Welcome to the October 2020 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.

First 'Plug and Play' Brain Prosthesis Demonstrated in Paralyzed Person
UCSF News (CA)
Nicholas Weiler
September 7, 2020

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have demonstrated the first "plug and play" brain prosthesis to help a paralyzed individual control a computer cursor with their brain without requiring extensive daily retraining. An ECoG electrode array was implanted in an individual with all four limbs paralyzed, which operated in conjunction with a machine learning-enhanced brain-computer interface algorithm to match brain activity recorded by the electrodes to the user's desired cursor movements. The algorithm was initially reset each day, and gradually updated itself to match cursor movements to neural activity generated by the user. UCSF's Karunesh Ganguly said, "Once the user has established an enduring memory of the solution for controlling the interface, there's no need for resetting."

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VR-Controlled Robot Shelf-Stacker Starts Shift in Japanese Stores
New Atlas
Michael Irving
September 16, 2020

Japanese company Telexistence has launched a trial of its robot shelf-stacker in FamilyMart convenience stores. The Model T robot can be controlled by a human using a stock-standard virtual reality setup. The Model T is comprised of a robot torso mounted to a waist-high platform that features two articulating arms and complex hands, and the robot's joints have 22 degrees of movement. The video connection between the robot and the human operator has a latency of just 50 milliseconds. While its speed and accuracy are tested during the initial trial, the Model T will be tasked with restocking plastic beverage bottles. Later, its ability to handle items like rice balls, sandwiches, and bento boxes will be tested. The company hopes to have the Model T in as many as 20 stores by 2022.

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First Battery-Free Game Boy Wants to Power Gaming Revolution
CNet
Jackson Ryan
September 2, 2020

Researchers at the Netherlands' Delft University of Technology and Northwestern University have engineered a battery-free Game Boy portable videogame console powered by solar energy and by button-presses during game play. The battery-free Engage system uses intermittent-computing technology to harvest small amounts of power. The combined solar/button-power harvesting technique can keep Engage on for roughly 10 seconds, depending on the game; the console switches off when losing power, while quick button mashes restore gameplay in less than a second. Engage has a much smaller LCD screen than a standard Game Boy in order to conserve energy; it can’t play sound for the same reason. The gaming console is a proof of concept that battery-free devices can be interactive and encourage user interaction.

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When Bots Do the Negotiating, Humans More Likely to Engage in Deceptive Techniques
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Amy Blumenthal
September 23, 2020

In a series of studies, computer scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) Institute of Technologies found humans were more or less likely to engage in deceptive practices with artificial intelligence agents depending on the humans’ prior experience in negotiating and whether virtual agents were employed to negotiate on their behalf. The USC researchers determined that people were willing to engage in deceptive techniques if they had more prior experience in negotiation, a negative experience, or less prior experience, but were employing a virtual agent as an intermediary. USC's Jonathan Mell said, "Knowing how to design experiences and artificial agents which can act like some of the most devious among us is useful in learning how to combat those techniques in real life."

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Workers Fear Humans Implanted With Microchips Will Steal Their Jobs
CNN
Matt Egan
September 18, 2020

A Citrix survey of employees in the U.S. and Europe found two-thirds of respondents believe humans implanted with performance-enhancing microchips will have an unfair advantage in the job market by 2035. By 2030, 72% of professionals (including both workers and business leaders) surveyed said they believe artificial intelligence (AI) will surpass humans as their organizations' top revenue generator, and 90% of business leaders surveyed said they believe investments in AI will be their firm's biggest growth driver by 2035. Even so, 81% of business leaders said they believe permanent human employees will still have a place in the workplace by 2035. Said Citrix's David Henshall, "Robots are not going to replace humans. Technology will make people better and smarter. It's an enabler, not a replacer."

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Cycling Performance Optimized by Real-Time Aerodynamic Drag Meter
University of Southampton (U.K.)
September 4, 2020

Researchers at the University of Southampton in the U.K. helped develop a cycling drag meter that enables real-time aerodynamic performance improvements. The Body Rocket wirelessly transmits readings from the seat post, handlebars, and pedals to a cycle computer. The device offers cyclists precise feedback on different positions, movements, and kit so they can make incremental improvements and determine their optimal riding position. Said the university's Martyn Prince, "We were able to apply our knowledge and systems in sports-based aerodynamic testing. This allowed iterations of the Body Rocket product design to be tested and benchmarked against aerodynamic drag results measured in the controlled environment of the [university's RJ Mitchell Wind Tunnel] with a range of different bike setups."

