AHCI RESEARCH GROUP
Publications
Papers published in international journals,
proceedings of conferences, workshops and books.
OUR RESEARCH
Scientific Publications
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You can expand the Abstract, Links and BibTex record for each paper.
2023
Sabatucci, Luca; Augello, Agnese; Caggianese, Giuseppe; Gallo, Luigi
Envisioning Digital Practices in the Metaverse: A Methodological Perspective Journal Article
In: Future Internet, vol. 15, no. 12, pp. 394, 2023, ISSN: 1999-5903, (Number: 12 Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Digital Practices, Digital Twins, Metaverse, NPC, Social Practices
@article{sabatucci_envisioning_2023,
title = {Envisioning Digital Practices in the Metaverse: A Methodological Perspective},
author = { Luca Sabatucci and Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Caggianese and Luigi Gallo},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/15/12/394},
doi = {10.3390/fi15120394},
issn = {1999-5903},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-12-01},
urldate = {2023-12-07},
journal = {Future Internet},
volume = {15},
number = {12},
pages = {394},
abstract = {Researchers are exploring methods that exploit digital twins as all-purpose abstractions for sophisticated modelling and simulation, bringing elements of the real world into the virtual realm. Digital twins are essential elements of the digital transformation of society, which mostly benefit manufacturing, smart cities, healthcare contexts, and in general systems that include humans in the loop. As the metaverse concept continues to evolve, the line separating the virtual and the real will progressively fade away. Considering the metaverse’s goal to emulate our social reality, it becomes essential to examine the aspects that characterise real-world interaction practices and explicitly model both physical and social contexts. While the unfolding metaverse may reshape these practices in distinct ways from their real-world counterparts, our position is that it is essential to incorporate social theories into the modelling processes of digital twins within the metaverse. In this work, we discuss our perspective by introducing a digital practice model inspired by the theory of social practice. We illustrate this model by exploiting the scenario of a virtual grocery shop designed to help older adults reduce their social isolation.},
note = {Number: 12
Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute},
keywords = {Digital Practices, Digital Twins, Metaverse, NPC, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Researchers are exploring methods that exploit digital twins as all-purpose abstractions for sophisticated modelling and simulation, bringing elements of the real world into the virtual realm. Digital twins are essential elements of the digital transformation of society, which mostly benefit manufacturing, smart cities, healthcare contexts, and in general systems that include humans in the loop. As the metaverse concept continues to evolve, the line separating the virtual and the real will progressively fade away. Considering the metaverse’s goal to emulate our social reality, it becomes essential to examine the aspects that characterise real-world interaction practices and explicitly model both physical and social contexts. While the unfolding metaverse may reshape these practices in distinct ways from their real-world counterparts, our position is that it is essential to incorporate social theories into the modelling processes of digital twins within the metaverse. In this work, we discuss our perspective by introducing a digital practice model inspired by the theory of social practice. We illustrate this model by exploiting the scenario of a virtual grocery shop designed to help older adults reduce their social isolation.
Sabatucci, Luca; Augello, Agnese; Caggianese, Giuseppe; Gallo, Luigi
Coordinating Systems of Digital Twins with Digital Practices Proceedings Article
In: Malvone, Vadim; Murano, Aniello (Ed.): Multi-Agent Systems, pp. 406–414, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2023, ISBN: 978-3-031-43264-4.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Ambient Assisted Living, Digital Practices, Digital Twins, Social Practices, Socio-Technical Systems
@inproceedings{sabatucci_coordinating_2023,
title = {Coordinating Systems of Digital Twins with Digital Practices},
author = { Luca Sabatucci and Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Caggianese and Luigi Gallo},
editor = { Vadim Malvone and Aniello Murano},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-43264-4_26},
isbn = {978-3-031-43264-4},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Multi-Agent Systems},
pages = {406–414},
publisher = {Springer Nature Switzerland},
address = {Cham},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
abstract = {Digital Twin is a promising paradigm to support the development of socio-technical systems for the digital transformation of society. For example, smart cities and healthcare applications gain advantages from this new paradigm. Currently, researchers are investigating methodologies that exploit Digital Twins as general-purpose abstractions for complex modelling and simulation. Taking inspiration from the Social Practice theory, this paper explores the idea of explicitly representing the physical and social context in socio-technical systems. To this aim, we introduce the concept of digital practice as an additional brick of a methodology for modelling and implementing socio-technical systems via digital twins and agents. We illustrate this preliminary idea by exploiting an assistance scenario for the elderly.},
keywords = {Ambient Assisted Living, Digital Practices, Digital Twins, Social Practices, Socio-Technical Systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Digital Twin is a promising paradigm to support the development of socio-technical systems for the digital transformation of society. For example, smart cities and healthcare applications gain advantages from this new paradigm. Currently, researchers are investigating methodologies that exploit Digital Twins as general-purpose abstractions for complex modelling and simulation. Taking inspiration from the Social Practice theory, this paper explores the idea of explicitly representing the physical and social context in socio-technical systems. To this aim, we introduce the concept of digital practice as an additional brick of a methodology for modelling and implementing socio-technical systems via digital twins and agents. We illustrate this preliminary idea by exploiting an assistance scenario for the elderly.
