We investigate the task of single-stroke classification into one of three classes (text, figure, or table rule lines). Individual strokes form handwriting structures such as text lines, figures, and tables in combination with peripheral strokes. To classify strokes using local contexts of neighborhood strokes, we propose a composite descriptor that represents in detail the relation between individual strokes and temporal and spatial neighborhood strokes. Evaluation of online handwritten documents written in English and in Japanese indicate that the proposed method more accurately classifies strokes than does the conventional method that employs shape-related features of a single stroke.

We developed a Sociable Trash Box (STB) as a children-assisted robot able to collect the trash in order to convey its intentional stance to children. The STB is capable of engaging manifold affiliation behaviors to build a social rapport with children by collecting the trash around their environment. In particular, the STB is a child-dependent robot that walks alone in a public space for tracing humans and trash for the purpose of collecting the trash. The robot is incapable of collecting the trash by itself, and it engages by using interactive behaviors and vocalizations to make a social coupling with children based on the robot's anticipation to accomplish its goal. The present experiment investigates how STB behaviors are effective in conveying intentions to evoke children's social interactions and to assist in collecting the trash in their environment.

The STB is capable of engaging manifold affiliation behaviors to build a social rapport toward the goal of collecting trash around an environment. In particular, STB is a child-dependent robot that walks alone in a public space for the purpose of tracing humans and trash and to collect the trash. In a crowded space, STBs move toward the trash by engaging with an attractive twisting motion (behaviors) and vocal interaction to convey STB's intention to children. Our STB robot is incapable of collecting the trash by itself. In this sense, children have to infer a robot's intentional stance or expectation for interaction with the STB. To collect trash while creating social rapport with children is a novel concept. The STB engages with twisting and bowing motions when children put trash into an STB container.