AHCI RESEARCH GROUP
Publications
Papers published in international journals,
proceedings of conferences, workshops and books.
OUR RESEARCH
Scientific Publications
How to
Here you can find the complete list of our publications.
You can use the tag cloud to select only the papers dealing with specific research topics.
You can expand the Abstract, Links and BibTex record for each paper.
You can use the tag cloud to select only the papers dealing with specific research topics.
You can expand the Abstract, Links and BibTex record for each paper.
2022
Augello, Agnese; Infantino, Ignazio; Pilato, Giovanni; Vitale, Gianpaolo
Extending Affective Capabilities for Medical Assistive Robots Journal Article
In: Cognitive Systems Research, vol. 73, pp. 21–25, 2022, ISSN: 13890417.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Assistive Robots, Emotion Detection, Facial Expressions, Human computer interaction, Human Robot Interaction, Humanoid Robots, Natural Language Processing, Robotics, Wellbeing
@article{augelloExtendingAffectiveCapabilities2022,
title = {Extending Affective Capabilities for Medical Assistive Robots},
author = { Agnese Augello and Ignazio Infantino and Giovanni Pilato and Gianpaolo Vitale},
doi = {10.1016/j.cogsys.2021.12.004},
issn = {13890417},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Cognitive Systems Research},
volume = {73},
pages = {21--25},
abstract = {In this work, we discuss methodologies and implementation choices to enable a humanoid robot to estimate patients' mood and emotions during postoperative home rehabilitation. The approach is modular and it has been implemented into a SoftBank Pepper robotic architecture; however, the approach is general and it can be easily adapted to other robotic platforms. A sample of an interactive session for the detection of the patient's affective state is also reported. textcopyright 2022 Elsevier B.V.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Assistive Robots, Emotion Detection, Facial Expressions, Human computer interaction, Human Robot Interaction, Humanoid Robots, Natural Language Processing, Robotics, Wellbeing},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this work, we discuss methodologies and implementation choices to enable a humanoid robot to estimate patients' mood and emotions during postoperative home rehabilitation. The approach is modular and it has been implemented into a SoftBank Pepper robotic architecture; however, the approach is general and it can be easily adapted to other robotic platforms. A sample of an interactive session for the detection of the patient's affective state is also reported. textcopyright 2022 Elsevier B.V.
Vitabile, Salvatore; Franchini, Silvia; Vassallo, Giorgio
An Optimized Architecture for CGA Operations and Its Application to a Simulated Robotic Arm Journal Article
In: Electronics (Switzerland), vol. 11, no. 21, 2022, ISSN: 2079-9292.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Application-specific processors, Clifford algebra, Computational geometry, Conformal geometric algebra, Embedded coprocessors, Field Programmable Gate Arrays, FPGA prototyping, Geometric algebra, grasping, human-like robotic arms, inverse kinematics, Robotics
@article{vitabileOptimizedArchitectureCGA2022,
title = {An Optimized Architecture for CGA Operations and Its Application to a Simulated Robotic Arm},
author = { Salvatore Vitabile and Silvia Franchini and Giorgio Vassallo},
doi = {10.3390/electronics11213508},
issn = {2079-9292},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Electronics (Switzerland)},
volume = {11},
number = {21},
abstract = {Conformal geometric algebra (CGA) is a new geometric computation tool that is attracting growing attention in many research fields, such as computer graphics, robotics, and computer vision. Regarding the robotic applications, new approaches based on CGA have been proposed to efficiently solve problems as the inverse kinematics and grasping of a robotic arm. The hardware acceleration of CGA operations is required to meet real-time performance requirements in embedded robotic platforms. In this paper, we present a novel embedded coprocessor for accelerating CGA operations in robotic tasks. Two robotic algorithms, namely, inverse kinematics and grasping of a human-arm-like kinematics chain, are used to prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The coprocessor natively supports the entire set of CGA operations including both basic operations (products, sums/differences, and unary operations) and complex operations as rigid body motion operations (reflections, rotations, translations, and dilations). The coprocessor prototype is implemented on the Xilinx ML510 development platform as a complete system-on-chip (SoC), integrating both a PowerPC processing core and a CGA coprocessing core on the same Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA chip. Experimental results show speedups of 78texttimes and 246texttimes for inverse kinematics and grasping algorithms, respectively, with respect to the execution on the PowerPC processor. textcopyright 2022 by the authors.},
keywords = {Application-specific processors, Clifford algebra, Computational geometry, Conformal geometric algebra, Embedded coprocessors, Field Programmable Gate Arrays, FPGA prototyping, Geometric algebra, grasping, human-like robotic arms, inverse kinematics, Robotics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Conformal geometric algebra (CGA) is a new geometric computation tool that is attracting growing attention in many research fields, such as computer graphics, robotics, and computer vision. Regarding the robotic applications, new approaches based on CGA have been proposed to efficiently solve problems as the inverse kinematics and grasping of a robotic arm. The hardware acceleration of CGA operations is required to meet real-time performance requirements in embedded robotic platforms. In this paper, we present a novel embedded coprocessor for accelerating CGA operations in robotic tasks. Two robotic algorithms, namely, inverse kinematics and grasping of a human-arm-like kinematics chain, are used to prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The coprocessor natively supports the entire set of CGA operations including both basic operations (products, sums/differences, and unary operations) and complex operations as rigid body motion operations (reflections, rotations, translations, and dilations). The coprocessor prototype is implemented on the Xilinx ML510 development platform as a complete system-on-chip (SoC), integrating both a PowerPC processing core and a CGA coprocessing core on the same Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA chip. Experimental results show speedups of 78texttimes and 246texttimes for inverse kinematics and grasping algorithms, respectively, with respect to the execution on the PowerPC processor. textcopyright 2022 by the authors.
