Methods and apparatus for interpersonal coordination analysis and training

• US 9,478,147 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2013
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: University of Connecticut (State of Connecticut)
• Original Assignee: University of Connecticut (State of Connecticut)
• Inventors: Gifford, Timothy, Bhat, Anjana, Dixon, James, Marsh, Kerry
• Primary Examiner(s): Utama, Robert J
• Assistant Examiner(s): HONG, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US13/894,846
• Publication Number:
  US 20130323698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 434/247
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/00 Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26

Abstract

Methods and systems for interpersonal coordination analysis and training are provided. In an example embodiment of a method for interpersonal coordination analysis and training, at least one physical action is selected to be performed. A leader subject is instructed to perform the at least one physical action in the presence of at least one follower subject. The at least one physical action of the leader subject is tracked. The at least one follower subject is instructed to mimic the at least one physical action of the leader subject. The at least one physical action of the at least one follower subject is tracked. Tracking data obtained from the tracking of the leader subject and the at least one follower subject is analyzed. From the analyzing of the tracking data, a responsiveness of the at least one follower subject to mimic the leader subject can be determined.

Claims

1. A method for interpersonal coordination analysis and training, comprising:

selecting at least one physical action to be performed;

instructing a leader subject to perform said at least one physical action in the presence of at least one follower subject;

tracking said at least one physical action of said leader subject;

instructing said at least one follower subject to mimic said at least one physical action of said leader subject;

tracking the at least one physical action of said at least one follower subject;

analyzing tracking data obtained from the tracking of the leader subject and the at least one follower subject; and

determining, from the analyzing of the tracking data, a responsiveness of said at least one follower subject to mimic said leader subject;

altering said at least one physical action of said leader subject based on said responsiveness, said altering comprising at least changing a frequency of said at least one physical action;

wherein;

said at least one physical action comprises a series of rhythmic actions comprising at least one of clapping, marching, and drumming;

said responsiveness is used to assess a level of one of interpersonal synchrony or interpersonal coordination exhibited by the at least one follower subject;

said leader subject is a robot;

the tracking data is recorded as at least one time series; and

the responsiveness is determined for each of the at least one time series.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the leader subject repeatedly performs, and the at least one follower subject in turn repeatedly mimics, one of the at least one physical actions; and

the tracking data is continuously analyzed and the responsiveness is continuously determined during interactions between the leader and the at least one follower subject.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said altering further comprises a role reversal between the leader subject and the at least one follower subject.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said altering further comprises at least one of:

changing a sequence of movements of said at least one physical action; and

changing said at least one physical action.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the interpersonal synchrony between the leader and each of the at least one follower subject is determined using Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis;

Hurst exponents are computed for each scale of the at least one time series for the leader subject and the follower subject;

a first vector of Hurst exponents is computed for the leader subject;

a second vector of Hurst exponents is computed for the follower subject;

vector autoregression and vector error-correction models are used to predict future activity of the follower subject.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting of said at least one physical action is performed by said leader subject.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting at least one physical action is performed by an independent operator and instructions for said at least one physical action are provided to said leader subject by said operator.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said operator comprises a human attendant.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein in addition to the tracking data, data is manually provided by the operator and used in the determining of the responsiveness.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said tracking includes position detection using position detection devices comprising at least one of (i) time-of-flight cameras, and (ii) electromagnetic position and orientation trackers mounted on at least one of the leader subject and the follower subject.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said responsiveness is used to assess the level of said interpersonal synchrony and the level of said interpersonal coordination exhibited by the at least one follower subject.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein techniques to determine said responsiveness comprise at least one of Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis (CRQA), Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA), and epoching.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said interpersonal coordination analysis is applied to therapeutic treatment of human cognitive development disorders.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said the analyzing of the tracking data occurs in real-time.

15. A system for interpersonal coordination analysis and training, comprising:

at least one tracking device for tracking physical action of a human subject;

at least one processing device; and

a robot capable of mimicking a plurality of human physical actions;

wherein;

the processing device is adapted for analyzing tracking data from said at least one tracking device, determining a responsiveness of the human subject to mimic the physical actions of said robot during interaction with said robot, and altering at least one physical action of the plurality of human physical actions mimicked by the robot based on said responsiveness by at least changing a frequency of said at least one physical action;

said at least one physical action comprises a series of rhythmic actions comprising at least one of clapping, marching, and drumming;

said responsiveness is used to assess a level of one of interpersonal synchrony or interpersonal coordination of said human subject;

the tracking data is recorded as at least one time series; and

the responsiveness is determined for each of the at least one time series.