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Human-robot collaboration is an essential research topic in artificial intelligence (AI), enabling researchers to devise cognitive AI systems and affords an intuitive means for users to interact with the robot. Of note, communication plays…
Metaphors have been used during therapy sessions to facilitate the communication of inner feelings between clients and therapists. Can we create a digital metaphorical chatting space for daily use within close relationships? As the first…
Mindfulness meditation is a validated means of helping people manage stress. Voice-based virtual assistants (VAs) in smart speakers, smartphones, and smart environments can assist people in carrying out mindfulness meditation through guided…
A few decades of work in the AI field have focused efforts on developing a new generation of systems which can acquire knowledge via interaction with the world. Yet, until very recently, most such attempts were underpinned by research which…
The creation of virtual humans increasingly leverages automated synthesis of speech and gestures, enabling expressive, adaptable agents that effectively engage users. However, the independent development of voice and gesture generation…
This study examined which variables predicted the sense of presence (being there) in an immersive audio experience, with a focus on the impacts of immersion technology (headphones with spatialised sound versus speaker with 2D stereo sound),…
In recent years, an increasing number of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) approaches have been implemented and evaluated in Virtual Reality (VR), as it allows to speed-up design iterations and makes it safer for the final user to evaluate and…
A prevalent shortfall among current empathic AI systems is their inability to recognize when verbal expressions may not fully reflect underlying emotional states. This is because the existing datasets, used for the training of these…
As voice assistants (VAs) become increasingly integrated into daily life, the need for emotion-aware systems that can recognize and respond appropriately to user emotions has grown. While significant progress has been made in speech emotion…
Natural human interactions for Mixed Reality Applications are overwhelmingly multimodal: humans communicate intent and instructions via a combination of visual, aural and gestural cues. However, supporting low-latency and accurate…
Affective tactile interaction constitutes a fundamental component of human communication. In natural human-human encounters, touch is seldom experienced in isolation; rather, it is inherently multisensory. Individuals not only perceive the…
Human emotions are essentially molded by lived experiences, from which we construct personalised meaning. The engagement in such meaning-making process has been practiced as an intervention in various psychotherapies to promote wellness.…
Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) are increasingly more realistic and capable of dynamic conversations. In online surveys, anthropomorphic agents could help address issues like careless responding and satisficing, which originate from…
This experience report reflects on researching misophonia as someone who lives with it. Misophonia is an aversive response to everyday sounds (chewing, sniffling, pen clicking) and, for many of us, to associated visual cues (misokinesia).…
Testing humanoid robots with users is slow, causes wear, and limits iteration and diversity. Yet screening agents must master conversational timing, prosody, backchannels, and what to attend to in faces and speech for Depression and PTSD.…
The Metaverse is poised to be a future platform that redefines what it means to communicate, socialize, and interact with each other. Yet, it is important for us to consider avoiding the pitfalls of social media platforms we use today;…
We present a series of two studies conducted to understand user's affective states during voice-based human-machine interactions. Emphasis is placed on the cases of communication errors or failures. In particular, we are interested in…
Many users of wrist-worn wearable fitness trackers encounter the data-expectation gap - mismatches between data and expectations. While we know such discrepancies exist, we are no closer to designing technologies that can address their…
Symbols are shared, but perception is private. We study emergent communication between heterogeneous visual agents through decentralized learning, asking what visual information can become shareable when agents have different visual…
Co-viewing videos with family and friends remotely has become prevalent with the support of communication channels such as text messaging or real-time voice chat. However, current co-viewing platforms often lack visible embodied cues, such…