att utbildning samt tillgång till ett stödsystem under körning gav en mindre besparing i energi (13 %). Således genomfördes en studie med hjälp av en tågsimulator. I simulatorn har man full kontroll på mätdata och betingelserna är lika för alla förare. Simulatorn som användes i studien är utvecklad på VTI (Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut) och är modellerad efter en X50 Regina. Syftet med denna studie var således att undersöka om samma teoretiska utbildning i energieffektiv körning, i kombination med simulatorträning under ideala förhållanden skulle ge lika bra eller bättre energibesparing jämfört med resultaten från tester i verklig trafik. Vidare undersöktes effekten av återkoppling under träningen med avseende på energibesparing. I studien deltog 24 lokförarelever som delades in i tre grupper med 8 elever i varje. Två av grupperna fick genomföra två körningar (referens- och testkörning) med utbildning och simulatorträning mellan tillfällena, medan den tredje gruppen (kontrollgrupp) endast genomförde referens- och testkörning utan utbildning och träning. De två grupperna som fick utbildning fick dock träna under två olika betingelser, en med återkoppling (energiförbrukning och banlutning) och en utan återkoppling. Det visade sig att utbildning i energieffektiv körning i kombination med 30 minuters simulatorträning resulterade i en total besparing för båda grupperna på ungefär 24 % energi, om man sen tar hänsyn till att man förbättrar sin körning genom att bara få tillfälle att köra upprepade gånger (kontrollgruppen använde 8 % mindre energi andra gången) så visade det sig att besparingen blev lika stor som den man fann i verklig trafik (16 %). Då resultaten blev lika fast betingelserna var olika finns det anledning till att vidare undersöka hur olika körförhållanden påverkar utfallet. Dessutom behöver man bättre förstå varför utbildning plus stödsystem gav mindre effekt än bara utbildning i verklig trafik samt varför återkoppling under träning inte gav någon påvisbar effekt. Det vill säga det finns anledning till ytterligare insatser för att utforma träning och stödsystem till förarna. Förutom energibesparing visade resultatet att rättidigheten förbättrades efter utbildning och simulatorträning. Resultaten talar för att det finns outnyttjad potential för tågsimulatorer i den svenska lokförarutbildningen både för att träna och utvärdera effekter av utbildningsinsatser.

Detta notat ger en översiktlig bild av den obligatoriska grundutbildningen till lokförare i Sverige och belyser i vilken mån simulatorbaserad träning förekommer inom utbildningen. Rapporten visar vilka möjligheter och begränsningar som finns med att öka användningen av simulatorer i lokförarutbildningen, samt beskriver de viktigaste styrdokumenten för lokföraryrket och lokförarutbildningen. Vidare presenteras Transportstyrelsens utbildningsplan för förarbevis och de aktörer som bedriver grundutbildning, fortbildning och examination. Trafikverkets E-Learning för ERTMS, ERSA-simulatorn samt operatörsspecifika ERTMS-utbildningar vid SJ och Green Cargo beskrivs. Forskarna har dessutom undersökt svenska tågoperatörers och utbildares nuvarande användning och framtida behov av simulatorer för grund- och fortbildning av lokförare. Exempel från andra domäner där simulatorer används i utbildningssammanhang lyfts också fram i rapporten.

Detta notat ger en översiktlig bild av den obligatoriska grundutbildningen till lokförare i Sverige och belyser i vilken mån simulatorbaserad träning förekommer inom utbildningen. Rapporten visar vilka möjligheter och begränsningar som finns med att öka användningen av simulatorer i lokförarutbildningen, samt beskriver de viktigaste styrdokumenten för lokföraryrket och lokförarutbildningen. Vidare presenteras Transportstyrelsens utbildningsplan för förarbevis och de aktörer som bedriver grundutbildning, fortbildning och examination. Trafikverkets E-Learning för ERTMS, ERSA-simulatorn samt operatörsspecifika ERTMS-utbildningar vid SJ och Green Cargo beskrivs. Forskarna har dessutom undersökt svenska tågoperatörers och utbildares nuvarande användning och framtida behov av simulatorer för grund- och fortbildning av lokförare. Exempel från andra domäner där simulatorer används i utbildningssammanhang lyfts också fram i rapporten.

In this thesis report we conducted research study on driver's behavior in T-Intersections using simulated environment. This report describes and discusses correlation analysis of driver's personality traits and style while driving at T-Intersections.

The experiments were performed on multi user driving simulator under controlled settings, at Linköping University. A total of forty-eight people participated in the study and were divided into groups of four, all driving in the same simulated world.

During the experiments participants were asked to fill a series of well-known self-report questionnaires. We evaluated questionnaires to get the insight in driver's personality traits and driving style. The self-report questionnaires consist of Schwartz's configural model of 10 values types and NEO-five factor inventory. Also driver's behavior was studied with the help of questionnaires based on driver's behavior, style, conflict avoidance, time horizon and tolerance of uncertainty. Then these 10 Schwartz's values are correlated with the other questionnaires to give the detail insight of the driving habits and personality traits of the drivers.

Serious games (SGs), are gaining prominence as a tool for early education at home as well as in school settings. Given the mixed effects of gamification on various aspects of users' lives, it is pertinent to study its broader effects on a child's pre-school and school years. Given the lack of consensus on a comprehensive measure that encapsulates these effects on an individual's routine functioning, the present study examined whether various engagement states in SGs use influence a relatively broader measure of users' functioning across significant life domains such as Quality of Life (QoL). It is argued that it would serve scholars, teachers, and parents better to understand the broader implications of SGs on children's overall QoL rather than isolated physiological and behavioral effects. Consequently, utilizing structural equation modeling, results from 335 parents of 2-10-year-olds in a developing country showed that cognitive and behavioral engagement in gamified applications appear to influence the child's QoL, but not affective engagement. Results are discussed in terms of the consequences of using game-based technology for a child's development, with far-reaching academic, personal, physical, and social implications not only for the school-going ages, but also for early teenage years. The results are promising in relation to QoL. The findings indicate the role modern technology plays in improving individuals' lives. The findings provide scholars, parents, and creators of SGs important information for their plan of action regarding children's exposure to SGs and making SGs a frequent aspect of the learning experience early in life.

