The thesis is concerned with modeling and simulation of autonomous robots in order to investigate emergent behavior of situated agents interacting with their environment. First, models are proposed to capture the essentials of real-world physics for simple objects and their interaction within the world. These models are then embedded into a coherent framework (DEVS) to allow their discrete-event driven execution on a computer. In the remaining part, the notion of homeokinesis is discussed in detail and proves to provide a sound framework for emergence of behavior. Experiments are conducted at this stage, which utilize the simulator developed in the first part. Resulting emergent behavior is presented and investigated in detail. Finally an encountered limitation in the orginal formulation of homeokinetic control is remedied by application of recurrent neural networks.

The thesis deals with the lived everyday practice of patients with epileptic seizures and the types of knowledge they are working with in relation to seizures. Particular attention is paid to patients' embodied knowledge as the practical knowledge based on the experience of epileptic seizures and their bodies in general. The thesis shows how the types of knowledge (such as triggers, auras, forms of seizures or their management) are based on, created and learnt through the embodiment. Lifestyle regimens associated with seizure management are introduced as a link between general recommendations and individual regimens, with seizure management being negotiated with regard to other aspects of patient life. While adhering to management, there is some communication, cooperation and negotiation between the patient and his body. Finally, other forms of knowledge about seizures are outlined, such as those created by people close to the patient and those created by assistance dogs. (Furthermore), it is also explained what these forms of knowledge mean to the patient and how to work with them.

Syftet med denna studie är att fördjupa förståelse kring hur konstnärlig verksamhet kan hjälpa elever till en integrerad förståelse för hållbarhet. Pedagoger inom de estetiskt praktiska ämnena talar om estetiska lärprocesser och att man kan lära genom konst. Med utgångspunkt ifrån John Deweys icke-dualistiska världsbild och embodied cognition, hävdar Mark Johnson att den mening vi tillskriver något, inte bara består av språkliga koncept, utan snarare är sammankopplade neuronkluster som bygger på kroppsliga intryck. Konstnärlig verksamhet kan, enligt Elliot Eisner, utveckla vår förmåga att skapa föreställningar och ge formmässiga uttryck åt en förståelse. Det finns alltså teoretisk grund för att konstnärlig verksamhet skulle kunna vara ett hjälpmedel till att skapa och uttrycka förståelse.   För att undersöka detta utgick jag från en skoluppgift med två klasser på gymnasiet estetiska program. Eleverna skulle i grupp skapa konstverk kring klimatproblematiken som trots allt gav hopp. Som metod valde jag att analysera konstverk av fyra elevgrupper och gruppintervjuer med dessa elever.   Resultatet visar att dessa grupper utvecklade en egen konceptualisering genom det konstnärliga arbetet. Gruppmedlemmarna tenderade också att ta till sig förståelsen och göra den till sin egen. Här bidrog den konstnärliga processen men också gruppdynamiken kan ha medverkat.

This licentiate thesis argues that a key to understanding the embodiment of cognition is the “sharing” of neural mechanisms between sensorimotor processes and higher-level cognitive processes as described by simulation theories. Simulation theories explain higher-level cognition as (partial) simulations or emulations of sensorimotor processes through the re-activation of neural circuitry also active in bodily perception, action, and emotion. This thesis develops the notion that simulation mechanisms have a particular representational function, as off-line representations, which contributes to the representation debate in embodied cognitive science. Based on empirical evidence from neuroscience, psychology and other disciplines as well as a review of existing simulation theories, the thesis describes three main mechanisms of simulation theories: re-activation, binding, and prediction. The possibility of using situated and embodied artificial agents to further understand and validate simulation as a mechanism of (higher-level) cognition is addressed through analysis and comparison of existing models. The thesis also presents some directions for further research on modeling simulation as well as the notion of embodied simulation as off-line representation. / <p>Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic-2007:21.</p>

This thesis presents a series of inter-related case studies (Kurismaa 2015; Kurismaa and Pavlova 2016; Pavlova, Berlov and Kurismaa 2017) aiming to reexamine, from modern perspectives, one of the most significant and integrative approaches to neurophysiology in the 20-th century - the study of the dominant (учение о доминанте) by the physiologist acad. A.A. Ukhtomsky (1875-1942) and his scientific school. Although recognized as a critical contribution and framework for organism-centered study of physiology, knowledge of this school has remained minimal in the West, and to this day, almost entirely unexplored for its prospects of integration and interrelation with respective foreign research programs in biology and neuroscience, both past and present. In recent years, and partly on the initiative of the present author, some of the first attempts have been made to overcome these limitations, and to more systematically address the legacy of Ukhtomsky's school from modern perspectives of Western science (Nadin 2015). The present thesis, growing out from these efforts, contributes further materials to such comparative and methodological investigation. It aims specifically to clarify the modern status and significance of the dominant framework as an integrative and organismic paradigm for neuroscientific...

