WO2015109378A1 - Integrated and automated method for obtaining, managing and making available multidimensional information for carrying out public perception and opinion surveys, and equipment for implementing the method - Google Patents

Abstract

An integrated and automated method for obtaining, managing and making available multidimensional information for carrying out public perception and opinion surveys includes the automatic implementation of surveys by terminal equipment (32), based on a developped strategy of human-machine communication, with a virtual interviewer and related arguments in order to obtain a sample with statistic validity. The present method is based on the integrated and simultaneous use of multiple environment sensors, including physical and social environments, and the bio-emotional dimension, including multiple sensors for obtaining biometric and psychophysiological information combined with the cognitive interface of an electronic questionnaire. The present method makes it possible to collect environmental/bio-emotional data from queries for this information which are inserted into the sequence of questions in the questionnaire. The present method further allows defining the subject covered by the questionnaire, or the sequence of questions relevant for the interviewed person on the basis of environmental/bio-emotional conditions that vary continuously and are predetermined by conditional logical filters pre-loaded in the system.

Description

^w INTEGRATED AND AUTOMATED PROCESS FOR OBTAINING, MANAGEMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF MULTI-DIMENSIONAL INFORMATION FOR PERSONAL SURVEY RESEARCH AND EQUIPMENT FOR THEIR PERFORMANCE ".

 [001] - This report refers to an integrated and automated process for obtaining, managing, and making available multidimensional information for perception and public opinion research and equipment for conducting it. More specifically, this patent application is a process for obtaining, managing and providing information and equipment used for. this purpose, which is of a type defined as customer satisfaction self-service or customer satisfaction surveys, terminals or multimedia kiosks.

As technicians know, electronic equipment is generally known as multimedia, self-service, or customer satisfaction survey totems, terminals, or kiosks, which are installed in a widely circulated public place. as transportation terminal halls and commercial establishments such as shops, banks, hospitals, among others, and has different purposes, grouped into two basic objectives with respect to their respective target audiences: "provisioning" and "procurement". In the "provision" group there is an objective interest of the user in finding the equipment and using its functions. In the "obtaining" group, the objective interest lies mainly with the operator interested in the information that his equipment extracts from the public, which voluntarily provides it. It is Differentiation is key when it is intended to use such information in a general manner as a public opinion poll.

 [003] "Provisioning" equipment includes, but is not limited to, providing information {location; catalogs; etc), the provision of miscellaneous services (boarding pass printing; sale of products such as stamps, food and beverages; movie rentals; banking services; etc.) while those for the purpose of "obtaining" include machines that present to the user public opinion survey with the purpose of obtaining information such as the opinion about products, services and service provided for quality and marketing analysis.

[004] - Public surveys for the sole purpose of "obtaining" originate from the traditional method of applying hand-completed paper questionnaires by an interviewer who addresses the person interviewed in a public or household space. Currently this method has evolved and includes the possibility of using a questionnaire in electronic media, applied with the help of a handheld computer. The use of computer in personal interviews characterized a new method of public opinion polling, referred to as CAPI (Computer-Assisted Pesonal Interviewing) [10], which added advantages regarding data quality, resulting from computerized process control, and the versatility of the process. because the information is digitized at the time of application and immediately available for analysis. The automated search method Most of the totems or terminals have in common with the CAPI method the advanced features of computer functionality and their main difference is the total or partial independence of an interviewer and, as a result, the electronic questionnaire interface is more user-friendly for direct completion by the interviewee himself.

 In both the provisioning and obtaining groups, it is conventional that equipment is interconnected by a communication network through which information is sent and received between an operations center and each connected terminal, but there are variations: equipment that works only if connected to a network; those that work without any connection and those that operate in a mixed way, making use of the network connection, but not dependent on it.

 [006] - More specifically and focused on the purpose of the present invention, the task of obtaining public information for use in opinion polls, behaviors and the like is currently characterized by certain attributes that impose insurable limitations on available methods. involving two fundamental issues in the field of public opinion polls: the quality of the data generated, so that the results can be generalized, and the density of the information obtained, in order to explain well the phenomena under study.