Gamification is a modern concept that makes physical and digital activities engaging and enjoyable just like games. Game elements are added to mobile applications for user retention and engagement. One of the dark sides of gamification i.e., addiction is explored in this novel study in the context of mobile application design. It uses a mixed-method approach to lay the foundation of the relation between gamification and Smartphone Addiction, which is critically explained in a limited literature review using existing theories and studies on gamification. Interviews with behavioral experts confirm the psychological aspects of the research. The study also identifies game elements that contribute to smartphone addiction by a survey analysis of 269 participants. Results reveal Scrolling and Tapping as most addictive game elements. Some elements also show a statistically significant relationship with daily smartphone usage in hours. There are many effective applications of gamification, and in the context of mobile application design, it indeed helps to increase user engagement, however, there is an ethical need to reflect on what the exaggerated form of this engagement can lead to. As future research, a longitudinal study and experiments are suggested to find out this relationship with the use of empirical data.

Background: The Public Health (PH) course at the medical college of Cairo University is based on traditional lectures. Large enrollment limits students' discussions and interactions with instructors. Aim: Evaluate students' learning outcomes as measured by improved knowledge acquisition and opinions of redesigning the Reproductive Health (RH) section of the PH course into e-learning and assessing e-course utilization. Methods: This prospective interventional study started with development of an e-learning course covering the RH section, with visual and interactive emphasis, to satisfy students' diverse learning styles. Two student groups participated in this study. The first group received traditional lecturing, while the second volunteered to enroll in the e-learning course, taking online course quizzes. Both groups answered knowledge and course evaluation questionnaires and were invited to group discussions. Additionally, the first group answered another questionnaire about reasons for non-participation. Results: Students participating in the e-learning course showed significantly better results, than those receiving traditional tutoring. Students who originally shunned the e-course expressed eagerness to access the course before the end of the academic year. Overall, students using the redesigned e-course reported better learning experiences. Conclusions: An online course with interactivities and interaction, can overcome many educational drawbacks of large enrolment classes, enhance student's learning and complement pit-falls of large enrollment traditional tutoring.

Abstract Using prototypes when developing IT artifacts is not something new. With the help of prototypes, developers get a chance to show what the IT artifact can look like without investing too much time or money. The end user also gets the chance to see the IT artifact before it has been developed and gets a chance to add or remove features and requirements. This study examines how to use prototypes and how the use of prototypes improves the experience of mobile application interfaces for young people. In the study, young people from a leisure center were interviewed regarding the development of a mobile application. Three different prototypes have been presented and data has been collected on those prototypes to then see how the different prototypes can be used in a development process. After data collection, it turned out that the Lo-fi prototype did not contribute as much as the Hi-fi prototypes, so there is no need to develop Lo-fi prototypes in order to obtain data on user experience.

Recognising people’s emotions is a promising research area in human-computer interaction as emotional communication plays a crucial role in humans’ lives. One of the main reasons for ineffective emotional communication is a deficit in understanding emotional signals such as facial expressions and body posture. There is a bidirectional challenge between autistic and non-autistic individuals since they display their emotional signals differently. This thesis discovers differences in emotional signals, in particular facial expressions, body posture, and physiological signals. Based on the interviews and questionnaires conducted in this thesis, the need to design an aid tool to assist autistic and non-autistic participants during their emotional communication is identified. Therefore, Emognition, a smartwatch, and its mobile application is designed to blur these differences and enhance the emotional communication between them. Furthermore, Emognition’s user evaluation indicates that the smartwatch could successfully detect nonautistic participants’ sadness and happiness. Also, they found the mobile application useful and aesthetically motivating to interact with. Even though we could not evaluate how well the Emognition recognises autistic participants’ sadness and happiness, it is promising to measure their emotions successfully by accurate sensors and, more importantly, by finding their autonomic response patterns to different emotions and enhance emotional communication between autistic and nonautistic people by Emognition.

Järnvägsbranschen står i dagsläget inför stora utmaningar med planerade infrastrukturprojekt och underhåll av befintlig järnväg. Med ökade förväntningar på  utbyggnaden av den framtida järnvägen, medför det en ökad risk för belastning på det nuvarande nätet. Baksidan av utbyggnaden kan bli fler inställda resor och  förseningar. Genom att dra nytta av tekniska innovationer såsom digitalisering och  automatisering kan det befintliga system och arbetsprocesser utvecklas för en  effektivare hantering.  Trafikverket ställer krav på Byggnadsinformationsmodeller (BIM) i upphandlingar. Projektering för signalanläggningar sker hos Sweco med CAD-programmet  Promis.e. Från programmet kan Baninformationslistor (BIS-listor) innehållande  information om objekts attribut hämtas. Trafikverket ställer krav på att attributen ska bestå av ett visst format eller ha specifika värden. I detta examensarbete  undersöks metoder för att automatisk verifiera ifall objekt har tillåtna värden från projekteringsverktyget samt implementering av en metod. Undersökta metoder  innefattar kalkyleringsprogrammet Excel, frågespråket Structured Query Language (SQL) och processen Extract, Transform and Load (ETL).  Efter analys av metoder valdes processen ETL. Resultatet blev att ett program  skapades för att automatiskt välja vilken typ av BIS-lista som skulle granskas och för att verifiera om attributen innehöll tillåtna värden. För att undersöka om kostnaden för programmen skulle gynna företaget utöver kvalitetssäkringen utfördes en  ekonomisk analys. Enligt beräkningarna kunde valet av att automatisera  granskningen även motiveras ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv.

In this study, the usability of smart phone application store app is evaluated. The study was performed on different smart phone operating systems. Data about usability was gathered through surveys and think aloud based experiment. Anova analysis was also performed on data to identify significant issues. A lot of smartphone users reported issues with installing, locating and searching about apps. Many users had issues with uninstalling of apps and navigating the search results when looking for apps. The smartphone operating system and the app store does not provide seamless navigation and alot of content is not tailored for smart phone users.

Idag är många branscher beroende av ett gediget teamwork. Det finns dock ett behov av objektiva mätsystem för teamwork och därför har detta projekt som syfte att skapa och testa ett observationsprotokoll utifrån den teoretiska modellen ’The Big Five of Teamwork’ framtagen av Salas, Sims & Burke (2005). Observationsprotokollet användes för att observera teamwork mellan två flygledare på Arlanda ATCC. Därefter fick flygledarna svara på en enkät för att bidra med subjektiva aspekter från modellen. Totalt genomfördes 15 stycken strukturerade observationer. Resultatet visade att det är möjligt att skatta teamwork på flygledare med hjälp av ett observationsprotokoll baserat på sex av åtta komponenter, där inte teamorientering och gemensam mental modell ingick. Komponenterna visade sig vara mer än bara ett observerbart beteende och enbart observationer frambringar inte en rättvis bild över komponenten. Resultatet visade också på att flygledarna själva upplever samtliga komponenter som en del av arbetet. Observationerna visade att samarbetet kunde se olika ut och skilja sig från team till team, och att flygledarna anpassar sig efter varandras behov. 