Augello, Agnese; Caggianese, Giuseppe; Gallo, Luigi; Neroni, Pietro
Design Strategies to Enhance Awareness in MR Collaborative Systems Proceedings Article
In: Paolis, Lucio Tommaso De; Arpaia, Pasquale; Sacco, Marco (Ed.): Extended Reality, pp. 424–436, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2023, ISBN: 978-3-031-43401-3.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: AR-CSCW, Augmented Collaborative Practices, Awareness, Mixed reality, Social Practices
@inproceedings{augello_design_2023,
title = {Design Strategies to Enhance Awareness in MR Collaborative Systems},
author = { Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Caggianese and Luigi Gallo and Pietro Neroni},
editor = { Lucio Tommaso De Paolis and Pasquale Arpaia and Marco Sacco},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-43401-3_28},
isbn = {978-3-031-43401-3},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Extended Reality},
pages = {424–436},
publisher = {Springer Nature Switzerland},
address = {Cham},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
abstract = {An increasing number of innovative technologies are fostering augmented collaborative systems, thus setting the milestones of future collaboration paradigms. By merging real and virtual elements, mixed reality technologies lead to an augmented perception of the working environment and, consequently, an enriched experience of collaborative task execution. However, at the same time, such technologies can also impede proper communication and understanding among the entities working in concert to reach a common goal. Wearing head-mounted displays and simultaneously managing two different interactions - human-human and human-machine can lead to misunderstandings with co-workers. This also can hinder awareness, a fundamental requirement for the effective execution of collaborative tasks. As a consequence, cognitive load can increase with a negative impact on task performance. This paper analyses the main elements of a collaborative practice. Specifically, our aim is to identify crucial factors that must be considered for designing an effective interface for a collaborative mixed reality system. Then, we discuss some solutions to ensure that technology can act as an aid, rather than an impediment, to the accomplishment of collaborative tasks.},
keywords = {AR-CSCW, Augmented Collaborative Practices, Awareness, Mixed reality, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
An increasing number of innovative technologies are fostering augmented collaborative systems, thus setting the milestones of future collaboration paradigms. By merging real and virtual elements, mixed reality technologies lead to an augmented perception of the working environment and, consequently, an enriched experience of collaborative task execution. However, at the same time, such technologies can also impede proper communication and understanding among the entities working in concert to reach a common goal. Wearing head-mounted displays and simultaneously managing two different interactions - human-human and human-machine can lead to misunderstandings with co-workers. This also can hinder awareness, a fundamental requirement for the effective execution of collaborative tasks. As a consequence, cognitive load can increase with a negative impact on task performance. This paper analyses the main elements of a collaborative practice. Specifically, our aim is to identify crucial factors that must be considered for designing an effective interface for a collaborative mixed reality system. Then, we discuss some solutions to ensure that technology can act as an aid, rather than an impediment, to the accomplishment of collaborative tasks.
