Probability Distributions.- Linear Models for Regression.- Linear Models for Classification.- Neural Networks.- Kernel Methods.- Sparse Kernel Machines.- Graphical Models.- Mixture Models and EM.- Approximate Inference.- Sampling Methods.- Continuous Latent Variables.- Sequential Data.- Combining Models.

Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning

Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

Phd by thesis

Data Mining Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques

The power of feedback.

Emotion and Adaptation

Purely script-based approaches to building interactive narratives have often limited interaction capabilities where variability demand exponential work. This is why Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) are a transparent technique to handle user interaction in interactive narrative systems. However, it is hard to predict a sense of educational purpose in the global behavior of a group of IVAs, if no script or control is given. Efforts have been channelled to achieve such control, but are yet to achieve truly satisfactory results. These efforts are usually based on a direct connection between the control and the IVA architecture, which is a source of exponential complication. We propose a system that, based on a common ontology, can flexibly support the human authoring of educational goals independently of any specific IVA architecture. This is done by having a stage manager that follows an episodic based narrative where each episode is only specified through a set of properties and conditions that set the context for the characters. Although acting as they please, this contextualization will limit their range of action thereby facilitating the achievement of dramatic and educational goals.

Machiavellian Characters and the Edutainment Paradox

The advent of techniques for affective computing [1], both in capturing user’s emotional states and allowing for systems to display emotionally charged expressions, has allowed for a new development of interactive media. Following these ideas, in this paper we will discuss the role of empathy in the construction of synthetic characters to interact with learners in intelligent learning environments. We tried to answer the question: How can we build synthetic characters that are able to evoke and establish empathic relations with learners in a interactive learning virtual environment? To do that, we will describe a system, FearNot!, that uses synthetic characters and role playing, developed as a set of bullying situations, which emerge from the actions and interactions between synthetic characters in a 3D virtual world. The system was designed to evoke affective responses by the users, in this case, children. FearNot! has been evaluated with 345 children in June 2004. The results achieved show that empathic interactions were achieved with synthetic characters.

Empathic Characters in Computer-based Personal and Social Education

The role of the body in the generation of behavior is a topic that has sparked the attention of many fields from philosophy to science and more recently robotics. We address the question of how an embodied agent should be modeled in order to change the traditional dualist approach of creating embodied agents. By looking at behavior generation as a shared process between mind and body, we are able to create modules that generate and manage behavior, which are neither part of the body nor the mind, thus allowing a more flexible and natural control. A case study is presented to demonstrate and discuss our model.

http://gaips.inesc-id.pt/component/gaips/publications/showPublicationPdf?pid=336&format=raw

Censys: A Model for Distributed Embodied Cognition

This work presents a study on human-robot interaction between a prototype of a robotic suitcase – aBag – and people using it. Importantly, for an autonomous robotic suitcase to be successful as a product, people need to trust it. Therefore, a study was performed, where participants used aBag (remotely operated using the Wizard of Oz technique) for carrying their belongings. Two different conditions were created: (1) aBag follows the participant at a close range; (2) aBag follows the participant on a further distance. We expected that participants would trust more aBag when it was following them at a close range, but interestingly participants seemed to trust more when aBag was further away. Also, regardless of the conditions, the level of trust in aBag was significantly higher after the interaction compared to before, bringing positive results to the development of this kind of robotic apparatus.

Ana Paiva

Papers

Machiavellian Characters and the Edutainment Paradox

Empathic Characters in Computer-based Personal and Social Education

Censys: A Model for Distributed Embodied Cognition

A Study on Trust in a Robotic Suitcase

Creativity Landscapes: Systematic Review Spanning 70 Years of Creativity Interventions for Children