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur Data Cubes kunde komma att användas inom ramarna för Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Vilka fördelar som kunde dras ifrån att utnyttja den potential som data cubes besitter och använda dem i GEOSS plattformen undersöktes i studien. Data cubes för earth observation är ett koncept om hur data ska hanteras och tillhandahållas av datatjänster. Det ämnar bland annat flexibel extrahering av datapartitioner och dataprocesseringsförmågor. I denna studie iakttogs det att det mest frekvent förekommande användningsområdet för data cubes var analys av tid. Ett huvudsyfte med GEOSS portalen var att tillhandahålla användaren med verktyg för att utforska och inspektera dataset. I denna studie tillverkades ett användargränssnitt med en tidslinje för att ge användaren tillgång till att även utforska och inspektera dataset med en tidsdimension. Datasetet tillhandahålls från en data cube och utnyttjar data cubes färdighet i att förse utvalda partitioner av datasetet som kan extraheras längs valfri axel. En användarstudie har gjorts på användargränssnittet för att utvärdera till vilken grad användarna var nöjda och hur det uppfyllde deras krav, för att samla värdefulla insikter. Resultatet visar på att designen presterar väl på flera punkter, den rankar högt i användartillfredsställelse. Med studien klargör även framtida förbättringsmöjligheter och gav insikter om viktiga designbegränsningar och utmaningar. I rapporten diskuteras det hur dessa kan hanteras på olika sätt.

The AAAI-13 Workshop Program, a part of the 27th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, was held Sunday and Monday, July 14-15, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue Hotel in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The program included 12 workshops covering a wide range of topics in artificial intelligence, including Activity Context-Aware System Architectures (WS-13-05); Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Methods in Computational Biology (WS-13-06); Combining Constraint Solving with Mining and Learning (WS-13-07); Computer Poker and Imperfect Information (WS-13-08); Expanding the Boundaries of Health Informatics Using Artificial Intelligence (WS-13-09); Intelligent Robotic Systems (WS-13-10); Intelligent Techniques for Web Personalization and Recommendation (WS-13-11); Learning Rich Representations from Low-Level Sensors (WS-13-12); Plan, Activity,, and Intent Recognition (WS-13-13); Space, Time, and Ambient Intelligence (WS-13-14); Trading Agent Design and Analysis (WS-13-15); and Statistical Relational Artificial Intelligence (WS-13-16)

Det finns olika variationer av vägledningshjälpmedel som hjälper spelaren att navigera sig i en 3D-omgivning. I denna kvalitativa studie kommer det undersökas hur spår, ljud och markeringar som vägledningshjälpmedel kan stödja en spelare i en 3D-labyrint. Genom att undersöka de tre vägledningshjälpmedlen skapades en prototyp där de tre vägledningshjälpmedlen separerades i tre olika labyrinter. Respondenterna som deltog i studien spelade igenom de tre labyrinterna med och utan vägledningshjälpmedel för att kunna undersöka hur de stödjer respondenterna under spelsessionen. Data samlades in med hjälp av stimulated recall metoden och semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Insamlad data analyserades med hjälp av Empirisk fenomenologisk psykologi (EPP) metoden. Resultatet som uppstod från analysen presenterade respondenternas individuella upplevelse samt de fyra övergripande teman som sammanställdes från data. Sammanfattningsvis indikerade resultaten att spåret var den optimalaste vägledningshjälpmedlet, däremot delade både ljud och markeringar samma egenskaper som vägledningsshjälpmedel. Dessutom bildade respondenterna spatialt minne med hjälp av unika landmärken, samt utgick respondenterna från egna vägledningsstrategier när de tre hjälpmedlen inte var tillgängliga.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka om det finns ett intresse för sociala interaktioner i video-slots och hur det i sådana fall kan utformas för att ge användarna en bra användarupplevelse. Onlinekasinon är den spelform som har ökat mest i popularitet i Sverige senaste åren och video-slots är den speltyp som växer mest. Tidigare studier visar på att det finns en drivkraft att göra saker tillsammans och som stärker och berikar upplevelser. Studier på sociala interaktioner i online-spel visar tydligt på att njutningen är ett viktigt element för att spela. Syftet är även att undersöka om sociala interaktioner i video-slots kan leda till en sundare spelstil för de med spelmissbruk.

Video-slots är ett hedoniskt motivationssystem (HMS) och används för att ge användaren nöje och glädje i ett system. Teorin som studien baserats på är HMSAM, som är en HMS specifik modell som använts för att skapa en förståelse för uppfattad användarvänlighet, uppfattad användarnytta, glädje, kontroll och nyfikenhet, som kan påverka inre motivation. Inre motivation behövs för att användare ska kunna fördjupa sig och fortsätta vilja använda ett HMS-system. 

Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer har använts vid insamlandet av empiri. Fokus har legat på användarnas upplevelser, deras motivationer, drivkrafter, kontroll och önskemål kring sociala interaktioner vid spelande av video-slots. Intervjufrågorna grundas utifrån HMSAM men även utifrån spelifierings-ramverket Octalysis. Resultaten från datainsamlingen analyseras utifrån uppkomna kategorier och mönster. Analysen visade en stor motivation till att spela video-slots online tillsammans och att det skulle förhöja deras spelupplevelse. Även att det hade förenklat deras spelsessioner och skapat större gemenskap, då majoriteten av informanterna redan spelade video-slots tillsammans idag, med egna konstruerade metoder. Analysen visade också att informanterna spelar främst för nöjet och spänningens skull. Utifrån datan från intervjuerna togs designförslag fram, med stöd av spelifierings-ramverket. Designförslagen mynnade ut i sex grafiska gränssnittsskisser med funktioner som förhoppningsvis kan bidra till en förhöjd användarupplevelse.