Augello, Agnese; Caggianese, Giuseppe; Casoria, Luigi; Gallo, L.; Montalti, Roberto; Neroni, Pietro; Rompianesi, Gianluca; Troisi, Roberto
Augmenting Collaborative Practices: The Hololiver Case Study Proceedings Article
In: 2023 17th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology & Internet-Based Systems (SITIS), pp. 234–241, 2023, ISBN: 9798350370911.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: AR-CSCW, Augmented Collaborative Practices, Awareness, Liver Surgery, Mixed reality, Planning Surgery, Social Practices
@inproceedings{augello_augmenting_2023,
title = {Augmenting Collaborative Practices: The Hololiver Case Study},
author = { Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Caggianese and Luigi Casoria and L. Gallo and Roberto Montalti and Pietro Neroni and Gianluca Rompianesi and Roberto Troisi},
doi = {10.1109/SITIS61268.2023.00043},
isbn = {9798350370911},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {2023 17th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology & Internet-Based Systems (SITIS)},
pages = {234–241},
abstract = {Advances in Mixed Reality (MR) technologies are reshaping collaborative practices. The seamless integration of physical and virtual elements enhances the perception of the working environment, providing a more enriched collaborative task experience. While revealing intriguing potential across various sectors, wearing head-mounted displays (HMDs) can pose challenges in communication and in understanding others' behaviours. This paper analyses the main elements of collaborative augmented practices through the case study of Hololiver, a MR system developed to assist surgeons in planning laparoscopic liver surgeries. The work discusses guidelines for designing interfaces to preserve awareness in MR interactions. © 2023 IEEE.},
keywords = {AR-CSCW, Augmented Collaborative Practices, Awareness, Liver Surgery, Mixed reality, Planning Surgery, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Advances in Mixed Reality (MR) technologies are reshaping collaborative practices. The seamless integration of physical and virtual elements enhances the perception of the working environment, providing a more enriched collaborative task experience. While revealing intriguing potential across various sectors, wearing head-mounted displays (HMDs) can pose challenges in communication and in understanding others' behaviours. This paper analyses the main elements of collaborative augmented practices through the case study of Hololiver, a MR system developed to assist surgeons in planning laparoscopic liver surgeries. The work discusses guidelines for designing interfaces to preserve awareness in MR interactions. © 2023 IEEE.
2022
Gatto, Luigi; Gaglio, Giuseppe Fulvio; Augello, Agnese; Caggianese, Giuseppe; Gallo, Luigi; Cascia, Marco La
MET-iquette: Enabling Virtual Agents to Have a Social Compliant Behavior in the Metaverse Proceedings Article
In: 2022 16th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology & Internet-Based Systems (SITIS), pp. 394–401, 2022.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Avatars, Cognition, Metaverse, NPC, Scene Understanding, Social Agents, Social Practices
@inproceedings{gattoMETiquetteEnablingVirtual2022a,
title = {MET-iquette: Enabling Virtual Agents to Have a Social Compliant Behavior in the Metaverse},
author = { Luigi Gatto and Giuseppe Fulvio Gaglio and Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Caggianese and Luigi Gallo and Marco La Cascia},
doi = {10.1109/SITIS57111.2022.00066},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-10-01},
booktitle = {2022 16th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology & Internet-Based Systems (SITIS)},
pages = {394--401},
abstract = {Metaverse aims at connecting the physical and digital world in a highly immersive virtual environment that can replicate society and social practices within it. It is populated not only by avatars corresponding to users but also by nonplayer characters (NPCs). These virtual agents should be able to perceive other agents and objects in the scene, reason and act preferably by exhibiting credible and acceptable social behavior. Relying on the Social Practice theory, this work proposes an architecture for the design and development of a virtual agent able to understand social practices in the Metaverse and act by respecting the social norms that the circumstances entail. The agent is equipped with modules for recognizing elements of the scene, knowledge and rules about a set of social practices. The scene information is exploited by a reasoning module that allows the agent to evaluate the current social practice, socially interpret the events, and activate the most appropriate behaviors. The paper describes the proposed architecture, its implementation, and the realization of an experimental virtual scenario.},
keywords = {Avatars, Cognition, Metaverse, NPC, Scene Understanding, Social Agents, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Metaverse aims at connecting the physical and digital world in a highly immersive virtual environment that can replicate society and social practices within it. It is populated not only by avatars corresponding to users but also by nonplayer characters (NPCs). These virtual agents should be able to perceive other agents and objects in the scene, reason and act preferably by exhibiting credible and acceptable social behavior. Relying on the Social Practice theory, this work proposes an architecture for the design and development of a virtual agent able to understand social practices in the Metaverse and act by respecting the social norms that the circumstances entail. The agent is equipped with modules for recognizing elements of the scene, knowledge and rules about a set of social practices. The scene information is exploited by a reasoning module that allows the agent to evaluate the current social practice, socially interpret the events, and activate the most appropriate behaviors. The paper describes the proposed architecture, its implementation, and the realization of an experimental virtual scenario.
