INESC-ID

About: INESC-ID is a nonprofit organization based out in Lisbon, Portugal. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Computer science & Context (language use). The organization has 932 authors who have published 2618 publications receiving 37658 citations.

Empathic Robot for Group Learning: A Field Study

Abstract: This work explores a group learning scenario with an autonomous empathic robot. We address two research questions: (1) Can an autonomous robot designed with empathic competencies foster collaborative learning in a group context? (2) Can an empathic robot sustain positive educational outcomes in long-term collaborative learning interactions with groups of students? To answer these questions, we developed an autonomous robot with empathic competencies that is able to interact with a group of students in a learning activity about sustainable development. Two studies were conducted. The first study compares learning outcomes in children across 3 conditions: learning with an empathic robot; learning with a robot without empathic capabilities; and learning without a robot. The results show that the autonomous robot with empathy fosters meaningful discussions about sustainability, which is a learning outcome in sustainability education. The second study features groups of students who interact with the robot in a school classroom for two months. The long-term educational interaction did not seem to provide significant learning gains, although there was a change in game-actions to achieve more sustainability during game-play. This result reflects the need to perform more long-term research in the field of educational robots for group learning.

INESC-ID@ASSIN: Medição de Similaridade Semântica e Reconhecimento de Inferência Textual

Abstract: In this article we present INESC-ID@ASSIN, a system that competed in the 2016 joint evaluation effort entitled Avaliacao de Similaridade Semântica e Inferencia Textual (ASSIN), in the tasks of semantic similarity and textual entailment recognition. INESC-ID@ASSIN addresses the problem of detecting sentence similarity as a regression task, and it addresses textual entailment as a classification task. Although INESC-ID@ASSIN relies mainly on simple lexical features for detecting paraphrases and recognizing textual entailment, promising results were achieved in this joint evaluation.

A framework for incremental maintenance of RDF views of relational data

Abstract: A general and flexible way to publish relational data in RDF format is to create RDF views of the underlying relational data. In this paper, we demonstrate a framework, based on rules, for the incremental maintenance of RDF views defined on top of relational data. We also demonstrate a tool that automatically generates, based on the mapping between the relational schema and a target ontology, the RDF view exported from the relational data source and all rules required for the incremental maintenance of the RDF view.

Bidirectional boost/buck quadratic converter for distributed generation systems with electrochemical storage systems

Abstract: The increasing number of distributed generation systems using renewable and non-conventional energy sources show the trend of future generation systems. Most of these systems require power electronic converters as an interface between the DC voltage buses and electrochemical storage systems. Such storage systems, like batteries or supercapacitors, usually need bidirectional DC-DC converters to allow their charge or discharge according with necessary operation conditions. In this paper, a non-isolated bidirectional Buck-Boost converter with high voltage gain for electrochemical storage devices used in distributed generation systems is presented. To achieve high voltage gain ratios, the proposed topology presents quadratic characteristics in both step-down (Buck) and step-up (Boost) operation modes. In addition to the wide conversion range, it presents continuous input and output current, reduced charging/discharging ripple and simple control circuitry. All these features allow the energy exchange smoothly and continuously resulting in a longer durability of storage devices. The principle of the operation of the proposed converter in both operation modes, as well as their theoretical analysis will be discussed. The performance of this bidirectional power converter is confirmed through simulation and experimental results.

Affective Agents for Education Against Bullying

Abstract: In this chapter, we give an overview of the FearNot! virtual drama system constructed for use in education against bullying. The motivation for the system is discussed and the chapter considers issues relating to believability. It describes the emotionally driven architecture used for characters as well as the management of the overall story and finally considers issues relating to evaluation of systems like this.