The Artificial Perceptual System — In a Perceptual Prosthesis? - Artificial Human Sensors: Science and Applications - page 175

technology-driven, when substituting natural impressions by corresponding arti-
ficial ones. The use of artificial and technology competent devices that comple-
ment the human perceptual capability and substitute natural impressions is now
steadily increasing. There seems to be a priority to appraise the social networks
before the interaction with nature. The development of social-based artificial de-
vices has, since some years now, been experiencing an emerging interest. The need
for social interaction seems to be of high importance to human's well-being.
However, the development has often been technology-driven by social trends
that lack a social affiliation, where the young generation instead (or nowadays
even elderly people) are playing computer games or using a social robot instead of
a traditional social interaction in conjunction with the families or friends.
By definition, the social connection to technology-based devices, i.e., auto-
mated and maybe autonomous driven sensor systems designed as an acting per-
ceptual prosthesis, which have a performance implying that we are comfortable
communicating with the device that provides us with useful information.

The

requirements of a social device may be directing the following abilities:

— interacting with the individual in her close proximity to communicate some sort
of perceptual information flow needed to make the proper underlying decision
or filling out needed data.
— understanding the basic concept of the parts involved, their aims, prerequisite
and limitations in the manners that fulfil a perceptual requirement or needs.
— complementary perceptual behaviours between the technology devices and an
individual's perceptual ability, the prosthesis may increase the performance on
the basis level of quality.

The social dimension has to exhibit a certain minimum capability of comple-
menting and understanding the human perceptual needs in interactions with other
humans. Since we are able to judge situations reasonably well, get a general view,
find the context and use our intuition in common situations, a feasible perceptual
prosthesis has to consider the human-related behavioural properties. On the other
hand, humans may have a need to complement for the poor capabilities, like man-
aging a number of situations simultaneously, performing tasks by routine, remem-
bering details, abandoning incorrect conclusions or handling stress. Well-balanced
information that is presented to the individual at the right times is crucial for the
effectiveness in a sensing-acting process, e.g., a perceptual-based prosthesis.
This approach implies that technology-based socially directed devices can be
used in a different number of personal applications. In the social aspect, two
related applications will be further discussed. The area of personal interior sys-
tems or more specifically; the perceptual acting and natural mimicing prosthesis,
is foreseen to be an emerging field of technology development. Further, the area
of personal exterior systems ; is defined as a remote system or a prosthesis acting like
a technical system connected to the human perception. The system may be exem-
plified by a social network of both artificial and biological agents in symbiosis, can
be illustrated in the area of the search and rescue. A socially-related artificial and