2021
Ferrante, Giuliana; Vitale, Gianpaolo; Licari, Amelia; Montalbano, Laura; Pilato, Giovanni; Infantino, Ignazio; Augello, Agnese; Grutta, Stefania La
Social Robots and Therapeutic Adherence: A New Challenge in Pediatric Asthma? Journal Article
In: Paediatric Respiratory Reviews, vol. 40, pp. 46–51, 2021, ISSN: 15260542.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Asthma, Healthcare, Robotics, Social Agents, Social Robots
@article{ferranteSocialRobotsTherapeutic2021,
title = {Social Robots and Therapeutic Adherence: A New Challenge in Pediatric Asthma?},
author = { Giuliana Ferrante and Gianpaolo Vitale and Amelia Licari and Laura Montalbano and Giovanni Pilato and Ignazio Infantino and Agnese Augello and Stefania La Grutta},
doi = {10.1016/j.prrv.2020.11.001},
issn = {15260542},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Paediatric Respiratory Reviews},
volume = {40},
pages = {46--51},
abstract = {Social Robots are used in different contexts and, in healthcare, they are better known as Socially Assistive Robots. In the context of asthma, the use of Socially Assistive Robots has the potential to increase motivation and engagement to treatment. Other positive roles proposed for Socially Assistive Robots are to provide education, training regarding treatments, and feedback to patients. This review evaluates emerging interventions for improving treatment adherence in pediatric asthma, focusing on the possible future role of social robots in the clinical practice. textcopyright 2020 Elsevier Ltd},
keywords = {Asthma, Healthcare, Robotics, Social Agents, Social Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Social Robots are used in different contexts and, in healthcare, they are better known as Socially Assistive Robots. In the context of asthma, the use of Socially Assistive Robots has the potential to increase motivation and engagement to treatment. Other positive roles proposed for Socially Assistive Robots are to provide education, training regarding treatments, and feedback to patients. This review evaluates emerging interventions for improving treatment adherence in pediatric asthma, focusing on the possible future role of social robots in the clinical practice. textcopyright 2020 Elsevier Ltd
2020
Augello, Agnese; Infantino, Ignazio; Gaglio, Salvatore; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
An Artificial Soft Somatosensory System for a Cognitive Robot Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings - 4th IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2020, pp. 319–326, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2020, ISBN: 978-1-72815-237-0.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Cognitive Architectures, Reinforcement Learning, Robotics, Social Robots, Somatosensory Systems
@inproceedings{augelloArtificialSoftSomatosensory2020,
title = {An Artificial Soft Somatosensory System for a Cognitive Robot},
author = { Agnese Augello and Ignazio Infantino and Salvatore Gaglio and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
doi = {10.1109/IRC.2020.00058},
isbn = {978-1-72815-237-0},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings - 4th IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2020},
pages = {319--326},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {The paper proposes an artificial somatosensory system loosely inspired by human beings' biology and embedded in a cognitive architecture (CA). It enables a robot to receive the stimulation from its embodiment, and use these sensations, we called roboceptions, to behave according to both the external environment and the internal robot status. In such a way, the robot is aware of its body and able to interpret physical sensations can be more effective in the task while maintaining its well being. The robot's physiological urges are tightly bound to the specific physical state of the robot. Positive and negative physical information can, therefore, be processed and let the robot behave in a more realistic way adopting the right trade-off between the achievement of the task and the well-being of the robot. This goal has been achieved through a reinforcement learning approach. To test these statements we considered, as a test-bench, the execution of working performances with an SoftBank NAO robot that are modulated according its body well-being. textcopyright 2020 IEEE.},
keywords = {Cognitive Architectures, Reinforcement Learning, Robotics, Social Robots, Somatosensory Systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The paper proposes an artificial somatosensory system loosely inspired by human beings' biology and embedded in a cognitive architecture (CA). It enables a robot to receive the stimulation from its embodiment, and use these sensations, we called roboceptions, to behave according to both the external environment and the internal robot status. In such a way, the robot is aware of its body and able to interpret physical sensations can be more effective in the task while maintaining its well being. The robot's physiological urges are tightly bound to the specific physical state of the robot. Positive and negative physical information can, therefore, be processed and let the robot behave in a more realistic way adopting the right trade-off between the achievement of the task and the well-being of the robot. This goal has been achieved through a reinforcement learning approach. To test these statements we considered, as a test-bench, the execution of working performances with an SoftBank NAO robot that are modulated according its body well-being. textcopyright 2020 IEEE.
