Synchronization of behavior such as gestures or postures is assumed to serve crucial functions in social interaction but has been poorly studied to date in schizophrenia. Using a virtual collaborative environment (VCS), we tested 1) whether synchronization of behavior, i.e., the spontaneous initiation of gestures that are congruent with those of an interaction partner, was impaired in individuals with schizophrenia compared with healthy participants; 2) whether mimicry of the patients’ body movements by the virtual interaction partner was associated with increased behavioral synchronization and rapport. 19 patients and 19 matched controls interacted with a virtual agent who either mimicked their head and torso movements with a delay varying randomly between 0.5 s and 4 s or did not mimic, and rated feelings of rapport toward the virtual agent after each condition. Both groups exhibited a higher and similar synchronization behavior of the virtual agent forearm movements when they were in the Mimicry condition rather than in the No-mimicry condition. In addition, both groups felt more comfortable with a mimicking virtual agent rather than a virtual agent not mimicking them suggesting that mimicry is able to increase rapport in individuals with schizophrenia. Our results suggest that schizophrenia cannot be considered anymore as a disorder of imitation, particularly as regards behavioral synchronization processes in social interaction contexts.

There is a continuous and increasing demand for solutions, both software and hardware-based, that are able to productively handle underground utilities geospatial data. Innovative approaches that are based on the use of the European GNSS, Galileo and EGNOS, sensor technologies and LBS, are able to monitor, document and manage utility infrastructures’ data with an intuitive 3D augmented visualisation and navigation/positioning technology. A software and hardware-based system called LARA, currently under development through a H2020 co-funded project, aims at meeting that demand. The concept of LARA is to integrate the different innovative components of existing technologies in order to design and develop an integrated navigation/positioning and information system which coordinates GNSS, AR, 3D GIS and geodatabases on a mobile platform for monitoring, documenting and managing utility infrastructures on-site. The LARA system will guide utility field workers to locate the working area by helping them see beneath the ground, rendering the complexity of the 3D models of the underground grid such as water, gas and electricity. The capacity and benefits of LARA are scheduled to be tested in two case studies located in Greece and the United Kingdom with various underground utilities. The paper aspires to present the first results from this initiative. The project leading to this application has received funding from the European GNSS Agency under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 641460.

In this paper a simple eye tracking and calibration approach for glasses-free stereoscopic 3D displays is presented that requires only one ordinary camera for tracking. The approach is designed for the use with parallax barrier based screens, but should with(out) limitations also be usable with other autostereoscopic screens. The robust eye tracking approach can easily be reimplemented and is based on well chosen search areas and parameters that were determined experimentally. Thanks to efficient eye position prediction delays can be eliminated that are normally a problem in realtime systems. The calibration approach allows us to calibrate the eye tracking camera to the 3D screen in a direct and simple way. Direct means that the calibration is realized pixel-wise and simple means that there is no need for a (complex) camera/screen model in contrast to many other calibration approaches. There is even no need to determine any camera parameter for calibration. The accuracy of the eye tracking approach and the eye position prediction is evaluated experimentally.

Schizophrenia is often characterized by nonverbal communication deficits that directly impact patients’ everyday life and often induce stigmatization. Although clinicians have developed several interventions and training sessions for these patients, paradoxically, these interventions are not focused on social motor interaction. The goal of this presentation is to propose lines of inquiry that could enhance socio motor competences in schizophrenia based on the concept of similarity. ~ In several fields, two similar systems exchanging information tend to synchronize together. For instance, in social psychology, social exchanges were increased when two people unintentionally mimicked each other (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999); in physics, two oscillators moving at the same frequency synchronize to each other as long as they are in contact (Von Holst, 1973). Several other examples could be found showing that similarity promotes synchronization. In such a context, we propose that using similar avatars (that look and behave like the participants) in a joint-action task should enhance social interactions. In this presentation, we will compare patients suffering from schizophrenia to healthy participants facing an avatar similar or dissimilar to them during several exposures. Participants’ task was to horizontally move in synchrony a handle attached on a string at the shoulder height while facing the avatar. The main results showed that although all participants were always more synchronized with a similar avatar than with a dissimilar one, after some exposures to the dissimilar avatar, patients increased their motor coordination performance. From a clinical perspective, our results highlight two potential therapeutic pathways: first, similarity could be used in protocols requiring high level of interaction from patients, second, dissimilarity could be envisaged in protocols involving social interaction learning. These findings are of particular interest to any rehabilitation protocols in schizophrenia in particular but also in psychiatry in general References Chartrand, T. L., & Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception-behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 893-910. von Holst, E. (1937/1973). On the nature of order in the central nervous system. In E. von Holst (Ed.), The behavioral physiology of animals and man: selected papers Volume 1 (pp. 3-33). Miami: Miami university press. Acknowledgements. This study was funded by the European Project of AlterEgo (Grant#600610 / FP7).