Modulating Human Subjective Time Experience

Project Information

ChronoPilot

Grant agreement ID: 964464

DOI

10.3030/964464

Project closed

EC signature date 8 March 2021

Start date 1 September 2021

End date 31 August 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)

Total cost

€ 2 993 965,00

EU contribution

€ 2 993 965,00

Coordinated by

PANTEIO PANEPISTIMIO KOINONIKON KAIPOLITIKON EPISTIMON
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - ChronoPilot (Modulating Human Subjective Time Experience)

Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Our ability to estimate time is critical in every aspect of our life and yet, unlike other perceptual dimensions, we do not possess a sense organ specifically dedicated to time. Rather, subjective time seems to result from a conglomerate of brain processes that allow us to time our behavior in order to act in a highly complex world. The subjective percept of time is not unitary and is not equal to physical duration and can be distorted by a wide variety of factors. This distortion(s) may, however, yield to a beneficial impact on our behavior by boosting the efficiency of stimulus processing, facilitating cognitive functioning, and enhancing decision-making.
ChronoPilot’s novel paradigm is to utilise the malleability of the subjective experience of time for our advantage at any moment. ChronoPilot aimed to control the plasticity of human time perception by delivering stimuli via mediated-reality technology into the human’s senses of vision, audition, and haptics. The proposed technological breakthrough to purposefully manipulate subjective time relied on a set of cognitive approaches, which were based on findings in both neuroscience and psychology to tune time experience. We aimed at a comprehensive understanding of time modulation, through modelling of key variables and the interplay of different senses in human time perception. The exploited cognitive approaches were translated through a set of body-worn technologies into particular stimuli that were fed dynamically into the human’s senses of vision, audition, and haptics as a function of the situation, sensory integration and physiological indicators of mental workload, stress, and flow. ChronoPilot aimed to improve individual lives and interactions with other humans, as well as with novel artificial systems.
ChronoPilot provided proof-of-value in two real-world scenarios. In the first scenario, we manipulated time to improve the control of a user over multiple drones in precision farming (in virtual reality). In the second scenario, we created flow in the cooperation of a group of humans in an industrial production setting (augmented reality). ChronoPilot was realized through the interdisciplinarity of its consortium, which was comprised of experts in cognitive science, neuroscience, perception, behavioural modelling, artificial intelligence, mediated reality, and robotics. Our novel methods of time modulation will pave the way for innovative applications and products improving efficiency, well-being, productivity, creativity, and safety.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Early on the project’s lifetime all necessary groundwork was made in regards to dissemination and management of the project, as well as the digital presence of the project and access to the project’s results. Scientific work has focused on the definition of variables that modulate timing and that are prominent targets for exploitation by ChronoPilot. Definition of those allowed also to further define and develop the details of the ChronoPilot scenarios and the necessary performance measures related to the success of the ChronoPilot(s). Work was also conducted in further reviewing existing research or producing new research in terms of the modulation of time. Significant developments were also noted in the development of a generic software architecture and prototype for stimuli integration and experiment design in the ChronoPilot project. Most importantly, the multisensory haptic vest and gauntlet prototypes were developed, enabling haptic sensory input that is designed for time modulation purposes. Work has also focused on investigating the use of in-game metrics to measure cognitive load as a reference for task-induced changes in subjective time perception. Finally, design, implementation, and evaluation activities on the ChronoPilot scenarios have been initiated.
A lot of work has been taking place in terms of the automatic classification of subjective timing behaviour using machine learning methods trained on physiological signals, EEG signatures and visual features predicting subjective timing, and pupillometry techniques to measure the subjective cognitive load. Finally, studies are underway on the hybrid human-robot interaction under different conditions of swarm size, speed, cueing events, type of motion, and human action. The Precision Farming scenario was utilized by developing our first single-person controlling ChronoPilot demonstration. We developed and tested the second and final scenario of ChronoPilot, the Industrial Production scenario, which was built on the knowledge gained from the development of the first scenario but in an even more flexible and extensible format so as to incorporate all possible needs of the consortium. In two separate setups, one for single- and one for multi-user, the ChronoPilot controller was successfully employed in a closed-loop workflow, to employ timing modulators according to the individual state, targeting the improvement of the user's well-being and performance. ChronoPilot engaged in dissemination and exploitation activities by promoting the ChronoPilot project among national and international industries and SMEs. The scientific work produced was disseminated in a large number of journals, conferences, and other scientific meetings, as well as general public events. The efforts are continuing with new dissemination activities and industry interactions to ensure the further development of ChronoPilot into a final product.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

ChronoPilot’s novel paradigm is to utilise the malleability of the subjective experience of time for our advantage at any moment. ChronoPilot aims to control the plasticity of human time perception by delivering stimuli via mediated-reality technology into the human’s senses of vision, audition, and haptics so as to obtain a beneficial impact on our behaviour by boosting the efficiency of stimulus processing, facilitating cognitive functioning, and enhancing decision-making. Our novel methods of time modulation will pave the way for innovative applications and products improving efficiency, well-being, productivity, creativity, and safety.
Putting humans at the center of the development to reduce stress as well as boredom, increase the overall quality of life and mitigate the costs of stress-related mental health issues, ChronoPilot will have a significant societal impact. Creating awareness for the opportunities and challenges of the plasticity of subjective timing, ChronoPilot will offer a new dimension to policy makers and the population.
By paving the way for new applications and products that improve efficiency and well-being, the ChronoPilot technological results hold great potential to form a new market of time-plasticity software and devices. SMEs or even individual persons can take the idea and develop time-modulating various applications. Potential application domains include: A. industry 5.0. Τhe factory of the future will be focused on the cooperation between man and machine, as human intelligence works in harmony with cognitive computing embedded in devices such as co-bots. B. healthcare. Νovel curative approaches for mental health disorders with altered time perception or reduction of the perceived time of painful medical treatments. C. cultural and creative industry. Content producers will benefit from techniques of manipulating time in interactive storytelling formats.

ChronoPilot's Farming Scenario

ChronoPilot's Consortium Collaboration

ChronoPilot's logo

ChronoPilot's Factory Scenario

ChronoPilot's loop of science and technology