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Emerging technology for public transportation is often not fully aligned with an inclusive design strategy. Many people with intellectual disability experience their needs and desires not being fully considered. Responding to this problem, the purpose of this study is to investigate how children with mild intellectual disability experience self-driving buses. On each bus, a person called "safety driver" monitors the ride and takes control if a problematic situation arises. The purpose is also to investigate what roles support persons and safety drivers play. In addition, the research aims to propose improvements in how the design of these self-driving buses can better motivate children with intellectual disability to use them in support of their agency. To address this, we arranged and studied seven rides on self-driving buses, for 16 children diagnosed to have mild intellectual disability, and their support persons. Interviews with the children were held after the rides, and both the rides and interviews were video recorded. The analysis was in part inductive but also employed a theory based on motivation: self-determination theory. For several children, the bus worked as a vehicle for a social sightseeing tour of the local environment, and the current design did not hinder such an experience. Overall, many of the children had a positive experience, but there is room for improvement regarding the design of the buses. Some children expressed curiosity and a few frustrations with how the bus behaved in traffic. For instance, it was difficult for the children to understand why the bus braked for things that were hard for them to perceive. From observation, it appears that the accompanying support person and safety driver played an important role in making children safe and shaping the social environment on the bus. The support persons were also essential for some children to ride the bus at all. The safety driver provided the children with information about how the bu

Numerous Virtual Reality (VR) systems address post-stroke functional recovery of the lower extremity (LE), most of them with low early applicability due to the gait autonomy they require. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of a specific VR treatment and its clinical effect on LE functionality, gait, balance, and trunk control post-stroke. A controlled, prospective, clinical trial was carried out with 20 stroke patients, who were divided into two groups: the first group (VR + CP; n = 10) received combined therapy of 1 h VR and 1 h of conventional physiotherapy (CP) and the second group (CP; n = 10) received 2 h of CP (5 days/week, for 3 weeks). The following pre-post-intervention measuring scales were used: Functional Ambulatory Scale (FAC), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FM), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Trunk Control Test (TCT). Only VR + CP showed a significant improvement in FAC. In FIM, CP presented a tendency to significance, whereas VR + CP showed significance. Both groups improved significantly in FM (especially in amplitude/pain in VR + CP and in sensitivity in CP) and in BBS. In TCT, there was a non-significant improvement in both groups. The results indicate that the intervention with VR is a feasible treatment in the post-stroke functional re-education of the LE, with the potential to be an optimal complement of CP.

Numerous Virtual Reality (VR) systems address post-stroke functional recovery of the lower extremity (LE), most of them with low early applicability due to the gait autonomy they require. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of a specific VR treatment and its clinical effect on LE functionality, gait, balance, and trunk control post-stroke. A controlled, prospective, clinical trial was carried out with 20 stroke patients, who were divided into two groups: the first group (VR + CP; n = 10) received combined therapy of 1 h VR and 1 h of conventional physiotherapy (CP) and the second group (CP; n = 10) received 2 h of CP (5 days/week, for 3 weeks). The following pre-post-intervention measuring scales were used: Functional Ambulatory Scale (FAC), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FM), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Trunk Control Test (TCT). Only VR + CP showed a significant improvement in FAC. In FIM, CP presented a tendency to significance, whereas VR + CP showed significance. Both groups improved significantly in FM (especially in amplitude/pain in VR + CP and in sensitivity in CP) and in BBS. In TCT, there was a non-significant improvement in both groups. The results indicate that the intervention with VR is a feasible treatment in the post-stroke functional re-education of the LE, with the potential to be an optimal complement of CP. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Background. Ankle spasticity is a frequent phenomenon that limits functionality in poststroke patients. Objectives. Our aim was to determine if there was decreased spasticity in the ankle plantar flex (PF) muscles in the plegic lower extremity (LE) and improvement of gait function in stroke patients after traditional rehabilitation (TR) in combination with virtual reality with reinforced feedback, which is termed “reinforced feedback virtual environment” (RFVE). Methods. .e evaluation, before and after treatment, of 10 hemiparetic patients was performed using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Functional Ambulatory Category (FAC), and Functional Independence Measure (FIM). .e intervention consisted of 1 hour/day of TR plus 1 hour/day of RFVE (5 days/week for 3 weeks; 15 sessions in total). Results. .e MAS and FAC reached statistical significance (P < 0.05). .e changes in the FIM did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.066). .e analysis between the ischemic and haemorrhagic patients showed significant differences in favour of the haemorrhagic group in the FIM scale. A significant correlation between the FAC and the months after the stroke was established (P = − 0.711). Indeed, patients who most increased their score on the FAC at the end of treatment were those who started the treatment earliest after stroke. Conclusions. .e combined treatment of TR and RFVE showed encouraging results regarding the reduction of spasticity and improvement of gait function. An early commencement of the treatment seems to be ideal, and future research should increase the sample size and assessment tools.

