A teleoperation system for a construction robot works effectively in a hazardous environment. However, it has problems with work precision and mental workload. In this study, a moving visual support ...system using a drone is developed to solve these operability problems. The usability of the system is confirmed through a subjective experiment.
Cerebral visual impairment (CVI), including perceptual visual dysfunction (PVD), is common in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Inventories of questions relating to practical aspects of visual ...perception in everyday life, in particular the closed-ended Insight Questions Inventory (IQI), can be used to assess CVI/PVD. Studies linking responses to the inventory with specific visual support strategies, aimed at modifying the child's environment and/or behaviour to minimize the impact of the CVI/PVD, have been piloted. The IQI and tailored strategies have not been used in an African population, nor have they been tested in a controlled trial. This trial will compare the effectiveness of the IQI and linked visual support strategies versus general supportive treatments on the quality of life of children with CVI/PVD and CP through a randomized controlled trial.
This is a prospective, double-blind, parallel-arm, randomized controlled trial. The primary outcome is change in quality of life scores between the two arms of the trial at 6 weeks, assessed using the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) generic 4.0 and CP 3.0 module. All children will undergo baseline assessment including the Open Questions Inventory, IQI, PedsQL 3.0, PedsQL 4.0 generic, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Eligible children with CP aged 4 years to < 16 years will be stratified and blocked by the age groups 4-9 and 10 to < 16 years and by Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels 1-3 and 4-5. Families in the intervention arm will receive tailored insight visual support strategies and telephone calls during the 6-week trial period. The control arm will receive standard treatment and the intervention after the 6-week trial period. Follow-up interviews will be performed in both arms at 6 weeks with a repeat administration of the PedsQL CP 4.0 and 3.0, the IQI and the SDQ. Secondary outcomes include a change in functional vision.
This randomized controlled trial will provide evidence of the effectiveness of this intervention for children with CP in a resource-poor setting.
Pan African Clinical Trials Registration, PACTR201612001886396 . Registered on 3 December 2016.
In this study, we propose a method of using a computer generated hologram is a three-dimensional display technology, to achieve a flexible maxwellian view system that can accommodate the movement of ...the eyes of the user. The proposed method, by the hologram calculated using the position of the eyes of the user, it is possible to move the focal point electronically in response to the eye position. Therefore, to realize the maxwellian view experimental system using a hologram introducing eyetracking, it confirmed the effectiveness.
► We developed two HLS: (A) without instructional aids; (B) with visual aids. ► The effects of individual differences on learning in these two HLS were examined. ► Individual differences: cognitive ...style, domain knowledge and computer experience. ► Significant findings revealed in both HLS in relation to individual differences. ► We distill design guidance from the findings to inform HLS development.
Research suggests that certain visual instructional aids can reduce levels of disorientation and increase learning performance in, and positive attitudes towards, HLS for learners with specific individual differences. However, existing studies have looked at only one or two individual differences at a time, and/or considered only a small number of visual instructional aids. No study has considered the impact of the three most commonly studied individual differences – cognitive style, domain knowledge and computer experience – on learning performance, disorientation and attitudes in a HLS incorporating a full range of visual instructional aids. The study reported here addresses this shortcoming, examining the effects of, and between, these three individual differences in relation to learning performance, disorientation and attitudes in two HLS versions: one that incorporated a full set of visual instructional aids and one that did not. Significant effects were found between the three individual differences with respect to disorientation, learning performance and attitudes in the HLS that provided no instructional aids, whereas no such effects were found for the other HLS version. Analysis of the results led to a set of HLS design guidelines, presented in the paper, and the development of an agenda for future research. Limitations of the study and their implications for the generalizability of the findings are also presented.
A visual assistance system has become attractive as a technique to improve the efficiency and stability of remote control. While an operator controls a working robot, another autonomous monitoring ...robot evaluates a suitable viewpoint to observe the work site, and dynamically moves to the optimal viewpoint for monitoring. Choosing the observation region (ROI: region of interest) is equivalent to deciding the action of the following autonomous monitoring system. Therefore, we focus on ROI detection in our visual support system. We propose an ROI selection method to identify the most suitable observation point and interobject relations. The monitoring robot detects a gestalt of the scene in order to identify the relations between objects. Such an adaptive ROI in real time improves the efficiency of the remote control. The experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed system in terms of execution time and number of errors.
Ensemble flood forecasts are an established tool to provide information about the uncertainty of runoff predictions. However, their interpretation may not be straightforward, especially when dealing ...with extreme events; therefore, the development of new tools to enhance their understanding and visualization is necessary. Recently, the so-called “peak-box” approach has been developed to help decision makers in the interpretation and verification of peak-flow forecasts, receiving positive feedbacks within the hydrological community. However, this method has proven to be limited when multiple peak-flow events occur within the forecast, being unable to separate close discharge peaks. The aim of this paper is then to develop a new algorithm designed to accomplish this task. To do so, we consider runoff probabilistic forecasts obtained with a coupled hydrometeorological flood forecasting system formed by the high resolution meteorological Ensemble model COSMO-E and the hydrological model PREVAH, for the small Verzasca basin, Switzerland, during October and November 2018. The application of this new method, despite the limitation given by the small sample size considered in this study, indicates a successful implementation: the new algorithm is able to distinguish among different events and to provide sharper and more skillful forecasts, and its verification yields slightly better timing estimations compared to the former approach.
