Welcome to the August 2022 SIGCHI edition of ACM TechNews.

ACM TechNews - SIGCHI Edition is a sponsored special edition of the ACM TechNews news-briefing service focused on issues in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). This service serves as a resource for ACM-SIGCHI Members to keep abreast of the latest news in areas related to HCI and is distributed to all ACM SIGCHI members the first Tuesday of every month. ACM TechNews is a benefit of ACM membership and is distributed three times per week on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays to over 100,000 ACM members from over 100 countries around the world. ACM TechNews provides timely coverage of established and emerging areas of computer science, the latest trends in information technology, and related science, society, and technology news. For more information on ACM TechNews and joining the ACM, please click. The Interactions mobile app is available for free on iOS, Android, and Kindle platforms. Download it today and flip through the full-color magazine pages on your tablet or view it in a simplified low-bandwidth text mode on your phone. And be sure to check out the Interactions website, where you can access current and past articles and read the latest entries in our ever-expanding collection of blogs.

'Cyborg' Method Combines Human, Machine Intelligence to Find 40,000 Ring Galaxies
Interesting Engineering
Chris Young
July 15, 2022

Mike Walmsley of the U.K.'s University of Manchester used artificial intelligence (AI) and data from the citizen science initiative Galaxy Zoo to develop an algorithm that identified 40,000 ring galaxies and can measure their shapes. The AI algorithm, called Zoobot, is based on a decade's worth of volunteer data on these ring galaxies, which are destroyed in collisions with other galaxies. The algorithm can be used to categorize the millions of measurements generated by these galactic collisions, and the dataset from the recent discoveries will further understanding of the evolution of ring galaxies. Said Walmsley, "With Zoobot, humans and machines are collaborating to push the science of astronomy forward. We're helping other astronomers solve questions we never thought to ask."

Full Article

Study Shows Personalized Fonts Speed Up Reading, Maintain Comprehension
University of Central Florida
Cara Cannon
July 6, 2022

Researchers found that personalizing font style and size could boost an individual's reading speed by 35%, while maintaining comprehension levels. The study, by a team including University of Central Florida (UCF) researchers, compared reading speeds and comprehension levels among 352 participants, who read digital texts in 16 common fonts on their personal devices. Among the researchers’ findings was that font preferences did not predict reading speed. Said UCF's Ben Sawyer, "These results emphasize that personalization is key and encourage future work in creating tools and conducting research that help readers discover the format that optimizes their personal reading experiences."

Full Article

ClearBuds: First Wireless Earbuds That Clear Up Calls Using Deep Learning
University of Washington News
Sarah McQuate
July 11, 2022

Wireless earbuds developed by University of Washington (UW) researchers can lower background noise and enhance the speaker's voice. ClearBuds employ a machine learning system that runs on a smartphone in real time. UW's Maruchi Kim said microphones in each earbud generate two synchronized audio streams that allow the separation of sounds coming from different directions with higher resolution, while a neural network augments the speaker's voice. Each earbud transmits a stream of audio to the phone, while Bluetooth networking protocols enable the streams' synchronization within 70 microseconds of each other. Said UW's Ishan Chatterjee, "The neural network can be trained to focus on just [the speaker's] speech and eliminate background sounds, including other voices."

Full Article

Operating a 'Smart Home' by Breath Control
Case Western Reserve University
July 12, 2022

A self-powered device developed by researchers at Case Western Reserve University would allow people with limited mobility or speech difficulties to control smart technology by altering their breathing patterns. The device, which is inserted into the nostrils, also can be programmed to issue automatic alerts to medical personnel in the event the user has difficulty breathing. Called a "breathing-driven Human-Machine Interface system," the device is powered using triboelectric nanogenerators that convert mechanical energy into electricity. Said Case Western Reserve's Changyong "Chase" Cao, "Our new design would allow for anyone who is breathing to be able to turn devices on and off. They could change the settings of a thermostat, for example."

Full Article

Will Hasbro's 3D-Printed Action Figures Kick-Off Mass Customization?
Forbes
Michael Molitch-Hou
July 13, 2022

A new series of action figures to be released by Hasbro and Formlabs will be produced via three-dimensional (3D) printing, and will feature the consumer's likeness. The Hasbro Selfie Series will allow the personalization of six-inch action figures from various franchises, like Star Wars and Marvel. Said Hasbro's Brian Chapman, "It wasn't until recently that two technologies came into play at once. One is a very simple way to scan someone's face and head, and then a very affordable way to print that head in a one-off way." After consumers scan their faces with the Hasbro Pulse smartphone app, the figure is produced using Formlabs' 3D printers, then put through a proprietary process to add color and detail to ensure they are collector-grade.

Full Article

Scientists Have Created a Vest That Will Fix Your Posture
SciTechDaily
July 5, 2022

Researchers have developed a self-powered vest that can help to correct the user's posture in real time. The vest's fabric uses triboelectric nanogenerators, which tap movement to collect the energy that powers posture-monitoring sensors; an integrated machine learning algorithm analyzes sensor data to deliver immediate feedback. The fabric features nylon and conductive fibers knitted together, which stretch and compress when the user moves, producing electricity. The sensors are stitched into the fabric in areas that help to gather data on the most common slouching positions. The algorithm processes information on how the wearer is sitting, classifies their sitting position, and monitors how they correct their posture when flagged.

