Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 3058573, Japan.
Empowerment Informatics Program, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 3058573, Japan.
Sensors (Basel). 2018 Jun 28;18(7):2066. doi: 10.3390/s18072066.
Eye-to-eye contact and facial expressions are key communicators, yet there has been little done to evaluate the basic properties of face-to-face; mutual head orientation behaviors. This may be because there is no practical device available to measure the behavior. This paper presents a novel headband-type wearable device called , used for measuring the time of the face-to-face state with identity of the partner, using an infrared emitter and receiver. It can also be used for behavioral healthcare applications, such as for children with developmental disorders who exhibit difficulties with the behavior, by providing awareness through the visual feedback from the partner’s device. Two laboratory experiments showed the device’s detection range and response time, tested with a pair of dummy heads. Another laboratory experiment was done with human participants with gaze trackers and showed the device’s substantial agreement with a human observer. We then conducted two field studies involving children with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorders. The first study showed that the devices could be used in the school setting, observing the children did not remove the devices. The second study showed that the durations of children’s face-to-face behavior could be increased under a visual feedback condition. The device shows its potential to be used in therapy and experimental fields because of its wearability and its ability to quantify and shape face-to-face behavior.
眼神交流和面部表情是关键的交流方式，但对于面对面的、相互的头部朝向行为的基本特性，却几乎没有研究。这可能是因为目前还没有实用的设备可以用来测量这种行为。本文介绍了一种名为 HeadPoint 的新型头戴式可穿戴设备，它使用红外发射器和接收器来测量面对面状态的时间和伙伴的身份。它也可以用于行为健康护理应用，例如为患有发育障碍的儿童提供行为意识，通过从伙伴设备提供视觉反馈。两个实验室实验测试了一对假头，展示了该设备的检测范围和响应时间。另一个实验室实验使用了带有注视追踪器的人类参与者，结果表明该设备与人类观察者有很大的一致性。然后我们进行了两项涉及智力障碍和/或自闭症谱系障碍儿童的现场研究。第一项研究表明，该设备可以在学校环境中使用，观察到孩子们没有取下设备。第二项研究表明，在视觉反馈条件下，儿童的面对面行为持续时间可以增加。由于其可穿戴性以及量化和塑造面对面行为的能力，该设备显示出在治疗和实验领域应用的潜力。