This thesis explores the use and impact of Voter Advice Applications (VAA), specifically Valkompassen (The Election Compass), on young voters in Sweden. It investigates how these digital tools influence electoral decisions and whether enhancements can better support informed voting. Key findings reveal that VAAs like Valkompassen significantly affect voter turnout and choices by informing its users about political party stances but have limited impact on informing about political issues. Consequently, a prototype was developed that integrates additional resources into The Election Compass, aiming to deepen issue knowledge. This prototype allows users to access relevant information to potentially enrich their political understanding while keeping the appeal of the format of The Election Compass. The study highlights the necessity of combining VAAs with broader educational initiatives and discusses the role of digital tools in enhancing democratic engagement.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are increasingly used in search and rescue (SAR) missions, with pilots transitioning from manual control of single drones to more collaborative tasks orchestrating semi-autonomous fleets. Designing user interfaces to support UAV pilots effectively is crucial to improving the success of search missions. We developed two versions of a multi-drone SAR system prototype to simulate SAR missions and evaluated them with professional UAV SAR pilots in Sweden. Both versions showed the flight paths of the UAVs, yet in one version, a heatmap was overlayed to provide information from a lost person model. We evaluated situational awareness (SA), cognitive workload, and trust in SAR scenarios. Results showed reduced cognitive load and increased trust with the heatmap-guided interface. Findings from the contextual interviews suggest three design implications for increasing trust and acceptance for future multi-drone user interfaces.

I det moderna samhället är vår interaktion med tjänster konstant och erbjuder möjligheter för en rikare vardag. Ett exempel är att statliga myndigheter tillhandahåller sina tjänster digitalt för att förenkla och förbättra samhällsservicen till medborgare. Samtidigt innebär interaktion med digitala tjänster en utmaning för användarna. Dessa utmaningar kan vara orsaken till att användare av Konsumentverkets digitala tjänst Budgetkalkylen uttryckt möjligheter för förbättring. I detta examensarbete används teori inom användarnytta, användbarhet och kognitiv belastning för att undersöka interaktionen mellan användare och Budgetkalkylen. Detta för att bidra med förbättringsförslag för ökad användarnytta, användbarhet samt minimal kognitiv belastning. Teorin beskriver hur den kognitiva belastningen av vårt arbetsminne påverkar användbarheten hos ett system. Användbarheten, som är av vikt då den skapar förutsättningar för bra samspel med en produkt, bildar tillsammans med nyttan produktens användarnytta. Med användarnytta menas att systemet erbjuder de funktioner och information som möjliggör måluppfyllelse för användaren. För att undersöka detta har en kvalitativ undersökning genomförts där intervjuer och användartester använts som insamlingsmetoder. Datainsamlingen utfördes med studenter som inte tidigare använt tjänsten. Resultatet visar att det fanns delar av interaktionen som utgjorde hög kognitiv belastning och minskade systemets användbarhet. Att dela upp uppgifterna och informationen i mindre steg, ge tydliga instruktioner och anpassa designen efter användarens kunskapsnivå anses minska den kognitiva belastningen. Nyttan låg i att skapa en helhetssyn över sin ekonomi, där hälften mer proaktivt ville sätta upp sparmål och den andra hälften ville använda den mer reaktivt. Litteratur som beskriver att kognitiv belastning påverkar användbarheten fick stöd genom denna undersökning. Metoden för att undersöka den kognitiva belastningen för att finna brister i interaktionen fick samtidigt stöd. 

The prevalence of mobile phone usage in traffic has been studied by road-side counting, naturalistic driving data, surveillance cameras, smartphone logging, and subjective estimates via surveys. Here, we describe a custom-made smartphone logging application along with suggestions on how future such applications should be designed. The developed application logs start and end times of all phone interactions (mobile phone applications, incoming/outgoing phone calls and text messages, audio output, and screen activations). In addition, all movements are automatically classified into transport, cycling, walking, running, or stationary. The capabilities of the approach are demonstrated in a pilot study with 143 participants. Examples of results that can be gained from smartphone logging include prevalence in different transportation modes (here found to be 12% while driving, 4% while cycling, and 7% while walking), which apps are being used (here found to be 19% navigation, 12% talking, 12% social media, and 10% games) and on which road types (rural, urban, highway etc.). Smartphone logging was found to be an insightful complement to the other methods for assessing phone use in traffic, especially since it allows the analyses of which apps are used and where they are used, split into transportation mode and road type, all at a relatively low cost.

Studien ar en analysering av omskrivningsregler framtagna av Decker (2003), dessa omskrivningsregler har implementerats i ett verktyg som heter CogFLUX. Syftet med dessa omskrivningsregler ar att forenkla det svenska spraket och gora det mer lattlast. CogFLUX tar en given text som input och omskrivningsregler valjs ut och appliceras pa texterna med hjalp av verktyget. Detta verktyg returnerar sedan en omskriven text och de tre olika lasbarhetsmatten LIX, OVIX och NR for texten. Syftet med studien har varit att se huruvida olika permutationer av en given uppsattning omskrivningsregler ger olika resultat matt med lasbarhetsmatten samt om det finns kombinationer av omskrivningsregler som fungerar battre an andra. Utvardering har skett pa tre olika texttyper pa vardera ca 5000 ord. Resultaten har visat att olika permutationer av omskrivningsregler inte ger nagon matbar effekt matt med lasbarhetsmatt. Av totalt atta applicerade omskrivningsregler har fyra visat sig vara effektiva och forenkla texter matt med lasbarhetsmatten.

Detta examensarbete utforskar om gyroskopiska interaktioner kan användas för att förbättra läsupplevelsen på mobiltelefoner. Tidigare forskning från det tidiga 2000-talet har varit skeptiska mot gyroskopisk navigation, på grund av dålig precision och stabilitet. För att utforska om dagens teknologi har öppnat nya möjligheter; skapades, designades och testades två experimentella läsmetoder på 20 respektive 18 deltagare. Den första metoden är en återkoppling till tidigare forskning medans den andra utforskar ett nytt sätt som liknar gyroskopisk sidindelning. Data från läs sessionerna samlades i både kvantitativ och kvalitativ form, varav den senare med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultaten indikerar god potential och en läsprestanda som liknar den standardiserade läsmetoden. Vikten av att tillgodose människors individuella läsningsbeteende blev också diskuterat.

