Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-174). / This thesis explores the extent to which socially capable humanoid robots have the potential to influence human belief, perception and behavior. Sophisticated computational systems coupled with human-like form and function render such robots as potentially powerful forms of persuasive technology. Currently, there is very little understanding of the persuasive potential of such machines. As personal robots become a reality in our immediate environment, a better understanding of the mechanisms behind, and the capabilities of, their ability to influence, is becoming increasingly important. This thesis proposes some guiding principles by which to qualify persuasion. A study was designed in which the MDS (Mobile Dexterous Social) robotic platform was used to solicit visitors for donations at the Museum of Science in Boston. The study tests some nonverbal behavioral variables known to change persuasiveness in humans, and measures their effect in human-robot interaction. The results of this study indicate that factors such as robot-gender, subject-gender, touch, interpersonal distance, and the perceived autonomy of the robot, have a huge impact on the interaction between human and robot, and must be taken into consideration when designing sociable robots. This thesis applies the term persuasive robotics to define and test the theoretical and practical implications for robot-triggered changes in human attitude and behavior. Its results provide for a vast array of speculations with regard to what practical applications may become available using this framework. / by Michael Steven Siegel. / S.M.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-68). / by Lee Winston Campbell. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-88). / Paris J. Smaragdis. / M.S.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, February 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-211). / This thesis presents a mathematical framework for real-time sensor-driven stochastic modeling of story and user-story interaction, which I call sto(ry)chastics. Almost all sensor-driven interactive entertainment, art, and architecture installations today rely on one-to-one mappings between content and participant's actions to tell a story. These mappings chain small subsets of scripted content, and do not attempt to understand the public's intention or desires during interaction, and therefore are rigid, ad hoc, prone to error, and lack depth in communication of meaning and expressive power. Sto(ry)chastics uses graphical probabilistic modeling of story fragments and participant input, gathered from sensors, to tell a story to the user, as a function of people's estimated intentions and desires during interaction. Using a Bayesian network approach for combined modeling of users, sensors, and story, sto(ry)chastics, as opposed to traditional systems based on one- to-one mappings, is flexible, reconfigurable, adaptive, context-sensitive, robust, accessible, and able to explain its choices. To illustrate sto(ry)chastics, this thesis describes the museum wearable, which orchestrates an audiovisual narration as a function of the visitor's interests and physical path in the museum. The museum wearable is a lightweight and small computer that people carry inside a shoulder pack. It offers an audiovisual augmentation of the surrounding environment using a small eye-piece display attached to conventional headphones. The wearable prototype described in this document relies on a custom-designed / (cont.) long-range infrared location-identification sensor to gather information on where and how long the visitor stops in the museum galleries. It uses this information as input to, or observations of, a (dynamic) Bayesian network, selected from a variety of possible models designed for this research. It then delivers an audiovisual narration to the visitor as a function of the estimated visitor type, and interactively in time and space. The network has been tested and validated on observed visitor tracking data by parameter learning using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm, and by performance analysis of the model with the learned parameters. Estimation of the visitor's preferences, in addition to the type, using additional sensors, and examples of sensor fusion, are provided in a simulated environment. The main contribution of this research is to show that (dynamic) Bayesian networks are a powerful modeling technique to couple inputs to outputs for real-time sensor-driven multimedia audiovisual stories, such as those that are triggered by the body in motion in a sensor-instrumented interactive narrative space. The coarse and noisy sensor inputs are coupled to digital media outputs via a user model, and estimated probabilistically by a Bayesian network ... / by Flavia Sparacino. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-65). / The process of mammalian predatory sequence development offers a number of insights relevant to the goal of designing synthetic characters that can quickly and easily learn complicated and interesting behavior. We propose a number of principles for designing such learning systems, inspired by a targeted review of animal developmental phenomena, with particular emphasis on the development of predatory behavior in certain felid and canid species. We describe the implementation of a few of these principles as an extension to a popular algorithm for learning in autonomous systems called hierarchical Q-learning. In this new approach, the agent starts out with only one skill, and then new skills are added one at a time to its available repertoire as time passes. The agent is motivated to experiment thoroughly with each new skill as it is introduced. Simulation results are presented which empirically demonstrate the advantages of this new algorithm for the speed and effectiveness of the learning process. / by Matthew Roberts Berlin. / S.M.