Augello, Agnese; Daniela, Linda; Gentile, Manuel; Ifenthaler, Dirk; Pilato, Giovanni
Editorial: Robot-Assisted Learning and Education Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Robotics and AI, vol. 7, 2020, ISSN: 22969144.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Education, Robotics
@article{augelloEditorialRobotAssistedLearning2020,
title = {Editorial: Robot-Assisted Learning and Education},
author = { Agnese Augello and Linda Daniela and Manuel Gentile and Dirk Ifenthaler and Giovanni Pilato},
doi = {10.3389/frobt.2020.591319},
issn = {22969144},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
journal = {Frontiers in Robotics and AI},
volume = {7},
keywords = {Education, Robotics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Augello, Agnese; Ciulla, Angelo; Cuzzocrea, Alfredo; Gaglio, Salvatore; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
Towards an Intelligent System for Supporting Gesture Acquisition and Reproduction in Humanoid Robots Proceedings Article
In: DMSVIVA 2020 - Proceedings of the 26th International DMS Conference on Visualization and Visual Languages, pp. 82–86, Knowledge Systems Institute Graduate School, KSI Research Inc., 2020, ISBN: 1-891706-51-9 978-1-891706-51-6.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Humanoid Robots, Robotics
@inproceedings{augelloIntelligentSystemSupporting2020,
title = {Towards an Intelligent System for Supporting Gesture Acquisition and Reproduction in Humanoid Robots},
author = { Agnese Augello and Angelo Ciulla and Alfredo Cuzzocrea and Salvatore Gaglio and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
doi = {10.18293/DMSVIVA2020-017},
isbn = {1-891706-51-9 978-1-891706-51-6},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {DMSVIVA 2020 - Proceedings of the 26th International DMS Conference on Visualization and Visual Languages},
pages = {82--86},
publisher = {Knowledge Systems Institute Graduate School, KSI Research Inc.},
abstract = {In this paper, an intelligent system for supporting gesture acquisition and reproduction in humanoid robots, which is based on the well-known Microsoft Kinect framework, is introduced and discussed in this paper. The idea that has inspired the paper is represented by endowing an humanoid robot with the capability to mimic the motion of a human user in real time. As a further extension, the latter amenity may serve as a basis for further gesture based human-robot interactions. textcopyright 2020 DMSVIVA 2020 - Proceedings of the 26th International DMS Conference on Visualization and Visual Languages. All rights reserved.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Humanoid Robots, Robotics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
In this paper, an intelligent system for supporting gesture acquisition and reproduction in humanoid robots, which is based on the well-known Microsoft Kinect framework, is introduced and discussed in this paper. The idea that has inspired the paper is represented by endowing an humanoid robot with the capability to mimic the motion of a human user in real time. As a further extension, the latter amenity may serve as a basis for further gesture based human-robot interactions. textcopyright 2020 DMSVIVA 2020 - Proceedings of the 26th International DMS Conference on Visualization and Visual Languages. All rights reserved.
Bono, Adriana; Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Gaglio, Salvatore
Social Practices Based Characters in a Robotic Storytelling System Proceedings Article
In: 29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, RO-MAN 2020, pp. 90–95, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2020, ISBN: 978-1-72816-075-7.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: ACT-R, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Education, Reasoning, Robotics, Social Practices
@inproceedings{bonoSocialPracticesBased2020,
title = {Social Practices Based Characters in a Robotic Storytelling System},
author = { Adriana Bono and Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Salvatore Gaglio},
doi = {10.1109/RO-MAN47096.2020.9223501},
isbn = {978-1-72816-075-7},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, RO-MAN 2020},
pages = {90--95},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {In this work, we present a robotic storytelling system, where the characters have been modelled as cognitive agents embodied in Pepper and NAO robots. The characters have been designed by exploiting the ACT-R architecture, taking into account knowledge, behaviours, norms, and expectations typical of social practices and desires resulting from their personality. The characters explain their reasoning processes during the narration, through a sort of internal dialogue that generate a high level of credibility experienced over the audience. textcopyright 2020 IEEE.},
keywords = {ACT-R, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Education, Reasoning, Robotics, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
In this work, we present a robotic storytelling system, where the characters have been modelled as cognitive agents embodied in Pepper and NAO robots. The characters have been designed by exploiting the ACT-R architecture, taking into account knowledge, behaviours, norms, and expectations typical of social practices and desires resulting from their personality. The characters explain their reasoning processes during the narration, through a sort of internal dialogue that generate a high level of credibility experienced over the audience. textcopyright 2020 IEEE.
