LATEST PUBLICATIONS

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  • "The Robot Made Us Hear Each Other": Fostering Inclusive Conversations among Mixed-Visual Ability Children
  • Isabel Neto, Filipa Correia, Filipa Rocha, Patricia Piedade, Ana Paiva, and Hugo Nicolau. 2023. "The Robot Made Us Hear Each Other": Fostering Inclusive Conversations among Mixed-Visual Ability Children. Proceedings of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, ACM.
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF]

  Inclusion is key in group work and collaborative learning. We devel- oped a mediator robot to support and promote inclusion in group conversations, particularly in groups composed of children with and without visual impairment. We investigate the effect of two mediation strategies on group dynamics, inclusion, and perception of the robot. We conducted a within-subjects study with 78 children, 26 experienced visual impairments, in a decision-making activity. Results indicate that the robot can foster inclusion in mixed-visual ability group conversations. The robot succeeds in balancing par- ticipation, particularly when using a highly intervening mediating strategy (directive strategy). However, children feel more heard by their peers when the robot is less intervening (organic strategy). We extend prior work on social robots to assist group work and contribute with a mediator robot that enables children with visual impairments to engage equally in group conversations. We finish by discussing design implications for inclusive social robots.
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  • Investigating Crossmodal Correspondences between Vibrotactile Stimuli, Colour, and Emotions
  • Isabel Soares, Isabel Neto, and Hugo Nicolau. 2023. Investigating Crossmodal Correspondences between Vibrotactile Stimuli, Colour, and Emotions. Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery.
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF]

  There is an increasing interest in HCI in multisensory interactive systems, creating a need to deepen our understanding of how mul- tiple sensory modalities relate to and afect each other. We extend prior research on crossmodal correspondences by investigating colour and emotional associations with pure vibrotactile stimuli. We asked 32 participants to assign colour properties (hue and bright- ness) and emotional categories (pleasure, arousal, and dominance) to stimuli of varying amplitude and angular frequency. We found that perceptions of pleasure and arousal increased with amplitude and angular frequency, but negative and relaxing emotional states were challenging to convey. We also found associations between vibrotactile stimuli and colour properties. High amplitude stimuli were linked to warm colours and darker shades, while low am- plitude was associated with brighter shades and greater variance in hue. We fnish by discussing the causal mechanisms of cross- modal correspondences and contribute a design space for creating multisensory experiences.
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  • Feasibility and Expert Acceptance of a Virtual Reality Gait Rehabilitation Tool
  • Alexandre Gordo, Ivo Roupa, Hugo Nicolau, and Daniel S. Lopes. 2023. Feasibility and Expert Acceptance of a Virtual Reality Gait Rehabilitation Tool. Abstract and workshop proceedings of IEEE VR, IEEE.
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF]

  We present LocomotiVR, a Virtual Reality tool designed with phys- iotherapists to improve the gait rehabilitation in clinical practice. The tool features two interfaces: a VR environment to immerse the patient in the therapy activity; and a desktop tool operated by a physiotherapist to customize exercises and follow the patient’s per- formance. Results revealed that LocomotiVR presented promising acceptability, usage, and engagement scores. These results were sup- ported by qualitative data collected from participating experts, which discussed high levels of satisfaction, motivation, and acceptance to incorporate the LocomotiVR in daily therapy practices. Concerns were related to patient safety and lack of legal regulation.
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  • Coding Together: On Co-located and Remote Collaboration between Children with Mixed-Visual Abilities
  • Filipa Rocha, Filipa Correia, Isabel Neto, et al. 2023. Coding Together: On Co-located and Remote Collaboration between Children with Mixed-Visual Abilities. Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery.
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF]

  Collaborative coding environments foster learning, social skills, computational thinking training, and supportive relationships. In the context of inclusive education, these environments have the potential to promote inclusive learning activities for children with mixed-visual abilities. However, there is limited research focusing on remote collaborative environments, despite the opportunity to design new modes of access and control of content to promote more equitable learning experiences. We investigated the tradeoffs between remote and co-located collaboration through a tangible coding kit. We asked ten pairs of mixed-visual ability children to collaborate in an interdependent and asymmetric coding game. We contribute insights on six dimensions - effectiveness, computational thinking, accessibility, communication, cooperation, and engagement - and reflect on differences, challenges, and advantages between collaborative settings related to communication, workspace awareness, and computational thinking training. Lastly, we discuss design opportunities of tangibles, audio, roles, and tasks to create inclusive learning activities in remote and co-located settings
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  • Co-Designing a Bespoken Wearable Display for People with Dissociative Identity Disorder
  • Patricia Piedade, Nikoletta Matsur, Catarina Alexandra Rebelo Rodrigues, et al. 2022. Co-Designing a Bespoken Wearable Display for People with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, Association for Computing Machinery. http://doi.org/10.1145/3517428.3550369
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is characterized by the presence of at least two distinct identities in the same individual. This paper describes a co-design process with a person living with DID. We first aimed to uncover the main challenges experienced by the co-designer as well as design opportunities for novel technologies. We then engaged in a prototyping stage to design a wearable display (WhoDID) to facilitate in-person social interactions. The prototype aims to be used as a necklace and enable the user to make their fronting personality visible to others. Thus, facilitating social encounters or sudden changes of identity. We reflect on the design features of WhoDID in the broader context of supporting people with DID. Moreover, we provide insights on co-designing with someone with multiple (sometimes conflicting) personalities regarding requirement elicitation, decision-making, prototyping, and ethics. To our knowledge, we report the first design process with a DID user within the ASSETS and CHI communities. We aim to encourage other assistive technology researchers to design with DID users.
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  • Introduction to the Special Issue on ASSETS’20
  • Georgios Kouroupetroglou and Hugo Nicolau. 2022. Introduction to the Special Issue on ASSETS’20. ACM Trans. Access. Comput. 15, 2. http://doi.org/10.1145/3542810
  • [PDF] [LIBRARY]
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  • Inclusive’R’Stories: An Inclusive Storytelling Activity with an Emotional Robot
  • Cristiana Antunes, Isabel Neto, Filipa Correia, Ana Paiva, and Hugo Nicolau. 2022. Inclusive’R’Stories: An Inclusive Storytelling Activity with an Emotional Robot. Proceedings of the 2022 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, IEEE Press, 90–100. http://doi.org/10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889502
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Storytelling has the potential to be an inclusive and collaborative activity. However, it is unclear how interactive storytelling systems can support such activities, particularly when considering mixed-visual ability children. In this paper, we present an interactive multisensory storytelling system and explore the extent to which an emotional robot can be used to support inclusive experiences. We investigate the effect of the robot’s emotional behavior on the joint storytelling process, resulting narratives, and collaboration dynamics. Results show that when children co-create stories with a robot that exhibits emotional behaviors, they include more emotive elements in their stories and explicitly accept more ideas from their peers. We contribute with a multisensory environment that enables children with visual impairments to engage in joint storytelling activities with their peers and analyze the effect of a robot’s emotional behaviors on an inclusive storytelling experience.