Ny teknologi har skapat nya möjligheter inom utvecklingen av teknologi för äldre. Kunskap behövs om de äldres behov och vilka situationer i vardagen som skulle kunna underlättas av teknik för att minska de äldres beroende av andra människor. I utvecklingen av ett interaktivt teknologiskt hjälpmedel en så kallad virtual companion har en etnografisk studie gjorts för att kartlägga vardagen på ett äldreboende och interaktionen mellan vårdgivare och vårdtagare. Dessa har strukturerats upp i interaktionsmönster för att bli ett underlag till funktioner som skall implementeras i hjälpmedlet.

Den situerade ansatsen inom artificiell intelligens har i tidigare experiment visat på stora möjligheter vid utvecklingen av enkla beteenden. Ansatsens framgångar är dock inte lika tydliga när det kommer till utvecklingen av mer komplexa beteenden som i högre grad påminner om de experiment som gjorts inom traditionell artificiell intelligens. I studien utvecklas en agent med ett ”Extended Sequential Cascaded Network” som kontrollarkitektur för att lösa en uppgift som kräver ett ”räkneliknande beteende”. Utvecklingen av nätverket grundas på en situerad syn på kognition, däribland att designern i så liten grad som möjligt skall styra utvecklingen. Experimentets resultat visar på en agent som inte ens löser den enklaste versionen av uppgiften. I diskussionen härleds misslyckandet till svårigheterna med en designeroberoende utveckling.

Stroke is a globally increasing disease and speech and language deficiencies are common in stroke survivors. To facilitate medical caregivers in their professional work and to improve patients’ quality of life, technology can play an important role. However, the use and acceptance of technology are uncertain and more research is needed in this direction. This study evaluates the technology acceptance and adoption of an online speech and language assessment application. The evaluation-focused Design Science Research strategy was adopted for that purpose. Two physiotherapists, one occupational therapist and three speech therapists participated in the study. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was used as the theoretical base for interview questions formation and data analysis. The study findings show that the suggested application is useful and easyto use; however, it should be better synchronised with speech therapists’ daily work routines. The speech therapists stressed that the functionalities of the application should be designed in close collaboration with them, and it should be compatible with the already existing systems and services in place. Due to impairments after stroke, the patients have some specific preferences for software and hardware; such as a tablet with a touch pen is the preferred hardware. Additionally, the interface should have bigger text fonts and pictures, and highly contrastive colours in the graphics should be used for patients’convenience. The user’s privacy and security, the patient’s current health, and their previous knowledge and experience with technology were also found important determinants for the intention to use the given technology.

Informal Caregivers such as a spouse, other close relatives or friends of cancer patients can play an essential role in home-based treatment and care. However, the informal caregivers might not be prepared for this responsibility, and they might have several unmet requirements for taking care of patients in the home environment. The informal caregivers’ physical, social and psychological health is also profoundly affected due to the health conditions of their relatives. We propose a User-centred Positive Design as a hybrid framework by merging the traditional User-cantered design and positive design frameworks to enhance the informal caregivers’ subjective well-being. Our ongoing project (Carer-eSupport) will be used as a case study, and its main objective is to co-create and evaluate a web-based support system for informal caregivers of people with cancer. The proposed framework can be used for the design and development of health information systems with a special focus on users’ wellbeing and positive emotions.

The population of older adults globally increased during the last couple of decades. Due to these demographic changes, the need for medical care has also significantly increased. Despite the age-related disabilities and chronic diseases, most older adults prefer independent living in their home environment. Technology-enhanced systems and eHealth applications seem to provide some promising solutions for older adults’ well-being and independent living. However, the adoption and acceptance of these applications for older adults are unclear and further research is needed in this area. This study was carried out as a literature review, to meet the aim of identifying and discussing important factors in the Human-computer interaction of eHealth for older adults. The overall research question for this study was: What are the critical factors to consider for an improved human-computer interaction in technology-enhanced health care systems for older adults? Findings indicate some important factors to address: personal integrity, trust, technology acceptance, accessibility of ICT and eHealth literacy. If the presented factors are considered and addressed, it would be easier to achieve the desired aim of independent living. The authors recommend a human-computer interaction that is older adults centred, with the involvement of older adults users in the design process. Proper education and training on the use of eHealth services are also of great importance. Finally, the technology-enhanced system should also provide good social and technological support to the users.

Background: Informal caregivers of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), such as the patient’s spouse, other close relatives, or friends, can play an important role in home-based treatment and health care. Research shows that informal caregivers are usually unprepared for this responsibility and need support with taking care of patients and other daily life activities. These circumstances place them in a vulnerable position, and their well-being may be compromised. This study is part of our ongoing project Carer eSupport, which aims to develop a web-based intervention to facilitate informal caregivers in the home environment.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the situation and context of informal caregivers of patients with HNC and their needs for designing and developing a web-based intervention (Carer eSupport). In addition, we proposed a novel framework for the development of a web-based intervention aimed at promoting the well-being of informal caregivers. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with 15 informal caregivers and 13 healthcare professionals. Both informal caregivers and healthcare professionals were recruited from 3 university hospitals in Sweden. We adopted a thematic data analysis process to analyze the data.

Results: We investigated informal caregivers’ needs, critical factors for adoption, and desired functionalities of Carer eSupport.A total of 4 major themes, including information, web-based forum, virtual meeting place, and chatbot, emerged and were discussed by informal caregivers and health care professionals for Carer eSupport. However, most study participants did not like the idea of a chatbot for asking questions and retrieving information and expressed their concerns such as a lack of trust in robotic technologies and missing human contact while communicating with chatbots. The results from the focus groups were discussed through the lens of positive design research approaches.

Conclusions: This study provided an in-depth understanding of informal caregivers’ contexts and their preferred functions for a web-based intervention (Carer eSupport). Using the theoretical foundation of designing for well-being and positive design in the informal caregiving context, we proposed a positive design framework to support informal caregivers’ well-being. Our proposed framework might be helpful for human-computer interaction and user experience researchers to design meaningful health interventions with a clear focus on users’ well-being and positive emotions, especially for informal caregivers of patients with HNC.

