Behavioral patterns in robotic collaborative assembly: comparing neurotypical and Autism Spectrum Disorder participants

Introduction

In Industry 4.0, collaborative tasks often involve operators working with collaborative robots (cobots) in shared workspaces. Many aspects of the operator's well-being within this environment still need in-depth research. Moreover, these aspects are expected to differ between neurotypical (NT) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) operators.

Methods

This study examines behavioral patterns in 16 participants (eight neurotypical, eight with high-functioning ASD) during an assembly task in an industry-like lab-based robotic collaborative cell, enabling the detection of potential risks to their well-being during industrial human-robot collaboration. Each participant worked on the task for five consecutive days, 3.5 h per day. During these sessions, six video clips of 10 min each were recorded for each participant. The videos were used to extract quantitative behavioral data using the NOVA annotation tool and analyzed qualitatively using an ad-hoc observational grid. Also, during the work sessions, the researchers took unstructured notes of the observed behaviors that were analyzed qualitatively.

Results

The two groups differ mainly regarding behavior (e.g., prioritizing the robot partner, gaze patterns, facial expressions, multi-tasking, and personal space), adaptation to the task over time, and the resulting overall performance.

Discussion

This result confirms that NT and ASD participants in a collaborative shared workspace have different needs and that the working experience should be tailored depending on the end-user's characteristics. The findings of this study represent a starting point for further efforts to promote well-being in the workplace. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work comparing NT and ASD participants in a collaborative industrial scenario.

Wrist-Worn Sensor Validation for Heart Rate Variability and Electrodermal Activity Detection in a Stressful Driving Environment

Wearable sensors are widely used to gather psychophysiological data in the laboratory and real-world applications. However, the accuracy of these devices should be carefully assessed. The study focused on testing the accuracy of the Empatica 4 (E4) wristband for the detection of heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) metrics in stress-inducing conditions and growing-risk driving scenarios. Fourteen healthy subjects were recruited for the experimental campaign, where HRV and EDA were recorded over six experimental conditions (Baseline, Video Clip, Scream, No-Risk Driving, Low-Risk Driving, and High-Risk Driving) and by means of two measurement systems: the E4 device and a gold standard system. The overall quality of the E4 data was investigated; agreement and reliability were assessed by performing a Bland-Altman analysis and by computing the Spearman's correlation coefficient. HRV time-domain parameters reported high reliability levels in Baseline (r > 0.72), Video Clip (r > 0.71), and No-Risk Driving (r > 0.67), while HRV frequency domain parameters were sufficient in Baseline (r > 0.58), Video Clip (r > 0.59), No-Risk (r > 0.51), and Low-Risk Driving (r > 0.52). As for the EDA parameters, no correlation was found. Further studies could enhance the HRV and EDA quality through further optimizations of the acquisition protocol and improvement of the processing algorithms.

Usability Issues of Clinical and Research Applications of Virtual Reality in Older People: A Systematic Review

Aging is a condition that may be characterized by a decline in physical, sensory, and mental capacities, while increased morbidity and multimorbidity may be associated with disability. A wide range of clinical conditions (e.g., frailty, mild cognitive impairment, metabolic syndrome) and age-related diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, cancer, sarcopenia, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases) affect older people. Virtual reality (VR) is a novel and promising tool for assessment and rehabilitation in older people. Usability is a crucial factor that must be considered when designing virtual systems for medicine. We conducted a systematic review with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines concerning the usability of VR clinical systems in aging and provided suggestions to structure usability piloting. Findings show that different populations of older people have been recruited to mainly assess usability of non-immersive VR, with particular attention paid to motor/physical rehabilitation. Mixed approach (qualitative and quantitative tools together) is the preferred methodology; technology acceptance models are the most applied theoretical frameworks, however senior adapted models are the best within this context. Despite minor interaction issues and bugs, virtual systems are rated as usable and feasible. We encourage usability and user experience pilot studies to ameliorate interaction and improve acceptance and use of VR clinical applications in older people with the aid of suggestions (VR-USOP) provided by our analysis.

Volcanic conduit migration over a basement landslide at Mount Etna (Italy)

The flanks of volcanoes may slide in response to the loading of the edifice on a weak basement, magma push, and/or to tectonic stress. However, examples of stratovolcanoes emplaced on active landslides are lacking and the possible effects on the volcano dynamics unknown. Here, we use aeromagnetic data to construct a three-dimensional model of the clay-rich basement of Etna volcano (Italy). We provide evidence for a large stratovolcano growing on a pre-existing basement landslide and show that the eastern Etna flank, which slides toward the sea irrespective of volcanic activity, moves coherently with the underlying landslide. The filling of the landslide depression by lava flows through time allows the formation of a stiffness barrier, which is responsible for the long-term migration of the magma pathways from the coast to the present-day Etna summit. These unexpected results provide a new interpretation clue on the causes of the volcanic instability processes and of the mechanisms of deflection and migration of volcanic conduits.