Automated Diet Capture Using Voice Alerts and Speech Recognition on Smartphones: Pilot Usability and Acceptability Study.

BACKGROUND: Effective monitoring of dietary habits is critical for promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing or delaying the onset and progression of diet-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. Recent advances in speech recognition technologies and natural language processing present new possibilities for automated diet capture; however, further exploration is necessary to assess the usability and acceptability of such technologies for diet logging. OBJECTIVE: This study explores the usability and acceptability of speech recognition technologies and natural language processing for automated diet logging. METHODS: We designed and developed base2Diet-an iOS smartphone application that prompts users to log their food intake using voice or text. To compare the effectiveness of the 2 diet logging modes, we conducted a 28-day pilot study with 2 arms and 2 phases. A total of 18 participants were included in the study, with 9 participants in each arm (text: n=9, voice: n=9). During phase I of the study, all 18 participants received reminders for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at preselected times. At the beginning of phase II, all participants were given the option to choose 3 times during the day to receive 3 times daily reminders to log their food intake for the remainder of the phase, with the ability to modify the selected times at any point before the end of the study. RESULTS: The total number of distinct diet logging events per participant was 1.7 times higher in the voice arm than in the text arm (P=.03, unpaired t test). Similarly, the total number of active days per participant was 1.5 times higher in the voice arm than in the text arm (P=.04, unpaired t test). Furthermore, the text arm had a higher attrition rate than the voice arm, with only 1 participant dropping out of the study in the voice arm, while 5 participants dropped out in the text arm. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this pilot study demonstrate the potential of voice technologies in automated diet capturing using smartphones. Our findings suggest that voice-based diet logging is more effective and better received by users compared to traditional text-based methods, underscoring the need for further research in this area. These insights carry significant implications for the development of more effective and accessible tools for monitoring dietary habits and promoting healthy lifestyle choices.

How Immersion and Self-Avatars in VR Affect Learning Programming and Computational Thinking in Middle School Education.

We present an empirical evaluation of immersion and self-avatars as compared to desktop viewing in Virtual Reality (VR) for learning computer programming and computational thinking in middle school education using an educational VR simulation. Students were asked to programmatically choreograph dance performances for virtual characters within an educational desktop application we built earlier called Virtual Environment Interactions (VEnvI). As part of a middle school science class, 90 students from the 6th and 7th grades participated in our study. All students first visually programmed dance choreography for a virtual character they created in VEnvI on a laptop. Then, they viewed and interacted with the resulting dance performance in a between-subjects design in one of the three conditions. We compared and contrasted the benefits of embodied immersive virtual reality (EVR) viewing utilizing a head-mounted display with a body-scaled and gender-matched self-avatar, immersive virtual reality only (IVR) viewing, and desktop VR (NVR) viewing with VEnvI on pedagogical outcomes, programming performance, presence, and attitudes towards STEM and computational thinking. Results from a cognition questionnaire showed that, in the learning dimensions of Knowledge and Understanding (Bloom's taxonomy) as well as Multistructural (SOLO taxonomy), participants in EVR and IVR scored significantly higher than NVR. Also, participants in EVR scored significantly higher than IVR. We also discovered similar results in objective programming performance and presence scores in VEnvI. Furthermore, students' attitudes towards computer science, programming confidence, and impressions significantly improved to be the highest in EVR and then IVR as compared to NVR condition. Our work suggests that educators and developers of educational VR simulations, who want to enhance knowledge and understanding as well as simultaneous acquisition of multiple abstract concepts, can do so by employing immersion and self-avatars in VR learning experiences.

Effects of Virtual Human Appearance Fidelity on Emotion Contagion in Affective Inter-Personal Simulations.

Realistic versus stylized depictions of virtual humans in simulated inter-personal situations and their ability to elicit emotional responses in users has been an open question for artists and researchers alike. We empirically evaluated the effects of near visually realistic vs. non-realistic stylized appearance of virtual humans on the emotional response of participants in a medical virtual reality system that was designed to educate users in recognizing the signs and symptoms of patient deterioration. In a between-subjects experiment protocol, participants interacted with one of three different appearances of a virtual patient, namely visually realistic, cartoon-shaded and charcoal-sketch like conditions in a mixed reality simulation. Emotional impact were measured via a combination of quantitative objective measures were gathered using skin Electrodermal Activity (EDA) sensors, and quantitative subjective measures such as the Differential Emotion Survey (DES IV), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and Social Presence questionnaire. The emotional states of the participants were analyzed across four distinct time steps during which the medical condition of the virtual patient deteriorated (an emotionally stressful interaction), and were contrasted to a baseline affective state. Objective EDA results showed that in all three conditions, male participants exhibited greater levels of arousal as compared to female participants. We found that negative affect levels were significantly lower in the visually realistic condition, as compared to the stylized appearance conditions. Furthermore, in emotional dimensions of interest-excitement, surprise, anger, fear and guilt participants in all conditions responded similarly. However, in social emotional constructs of shyness, presence, perceived personality, and enjoyment-joy, we found that participants responded differently in the visually realistic condition as compared to the cartoon and sketch conditions. Our study suggests that virtual human appearance can affect not only critical emotional reactions in affective inter-personal training scenarios. but also users' perceptions of personality and social characteristic of the virtual interlocutors.

Effects of viewing a preferred nature image and hearing preferred music on engagement, agitation, and mental status in persons with dementia.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the described exploratory study was to test proactive strategies for enhancing engagement and cognitive ability while diminishing dementia-related disordered behaviors of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Study participants resided in an Memory Care unit of an assisted living community. METHOD: The researchers measured the effects of exposure to music and nature images on engagement using the Individualized Dementia Engagement and Activities Scale tool, on cognitive ability using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and on agitation using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. RESULT: The within-subject study design revealed that use of both music and nature images hold promise for reducing undesirable behaviors and improving engagement of residents. CONCLUSION: The authors suggest caregivers for those with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias can effectively use nature images and music to improve engagement and reduce disordered behaviors, thus potentially enhancing quality of life for the care recipient as well as the caregiver while possibly reducing the costs of medications used to control dementia-related undesirable behaviors.

Effects of virtual human animation on emotion contagion in simulated inter-personal experiences.

We empirically examined the impact of virtual human animation on the emotional responses of participants in a medical virtual reality system for education in the signs and symptoms of patient deterioration. Participants were presented with one of two virtual human conditions in a between-subjects experiment, static (non-animated) and dynamic (animated). Our objective measures included the use of psycho-physical Electro Dermal Activity (EDA) sensors, and subjective measures inspired by social psychology research included the Differential Emotions Survey (DES IV) and Positive and Negative Affect Survey (PANAS). We analyzed the quantitative and qualitative measures associated with participants’ emotional state at four distinct time-steps in the simulated interpersonal experience as the virtual patient’s medical condition deteriorated. Results suggest that participants in the dynamic condition with animations exhibited a higher sense of co-presence and greater emotional response as compared to participants in the static condition, corresponding to the deterioration in the medical condition of the virtual patient. Negative affect of participants in the dynamic condition increased at a higher rate than for participants in the static condition. The virtual human animations elicited a stronger response in negative emotions such as anguish, fear, and anger as the virtual patient’s medical condition worsened.