Breadcrumb

DICE Lab

Research group
Active research
Website
DICE Lab
Project owner
Department of Applied Information Technology

Financier
EU (Horizons Eurostars, JPND, EUTOPIA), Sweden (Vinnova, Forte, STINT, Demensförbundet, AoAT).

Short description

At DICE Lab (Digitalization, Interaction, Cognition and Emotion Lab) our research centres on human cognitive-affective states and safety monitoring in relation to Human-Technology Interaction. We focus on understanding and promoting positive and safe use of technology with focus on clinical and mobile systems applications.

The research at DICE Lab concerns primarily Cognitive and Affective (Emotions) based research in Human-Technology Interaction – currently with focus on Human-Vehicle Interaction, Human-Computer Interaction, and Human-Robot Interaction.

At DICE Lab our research centres on human cognitive-affective states and safety monitoring in relation to Human-Technology Interaction. We focus on understanding and promoting positive and safe use of technology with focus on clinical and mobile systems applications. Current research projects include: “ActNow” (Horizons Eurostars, EU) on Computerized Cognitive Training for persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment; JPND-Forte (EU-Sweden) Network developing a framework for using digital technologies for persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment; “EFFECT” (AoAT Chalmers) for monitoring comfort in simulated medium to high risk driving scenarios; “I-AIMS” (Vinnova, Sweden) for evaluating the use of (embodied) LLMs in simulated driving scenarios for drivers who are cognitively-affectively impaired (e.g. highly stressed).

Research questions

General research questions that are addressed at DICE Lab include:

  1. Are people engaged, positive, comfortable in using particular AI-based technologies?
  2. Can algorithms be developed, and safety-assured, based on such AI systems or using biometric data for persons using these systems?

Research questions in relation to application areas (healthcare, intelligent mobile systems) include:

Healthcare

  1. Can and how do persons with cognitive impairments best use and accept technologies for training/therapeutic purposes?
  2. Can and how to specific technologies (e.g. robots, computerized cognitive training, virtual reality) promote engagement and interest in tasks that target training of impaired cognitive functions?
  3. What are safety and ethical issues that need to be addressed in relation to the above?

Intelligent Mobile Systems

  1. Can driver safety be enhanced by use of biometric monitoring AI algorithms in vehicles?
  2. Can these AI algorithms be made transparent to increase trust in drivers/actors in the mobile systems without negatively affecting performance or safety?
  3. What are the practical and ethical issues that need to be addressed in relation to the above?

Methods

At DICE Lab a variety of research methods are used. These range from cognitive approaches – for research approaches to mitigate cognitive impairment, the Differential Outcomes Procedure (DOP) has been extensively investigated (also in relation to application to human-technology interaction). Research into higher order affective states: confusion, engagement, stress, (dis)comfort, is also being undertaken utilizing biometric software/hardware for eyetracking, facial expression recognition, measures of stress (e.g. galvanic skin response). Procedures also include using biobehavioural signals and annotation of videos for establishing ground truth labels for training deep learning algorithms.

Contact person

Robert Lowe

Participants

Imran Khan (University of Gothenburg)
Bahram Salamat Ravandi (University of Gothenburg),
Alva Markelius (University of Gothenburg, Cambridge University),
Martin Bergström (University of Gothenburg, Chalmers).