Augello, Agnese
Unveiling the Reasoning Processes of Robots through Introspective Dialogues in a Storytelling System: A Study on the Elicited Empathy Journal Article
In: Cognitive Systems Research, vol. 73, pp. 12–20, 2022, ISSN: 13890417.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: ACT-R, Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Empathy, Gestural user interfaces, Introspective Dialogs, Personality, Reasoning, Social Agents, Social Practices, Storytelling Robots
@article{augelloUnveilingReasoningProcesses2022,
title = {Unveiling the Reasoning Processes of Robots through Introspective Dialogues in a Storytelling System: A Study on the Elicited Empathy},
author = { Agnese Augello},
doi = {10.1016/j.cogsys.2021.11.006},
issn = {13890417},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Cognitive Systems Research},
volume = {73},
pages = {12--20},
abstract = {The work studies the empathy elicited by a storytelling system in which the characters in the story are interpreted by humanoid robots and modelled as cognitive agents. The ACT-R architecture is exploited to shape the characters' personalities and equip them with knowledge and behaviours typical of social practices. The narration is enriched with gestures and emotional expressions obtained by setting parameters that can be correlated to some emotions, such as the pitch and speech rate, the LEDs colour and the head inclination. The system has been evaluated by comparing a simple narrative modality with an enhanced one, where an introspective dialogue is adopted to explain and let transparent the internal reasoning processes of the characters. The obtained results show that storytelling affected the cognitive component of empathy, especially through the advanced narrative mode. textcopyright 2022 Elsevier B.V.},
keywords = {ACT-R, Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Empathy, Gestural user interfaces, Introspective Dialogs, Personality, Reasoning, Social Agents, Social Practices, Storytelling Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The work studies the empathy elicited by a storytelling system in which the characters in the story are interpreted by humanoid robots and modelled as cognitive agents. The ACT-R architecture is exploited to shape the characters' personalities and equip them with knowledge and behaviours typical of social practices. The narration is enriched with gestures and emotional expressions obtained by setting parameters that can be correlated to some emotions, such as the pitch and speech rate, the LEDs colour and the head inclination. The system has been evaluated by comparing a simple narrative modality with an enhanced one, where an introspective dialogue is adopted to explain and let transparent the internal reasoning processes of the characters. The obtained results show that storytelling affected the cognitive component of empathy, especially through the advanced narrative mode. textcopyright 2022 Elsevier B.V.
2020
Bono, Adriana; Augello, Agnese; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo; Gaglio, Salvatore
An ACT-R Based Humanoid Social Robot to Manage Storytelling Activities Journal Article
In: Robotics, vol. 9, no. 2, 2020, ISSN: 22186581.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: ACT-R, Cognitive Architectures, Education, Humanoid Robots, Introspective Dialogs, Social Practices, Social Robots, Storytelling Robots
@article{bonoACTRBasedHumanoid2020,
title = {An ACT-R Based Humanoid Social Robot to Manage Storytelling Activities},
author = { Adriana Bono and Agnese Augello and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella and Salvatore Gaglio},
doi = {10.3390/ROBOTICS9020025},
issn = {22186581},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
journal = {Robotics},
volume = {9},
number = {2},
abstract = {This paper describes an interactive storytelling system, accessible through the SoftBank robotic platforms NAO and Pepper. The main contribution consists of the interpretation of the story characters by humanoid robots, obtained through the definition of appropriate cognitive models, relying on the ACT-R cognitive architecture. The reasoning processes leading to the story evolution are based on the represented knowledge and the suggestions of the listener in critical points of the story. They are disclosed during the narration, to make clear the dynamics of the story and the feelings of the characters. We analyzed the impact of such externalization of the internal status of the characters to set the basis for future experimentation with primary school children. textcopyright 2020 by the authors.},
keywords = {ACT-R, Cognitive Architectures, Education, Humanoid Robots, Introspective Dialogs, Social Practices, Social Robots, Storytelling Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This paper describes an interactive storytelling system, accessible through the SoftBank robotic platforms NAO and Pepper. The main contribution consists of the interpretation of the story characters by humanoid robots, obtained through the definition of appropriate cognitive models, relying on the ACT-R cognitive architecture. The reasoning processes leading to the story evolution are based on the represented knowledge and the suggestions of the listener in critical points of the story. They are disclosed during the narration, to make clear the dynamics of the story and the feelings of the characters. We analyzed the impact of such externalization of the internal status of the characters to set the basis for future experimentation with primary school children. textcopyright 2020 by the authors.