The technological development in recent years is currently reflected in the implementation of more and more advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). A clear example is found in the automated driving systems being marketed today. Some of these systems are capable of controlling crucial driving tasks such as keeping the vehicle within the lane or maintaining speed and the distance with the front vehicle constant. While this technology is still not mature enough to allow fully autonomous driving, current systems allow partially automated driving, or Level 2 (SAE, 2016). Level 2 automation enables feet-free, and for short periods hands-free driving, under specific situations. Yet, the driver is still expected to monitor the road and the system and be ready to intervene when required by the system. Regarding this, studies from the driving and other domains have warned about potential performance problems associated with placing operators in such monitoring role. Factors such as vigilance decrements or proneness to engage in other activities have been proposed to explain these problems; however, their role in the context of Level 2 automation remains to be further investigated. In this context, the main aims of this thesis were to understand the attentional effects of monitoring a Level 2 automated system and to investigate drivers’ strategies to integrate additional tasks while using such system. In particular, the following research questions were established: 1) Does monitoring a Level 2 system affect driver attention after short driving periods?; 2) Does Level 2 automation facilitate the performance of additional tasks?; 3) How do drivers integrate additional tasks into their monitoring responsibilities, and how is that influenced by automation trust and experience?. A complementary aim of this thesis was to explore the applicability of the event-related potentials (ERPs) technique to detect the effects of different types of ADAS, i.e. Level 2 automation and a visua, Ägare av fordon med nivå 2-automation har nu möjlighet att köra utan att använda pedalerna, och under korta perioder, även utan att behöva styra i specifika trafiksituationer. Emellertid förblir de fortfarande ansvariga för att kontinuerligt övervaka den omgivande trafikmiljön liksom det automatiserade systemet. Även om automatiserade fordon har potential att öka säkerheten, har tidigare studier visat på betydande problem förknippade med förares svårigheter att övervaka automatiserade system en längre tid. Denna avhandlings huvudsakliga syfte var att förstå vilken inverkan nivå 2- automatiserad körning har på förares uppmärksamhet och beteende under två situationer: a) då föraren övervakar trafiken och systemet, b) då föraren övervakar trafiken och systemet, och samtidigt utför en sidouppgift av visumotorisk karaktär. Dessutom undersöktes även vilken inverkan tillit till och erfarenhet av nivå 2-automation hade på förarens övervakningsstrategier av och användning av systemet. Ett ytterligare, kompletterande syfte med denna avhandling, var att undersöka användbarheten av event-related potentials (ERP) -tekniken för att bättre kunna detektera eventuella förändringar som förknippas med nivå 2-automation. Specifikt analyserades N1 och P3 ERP-komponenterna. Dessutom användes denna teknik i avhandlingen för att upptäcka ökning av den mentala arbetsbelastningen i samband med förarens interaktion med andra vanliga stödsystem, exempelvis fordonets informationssystem. Tre olika studier genomfördes. I Studie I (simulatorstudie) observerades att körning med nivå 2- automation under korta perioder medförde generella minskningar av uppmärksamhetsresursallokering. Denna effekt upptäcktes som en minskning av amplituden hos P3-komponenten, framkallad av utförandet av en sekundär auditiv uppgift. I Studie III (på väg) upptäcktes sämre prestation på en sidouppgift av visumotorisk karaktär under körning med nivå-2 automation jämfört med manuell körning. Det observerades även att förare