In automated searches performed by electronic equipment such as totem poles, query terminals and the like, a verified problem lies in the sample inconsistency of the search performed, resulting in ........ ~ 4

 low quality of the generated data, which do not have statistical integrity for generalization effect. This stems from the inability of the interview automation solutions adopted to perform random sampling, that is, with statistical validity, of the public of interest. Randomness of sampling is a fundamental objective in sample surveys, as it is the factor that allows the generalization of data for an entire population from the study of a small sample or fraction of its members. The problem in the available technique is due to the fragility found in the equipment when performing the interface with the public, due to the passive and impersonal mode of relationship of the machine with the research target audience, in which the interviewee does not feel a potential moral obligation. to the machine and so may generally not respond to the call or announcement of the survey on the screen or surrounding signage and effectively participate in the survey. In this condition, the potential respondent may too easily decline to participate, leaving the research with a profile of participating volunteers that does not reflect the pattern of the population of interest. This same fragility in the compromise relationship established between the interviewee and the machine can result in a large number of incomplete questionnaires, as many who start answering the survey easily also give up before the automated application ends.

-To try to minimize the inconvenience presented by passive and impersonal machines regarding the statistical integrity of the data, what has been seen is a technique used in very restricted areas (stores, for example) that mixes machine and interviewer, where a human intermediary approaches the potential participant and invites him / her to respond to the survey at the electronic terminal. Another technique to add widespread interest in search engines involves advertising and distributing prizes or a chance to win a prize for those participating in the terminal survey. Although these solutions punctually reduce the sample problem, they are retrograde in decreasing the automated character of the system or in increasing the costs of the information obtained by distributing monetary value incentives.

The other fundamental problem of the state of the art found in automated searches carried out by electronic equipment such as totems, query terminals and the like involves obtaining only one-dimensional data for phenomena that unfold into various inter-domain domains. related. Any methods that exist today are limited solely to obtaining cognitive information, that is, mentally formulated, written or spoken answers, to questionnaires applied electronically. No research method incorporates the concomitant gathering of bioemotional, that is, biometric and psychophysiological information, and the physical and social environment as elements of contextualization of cognitive opinion. This deficiency makes the research insensitive to the different human and external factors that, according to study [9], interfere in the respondent's verbal response, resulting in poor information collection. Parallel to the ineffectiveness of automated opinion polling methods in capturing extra-cognitive variables, other modalities seen in many surveys partially perform these functions. In some methods sensor instruments are used manually for surveys that require environmental variables such as geographical position (GPS), thermometer, people counter, etc. In other methods, people are taken to laboratories where computers and sensors are used to measure emotional reactions, for example by facial expressions, pupil dilation, sweating, etc. These solutions are, however, applied in isolation in watertight studies, which are difficult to use and that do not allow the use of natural, integrated, interactive and dynamic variables of different dimensions or domains.

[010] - In summary, a major limitation to the use of search engines is their inability to generate statistically valid sampling according to the standards and norms recommended by the research institutes, and the other is that they only apply cognitive questionnaires, not being affected by the environment and the emotional signals of / about the interviewee. Given these drawbacks, what can be obtained from current research, originating from automated equipment, is a lot of data that is not statistically valid, which is initially discarded, causing research companies to lose time and money. When research is considered acceptable, much of the collected data is considered shallow in information or one-dimensional, not giving the research full credibility.

 It is therefore one of the objectives and advantages of the present invention to provide an integrated and automated process for obtaining, managing and making available multidimensional information for perception and public opinion surveys, as well as equipment for its realization.

[012] -The process proposed herein comprises the steps of: a . From environmental and social data and public data (respondent) _/ identify data / parameters remotely in real time or cumulative series, multidimensional, sectored, Local and / or remotely obtainable, collect through dedicated and specific sensors all these environmental, bioemotional parameters that may be involved or, in a way, affecting the research result; as well as collect the cognitive data / parameters properly offered by the interviewee (s); roll these data and / or parameters together into processing software that integrates and interprets all information and makes the result available to a data output interface on at least three end result qualities, directing them to their corresponding customers. such as data analysts, managers or automated control systems and the interviewee himself.

Other objectives and advantages of the present invention are achieved with equipment for carrying out the integrated and automated process of obtaining, managing and providing multidimensional information for perception and opinion polls. where the equipment is constituted by a physical base or cabinet to which computational elements, virtual communication elements, environmental and bioemotional sensors, data and communication input and output systems are added, being these elements and systems integrated by the software. process specialist.

