This paper attempts to provide methods to estimate the real scenario of the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis on Brazil and the states of Sao Paulo, Pernambuco, Espirito Santo, Amazonas and Distrito Federal. By the use of a SEIRD mathematical model with age division, we predict the infection and death curve, stating the peak date for Brazil and these states. We also carry out a prediction for the ICU demand on these states for a visualization of the size of a possible collapse on the local health system. By the end, we establish some future scenarios including the stopping of social isolation and the introduction of vaccines and efficient medicine against the virus.
Objective: The uncanny valley hypothesis refers to a subjective experience of eeriness to highly human-like objects (e.g., realistic avatars). There is evidence that objects at the human-avatar category boundary along the dimension of human likeness (DHL) are more likely to evoke the uncanny valley effect. Literature has focused on the affective domain of the phenomenon and studies on the cognitive demands are few. Here, we investigate whether perceptual ambiguity could affect the hierarchical processing of facial features. Our study investigated categorical perception of female and male faces along the DHL. Method: Participants performed a real vs. artificial categorization task and behavioral measures (categorization threshold and response time; RT) were calculated to determine avatar, boundary, and human face conditions. Results: An analysis on the hierarchy of gaze dwell time in regions of interest (ROI; eyes, nose, and mouth) showed greater dwell time for the nose area of boundary faces compared to the nose area of avatar and human faces. Conclusions: Results showed that perceptual discrimination difficulty changed the allocation of attentional resources in boundary faces. Such output may contribute on how we process artificial faces and might improve users' experiences from highly realistic characters.
Public Significance StatementThe uncanny valley effect is a subjective experience of eeriness to highly human-like avatars. There is evidence that human-avatar ambiguous characters are more likely to evoke the uncanny valley effect. Perceptual discrimination difficulty changes how attention is allocated for human-avatar ambiguous faces. Such result is relevant for researchers interested in how we interact with artificial faces, and for graphics developers concerned on how to improve users' experiences from their highly realistic characters.
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