The provision of visual support to individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is widely recommended. We explored one mechanism underlying the use of visual supports: efficiency of language ...processing. Two groups of children, one with and one without an ASD, participated. The groups had comparable oral and written language skills and nonverbal cognitive abilities. In two semantic priming experiments, prime modality and prime–target relatedness were manipulated. Response time and accuracy of lexical decisions on the spoken word targets were measured. In the first uni-modal experiment, both groups demonstrated significant priming effects. In the second experiment which was cross-modal, no effect for relatedness or group was found. This result is considered in the light of the attentional capacity required for access to the lexicon via written stimuli within the developing semantic system. These preliminary findings are also considered with respect to the use of visual support for children with ASD.
In this study, we examined the effective method for acquiring of “Maemawari-ukemi”. That is basic skill of judo. This study aims for children with intellectual disabilities or developmental ...disorders. Many children with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not skillful in physical activities. In this study, we used “Maemawari-ukemi Practice Sheet”. That is visual support. The participants in this study were 18 children who attended an after-school day care. Many of the participants had developmental disorders such as ASD or ADHD, or intellectual disabilities. In this study, a pre-test was conducted first to measure the participants’ level of proficiency in Maemawari-ukemi. The evaluation of proficiency used the “Maemawari-ukemi Scoring Sheet.” Next, a practice period of about two months using the “Maemawari-ukemi Practice Sheet” was provided. After two months of practicing intervention, a post-test was conducted to measure the participants’ level of proficiency in Maemawariukemi again. As a result, it became clear that many of the participants showed increase in their level of proficiency (Maemawari-ukemi score) after the practice period. Therefore, the use of the “ Maemawari-ukemi Practice Sheet “ as visual support was suggested to be effective for acquiring the skill of Maemawari-ukemi.
The paper presents data of observations made in a group of 10 children with autism spectrum disorder aged 5-8 years experiencing behavioral problems and difficulties with communication and social ...interaction. A behavioral intervention was carried out in the group basing on the principles of applied behavioral analysis (ABA). Following the primary test and with accordance to the parents’ requests, a team of specialists worked over the period of six months attempting to change problem behaviors and to compensate for academic deficiencies in the children. Each day the specialists along with the parents collected data and introduced necessary corrections into the intervention plans. Since all children in the group could barely understand speech and had much difficulty with communication, one of the core methods employed in the work was visual support which became a basic element in every technique applied. Applying visual supports in education settings as well as at home contributed much to the compensation of the difficulties related to speech understanding and helped decrease the level of anxiety in the children, which, in turn, resulted in an apparent decline in problem behavior and faster progress in the acquisition of academic skills.
В статье приводятся данные наблюдений за группой, состоящей из 10 детей с РАС в возрасте от пяти до восьми лет, с выраженными поведенческими проблемами, нарушениями в сфере коммуникации и социальных взаимодействий. Для данной группы детей проводилось поведенческое вмешательство на основе применения принципов ПАП. На основании проведенного первичного тестирования детей и в соответствии с запросом родителей командой специалистов на протяжение шести месяцев разрабатывались планы по коррекции поведенческих нарушений и компенсации академических дефицитов. Специалисты и родители вели ежедневный сбор данных и осуществляли динамическую коррекцию планов вмешательств. Учитывая, что все дети, бывшие под наблюдением, плохо понимали обращенную к ним речь и испытывали серьезные сложности в коммуникации, одним из основных методов, примененных в работе с группой, стало визуальное сопровождение, которое было основной составляющей в каждой из применяемых методик. Применение визуального сопровождения на протяжение всего учебного процесса и в домашней рутине позволило в значительной мере компенсировать детям непонимание обращенной к ним речи и создать условия для снижения уровня тревожности, что обусловило, в свою очередь, выраженное снижение уровня нежелательного поведения и более быстрый прогресс в освоении академических навыков.
The current study investigated the effects of Social Stories written according to Gray’s specifications on on-task behavior in inclusive classroom settings in three children with autism. Using a ...multiple-baseline design across participants, modest improvements in on-task behavior were associated with implementation of an auditory-visual Social Story intervention. In follow-up analysis, the Social Story was replaced with a visual schedule component to augment the effects of Social Stories when there was room for improvement for one participant. Further improvement in on-task behavior indicates that strategies such as visual schedules may be an effective way to augment the effects of Social Stories. An effect size estimate calculated using Parker et al.’s percentage of all nonoverlapping data points procedure revealed a large effect (d = 1.33) associated with Social Stories alone, which increased (d = 1.7) when the visual schedule intervention applied to one participant was added to the analysis. Although Social Stories produced improvements in on-task behavior in children with autism, additional components, such as visual schedules, may be useful for optimizing performance.
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