We launched a new series of in-person interdisciplinary networking events involving students. About 11 to 18 people show up every week. I am working with some students I know from this event whom I would not meet otherwise. 

​I found this very interesting website about Robotics Through Science fiction by Robin Murphy: https://www.roboticsthroughsciencefiction.com/

I have watched most of the movies before and spotted a few new ones to put on my watch list. 

Here is the main website: 
https://community.apan.org/wg/afosr/p/art_of_science_showcase

Our entry 1: 
https://community.apan.org/wg/afosr/m/afrl-afosr-art-of-science-showcase/425577

Our entry 2: 
https://community.apan.org/wg/afosr/m/afrl-afosr-art-of-science-showcase/425580

Our entry 3: 
https://community.apan.org/wg/afosr/m/afrl-afosr-art-of-science-showcase/425578

It is launched today, 5/27/2022. 
Here is the link: https://artificialsocialintelligence.org/

Here is the link to the report: 
​https://news.asu.edu/20200901-solutions-testing-human-teammates-minecraft

Here is the conference website:
https://www.hfes2021.org/

Here is a short report of the in-person meeting on the HART TG website: 
​http://hfes-hart.weebly.com/news/hart-tgs-first-in-person-hfes-conference

Here is the flyer. 
Register in advance for this meeting: 
https://asu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vdeGhrTMtHdEjRLeTVvV_uOK7RirBesKv

Here is the flyer. 
Here is the link to register: 
https://asu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpce2orj4qEtE-lvi44OggnI2Mq-AkSbMK

Here is the link to the flier. 

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For more information about Daniel can be found here. I will post the talk recording when it becomes available. 

I will post the talk recording when it becomes available. 

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) established a Human-AI-Robot Teaming Technical Group this year. The HART TG strives to organize human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) researchers’ efforts in the state-of-art of Human–AI–Robot Teaming research and applications, collectively address the critical theoretical and practical challenges, and provide interdisciplinary solutions that enhance human factors research with advanced technology testbeds and analytics techniques. The HART TG also aims to use the strength of HF/E community to help AI/robotics researchers to advance their research development.  We welcome you to submit HART related papers, panel proposals, outreach activities, collaborative research projects, joint workshops at HFES or collaborate on other AI/Robotics conferences you have been attending. For more information, please visit the website : http://hfes-hart.weebly.com/

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/FWCFSVMDRF3QBHD5ZUBD/full?target=10.1080/1463922X.2020.1790690

​AbstractAs artificial intelligence and robots increase in popularity, human emotional attachment to technologies has become a salient research topic. However, many studies face the challenges of lacking a clear definition of emotional attachment that is overarching to cover emotional attachment to different entities and of differentiating these types of attachment phenomena. After reviewing the classic and contemporary research on human emotional attachment to people, pets, and possessions, we propose a novel, generalized definition and model of attachment across a person’s lifespan that describes the mechanism of human emotional attachment. Our literature review revealed two distinct but overlapping broad categories of research on human attachment: human–human attachments and human–nonhuman attachments. Our model integrates psychological principles and mechanisms from both classic infant–mother attachment theory and contemporary consumer behaviour research on emotional attachment to nonhuman objects. Emphasis is placed on the central role of the self-concept in all forms of human emotional attachments. We define human emotional attachment as a psychological phenomenon characterized by (a) perceiving the attributes of the attachment object as congruent with the self (supporting the self-concept and self-worth), (b) eliciting emotional reactions, and (c) evoking attachment behaviours. More specifically, the new model may lead to a series of new research on human emotional attachment to technologies and on its relationship to individuals’ self-concept development and well-being.

Keywords: Infant–mother attachment, self-concept, self-worth, human–robot interaction, generalized emotional attachment, human–robot attachment

This is another amazing story in my life. 

• In late February, I received my J1 waiver approval after 7 months of waiting, and the department started working on my H1B change of status premium processing when I remain in the US.  
• In Mid-March, USCIS suddenly suspended all H1B premium processing due to the COVID-19. Interestingly, with the J1 waiver approval, my J1 visa can no longer be extended, so H1B became the only option.
• On May 22, I was told that I cannot change my status within the US but have to apply for the H1B outside of the US through the consular processing. Working from China is an option. My visa expires on June 30, and I need to leave the country no later than July 30. 
• On June 1, USCIS resumed H1B premium processing. I thought I could change to the H1B application inside the US then, yet found out that I still needed to go through the consular processing outside the US. 
• On June 22, more restrictions on new H1B and re-entry of the country were released on various media. 
• On June 26, I got the most polite separation letter there could possibly be from my job. Once I get a H1B and return to the US, I will get the job back. It is just unknown how long this will take.  
• On June 27, I cleaned my office and returned most of my things except my work laptop because I need the video function for the last day Zoom meeting calls. 
• On June 29, I started sending out Goodbye messages to my colleagues and collaborators. 
• On June 30, my last day at work, I got the news that DOS granted me an exception to take back my J1 waiver, so that my J1 visa can be extended for another year, due to the very unique situation with COVID-19. My separation letter was retracted and my employment resumed immediately. Hallelujah~​
• From May 23 to July 6, I got 8 international flight cancellations. All my July and August tickets are cancelled. International flight tickets are very expensive, uncertain, and hard to get. With the amazing visa exception, I no longer need to move all my packed belongings to the storage, nor to seek another expensive and uncertain ticket to leave the country.  
• In the future, I will still need to leave the country at some point to change my visa, but this year is especially bad. Before June 30, I thought about various possibilities, but this bold and creative solution was beyond my imagination, and it turned out to be the best for the current situation.

To conclude, I am thankful for the peace and joy during this amazing journey. I am humbled and blessed to testify in this miracle that everything works together for the good just in time. 

​The Human–AI–Robot Teaming (HART) Technical Group (TG) was established to serve HFES members and other individuals who share an interest in studying the teamwork among humans, artificial intelligence (AI), and robots, including the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the human–AI–robot team and team components. The HART TG promotes multidisciplinary collaborations by maximizing the value of the cutting-edge advancement of human factors, AI, and robotics to achieve effective teamwork in various application fields. I will be the first TG chair for the term 2020-2021. 

In order for HFES Technical Groups to exist, a minimum of 150 individuals must join. Dues for the HART TG are just $5. To join, click on the 'Learn More' button.

For more information about HART, go to TG website. 

​Hosted by FIRST Robotics Competition

Over 100 researchers from more than 11 organizations came to ASU for the meeting. Thanks to all the contributors, the event was very productive and enjoyable.  

​https://globalsecurity.asu.edu/events/chart-seminar-intergroup-human-robot-interaction-ihri

I got 150+ interested individuals for establishing a new technical group on Human-AI-Robot Teaming. Activities will launch in HFES 2020.