Silvia Coradeschi

Örebro University | oru · School of Science and Technology

This article reports on the EU project ExCITE with specific focus on the technical development of the telepresence platform over a period of 42 months. The aim of the project was to assess the robustness and validity of the mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) system Giraff as a means to support elderly people and to foster their social interaction an...

This paper provides a review of the most recent works in electronic noses used in the food industry. Focus is placed on the applications within food quality monitoring that is, meat, milk, fish, tea, coffee and wines. This paper demonstrates that there is a strong commonality between the different application area in terms of the sensors used and t...

In this paper, we focus on spatial formations when interacting via mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems. Previous research has found that those who used a MRP system to make a remote visit (pilot users) tended to use different spatial formations from what is typical in human-human interaction. In this paper, we present the results of a study w...

This chapter presents a telehealth system called GiraffPlus supporting independent living of elderly in their own home. GiraffPlus system is a complex system which monitors activities and physiological parameters in the home using a network of sensors. The elaborated information is presented to the primary user, the elderly, and to secondary users...

This paper presents the sensor network infrastructure for a home care system that allows long-term monitoring of physiological data and everyday activities. The aim of the proposed system is to allow the elderly to live longer in their home without compromising safety and ensuring the detection of health problems. The system offers the possibility...

Ubiquitous robotic systems present a number of interesting application areas for socially assistive robots that aim to improve quality of life. In particular the combination of smart home environments and relatively inexpensive robots can be a viable technological solution for assisting elderly and persons with disability in their own home. Such se...

Early detection and adaptive support to changing individual needs related to ageing is an important challenge in today’s society. In this paper we present a system called GiraffPlus that aims at addressing such a challenge and is developed in an on-going European project. The system consists of a network of home sensors that can be automatically co...

This paper gives an overview of the research papers published in Symbol Grounding in the period from the beginning of the 21st century up 2012. The focus is in the use of symbol grounding for robotics and intelligent system. The review covers a number of subtopics, that include, physical symbol grounding, social symbol grounding, symbol grounding f...

As Alan Turing showed in his epochal work, computation is formal symbol-manipulation—reading and writing symbols based on rules that operate only on the arbitrary shapes of the symbols (whether 0’s and 1’s or the words of a natural language) not on their meanings. So where does the meaning of symbols come from? My version of this impasse was the Ch...

Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems incorporate video conferencing equipment onto mobile robot devices which can be steered from remote locations. These systems, which are primarily used in the context of promoting social interaction between people, are becoming increasingly popular within certain application domains such as health care envir...

This paper investigates a rapid and accurate detection system for spoilage in meat. We use unsupervised feature learning techniques (stacked restricted Boltzmann machines and auto-encoders) that consider only the transient response from undoped zinc oxide, manganese-doped zinc oxide, and fluorine-doped zinc oxide in order to classify three categori...

Robotic telepresence, also known as telerobotics is a subfield of telepresence whose aim is to increase presence via embodiment in a robotic platform. In particular, robotic telepresence can be an effective tool to enhance social interaction suited to certain groups of users such as the elderly. The aim of this workshop is to address various aspect...

We present a model for anchoring categorical conceptual information which originates from physical perception and the web. The model is an extension of the anchoring framework which is used to create and maintain over time semantically grounded sensor information. Using the augmented anchoring framework that employs complex symbolic knowledge from...

Robotic telepresence, also known as telerobotics is a subfield of telepresence whose aim is to increase presence via embodiment in a robotic platform. In particular, robotic telepresence can be an effective tool to enhance social interaction suited to certain groups of users such as the elderly. The aim of this workshop is to address various aspect...

In settings where heterogenous robotic systems interact with humans, information from the environment must be systematically captured, organized and maintained in time. In this work, we propose a model for connecting perceptual information to semantic information in a multi-agent setting. In particular, we present semantic cooperative perceptual an...

Perceptual anchoring is the process of creating and maintaining a connection between the sensor data corresponding to a physical object and its symbolic description. It is a subset of the general symbol grounding problem and has been investigated over the past years. In this chapter we present a method for grounding sensor data of physical objects...