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.
2019
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.
Citt`a, Giuseppe; Gentile, Manuel; Augello, Agnese; Ottaviano, Simona; Allegra, Mario; Dignum, Frank
Analyzing Creativity in the Light of Social Practice Theory Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 9, no. JAN, 2019, ISSN: 16641078.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Computational Creativity, Habits, Social Practices, Torrance Test
@article{cittaAnalyzingCreativityLight2019,
title = {Analyzing Creativity in the Light of Social Practice Theory},
author = { Giuseppe Citt{`a} and Manuel Gentile and Agnese Augello and Simona Ottaviano and Mario Allegra and Frank Dignum},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02752},
issn = {16641078},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
volume = {9},
number = {JAN},
abstract = {In this work, starting from the social practice theory, we identified two kinds of creativity: a situational creativity that takes place when, starting from a defined situation, a social practice is played; and a creativity of habit that concerns the agents' capacity for generating new practices from habit when the situation is not defined or is unexpected. To test this hypothesis, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Verbal Form A) was analyzed in the light of praxeology, and the results are analyzed in a computational creativity perspective. textcopyright 2019 Citt`a, Gentile, Augello, Ottaviano, Allegra and Dignum.},
keywords = {Computational Creativity, Habits, Social Practices, Torrance Test},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this work, starting from the social practice theory, we identified two kinds of creativity: a situational creativity that takes place when, starting from a defined situation, a social practice is played; and a creativity of habit that concerns the agents' capacity for generating new practices from habit when the situation is not defined or is unexpected. To test this hypothesis, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Verbal Form A) was analyzed in the light of praxeology, and the results are analyzed in a computational creativity perspective. textcopyright 2019 Citt`a, Gentile, Augello, Ottaviano, Allegra and Dignum.
2018
Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Dignum, Frank
An Overview of Open-Source Chatbots Social Skills Proceedings Article
In: Diplaris, S; Satsiou, A; Folstad, A; Vafopoulos, M; Vilarinho, T (Ed.): INTERNET SCIENCE, INSCI 2017, pp. 236–248, SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND, 2018, ISBN: 978-3-319-77547-0 978-3-319-77546-3.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Chatbots, Conversational Agents, Social Practices
@inproceedings{augelloOverviewOpenSourceChatbots2018,
title = {An Overview of Open-Source Chatbots Social Skills},
author = { Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Frank Dignum},
editor = { S Diplaris and A Satsiou and A Folstad and M Vafopoulos and T Vilarinho},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-77547-0_18},
isbn = {978-3-319-77547-0 978-3-319-77546-3},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {INTERNET SCIENCE, INSCI 2017},
volume = {10750},
pages = {236--248},
publisher = {SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG},
address = {GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
abstract = {This paper aims to analyze and compare some of the most known open source chatbot technologies focusing on their potential to model a conversational agent able to show a form of ``social intelligence''. The main features and drawbacks of each system will be examined. Then, we will discuss their flexibility to produce more realistic social conversational scenarios adopting as the reference the social practice theory.},
keywords = {Chatbots, Conversational Agents, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
This paper aims to analyze and compare some of the most known open source chatbot technologies focusing on their potential to model a conversational agent able to show a form of ``social intelligence''. The main features and drawbacks of each system will be examined. Then, we will discuss their flexibility to produce more realistic social conversational scenarios adopting as the reference the social practice theory.