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Getting Fewer 'Likes' on Social Media Elicits Emotional Distress Among Adolescents
UT News
September 21, 2020

A multi-institutional study led by the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) used an experimental social media task to gauge the psychological effects of insufficient positive feedback. Student participants helped test a program that lets them create profiles and engage with same-age peers by viewing and "liking" each other's profiles. Likes were randomly assigned by computer scripts, and a questionnaire revealed that students with fewer likes felt greater rejection and other negative emotions than those with more likes. Subsequent experiments found adolescents with the strongest negative reaction to insufficient likes were more likely to exhibit signs of depression and greater sensitivity to daily stressors, while those victimized by peers at school reacted most negatively to fewer likes. UT Austin's David Yeager said, "This study is an important scientific advance because it uses an experiment, and it shows that not getting enough 'likes' actually causes adolescents to reduce their feelings of self-worth."

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Backup Driver of Autonomous Uber SUV Charged With Negligent Homicide in Arizona
NPR
Laurel Wamsley
September 16, 2020

Rafaela Vasquez, the backup driver of a Volvo SUV equipped with an Uber self-driving system, has been charged with negligent homicide in Maricopa County, AZ, in the death of Elaine Herzberg. The vehicle was in computer control mode when it struck Herzberg as she walked a bicycle across the road at night. The probable cause of the crash, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, was "the failure of the vehicle operator to monitor the driving environment and the operation of the automated driving system because she was visually distracted throughout the trip by her personal cellphone." NTSB also said the SUV's sensor systems were unable to determine whether Herzberg was a pedestrian, vehicle, or bicycle, and failed to correctly predict her path. In addition, the automated system was not designed to apply maximum braking for collision mitigation.

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Your Paper Notebook Could Become Your Next Tablet
Purdue University Research Foundation News
September 1, 2020

Purdue University engineers have developed a simple printing process that transforms any paper or cardboard packaging into a keyboard, keypad, or other human-machine interface. Purdue's Ramses Martinez said the method can "render paper repellent to water, oil, and dust by coating it with highly fluorinated molecules. This omniphobic coating allows us to print multiple layers of circuits onto paper without getting the ink to smear from one layer to the next one." The process enables the manufacture of vertical pressure sensors that need no external battery, as they tap energy from user contact.

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In Prague, a House Without a Key
The New York Times
Joann Plockova
September 17, 2020

A 5,100-square-foot house in the Troja district of Prague, capital of the Czech republic, is controlled by artificial intelligence. Villa Sophia does not have keys or light switches, its windows close when it rains, and it can read aloud material selected from the Internet based on the owners' interests, among other things. The homeowner, computer scientist Karel Panek, co-owns Sysloop, which also is the name of the system that powers the home. Sysloop integrates numerous technologies into a single autonomous system that collects data via sensors throughout the home, evaluates the data in real time, then formulates and implements solutions based on that data. Said Panek, "The house is capable of answering questions and interpreting spoken instructions. It can store instructions and statements in order to apply or verify them later autonomously. To some extent it can infer action from statements, such as 'I am cold'—therefore increase temperature."

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A Computer Predicts Your Thoughts, Creating Images Based on Them
University of Helsinki
Aino Pekkarinen
September 21, 2020

Researchers at Finland's University of Helsinki have developed a method of modeling visual perception by monitoring human neural signals, then generating fictional images based on them. This neuroadaptive generative modeling technique is based on a brain-computer interface that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to concurrently model the computer's presentation of information and the resulting brain signals. Participants were shown numerous AI-generated images of diverse-looking individuals while undergoing electroencephalography (EEG) scans, focusing on specific features. As they looked at a rapidly presented series of facial images, their EEGs were fed to a neural network, which inferred whether any image detected by the brain matched what the subjects were thinking of; the computer-generated images matched with those features 83% of the time. Helsinki's Tuukka Ruotsalo said, "If you want to draw or illustrate something but are unable to do so, the computer ... could just observe the focus of attention and predict what you would like to create."

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