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-246). / The empirical basis of this thesis is a two-year project to bring new learning environments and methodologies to rural Thailand. Five theoretical and practical innovations are emphasized: 1. A new methodology of merging education with the actual use of technology to improve the economy and quality of life of community is demonstrated. 2. A practice of "applied epistemological anthropology," which consists of probing for skills and knowledge resident in a community and using these as bridges to new content, is developed. For example, analysis of learning behaviors led me to identify an "engine culture" in rural Thailand as an unrecognized source of "latent learning potential." This theory has already begun to spawn a theoretical inquiry with significant promise for assessment of the learning potential of developing countries. 3. Pilot projects were mounted outside of the education system with the specific purpose of breaking "educational mindsets" that have been identified as blocks to educational reform. A salient example is the assumption that the population and teachers of rural areas lack the cognitive foundations for modern technological education. The engine culture is an existence proof for the theory of unrecognized foundational elements. 4. The work required a flexible approach to the design of digital-based educational interventions. Analysis of these design issues has led to a theoretical framework, "Emergent Design," for investigating how choice of design methodology contributes to the success or failure of education reforms. 5. The concept of Emergent Design exposes parallels with developments in the restructuring of noneducational organizations. To help explicate this, I draw from my own experience in reforming a healthcare organization. The work suggests a conclusion with a very broad sweep: The latent learning potential of the world population has been grossly underestimated as a result of prevailing mindsets that limit the design of interventions to improve the evolution of the global learning environment. / David Paul Cavallo. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-150). / This thesis covers ongoing work into the design, fabrication, implementation, and characterization of novel passive transponders that allow range measurements at short range and at high update rates. Multiple RADAR measurement stations use phase-encoded chirps to selectively track individual transponders by triangulation of range and/or angle measurements. Nanofabrication processes are utilized to fabricate the passive surface acoustic wave transponders used in this thesis. These transponders have advantages over existing solutions with their small size (mm x mm), zero-power, high-accuracy, and kilohertz update rates. Commercial applications such as human machine interfaces, virtual training environments, security, inventory control, computer gaming, and biomedical research exist. A brief review of existing tracking technologies including a discussion of how their shortcomings are overcome by this system is included. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) device design and modeling is covered with particular attention paid to implementation of passive transponders. A method under development to fabricate SAW devices with features as small as 300nm is then covered in detail. The electronic design of the radar chirp transmitter and receiver are covered along with the design and implementation of the test electronics. Results from experiments conducted to characterize device performance are given. / by Jason Michael LaPenta. / S.M.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-81). / by Manuela Alexandra Trigo Miranda de Sousa Pereira. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-101). / Affordable digital cameras, high bandwidth connectivity and large-scale video hosting websites are combining to offer an alternative mode of production and channel of distribution for independent filmmakers and home moviemakers. There is a growing need to develop systems that meaningfully support the desires of these filmmakers to communicate and collaborate effectively with others and to propel cinematic storytelling into new and dynamic realms. This document proposes the development of a networked software application, called PlusShorts, that will allow a distributed group of users to contribute to and collaborate upon the creation of shared movie sequences. This system introduces an iconic language, consisting of punctuation symbols, for annotating, sharing and interpreting conceptual ideas about cinematic structure. The PlusShorts application presents individual movie sequences as elements within an evolving cinematic storyspace, where participants can explore, collaborate and share ideas. / Aisling Geraldine Mary Kelliher. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2003. / Page 108 blank. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-107). / The Actuated Workbench is a new actuation mechanism that uses magnetic forces to control the two-dimensional movement of physical objects on flat surfaces. This mechanism is intended for use with existing tabletop Tangible User Interfaces, providing computer-controlled movement of the physical objects on the table, and creating an additional feedback layer for Human Computer Interaction (HCI). Use of this actuation technique makes possible new kinds of physical interactions with tabletop interfaces, and allows the computer to maintain consistency between the physical and digital states of data objects in the interface. This thesis focuses on the design and implementation of the actuation mechanism as an enabling technology, introduces new techniques for motion control, and discusses practical and theoretical implications of computer-controlled movement of physical objects in tabletop tangible interfaces. / Gian Antonio Pangaro. / S.M.