Trifir`o, Irene; Augello, Agnese; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo; Meo, Rosa
How Are You? How a Robot Can Learn to Express Its Own Roboceptions Proceedings Article
In: Cristiani, Matteo; Toro, Carlos; Zanni-Merk, Cecilia; Howlett, Robert J.; Jain, Lakhmi C. (Ed.): Procedia Computer Science, pp. 480–489, Elsevier B.V., 2020.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Human computer interaction, Knowledge Representation, Latent Semantic Analysis, Natural Language Processing, Robotics, Semantic Computing, Social Robots
@inproceedings{trifiroHowAreYou2020,
title = {How Are You? How a Robot Can Learn to Express Its Own Roboceptions},
author = { Irene Trifir{`o} and Agnese Augello and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella and Rosa Meo},
editor = { Matteo Cristiani and Carlos Toro and Cecilia {Zanni-Merk} and Robert J. Howlett and Lakhmi C. Jain},
doi = {10.1016/j.procs.2020.08.050},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {Procedia Computer Science},
volume = {176},
pages = {480--489},
publisher = {Elsevier B.V.},
abstract = {This work is framed on investigating how a robot can learn associations between linguistic elements, such as words or sentences, and its bodily perceptions, that we named ``roboceptions''. We discuss the possibility of defining such a process of an association through the interaction with human beings. By interacting with a user, the robot can learn to ascribe a meaning to its roboceptions to express them in natural language. Such a process could then be used by the robot in a verbal interaction to detect some words recalling the previously experimented roboceptions. In this paper, we discuss a Dual-NMT approach to realize such an association. However, it requires adequate training corpus. For this reason, we consider two different phases towards the realization of the system, and we show the results of the first phase, comparing two approaches: one based on the Latent Semantic Analysis paradigm and one based on the Random Indexing methodology.},
keywords = {Human computer interaction, Knowledge Representation, Latent Semantic Analysis, Natural Language Processing, Robotics, Semantic Computing, Social Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
This work is framed on investigating how a robot can learn associations between linguistic elements, such as words or sentences, and its bodily perceptions, that we named ``roboceptions''. We discuss the possibility of defining such a process of an association through the interaction with human beings. By interacting with a user, the robot can learn to ascribe a meaning to its roboceptions to express them in natural language. Such a process could then be used by the robot in a verbal interaction to detect some words recalling the previously experimented roboceptions. In this paper, we discuss a Dual-NMT approach to realize such an association. However, it requires adequate training corpus. For this reason, we consider two different phases towards the realization of the system, and we show the results of the first phase, comparing two approaches: one based on the Latent Semantic Analysis paradigm and one based on the Random Indexing methodology.
2019
Augello, Agnese; Pilato, Giovanni
An Annotated Corpus of Stories and Gestures for a Robotic Storyteller Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings - 3rd IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2019, pp. 630–635, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2019, ISBN: 978-1-5386-9245-5.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Annotated Corpus, Robotics, Semantic Computing, Storytelling Robots
@inproceedings{augelloAnnotatedCorpusStories2019,
title = {An Annotated Corpus of Stories and Gestures for a Robotic Storyteller},
author = { Agnese Augello and Giovanni Pilato},
doi = {10.1109/IRC.2019.00127},
isbn = {978-1-5386-9245-5},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings - 3rd IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2019},
pages = {630--635},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {This paper describes a system which has been used to automatically create an annotated corpus of stories. This corpus can be exploited by a robotic storyteller. In a first phase stories were retrieved from a repository. The textual content of each story was semantically analyzed in order to locate meaningful terms in the sentences that can be accompanied by proper gestures and possible emotions that can be expressed. Once the whole story is properly labelled, it can be dramatized by a robot storyteller. We discuss a demonstration of the use of this approach with NarRob, a storyteller robot that we have designed within our institute. textcopyright 2019 IEEE.},
keywords = {Annotated Corpus, Robotics, Semantic Computing, Storytelling Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
This paper describes a system which has been used to automatically create an annotated corpus of stories. This corpus can be exploited by a robotic storyteller. In a first phase stories were retrieved from a repository. The textual content of each story was semantically analyzed in order to locate meaningful terms in the sentences that can be accompanied by proper gestures and possible emotions that can be expressed. Once the whole story is properly labelled, it can be dramatized by a robot storyteller. We discuss a demonstration of the use of this approach with NarRob, a storyteller robot that we have designed within our institute. textcopyright 2019 IEEE.
Augello, Agnese; Infantino, Ignazio; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
Introducing NarRob, a Robotic Storyteller Proceedings Article
In: Gentile, M; Allegra, M; Sobke, H (Ed.): GAMES AND LEARNING ALLIANCE, GALA 2018, pp. 387–396, SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND, 2019, ISBN: 978-3-030-11548-7 978-3-030-11547-0.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Bullying, Chatbots, Conversational Agents, Education, Robotics, Social Practices, Storytelling Robots
@inproceedings{augelloIntroducingNarRobRobotic2019,
title = {Introducing NarRob, a Robotic Storyteller},
author = { Agnese Augello and Ignazio Infantino and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
editor = { M Gentile and M Allegra and H Sobke},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-11548-7_36},
isbn = {978-3-030-11548-7 978-3-030-11547-0},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
booktitle = {GAMES AND LEARNING ALLIANCE, GALA 2018},
volume = {11385},
pages = {387--396},
publisher = {SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG},
address = {GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
abstract = {In this work we introduce NarRob, a robot able to engage in conversations and tell stories, by accompanying the speech with proper gestures. We discuss about the main components of the robot's architecture, and some possible education experiments that we are planning to carry out in real scholastic contexts.},
keywords = {Bullying, Chatbots, Conversational Agents, Education, Robotics, Social Practices, Storytelling Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
In this work we introduce NarRob, a robot able to engage in conversations and tell stories, by accompanying the speech with proper gestures. We discuss about the main components of the robot's architecture, and some possible education experiments that we are planning to carry out in real scholastic contexts.