Context. Industry is moving from co-located form of development to a distributed development in order to achieve different benefits such as cost reduction, access to skillful labor and around the clock working etc. This transfer requires industry to face different challenges such as communication, coordination and monitoring problems. Risk of project failure can be increased, if industry does not address these problems. This thesis is about providing the solutions of these problems in term of effective roles and responsibilities that may have positive impact on GSD team. Objectives. In this study we have developed framework for suggesting roles and responsibilities for GSD team. This framework consists of problems and casual dependencies between them which are related to team’s ineffectiveness, then suggestions in terms of roles and responsibilities have been presented in order to have an effective team in GSD. This framework, further, has been validated in industry through a survey that determines which are the effective roles and responsibilities in GSD. Methods. We have two research methods in this study 1) systematic literature review and 2) survey. Complete protocol for planning, conducting and reporting the review as well as survey has been described in their respective sections in this thesis. A systematic review is used to develop the framework whereas survey is used for framework validation. We have done static validation of framework. Results. Through SLR, we have identified 30 problems, 33 chains of problems. We have identified 4 different roles and 40 different responsibilities to address these chains of problems. During the validation of the framework, we have validated the links between suggested roles and responsibilities and chains of problems. Addition to this, through survey, we have identified 20 suggestions that represents strong positive impact on chains of problems in GSD in relation to team’s effectiveness. Conclusions. We conclude that implementation of effective roles and responsibilities in GSD team to avoid different problems require considerable attention from researchers and practitioners which can guarantee team’s effectiveness. Implementation of proper roles and responsibilities has been mentioned as one of the successful strategies for increasing team’s effectiveness in the literature, but which particular roles and responsibilities should be implemented still need to be addressed. We also conclude that there must be basic responsibilities associated with any particular role. Moreover, we conclude that there is a need for further development and empirical validation of different frameworks for suggesting roles and responsibilities in full scale industry trials.

In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning (RL) mechanism for social robots to select an action based on users' learning performance and social engagement. We applied this behavior selection mechanism to extend the emotion and memory model, which allows a robot to create a memory account of the user's emotional events and adapt its behavior based on the developed memory. We evaluated the model in a vocabulary-learning task at a school during a children's game involving robot interaction to see if the model results in maintaining engagement and improving vocabulary learning across the four different interaction sessions. Generally, we observed positive findings based on child vocabulary learning and sustaining social engagement during all sessions. Compared to the trends of a previous study, we observed a higher level of social engagement across sessions in terms of the duration of the user gaze toward the robot. For vocabulary retention, we saw similar trends in general but also showing high vocabulary retention across some sessions. The findings indicate the benefits of applying RL techniques that have a reward system based on multi-modal user signals or cues.

Context: A District Heating System (DHS) uses a central heating plant to produce and distribute hot water in a community. Such a plant is connected with consumers’ premises to provide them with hot water and space heating facilities. Variations in the consumption of heat energy depend upon different factors like difference in energy prices, living standards, environmental effects and economical conditions etc. These factors can manage intelligently by advanced tools of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) such as smart metering. That is a new and emerging technology; used normally for metering of District Heating (DH), district cooling, electricity and gas. Traditional meters measures overall consumption of energy, in contrast smart meters have the ability to frequently record and transmit energy consumption statistics to both energy providers and consumers by using their communication networks and network management systems. Objectives: First objective of conducted study was providing energy consumption/saving suggestions on smart metering display for accepted consumer behavior, proposed by the energy providers. Our second objective was analysis of financial benefits for the energy provides, which could be expected through better consumer behavior. Third objective was analysis of energy consumption behavior of the residential consumes that how we can support it. Moreover, forth objective of the study was to use extracted suggestions of consumer behaviors to propose Extended Smart Metering Display for improving energy economy. Methods: In this study a background study was conducted to develop basic understanding about District Heat Energy (DHE), smart meters and their existing display, consumer behaviors and its effects on energy consumption. Moreover, interviews were conducted with representatives of smart heat meters’ manufacturer, energy providers and residential consumers. Interviews’ findings enabled us to propose an Extended Smart Metering Display, that satisfies recommendations received from all the interviewees and background study. Further in this study, a workshop was conducted for the evaluation of the proposed Extended Smart Metering Display which involved representatives of smart heat meters’ manufacture and residential energy consumers. DHE providers also contributed in this workshop through their comments in online conversation, for which an evaluation request was sent to member companies of Swedish District Heating Association. Results: Informants in this research have different levels of experiences. Through a systematic procedure we have obtained and analyzed findings from all the informants. To fulfill the energy demands during peak hours, the informants emphasized on providing efficient energy consumption behavior to be displayed on smart heat meters. According to the informants, efficient energy consumption behavior can be presented through energy consumption/saving suggestions on display of smart meters. These suggestions are related to daily life activities like taking bath and shower, cleaning, washing and heating usage. We analyzed that efficient energy consumption behavior recommended by the energy providers can provide financial improvements both for the energy providers and the residential consumers. On the basis of these findings, we proposed Extended Smart Metering Display to present information in simple and interactive way. Furthermore, the proposed Extended Smart Metering Display can also be helpful in measuring consumers’ energy consumption behavior effectively. Conclusions: After obtaining answers of the research questions, we concluded that extension of existing smart heat meters’ display can effectively help the energy providers and the residential consumers to utilize the resources efficiently. That is, it will not only reduce energy bills for the residential consumers, but it will also help the energy provider to save scarce energy and enable them to serve the consumers better in peak hours. After deployment of the proposed Extended Smart Metering Display the energy providers will able to support the consumers’ behavior in a reliable way and the consumers will find/follow the energy consumption/saving guidelines easily.

Context. Reminder system offers flexibility in daily life activities and assists to be independent. The reminder system not only helps reminding daily life activities, but also serves to a great extent for the people who deal with health care issues. For example, a health supervisor who monitors people with different health related problems like people with disabilities or mild dementia. Traditional reminders which are based on a set of defined activities are not enough to address the necessity in a wider context. To make the reminder more flexible, the user’s current activities or contexts are needed to be considered. To recognize user’s current activity, different types of sensors can be used. These sensors are available in Smartphone which can assist in building a more contextual reminder system. Objectives. To make a reminder context based, it is important to identify the context and also user’s activities are needed to be recognized in a particular moment. Keeping this notion in mind, this research aims to understand the relevant context and activities, identify an effective way to recognize user’s three different activities (drinking, walking and jogging) using Smartphone sensors (accelerometer and gyroscope) and propose a model to use the properties of the identification of the activity recognition. Methods. This research combined a survey and interview with an exploratory Smartphone sensor experiment to recognize user’s activity. An online survey was conducted with 29 participants and interviews were held in cooperation with the Karlskrona Municipality. Four elderly people participated in the interview. For the experiment, three different user activity data were collected using Smartphone sensors and analyzed to identify the pattern for different activities. Moreover, a model is proposed to exploit the properties of the activity pattern. The performance of the proposed model was evaluated using machine learning tool, WEKA. Results. Survey and interviews helped to understand the important activities of daily living which can be considered to design the reminder system, how and when it should be used. For instance, most of the participants in the survey are used to using some sort of reminder system, most of them use a Smartphone, and one of the most important tasks they forget is to take their medicine. These findings helped in experiment. However, from the experiment, different patterns have been observed for three different activities. For walking and jogging, the pattern is discrete. On the other hand, for drinking activity, the pattern is complex and sometimes can overlap with other activities or can get noisy. Conclusions. Survey, interviews and the background study provided a set of evidences fostering reminder system based on users’ activity is essential in daily life. A large number of Smartphone users promoted this research to select a Smartphone based on sensors to identify users’ activity which aims to develop an activity based reminder system. The study was to identify the data pattern by applying some simple mathematical calculations in recorded Smartphone sensors (accelerometer and gyroscope) data. The approach evaluated with 99% accuracy in the experimental data. However, the study concluded by proposing a model to use the properties of the identification of the activities and developing a prototype of a reminder system. This study performed preliminary tests on the model, but there is a need for further empirical validation and verification of the model.