Full Article

Gaming Does Not Appear Harmful to Mental Health, Unless the Gamer Can't Stop
University of Oxford (U.K.)
July 27, 2022

A survey of almost 40,000 gamers determined that spending hours playing videogames causes no apparent harm to mental health, although the results did raise concerns. Andrew K. Przybylski at the U.K.'s University of Oxford said, "It wasn't the quantity of gaming, but the quality that counted. If they felt they had to play, they felt worse." The researchers examined the Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo gaming platforms and seven different games, and Przybylski said the effect on mental health did not differ between game types. The researchers contend that significantly more information is required to allay technology regulators' concerns about videogame use. "If the big gaming platforms care about their players' well-being, they need to empower players and scientists to learn about how their products influence us, for good or ill," said Przybylski.

Full Article

Drone Saves 14-Year-Old from Drowning on Spanish Beach
Reuters
Oscar Corrons
July 25, 2022

The operators of a drone said the unmanned aircraft saved the life of a 14-year-old boy off a Spanish beach. The drone dropped a life vest into the sea that kept the boy afloat just as he started to sink until lifeguards arrived. The drone was supplied by Spain-based developer General Drones, which has been supporting Spanish lifeguard staff since 2017. The service has more than 30 operators and drones working with lifeguards at 22 Spanish beaches, providing reaction support in moments of a potential drowning before lifeguards can reach the scene. "These extra seconds are vital in some cases and also allows the rescue teams to approach the person more calmly and cautiously," said General Drones' Miguel Angel Pedrero.

Full Article

Retailers Setting Up Shop in the Metaverse
BBC News
Andrea Murad; Will Smale
July 4, 2022

More companies are setting up shop in the metaverse, including Adidas, Nike, Samsung, and JP Morgan. Companies have about 50 worlds to choose from in the metaverse, including The Sandbox, Decentraland, Voxels, Somnium Space, and Meta's Horizon Worlds. However, it remains to be seen which will become dominant in the metaverse, and which ultimately will disappear. Companies also must determine which areas in that ecosystem will be the most popular. Said New York University's Scott Galloway, "What we are seeing now is a speculative bubble around virtual real estate and other metaverse assets." Added Robert Stone at the U.K.'s University of Birmingham, "There are con artists out there, and, as the market is largely deregulated, mistakes can be costly."

Full Article

Could a Computer Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia?
Boston University College of Engineering
Gina Mantica
July 7, 2022

Boston University (BU) scientists have developed a tool that could automate Alzheimer's disease diagnosis via a computational model by detecting cognitive impairment from audio recordings. The researchers trained the model on audio recordings of neuropsychological interviews from over 1,000 participants in the Framingham Heart Study, and transcribed them using online speech recognition and natural language processing. They taught the final model to evaluate the probability and severity of an individual's cognitive impairment using demographic data, text encodings, and diagnoses from neurologists and neuropsychologists. BU's Ioannis Paschalidis said the model could accurately differentiate healthy individuals from those with dementia, and detect distinctions between those with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Full Article

Alternate Reality Game to Measure Resilience of First-Year Students
UC Santa Cruz Newscenter
Emily Cerf
July 12, 2022

This fall, University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) researchers will launch an alternate reality game (ARG) designed to quantify first-year students' resilience. Players of LUX will be tasked with aiding a fictional group called Kerr's Loyalists in finding an artifact that is critical to returning UCSC to its original values. Teams engage in a session over several weeks, communicating with each other and game designers on the messaging platform Discord, while also seeking augmented reality markers to solve puzzles and other mysteries through collaboration. The researchers envision ARGs as tools for better measuring resilience by keeping participants within natural, day-to-day environments, rather than in laboratory settings.

Full Article

Wikipedia Influences Judicial Behavior
MIT News
Rachel Gordon
July 27, 2022

A team of researchers led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Neil Thompson assessed the Wikipedia online encyclopedic knowledge bank's impact on judicial decisions. The researchers produced over 150 new legal Wikipedia articles written by law students, and randomly selected half for uploading online. A case's citations rose by more than 20% when such an article was published, especially when the article backed the argument the citing judge was making in their judgment. Citations by lower courts saw bigger gains, while citations by appellate courts saw virtually no increases. Analysis via natural language processing also revealed that the language used in written decisions echoed the linguistic content of the Wikipedia articles.

Full Article

Chess Robot Grabs, Breaks Finger of Seven-Year-Old Opponent
The Guardian (U.K.)
Jon Henley
July 24, 2022

Russian media reported that a chess-playing robot grabbed and broke the finger of a seven-year-old opponent during a tournament in Moscow. The Russian Chess Federation's Sergey Smagin said the robot was disoriented when the boy attempted a counter-move before it had completed its own move, in an apparent violation of safety rules. The Moscow Chess Federation's Sergey Lazarev offered different testimony, claiming the child had "made a move, and after that we need to give time for the robot to answer, but the boy hurried and the robot grabbed him." Lazarev said while the child did not appear overly traumatized, his parents said they planned to contact the public prosecutor’s office.

Full Article

Researcher Dives to Titanic to Test Text-to-Video Technology
Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science
Aaron Aupperle
July 27, 2022

Carnegie Mellon University's Alex Waibel rode a submersible 13,000 feet down in the North Atlantic ocean to the wreck of the Titanic to test speech recognition technology, recording himself narrating the journey and speaking to the submersible pilot. Waibel converted his speech into text, and sent messages to a surface ship through sonar. New technology he and his team developed resynthesized the text to video, showing it as a video chat that used Waibel's voice and displayed his lips moving in sync with the audio. Said Waibel, "By interpreting and recreating natural voice communication, we are trying to reduce the workload of scientists and pilots in such missions in a natural way, despite the challenges imposed by salt water, operational stress, conversational dialogue, and poor acoustic condition."

Full Article