This article presents the results from a video-based evaluation study of a social robotic telepresence solution for elderly. The evaluated system is a mobile teleoperated robot called Giraff that allows caregivers to virtually enter a home and conduct a natural visit just as if they were physically there. The evaluation focuses on the perspectives...

Robotic telepresence offers a means to connect to a remote location via traditional telepresence with the added value of moving and actuating in that location. Recently, there has been a growing focus on the use of robotic telepresence to enhance social interaction among elderly. However for such technology to be accepted it is likely that the expe...

This paper describes a methodology for performing longi-tudinal evaluations when a social robotic telepresence sys-tem is deployed in realistic environments. This work is the core of an Ambient Assisted Living Project called ExCITE, Enabling Social Interaction Through Telepresence. The Ex-CITE project is geared towards an elderly audience and has a...

In this paper we present data collected at a training session for health care personnel and alarm operators in steering a mobile social robotic telepresence robot for the first time. The purpose of the system is to be used as a communicative tool particularly when interacting with an elderly audience. The results are based on questionnaires which i...

The goal of our studies is to iteratively refine prototypes of the robot by involving end users in development cycles of the prototype throughout the project. The evaluations will be conducted with the aim of maximizing usability across geographic, demographic and cultural boundaries, as well as diverse home environments and user preferences and at...

In this paper, we introduce a method for identification of bacteria in human blood culture samples using an electronic nose. The method uses features, which capture the static (steady state) and dynamic (transient) properties of the signal from the gas sensor array and proposes a means to ensemble results from consecutive samples. The underlying me...

This paper addresses the problem of recognizing activities of daily living. The novelty lies in the use of an existing knowledge base (ConceptNet) to introduce prior knowledge into the system in order to reduce the amount of learning required to deploy the system in a real environment. The use of household objects is central in the recognition of a...

The emerging demographic trends toward an aging population involve an unflagging research of ways of assisting elderly people to stay independent for as long as possible. This means to be active at home and in the labour market, to prevent social isolation and promote societal inclusion. Both ICT and robotics technologies can contribute to help ach...

In this paper we investigate how a mobile robot equipped with tin dioxide gas sensors and an anemometer can use an online classification algorithm in order to improve the exploration strategy. The purpose of the platform is to establish the character of a gas source with accuracy while minimizing the time required for exploration. For this to be po...

In this paper, we investigate the classification performance of an electronic nose system, based on tin dioxide gas sensors. In contrast to previous studies, the electronic nose is mounted on a mobile platform and samples are analyzed using only transient information in the signals. The motivation behind this work is to explore the feasibility of u...

This paper investigates the classification of odours using an electronic nose mounted on a mobile robot. The samples are collected as the robot explores the environment. Under such conditions, the sensor response differs from typical three phase sampling processes. In this paper, we focus particularly on the classification problem and how it is inf...

Mobile olfactory robots can be used in a number of relevant application areas where a better understanding of a gas distribution is needed, such as environmental monitoring and safety and security related fields. In this paper, we present a method to integrate the classification of odours together with gas distribution mapping. The resulting odour...

Ambient environments which integrate a number of sensing devices and actuators intended for use by human users need to be able to express knowledge about objects, their functions and their properties to assist in the performance of everyday tasks. For this to occur perceptual data must be grounded to symbolic information that in its turn can be use...

In this paper we describe an implemented framework that integrates knowledge representation and reasoning in a symbiotic system. In such systems a number of heterogeneous sensors pervasively embedded in the environment, mo- bile robots and humans co-exist and communicate. In this work, the integration is mediated through perceptual anchoring, which...

Classification of odours with an array of gas sensors mounted on a mobile robot is a challenging and still relatively unexplored topic. Mobile robots able to classify an odour could navigate to a specific source or isolate high concentration areas in applications such as environmental monitoring. A key aspect to classification is to be able to proc...

In this work we introduce symbolic knowledge representation and reasoning capabilities to enrich perceptual anchoring. The idea that encompasses perceptual anchoring is the creation and maintenance of a connection between the symbolic and perceptual description that refer to the same object in the environment. In this work we further extend the sym...