Augello, Agnese; Infantino, Ignazio; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
NarRob: A Humanoid Social Storyteller with Emotional Expression Capabilities Proceedings Article
In: relax AV Samsonovich, (Ed.): BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED COGNITIVE ARCHITECTURES 2018, pp. 9–15, SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND, 2019, ISBN: 978-3-319-99316-4 978-3-319-99315-7.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Education, Emotion Recognition, Gestural user interfaces, Robotics, Storytelling Robots
@inproceedings{augelloNarRobHumanoidSocial2019,
title = {NarRob: A Humanoid Social Storyteller with Emotional Expression Capabilities},
author = { Agnese Augello and Ignazio Infantino and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
editor = { {relax AV} Samsonovich},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-99316-4_2},
isbn = {978-3-319-99316-4 978-3-319-99315-7},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
booktitle = {BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED COGNITIVE ARCHITECTURES 2018},
volume = {848},
pages = {9--15},
publisher = {SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG},
address = {GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND},
series = {Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing},
abstract = {In this paper we propose a model of a robotic storyteller, focusing on its abilities to select the most appropriate gestures to accompany the story, trying to manifest also emotions related to the sentence that is being told. The robot is endowed with a repository of stories together with a set of gestures, inspired by those typically used by humans, that the robot learns by observation. The gestures are annotated by a number N of subjects, according to their particular meaning and considering a specific typology. They are exploited by the robot according to the story content to provide an engaging representation of the tale.},
keywords = {Education, Emotion Recognition, Gestural user interfaces, Robotics, Storytelling Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
In this paper we propose a model of a robotic storyteller, focusing on its abilities to select the most appropriate gestures to accompany the story, trying to manifest also emotions related to the sentence that is being told. The robot is endowed with a repository of stories together with a set of gestures, inspired by those typically used by humans, that the robot learns by observation. The gestures are annotated by a number N of subjects, according to their particular meaning and considering a specific typology. They are exploited by the robot according to the story content to provide an engaging representation of the tale.
2018
Augello, Agnese; Citt`a, Giuseppe; Gentile, Manuel; Infantino, Ignazio; Guardia, Dario La; Manfré, Adriano; Maniscalco, Umberto; Ottaviano, Simona; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo; Allegra, Mario
Improving Spatial Reasoning by Interacting with a Humanoid Robot Journal Article
In: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol. 76, pp. 151–160, 2018, ISSN: 21903018.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Embodied Cognition, Learning Environments, Mental Rotation, Robotics, Spatial Reasoning, STEM
@article{augelloImprovingSpatialReasoning2018,
title = {Improving Spatial Reasoning by Interacting with a Humanoid Robot},
author = { Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Citt{`a} and Manuel Gentile and Ignazio Infantino and Dario La Guardia and Adriano Manfré and Umberto Maniscalco and Simona Ottaviano and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella and Mario Allegra},
editor = { Giuseppe De Pietro and Luigi Gallo and Robert J. Howlett and Lakhmi C. Jain},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-59480-4_16},
issn = {21903018},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies},
volume = {76},
pages = {151--160},
abstract = {This paper analyzes the connection between spatial reasoning and STEM education from the point of view of embodied theories of cognition. A new learning model based on the use of a humanoid robot is presented with the aim of teaching and learning basic STEM concepts in a fruitful and engaging fashion. textcopyright Springer International Publishing AG 2018.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Embodied Cognition, Learning Environments, Mental Rotation, Robotics, Spatial Reasoning, STEM},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This paper analyzes the connection between spatial reasoning and STEM education from the point of view of embodied theories of cognition. A new learning model based on the use of a humanoid robot is presented with the aim of teaching and learning basic STEM concepts in a fruitful and engaging fashion. textcopyright Springer International Publishing AG 2018.
Augello, Agnese; Cipolla, Emanuele; Infantino, Ignazio; Manfré, Adriano; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
Social Signs Processing in a Cognitive Architecture for an Humanoid Robot Proceedings Article
In: A.V., Klimov V. V. Samsonovich (Ed.): Procedia Computer Science, pp. 63–68, Elsevier B.V., 2018.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Recurrent Neural Networks, Robotics
@inproceedings{augelloSocialSignsProcessing2018,
title = {Social Signs Processing in a Cognitive Architecture for an Humanoid Robot},
author = { Agnese Augello and Emanuele Cipolla and Ignazio Infantino and Adriano Manfré and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
editor = { Klimov V.V. Samsonovich A.V.},
doi = {10.1016/j.procs.2018.01.011},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {Procedia Computer Science},
volume = {123},
pages = {63--68},
publisher = {Elsevier B.V.},
abstract = {A social robot has to recognize human social intention in order to fully interact with him/her. People intention can be inferred by processing verbal and non-verbal communicative signs. In this work we describe an actions classification module embedded into a robot's cognitive architecture, contributing to the interpretation of users behavior. textcopyright 2018 The Authors.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Recurrent Neural Networks, Robotics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
A social robot has to recognize human social intention in order to fully interact with him/her. People intention can be inferred by processing verbal and non-verbal communicative signs. In this work we describe an actions classification module embedded into a robot's cognitive architecture, contributing to the interpretation of users behavior. textcopyright 2018 The Authors.