As technology progresses, we become surrounded with an ever increasing number of devices. Information can now be persistently represented beyond a single screen and a single session. In the educational context, we see a rapid adoption of the panoply of devices, but often without any careful thought. Devices in isolation are unlikely to enable effective learning. This research explores how devices function in technological display and device ecologies or ecosystems to support human thinking, learning and sensemaking. Based on the theories of Vygotsky's sign mediation triangle, we contribute a method that may allow one to evaluate how technology configurations support (or hinder) students' thinking. Our method proposes the concept of objectification as a way to identify the potential or opportunity for learning in technology ecologies. The significance of such an evaluation methodology is considerable, given the nascent field of sensemaking and the lack of consensus on evaluation in such contexts: our research advances a principled approach by which device ecologies can be examined for their potential to provide 'learning experiences', and enables one to articulate affordances for the design of technological spatial environments that can help to support higher thought. Our contribution thus is in terms of methodology, theory, evaluation and the design of technology ecologies. / Master of Science

Research around the implementations of human-like interactions during conversations with embodied conversational agents is currently at the forefront of Human-Computer Interaction as a field of science. In particular, conveying politeness through verbal and nonverbal behaviors is a significant challenge when modeling life-like virtual agents, as it underlies the conventional set of unspoken rules that govern human communication. In order to assess measures of perceived persuasiveness and politeness in human-agent interaction, in this study we compare six different politeness strategies - namely Baseline, Indirect, Asking, Proposing, Commanding and Pointing - to identify which combinations of verbal and nonverbal behaviors best persuade humans in joining a virtual conversational group while immersed in Virtual Reality (VR). 45 people were asked to walk towards the group with a specific scenario in mind, and answered questions on the perceived politeness of the agents inviting them. Results show that direct strategies are more persuasive than indirect ones, and the more imposing ones among them are perceived as more offensive, less friendly and inhibiting the interactant’s freedom of action. Additionally, strategies are less effective when participants feel more immersed in VR. We conclude that those giving the counterpart a higher freedom of action are most effective in conveying politeness, while those involving no behavior at all are least effective. / Forskning kring hur samtalsagenter kan förses med mer mänskliga beteenden under konversationer befinner sig i den vetenskapliga framkanten nar det galler människa-datorinteraktion. Det galler särskilt avseende att förmedla artighet genom verbala och icke-verbala beteenden hos realistiska virtuella agenter eftersom det finns en uppsättning bakomliggande oskrivna regler som styr mänsklig kommunikation. For att kunna utreda den upplevda förmågan att övertyga och att vara artig i människa-agentinteraktion sa har i denna studie sex olika strategier for artighet utvärderats, nämligen: Startläge, Indirekt, Frågande, Föreslående, Befallande och Utpekande. Ambitionen ar att kunna identifiera vilka kombinationer av verbala och icke-verbala beteenden som på basta satt övertygar människor att ansluta till en samtalande grupp i Virtual Reality (VR). 45 personer ombads att gå fram till en grupp med en särskild avsikt och därefter besvara frågor om den uppfattade artigheten nar de virtuella agenterna inviterade dem. Resultaten visar att direkta strategier uppfattas som mer övertygande an indirekta och de framfusiga som mer förolämpande, mindre vanliga och att de begränsar den interagerandes handlingsfrihet. Utöver detta sa ar alla strategier mindre effektiva i direkt förhållande till hur immersiv upplevelsen i VR ar. Vi kan sammanfattningsvis saga att de strategier som ger den interagerande större frihetsgrader ar mer effektiva att förmedla artighet, medan de som ar betydligt mer subtila ar minst effektiva.

This bachelor essay presents some aspects of Sunniva Ingvarssons painting process.  Comparing the painterly act with writing (about the field of her practice) the text aims to grasp some outlooks on the use of words or verbal contentmaking connected to a nearly nonverbal expression.  The painted gestures and markmakings are being discussed as meaningless in a meaningful way, arguing whether the parameters of the established should be taken in consideration in the artistic research, or not.  Based on subjective experiences and some readings including Susan Sontag, Judith Butler (and Friedrich Schlegel) there is an aim to make the reader understand the eventual importance of the un-validated thoughts art possibly can consist of, with permission of only the artist.