Today’s cell phones include more and more functionality, it is no longer uncommon to be able to connect to the Internet or take photos with the cell phone. In this thesis the question is if the cell phone users are interested in this new functionality. Are there people who are interested in a cell phone that in this thesis is called “Basmobilen” (the entry level phone), which include the following functions; phone call, SMS, phone book, calling lists, clock and the possibility to change the call signal. After some historical insight in the development of the cell phone there is a description of the entry level phone (basmobilen). The question about what the cell phone users are interested in is answered through a poll, interviews and diaries. The result shows that the entry level phone (basmobilen) is interesting for the persons who answered the poll, but there are some of them who want some additional functionality. This is discussed further in the discussion part of the thesis, where also a suggestion on how cell phones should be built in the future, to fit as large user groups as possible, is made.

HRA (Human Reliability Analysis) is a part of PSA (Probabilistic Risk Assessment) to evaluate if and which human actions that could contribute to a core damage in a NPP (Nuclear Power Plant). This thesis investigates requirements that are put on HRA in connection to requirements that are put on the PSA, both from the view of international standard but also through HRA method descriptions and performed analyses from Swedish NPPs as well as through interviews with performers in the field.

The results shows that the requirements that are put on the HRA from the international standards are generic (few specific requirements are to be found) and can be said to be reflected in the performed analysis on Swedish NPPs. Another result shows that there isn't much difference between different NPP units on how the HRA is performed; the general requirements from the international standards are most often followed in some sense. There is more a questions of level of detail and/or traceability described in the analysis that can be said to be of difference. The results also shows on the fact that it is very hard to transform the more qualitative results from the HRA into a quantitative value that can work as an input to the PSA. Some of the interviewees expressed a sort of resignation that it felt as if the qualitative parts of the HRA weren't seen in the same light as the quantitative parts, and that there is no consensus on how for example factors that influence the work of the operators (such as stress, the quality of instructions, complexity of the task or available time) in a reliable way can be evaluated quantitatively. This is something that further research could be focused on.

This study focuses on evaluating and enhancing the user experience of Emely, a conversational agent aimed at improving language skills for second language learners, particularly those who want to increase their chances of securing employment in Sweden. Usability testing was conducted in two test rounds, with the first round providing design implications for the user interface in the second round. However, assessing the effectiveness of the interface improvements was challenging due to low Swedish proficiency among the test groups consisting of potential users of Emely. Although the study did not result in design implications for the user interface, important findings highlight the need to adapt conversational agents, like Emely, for users with low literacy levels and illiteracy, emphasizing the importance of inclusive design for effective language learning support.

Den här studien har ämnat att undersöka socialt användarengagemang på digitala spelplattformar genom frågeställningen: Vilka utmaningar finns för design av socialt användarengagemang på digitala spelplattformar? Socialt användarengagemang innebär att användares engagemang mellan varandra främjas genom funktioner på den digitala plattformen som på exempelvis Facebook och Twitter. Tidigare forskning om användarengagemang på digitala spelplattformar har försökt att skapa användarengagemang genom nya sociala funktioner. Det finns däremot problematik för utvecklare av digitala spelplattformar eftersom användare väljer att interagera och kommunicera på andra digitala sociala plattformar. Att användarna väljer att kommunicera på andra digitala plattformar än på digitala spelplattformar kan vara kopplat till att användare av digitala spelplattformar har ett annat syfte och behov med sin interaktion. Vid design av digitala spelplattformar kan det därför vara viktigt att nya funktioner är en påbyggnad av den digitala spelplattformens grundfunktioner och att användares spelrelaterade mål prioriteras. Studien utgick från en designorienterad forskningsansats där tre stycken designelement har implementerats och utvärderats genom en probe. Studien resulterade i fyra designutmaningar som är ämnade att rikta sig till designers av digitala spelplattformar som ett stöd för framtagning och utveckling av digitala spelplattformar. De identifierade designutmaningar rekommenderas att ha i åtanke för att kunna förbättra upplevelsen för användare på digitala spelplattformar.

Detta examensarbete syftar till att undersöka och förbättra tillgängligheten i en vårdapplikation, med fokus på design av menyer och funktioner för att ge stöd till användare med funktionsnedsättningar som är åldersrelaterade.

Arbetet innehåller en omfattande litteraturstudie, behovsanalys, marknadsanalys och användartester. Dessutom diskuteras teorier och tidigare forskning om tillgänglighet och kognitiv belastning, och hur dessa aspekter kan integreras i designprocessen för att skapa en mer användarvänlig och inkluderande vårdapplikation.

Arbetet innefattar en detaljerad analys av designprocessen, från skisser och wireframes till slutlig Hi-Fidelity prototyp. Resultaten från denna process, tillsammans med insikter från behovsanalysen, används för att förbättra applikationens design och användbarhet. Förbättringarna inkluderar tydligare menyer och funktioner för att göra innehållet mer tillgängligt för äldre användare.

Framtida forskning bör fortsätta att undersöka hur digitala vårdapplikationer kan utformas för att minska kognitiv belastning, särskilt med tanke på att den åldrande befolkningen över 60 år förväntas öka betydligt fram till 2050.