Clodic, Aurélie; Vazquez-Salceda, Javier; Dignum, Frank; Mascarenhas, Samuel; Dignum, Virginia; Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Alami, Rachid
On the Pertinence of Social Practices for Social Robotics Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications, vol. 311, pp. 63–74, 2018, ISSN: 09226389.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Human Robot Interaction, Robotics, Social Context, Social Practices
@article{clodicPertinenceSocialPractices2018,
title = {On the Pertinence of Social Practices for Social Robotics},
author = { Aurélie Clodic and Javier {Vazquez-Salceda} and Frank Dignum and Samuel Mascarenhas and Virginia Dignum and Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Rachid Alami},
editor = { Loh J. Norskov M. Coeckelbergh M. Seibt J. Funk M.},
doi = {10.3233/978-1-61499-931-7-63},
issn = {09226389},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications},
volume = {311},
pages = {63--74},
abstract = {In the area of consumer robots that need to have rich social interactions with humans, one of the challenges is the complexity of computing the appropriate interactions in a cognitive, social and physical context. We propose a novel approach for social robots based on the concept of Social Practices. By using social practices robots are able to be aware of their own social identities (given by the role in the social practice) and the identities of others and also be able to identify the different social contexts and the appropriate social interactions that go along with those contexts and identities. textcopyright 2018 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.},
keywords = {Human Robot Interaction, Robotics, Social Context, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In the area of consumer robots that need to have rich social interactions with humans, one of the challenges is the complexity of computing the appropriate interactions in a cognitive, social and physical context. We propose a novel approach for social robots based on the concept of Social Practices. By using social practices robots are able to be aware of their own social identities (given by the role in the social practice) and the identities of others and also be able to identify the different social contexts and the appropriate social interactions that go along with those contexts and identities. textcopyright 2018 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.
Dignum, Virginia; Dignum, Frank; Vazquez-Salceda, Javier; Clodic, A.; Gentile, Manuel; Mascarenhas, Samuel; Augello, Agnese
Design for Values for Social Robot Architectures Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications, vol. 311, pp. 43–52, 2018, ISSN: 09226389.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Behavioral Research, Ethics, Human Robot Interaction, Responsible AI, Robotics, Social Practices
@article{dignumDesignValuesSocial2018,
title = {Design for Values for Social Robot Architectures},
author = { Virginia Dignum and Frank Dignum and Javier {Vazquez-Salceda} and A. Clodic and Manuel Gentile and Samuel Mascarenhas and Agnese Augello},
editor = { Loh J. Norskov M. Coeckelbergh M. Seibt J. Funk M.},
doi = {10.3233/978-1-61499-931-7-43},
issn = {09226389},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications},
volume = {311},
pages = {43--52},
abstract = {The integration of social robots in human societies requires that they are capable to take decisions that may affect the lives of people around them. In order to ensure that these robots will behave according to shared ethical principles, an important shift in the design and development of social robots is needed, one where the main goal is improving ethical transparency rather than technical performance, and placing human values at the core of robot designs. In this abstract, we discuss the concept of ethical decision making and how to achieve trust according to the principles of Autonomy, Responsibility and Transparency (ART). textcopyright 2018 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.},
keywords = {Behavioral Research, Ethics, Human Robot Interaction, Responsible AI, Robotics, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The integration of social robots in human societies requires that they are capable to take decisions that may affect the lives of people around them. In order to ensure that these robots will behave according to shared ethical principles, an important shift in the design and development of social robots is needed, one where the main goal is improving ethical transparency rather than technical performance, and placing human values at the core of robot designs. In this abstract, we discuss the concept of ethical decision making and how to achieve trust according to the principles of Autonomy, Responsibility and Transparency (ART). textcopyright 2018 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.
Nuccio, Carlo; Augello, Agnese; Gaglio, Salvatore; Pilato, Giovanni
Interaction Capabilities of a Robotic Receptionist Journal Article
In: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol. 76, pp. 171–180, 2018, ISSN: 21903018.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Computational Creativity, Human computer interaction, Human Robot Interaction, Humanoid Robots, Ontologies, Robotics
@article{nuccioInteractionCapabilitiesRobotic2018,
title = {Interaction Capabilities of a Robotic Receptionist},
author = { Carlo Nuccio and Agnese Augello and Salvatore Gaglio and Giovanni Pilato},
editor = { Giuseppe De Pietro and Luigi Gallo and Robert J. Howlett and Lakhmi C. Jain},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-59480-4_18},
issn = {21903018},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies},
volume = {76},
pages = {171--180},
abstract = {A system aimed at facilitating the interaction between a human user and an humanoid robot is presented. The system is suited to answer questions about laboratories activities, people involved, projects, research themes and collaborations among employees. The task is accomplished by the HermiT reasoner invoked by a speech recognition module. The system is capable of navigating a specific ontology making inference on it. The presented system is part of a broader social robot framework whose goal is to give the user a fulfilling social interaction experience, driven by the perception of the robot internal state and involving intuitive and computational creativity capabilities. textcopyright Springer International Publishing AG 2018.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Computational Creativity, Human computer interaction, Human Robot Interaction, Humanoid Robots, Ontologies, Robotics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
A system aimed at facilitating the interaction between a human user and an humanoid robot is presented. The system is suited to answer questions about laboratories activities, people involved, projects, research themes and collaborations among employees. The task is accomplished by the HermiT reasoner invoked by a speech recognition module. The system is capable of navigating a specific ontology making inference on it. The presented system is part of a broader social robot framework whose goal is to give the user a fulfilling social interaction experience, driven by the perception of the robot internal state and involving intuitive and computational creativity capabilities. textcopyright Springer International Publishing AG 2018.