In this paper we present initial experiments towards environmental monitoring with a mobile platform. A prototype of a pollution monitoring robot was set up which measures the gas distribution using an ldquoelectronic noserdquo and provides three dimensional wind measurements using an ultrasonic anemometer. We describe the design of the robot and t...

For artificial intelligence to be used as tools for robotic systems, it is important to be able to capitalize on the work in symbolic AI systems. To accomplish this goal, it is necessary to

Smell, it helps remind us when it's time to take out the garbage or change the baby's diaper. We use it to detect danger, such as a gas leak or food burning on the stove. Industries that develop products to help us either smell good or prevent aromatic offense testify to the aesthetic importance of odors, as well as to economic value. Still, olfact...

An autonomous robot using symbolic reasoning, sensing and acting in a real environment needs the ability to create and maintain the connection between symbols representing objects in the world and the corresponding perceptual representations given by its sensors. This connection has been named perceptual anchoring. In complex environments, anchorin...

In this work we report results on the use of symbolic knowledge representation and reasoning (KRR) for perceptual anchoring. Anchoring is the creation and maintenance of a connection between the symbolic and perceptual description that refer to the same physical object in the environment. We extend the anchoring framework to manage the symbolic inf...

In this work we show how a mobile robot can use spatial information of objects to improve communication with humans and other devices located in an intelligent environment. In particular, this work focuses on using spatial relations to facilitate the creation of a connection between symbolic and perceptual representation that re-fer to the same phy...

Future robots will work in hospitals, elderly care centers, schools, and homes. Similarity with humans can facilitate interaction with a variety of users who don't have robotics expertise, so it make sense to take inspiration from humans when developing robots. However, humanlike appearance can also be deceiving, convincing users that robots can un...

We present a new approach for odour detection and recognition based on a so-called PEIS-Ecology: a network of gas sensors and a mobile robot are integrated in an intelligent environment. The environment can provide information regarding the location of potential odour sources, which is then relayed to a mobile robot equipped with an electronic nose...

In this paper, we explore the integration of an electronic nose and its odour discrimination functionalities into a multi-sensing robotic system which works over an extended period of time. The robot patrols an office environment, collecting odour samples of objects and performing user requested tasks. By considering an experimental platforms which...

In this paper we present a system for developing autonomous agents that combine reactivity to an uncertain and rapidly changing environment with commitment to prespecified tactics involving coordination and team work. The concept of roles in a team is central to the paper. Agents act and coordinate with other agents depending on their roles. The de...

This paper gives a preliminary account of a system for developing autonomous agents operating in uncertain and rapidly changing environments. The decision-mechanism of an agent is specified in terms of behavior modules. Behavior modules specify what actions and submodules should be executed and under what conditions to fulfill some specific aims or...

In general symbiotic robotic systems can be considered three-agent systems in which the agents are performing interdependent tasks. In such systems the robot's actions are generally controllable and observable the environment's actions are partially controllable and partially observable, and the human's actions are not (directly) controllable but a...

The success of mobile robots, and particularly of those interfacing with humans in daily environments (e.g., assistant robots), relies on the ability to manipulate information beyond simple spatial relations. We are interested in semantic information, which gives meaning to spatial information like images or geometric maps. We present a multi-hiera...

Olfaction is a challenging new sensing modality for intelligent systems. With the emergence of electronic noses, it is now possible to detect and recognize a range of different odours for a variety of applications. In this work, we introduce a new application where electronic olfaction is used in cooperation with other types of sensors on a mobile...

More and more work in the field of artificial olfaction considers the integration of olfaction onto robotic systems. An important part of this integration is providing the robot with the ability to discriminate between different odour substances. This work presents the integration of an electronic nose onto a complete robotic system with multi-sens...

AAAI presented the AAAI-04 workshop program on July 25-26, 2004 in San Jose, California. This program included twelve workshops covering a wide range of topics in artificial intelligence. The titles of the workshops were as follows: (1) Adaptive Text Extraction and Mining; (2) Agent Organizations: Theory and Practice; (3) Anchoring Symbols to Senso...

The purpose of this paper is to address the prob- lem of maintaining coherent perceptual information in a mobile robotic system working over extended periods of time, interacting with a user and using multiple sensing modalities to gather information about the environment and specific objects. We present a system which is able to use spatial and ol...