Les Agents Conversationnels Animés sont des personnages virtuels dont la fonction principale est d'interagir avec l'utilisateur. Ils sont utilisés dans différents domaines tels que l'assistance personnelle, l'entrainement social ou les jeux vidéo et afin d'améliorer leur potentiel, il est possible de leur donner la capacité d'exprimer des comportements similaires à ceux des humains. Les utilisateurs, conscient d'interagir avec une machine, sont tout de même capable d'analyser et d'identifier des comportements sociaux à travers les signaux émis par les agents. La recherche en ACA s'est longtemps intéressée aux mécanismes de reproduction et de reconnaissance des émotions au sein de ces personnages virtuels et maintenant l'intérêt se porte sur la capacité d'exprimer différentes attitudes sociales. Ces attitudes reflètent un style comportemental et s'expriment à travers différentes modalités du corps comme les expressions faciales, les regards ou les gestes par exemple. Nous avons proposé un modèle permettant à un agent de produire différents comportements non-verbaux traduisant l'expression d'attitudes sociales dans une conversation. L'ensemble des comportements générés par notre modèle permettent à un groupe d'agents animés par celui-ci de simuler une conversation, sans tenir compte du contenu verbal. Deux évaluations du modèle ont été conduites, l'une sur Internet et l'autre dans un environnement de réalité virtuelle, afin de vérifier que les attitudes étaient bien reconnues. / Embodied Conversational Agents are virtual characters which main purpose is to interact with a human user. They are used in various domains such as personal assistance, social training or video games for instance. In order to improve their capabilities, it is possible to give them the ability to produce human-like behaviors. The users, even if they are aware that they interact with a machine, are still capable of analyzing and identifying social behaviors through the signals produced by these virtual characters. The research in Embodied Conversational Agents has focused for a long time on the reproduction and recognition of emotions by virtual characters and now the focus is on the ability to express different social attitudes. These attitudes show a behavioral style and are expressed through different modalities of the body, like the facial expressions, the gestures or the gazes for instance. We proposed a model that allows an agent to produce different nonverbal behaviors expressing different social attitudes in a conversation. The whole set of behaviors produced by our model allows a goup of agents animated by it to simulate a conversation, without any verbal content. Two evaluations of the model were conducted, one on the Internet and one in a Virtual Reality environment, to verify that the attitudes produced are well recognized

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are the only currently viable means of communication for many individuals suffering from locked-in syndrome (LIS) – profound paralysis that results in severely limited or total loss of voluntary motor control. By inferring user intent from task-modulated neurological signals and then translating those intentions into actions, BMIs can enable LIS patients increased autonomy. Significant effort has been devoted to developing BMIs over the last three decades, but only recently have the combined advances in hardware, software, and methodology provided a setting to realize the translation of this research from the lab into practical, real-world applications. Non-invasive methods, such as those based on the electroencephalogram (EEG), offer the only feasible solution for practical use at the moment, but suffer from limited communication rates and susceptibility to environmental noise. Maximization of the efficacy of each decoded intention, therefore, is critical. This thesis addresses the challenge of implementing a BMI intended for practical use with a focus on an autonomous assistive robot application. First an adaptive EEG- based BMI strategy is developed that relies upon code-modulated visual evoked potentials (c-VEPs) to infer user intent. As voluntary gaze control is typically not available to LIS patients, c-VEP decoding methods under both gaze-dependent and gaze- independent scenarios are explored. Adaptive decoding strategies in both offline and online task conditions are evaluated, and a novel approach to assess ongoing online BMI performance is introduced. Next, an adaptive neural network-based system for assistive robot control is presented that employs exploratory learning to achieve the coordinated motor planning needed to navigate toward, reach for, and grasp distant objects. Exploratory learning, or “learning by doing,” is an unsupervised method in which the robot is able to build an internal model for motor planning and coordination based on real-time sensory inputs received during exploration. Finally, a software platform intended for practical BMI application use is developed and evaluated. Using online c-VEP methods, users control a simple 2D cursor control game, a basic augmentative and alternative communication tool, and an assistive robot, both manually and via high-level goal-oriented commands.