2017
Augello, Agnese; Cipolla, Emanuele; Infantino, Ignazio; Manfr`e, Adriano; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
Creative Robot Dance with Variational Encoder Proceedings Article
In: A., Jordanous A. Pease A. Goel (Ed.): Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Computational Creativity, ICCC 2017, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017, ISBN: 978-0-692-89564-1.
Abstract | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Computational Creativity, Creative Agents, Deep learning, Robotics
@inproceedings{augelloCreativeRobotDance2017,
title = {Creative Robot Dance with Variational Encoder},
author = { Agnese Augello and Emanuele Cipolla and Ignazio Infantino and Adriano Manfr{`e} and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
editor = { Jordanous A. Pease A. Goel A.},
isbn = {978-0-692-89564-1},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Computational Creativity, ICCC 2017},
publisher = {Georgia Institute of Technology},
abstract = {What we appreciate in dance is the ability of people to spontaneously improvise new movements and choreographies, surrendering to the music rhythm, being inspired by the current perceptions and sensations and by previous experiences, deeply stored in their memory. Like other human abilities, this, of course, is challenging to reproduce in an artificial entity such as a robot. Recent generations of anthropomorphic robots, the so-called humanoids, however, exhibit more and more sophisticated skills and raised the interest in robotic communities to design and experiment systems devoted to automatic dance generation. In this work, we highlight the importance to model a computational creativity behavior in dancing robots to avoid a mere execution of preprogrammed dances. In particular, we exploit a deep learning approach that allows a robot to generate in real time new dancing movements according to to the listened music. textcopyright ICCC 2017.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Computational Creativity, Creative Agents, Deep learning, Robotics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
What we appreciate in dance is the ability of people to spontaneously improvise new movements and choreographies, surrendering to the music rhythm, being inspired by the current perceptions and sensations and by previous experiences, deeply stored in their memory. Like other human abilities, this, of course, is challenging to reproduce in an artificial entity such as a robot. Recent generations of anthropomorphic robots, the so-called humanoids, however, exhibit more and more sophisticated skills and raised the interest in robotic communities to design and experiment systems devoted to automatic dance generation. In this work, we highlight the importance to model a computational creativity behavior in dancing robots to avoid a mere execution of preprogrammed dances. In particular, we exploit a deep learning approach that allows a robot to generate in real time new dancing movements according to to the listened music. textcopyright ICCC 2017.
Augello, Agnese; Infantino, Ignazio; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
The Effects of Soft Somatosensory System on the Execution of Robotic Tasks Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings - 2017 1st IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2017, pp. 14–21, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2017, ISBN: 978-1-5090-6723-7.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Robotics, Sensor systems, Somatosensory Systems
@inproceedings{augelloEffectsSoftSomatosensory2017,
title = {The Effects of Soft Somatosensory System on the Execution of Robotic Tasks},
author = { Agnese Augello and Ignazio Infantino and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
doi = {10.1109/IRC.2017.57},
isbn = {978-1-5090-6723-7},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings - 2017 1st IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2017},
pages = {14--21},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {Nowadays there is a growing interest in the design and implementation of robots capable of exhibiting sophisticated behaviours, taking part in social interactions, expressing and manifesting their 'feelings'. These kinds of robots can be employed as human-like collaborators or companions. At the heart of this sophisticated behaviour, there should be the robot's ability of effectively being aware of its internal status. The feeling of pleasant or unpleasant sensations comes before higher-level mechanisms that determine a robot's emotions and motivations in the accomplishment of a task. Furthermore, negative sensations can represent an alarm indicating dangerous situations. In this work, we have modelled a bio-inspired somatosensory system embedded in a cognitive model for a humanoid robot. The system has been designed by analysing the internal physical structure of the robot and it relies on different soft sensors built on top of the robot's physical sensors. The soft sensors allow the robot to interpret its body sensations using a suitable classification of the somatosensory signals. They influence the motivation of the robot, modulating its final behaviour, as shown in an experimental setup. textcopyright 2017 IEEE.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Robotics, Sensor systems, Somatosensory Systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Nowadays there is a growing interest in the design and implementation of robots capable of exhibiting sophisticated behaviours, taking part in social interactions, expressing and manifesting their 'feelings'. These kinds of robots can be employed as human-like collaborators or companions. At the heart of this sophisticated behaviour, there should be the robot's ability of effectively being aware of its internal status. The feeling of pleasant or unpleasant sensations comes before higher-level mechanisms that determine a robot's emotions and motivations in the accomplishment of a task. Furthermore, negative sensations can represent an alarm indicating dangerous situations. In this work, we have modelled a bio-inspired somatosensory system embedded in a cognitive model for a humanoid robot. The system has been designed by analysing the internal physical structure of the robot and it relies on different soft sensors built on top of the robot's physical sensors. The soft sensors allow the robot to interpret its body sensations using a suitable classification of the somatosensory signals. They influence the motivation of the robot, modulating its final behaviour, as shown in an experimental setup. textcopyright 2017 IEEE.