Augello, Agnese; Dignum, Frank; Gentile, Manuel; Infantino, Ignazio; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
A Social Practice Oriented Signs Detection for Human-Humanoid Interaction Journal Article
In: Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures, vol. 25, pp. 8–16, 2018, ISSN: 2212683X.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Cognitive Architectures, Human Robot Interaction, Social Context, Social Practices, Social Robots
@article{augelloSocialPracticeOriented2018,
title = {A Social Practice Oriented Signs Detection for Human-Humanoid Interaction},
author = { Agnese Augello and Frank Dignum and Manuel Gentile and Ignazio Infantino and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
doi = {10.1016/j.bica.2018.07.013},
issn = {2212683X},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures},
volume = {25},
pages = {8--16},
abstract = {In this work we propose a cognitive architecture, based on the Social Practice (SP) theory, aimed at the modeling of socially adaptive robots, able to interact with people, recognizing and interpreting the specific social context where it is acting. The proposed social robot is able to recognize and interpret social signs during ongoing social practices. The cognitive architecture is inspired by the well-known Psi model, and it is equipped with a Social Practice Engine that manages the whole conduct of the robot. The use of such an architecture simplifies and makes more natural the interaction between human beings and a robot. In particular, the scenario of a robot fulfilling the tasks of welcoming people in an office environment is being considered. textcopyright 2018 Elsevier B.V.},
keywords = {Cognitive Architectures, Human Robot Interaction, Social Context, Social Practices, Social Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this work we propose a cognitive architecture, based on the Social Practice (SP) theory, aimed at the modeling of socially adaptive robots, able to interact with people, recognizing and interpreting the specific social context where it is acting. The proposed social robot is able to recognize and interpret social signs during ongoing social practices. The cognitive architecture is inspired by the well-known Psi model, and it is equipped with a Social Practice Engine that manages the whole conduct of the robot. The use of such an architecture simplifies and makes more natural the interaction between human beings and a robot. In particular, the scenario of a robot fulfilling the tasks of welcoming people in an office environment is being considered. textcopyright 2018 Elsevier B.V.
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.
2016
Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Weideveld, Lucas; Dignum, Frank
Dialogues as Social Practices for Serious Games Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications, vol. 285, pp. 1732–1733, 2016, ISSN: 09226389.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Artificial intelligence, Chatbots, Conversational Agents, Gamification, Serious game, Social Practices
@article{augelloDialoguesSocialPractices2016,
title = {Dialogues as Social Practices for Serious Games},
author = { Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Lucas Weideveld and Frank Dignum},
editor = { Dignum F. Hullermeier E. Bouquet P. Dignum V. Fox M. van Harmelen F. Kaminka G.A.},
doi = {10.3233/978-1-61499-672-9-1732},
issn = {09226389},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
journal = {Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications},
volume = {285},
pages = {1732--1733},
abstract = {The paper describes an architecture for a social conversational agent. The aim is to use the agent in a serious game to improve the social and communicative skills of the players, showing the social effects of conversational choices on the emotions and behavioural changes of the interlocutors.},
keywords = {Artificial intelligence, Chatbots, Conversational Agents, Gamification, Serious game, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The paper describes an architecture for a social conversational agent. The aim is to use the agent in a serious game to improve the social and communicative skills of the players, showing the social effects of conversational choices on the emotions and behavioural changes of the interlocutors.
Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Weideveld, Lucas; Dignum, Frank
A Model of a Social Chatbot Proceedings Article
In: DePietro, G; Gallo, Luigi; Howlett, Robert J.; Jain, Lakhmi C. (Ed.): INTELLIGENT INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS AND SERVICES 2016, pp. 637–647, SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND, 2016, ISBN: 978-3-319-39345-2 978-3-319-39344-5.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Chatbots, Serious game, Social Practices
@inproceedings{augelloModelSocialChatbot2016,
title = {A Model of a Social Chatbot},
author = { Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Lucas Weideveld and Frank Dignum},
editor = { G DePietro and Luigi Gallo and Robert J. Howlett and Lakhmi C. Jain},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-39345-2_57},
isbn = {978-3-319-39345-2 978-3-319-39344-5},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
booktitle = {INTELLIGENT INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS AND SERVICES 2016},
volume = {55},
pages = {637--647},
publisher = {SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG},
address = {GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND},
series = {Smart Innovation Systems and Technologies},
abstract = {Traditional chatbots lack the capability to correctly manage conversations according to the social context. However a dialogue is a joint activity that must consider both individual and social processes. In this work we propose a model of a social chatbot able to choose the most suitable dialogue plans according to what in sociological literature is called a ``social practice''. The proposed model is discussed considering a case study of a work in progress aimed at the development of a serious game for communicative skills learning.},
keywords = {Chatbots, Serious game, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Traditional chatbots lack the capability to correctly manage conversations according to the social context. However a dialogue is a joint activity that must consider both individual and social processes. In this work we propose a model of a social chatbot able to choose the most suitable dialogue plans according to what in sociological literature is called a ``social practice''. The proposed model is discussed considering a case study of a work in progress aimed at the development of a serious game for communicative skills learning.
Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Dignum, Frank
Social Agents for Learning in Virtual Environments Journal Article
In: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 10056 LNCS, pp. 133–143, 2016, ISSN: 03029743.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Conversational Agents, E-Learning, Education, IVA, Serious game, Social Agents, Social Context, Social Practices, Virtual Reality
@article{augelloSocialAgentsLearning2016,
title = {Social Agents for Learning in Virtual Environments},
author = { Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Frank Dignum},
editor = { Jeuring J. Veltkamp R.C. Bottino R.},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-50182-6_12},
issn = {03029743},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
journal = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)},
volume = {10056 LNCS},
pages = {133--143},
abstract = {Several serious games have been proposed to practice communication strategies in formal contexts. Intelligent virtual agents (IVA) can be used to show the player the effects of a conversational move. In this paper we discuss the key role of using social context for the virtual agents in these serious games. Social practices are exploited to bundle social interactions into standard packages and as a basis to model the deliberation processes of IVAs. We describe a social practice oriented IVA architecture used in the implementation of a serious game for the practicing of communication in medical interviews. textcopyright Springer International Publishing AG 2016.},
keywords = {Conversational Agents, E-Learning, Education, IVA, Serious game, Social Agents, Social Context, Social Practices, Virtual Reality},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Several serious games have been proposed to practice communication strategies in formal contexts. Intelligent virtual agents (IVA) can be used to show the player the effects of a conversational move. In this paper we discuss the key role of using social context for the virtual agents in these serious games. Social practices are exploited to bundle social interactions into standard packages and as a basis to model the deliberation processes of IVAs. We describe a social practice oriented IVA architecture used in the implementation of a serious game for the practicing of communication in medical interviews. textcopyright Springer International Publishing AG 2016.
Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Dignum, Frank
Social Practices for Social Driven Conversations in Serious Games Journal Article
In: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 9599, pp. 100–110, 2016, ISSN: 03029743.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Artificial intelligence, Chatbots, Conversational Agents, Education, Serious game, Social Practices
@article{augelloSocialPracticesSocial2016,
title = {Social Practices for Social Driven Conversations in Serious Games},
author = { Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Frank Dignum},
editor = { de Gloria A. Veltkamp R.},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-40216-1_11},
issn = {03029743},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
journal = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)},
volume = {9599},
pages = {100--110},
abstract = {This paper describes the model of social practice as a theoretical framework to manage conversation with the specific goal of training physicians in communicative skills. To this aim, the domain reasoner that manages the conversation in the Communicate! [1] serious game is taken as a basis. Because the choice of a specific Social Practice to follow in a situation is non-trivial we use a probabilistic model for the selection of social practices as a step toward the implementation of an agent architecture compliant with the social practice model. textcopyright Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.},
keywords = {Artificial intelligence, Chatbots, Conversational Agents, Education, Serious game, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This paper describes the model of social practice as a theoretical framework to manage conversation with the specific goal of training physicians in communicative skills. To this aim, the domain reasoner that manages the conversation in the Communicate! [1] serious game is taken as a basis. Because the choice of a specific Social Practice to follow in a situation is non-trivial we use a probabilistic model for the selection of social practices as a step toward the implementation of an agent architecture compliant with the social practice model. textcopyright Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.