This paper explores robot-assisted training in a cross-cultural context with older adults. We performed user studies with 28 older adults with two different assistive training robots: an adaptive robot, and a non-adaptive robot, in two countries (Sweden and Israel). In the adaptive robot group, the robot suggested playing music and decreased the number of repetitions based on the participant’s level of engagement. We analyzed the facial expressions of the participants in these two groups. Results revealed that older adults in the adaptive robot group showed more varying facial expressions. The adaptive robot created a distraction for the older adults since it talked more than the non-adaptive robot. This result suggests that a robot designed for older adults should utilize the right amount of communication capabilities. The Israeli participants expressed more positive attitudes towards robots and rated the perceived usefulness of the robot higher than the Swedish participants.

This paper explores robot-assisted training in a cross-cultural context with older adults. We performed user studies with 28 older adults with two different assistive training robots: an adaptive robot, and a non-adaptive robot, in two countries (Sweden and Israel). In the adaptive robot group, the robot suggested playing music and decreased the number of repetitions based on the participant’s level of engagement. We analyzed the facial expressions of the participants in these two groups. Results revealed that older adults in the adaptive robot group showed more varying facial expressions. The adaptive robot created a distraction for the older adults since it talked more than the non-adaptive robot. This result suggests that a robot designed for older adults should utilize the right amount of communication capabilities. The Israeli participants expressed more positive attitudes towards robots and rated the perceived usefulness of the robot higher than the Swedish participants.

Visualization research methods help us study how visualization systems are used in complex real-world scenarios. One such widely used method is the interview — researchers asking participants specific questions to enrich their understanding. In this work, we introduce the pair-interview technique as a method that relies on two interviewers with specific and delineated roles, instead of one. Pair-interviewing focuses on the mechanics of conducting semi-structured interviews as a pair, and complements other existing visualization interview techniques. Based on a synthesis of the experiences and reflections of researchers in four diverse studies who used pair-interviewing, we outline recommendations for when and how to use pair-interviewing within visualization research studies.

Annually, road accidents cause more than 1.2 million deaths, 50 million injuries, and US$ 518 billion of economic cost globally. About 90% of the accidents occur due to human errors such as bad awareness, distraction, drowsiness, low training, fatigue etc. These human errors can be minimized by using advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) which actively monitors the driving environment and alerts a driver to the forthcoming danger, for example adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, parking assistance, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, driver drowsiness detection, and traffic sign recognition etc. Unfortunately, these systems are provided only with modern luxury cars because they are very expensive due to numerous sensors employed. Therefore, camera-based ADAS are being seen as an alternative because a camera has much lower cost, higher availability, can be used for multiple applications and ability to integrate with other systems. Aiming at developing a camera-based ADAS, we have performed an ethnographic study of drivers in order to find what information about the surroundings could be helpful for drivers to avoid accidents. Our study shows that information on speed, distance, relative position, direction, and size & type of the nearby vehicles & other objects would be useful for drivers, and sufficient for implementing most of the ADAS functions. After considering available technologies such as radar, sonar, lidar, GPS, and video-based analysis, we conclude that video-based analysis is the fittest technology that provides all the essential support required for implementing ADAS functions at very low cost. Finally, we have proposed a Smart-Dashboard system that puts technologies – such as camera, digital image processor, and thin display – into a smart system to offer all advanced driver assistance functions. A basic prototype, demonstrating three functions only, is implemented in order to show that a full-fledged camera-based ADAS can be implemented using MATLAB.

In developing a computational model of trust, this paper summarises the findings in a previous study exploring mutual gaze as a behavioural parameter of social trust and liking [1]. Drawing on the data collected in a related paper [6], which provides us with video clips of children interacting with a robot during a collaborative storytelling game, we look at the interactions between metrics assessing social trust and liking, and the development of mutual gaze as an objective measure of social trust and liking. We achieve this through several statistical analyses between the percent of mutual gaze in each interaction, scores from social trust and liking metrics, age of the participant, and duration. The findings of our study support the use of mutual gaze as an objective measure for liking, but there is still not sufficient evidence to support the use of mutual gaze as an objective measure to identify and capture social trust as a whole. Furthermore, interaction context impacts the amount of mutual gaze in an interaction, and the age of the participant has an impact on the amount of mutual gaze that occurs.

Given the subjective nature of trust as a phenomenon and its unified multifaceted contributions for every individual context,the development of a computational model of trust proves to be a difficult endeavour. In this study, we investigate mutual gaze as a behavioural measure of social trust and liking in child-robot interaction. Developing on a prior user study involving 52 children interacting with a robot with variable human-likeness and lexical alignment in two interaction contexts (task-based and dialogue-based), we investigate the effects of human-likeness and lexical alignment on mutual gaze, associations and correlations between metrics assessing social trust and liking, and the development of mutual gaze as an objective measure of social trust and liking. We achieve this through several statistical analyses between the percent of mutual gaze in each interaction, human-likeness, lexical alignment, scores from social trust and liking metrics, self-disclosure content, age, and time. The main findings of our study support the use of mutual gaze as an objective measure for liking, but there is still not sufficient evidence to supportthe use of mutual gaze as an objective measure to identify and capture social trust as a whole. Furthermore, we found that human-likeness and lexical alignment do not significantly affect mutual gaze in an interaction, but the interaction context does. Moreover, it seems that age plays a role in the amount of mutual gaze in an interaction, where older participants engage in less mutual gaze compared to the younger participants. Alongside this, the amount of mutual gaze the participant engages in is stable across periods when they are not interacting with the robot, changing more towards the first half of the first interaction and the second half of the second interaction. Based on the study, our findings suggest using different objective behavioural measures for social trust compared to its related concepts such as liking. Also, our results have found that there may be other constructs intertwined with liking, such as attention and interest, which may need to be addressed with separate metrics.

New design methods for educating designers are needed to adapt the attributes of haptic interaction to fit the embodied experience of the users. This paper presents educationally framed aesthetic sensitizing labs: 1) a material-lab exploring the tactile and haptic structures of materials, 2) a vibrotactile-lab exploring actuators directly on the body and 3) a combined materials- and vibrotactile-lab embedded in materials. These labs were integrated in a design course that supports a non-linear design process for embodied explorative and experimental activities that feed into an emerging gestalt. A co-design process was developed in collaboration with researchers and users who developed positioning and communications systems for people with deafblindness. Conclusion: the labs helped to discern attributes of haptic interactions which supported designing scenarios and prototypes showing novel ways to understand and shape haptic interaction.