2013
Franchini, Silvia; Gentile, Antonio; Sorbello, Filippo; Vassallo, Giorgio; Vitabile, Salvatore
Design and Implementation of an Embedded Coprocessor with Native Support for 5D, Quadruple-Based Clifford Algebra Journal Article
In: IEEE Transactions on Computers, vol. 62, no. 12, pp. 2366–2381, 2013, ISSN: 0018-9340.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Application-specific processors, Clifford algebra, Computational geometry, Computer graphics, Embedded coprocessors, Field Programmable Gate Arrays, FPGA prototyping, Geometric algebra, inverse kinematics, Motion capture, Raytracing, robotic arm, Robotics
@article{franchiniDesignImplementationEmbedded2013,
title = {Design and Implementation of an Embedded Coprocessor with Native Support for 5D, Quadruple-Based Clifford Algebra},
author = { Silvia Franchini and Antonio Gentile and Filippo Sorbello and Giorgio Vassallo and Salvatore Vitabile},
doi = {10.1109/TC.2012.225},
issn = {0018-9340},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-01-01},
journal = {IEEE Transactions on Computers},
volume = {62},
number = {12},
pages = {2366--2381},
abstract = {Geometric or Clifford algebra (CA) is a powerful mathematical tool that offers a natural and intuitive way to model geometric facts in a number of research fields, such as robotics, machine vision, and computer graphics. Operating in higher dimensional spaces, its practical use is hindered, however, by a significant computational cost, only partially addressed by dedicated software libraries and hardware/software codesigns. For low-dimensional algebras, several dedicated hardware accelerators and coprocessing architectures have been already proposed in the literature. This paper introduces the architecture of CliffordALU5, an embedded coprocessing core conceived for native execution of up to 5D CA operations. CliffordALU5 exploits a novel, hardware-oriented representation of the algebra elements that allows for faster execution of Clifford operations. In this paper, a prototype implementation of a complete system-on-chip (SOC) based on CliffordALU5 is presented. This prototype integrates an embedded processing soft-core based on the PowerPC 405 and a CliffordALU5 coprocessor on a Xilinx XUPV2P Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) board. Test results show a 5texttimes average speedup for 4D Clifford products and a 4texttimes average speedup for 5D Clifford products against the same operations in Gaigen 2, a CA software library generator running on the general-purpose PowerPC processor. This paper also presents an execution analysis of three different applications in three diverse domains, namely, inverse kinematics of a robot, optical motion capture, and raytracing, showing an average speedup between 3texttimes and 4texttimes with respect to the baseline Gaigen 2 implementation. Finally, a multicore approach to higher dimensional CA based on CliffordALU5 is discussed. textcopyright 1968-2012 IEEE.},
keywords = {Application-specific processors, Clifford algebra, Computational geometry, Computer graphics, Embedded coprocessors, Field Programmable Gate Arrays, FPGA prototyping, Geometric algebra, inverse kinematics, Motion capture, Raytracing, robotic arm, Robotics},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Geometric or Clifford algebra (CA) is a powerful mathematical tool that offers a natural and intuitive way to model geometric facts in a number of research fields, such as robotics, machine vision, and computer graphics. Operating in higher dimensional spaces, its practical use is hindered, however, by a significant computational cost, only partially addressed by dedicated software libraries and hardware/software codesigns. For low-dimensional algebras, several dedicated hardware accelerators and coprocessing architectures have been already proposed in the literature. This paper introduces the architecture of CliffordALU5, an embedded coprocessing core conceived for native execution of up to 5D CA operations. CliffordALU5 exploits a novel, hardware-oriented representation of the algebra elements that allows for faster execution of Clifford operations. In this paper, a prototype implementation of a complete system-on-chip (SOC) based on CliffordALU5 is presented. This prototype integrates an embedded processing soft-core based on the PowerPC 405 and a CliffordALU5 coprocessor on a Xilinx XUPV2P Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) board. Test results show a 5texttimes average speedup for 4D Clifford products and a 4texttimes average speedup for 5D Clifford products against the same operations in Gaigen 2, a CA software library generator running on the general-purpose PowerPC processor. This paper also presents an execution analysis of three different applications in three diverse domains, namely, inverse kinematics of a robot, optical motion capture, and raytracing, showing an average speedup between 3texttimes and 4texttimes with respect to the baseline Gaigen 2 implementation. Finally, a multicore approach to higher dimensional CA based on CliffordALU5 is discussed. textcopyright 1968-2012 IEEE.