[014] - The integrated and automated process for obtaining, managing and providing multidimensional information for public opinion and perception research and the related equipment to carry it out defines a new method in the field of social and environmental research, for which the designation has been adopted. CAKI ("COMPUTER-AIDED KIOSK INTERVIEWING"), or INTERVIEW-ASSISTED COMPUTER TERMINAL. The CAKI method can be conceptually defined as an AUTOMATED POPULATION INTERVIEW SYSTEM that intelligently and dynamically integrates information from the interviewee, including bio-emotional opinions and signals, with information from the physical and social environment, which influence the opinion and perception of the person interviewed. This feature is called MULTIDIMENSIONAL DATA COLLECTION. Because it is automated, the CAKI system can be replicated on a large scale and continuously and endlessly generate complex company data. It is data extracted from what people think and feel, information that varies from person to person, in time, in space, and which usually resides only in one's thinking. Due to its specific virtual communication strategy, the terminal is comparable to a traditional interview process, with real human interviewer without even having it, which ensures that the data generated is of high quality, statistically valid. And because it is a multidimensional process, data contains high information density. CAKI is a process that culminates in the generation of human-environmental multidimensional-aggregate information that, as a whole, is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, by combination of any other research methods. existing.

 [015] The object of this patent application will be fully understood in all its details through the detailed description which will be made based on the following related figures, in which:

Figure ¹¹ illustrates a macro diagram explaining the various levels of the process of obtaining, managing, and making available multidimensional information;

 Figure 2 illustrates a general diagram of the conceptual steps of the human-machine communication strategy, which is part of the process of automating the interviewing equipment object of this patent application.

 Figure 3 illustrates a general diagram of the equipment object of this patent application and its relationship and interconnection with the various sensor groups, peripherals and connections;

 Figure 4 illustrates a schematic and general view of the equipment treated herein;

Figure 5 in detail "A" ^W B "," C "and" D "depicts elements of the multimedia platform EN _2015/000 0 ₀₄

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 virtual communication employed in the man-machine communication strategy, which is part of the subject matter.

 [016] - The integrated and automated process of obtaining, managing and providing multidimensional information for perception and public opinion researches, discussed here, can be understood primarily from Figure 1, where a macro diagram is explained that explains the various levels. involved in the process.

 In said Figure 1 a first block (block 1) representing the "Data Source" representing the information in its raw state can be seen.

 f 018] - Within this level of the process in question is block 2 representative of the "Physical and Social Environment", which block 2 is representative of the condition whereby the characteristics and quality of the environment (noise, pollution) , management codes etc); agglomerations of people; social conflicts; cyclic and stochastic phenomena that include: seasonal climate variability, weather conditions, global climate change, among others. Within the same level represented by block 1 is still block 3 representative of the "Public" and which considers demographic aspects; opinions; perceptions; present and past experiences; preferences; values; guidelines; attitudes; behaviors; activities and specialization; sense of space; among others. This same block 3 has a branch that converges to the data destination at the end of the process, as will be further explained later.

[019] - Between blocks 2 and 3 you are representation 4 concerning the underlying Intrinsic and Reciprocal Interactions.

 [020] - In the macro diagram of figure 1 there is still an objectively representative block 5 of the process proposed here, which starts from multidimensional information and considers aspects: environmental, bioemotional and cognitive.

Block 5 comprises a block 6 which has subblocks of the dimensional levels considered in the present process, where subblocks 7, 8 and 9 are. Subblock 7 (also identified as "A") it deals with the Environmental Dimension, where Physical and Social aspects or parameters are involved; sub-block 8 (also identified as ^W B ") deals with the Bioemotional Dimension, where the Psychophysiological and Biometric aspects or parameters are involved, and finally sub-block 9 (also identified as ^W C") deals with the Cognitive Dimension, where aspects or parameters of spontaneous opinion and stimulated opinion are involved.

 Along with block 6, block 5 further includes block 10 which represents Data Entry Interface (hardware and software integration).

In this block 10 there are three sub-blocks indicated as 11, 12 and 13, where block 11 refers to the Multiple Sensors used for measurements of Environmental Dimension phenomena; sub-block 12 concerns the other Multiple sensors used for measurements of Bioemotional Dimension phenomena; and subblock 13 represents the Computer-User Communication System and the Quiz Multimedia; both based on the Computer-User Interaction System. Another block also contained in block 5 is block 14, which represents the Main Processing Software. This block 14 includes three subblocks indicated as 15, 16 and 17. ^'

 [024] Sub-block 15 represents the integrated and dynamic information acquisition control between Dimensions "A", "B" and "C" represented in sub-blocks 7, 8 and 9 already described; sub-block 16 represents the condition according to which information computation (acquired and pre-existing) occurs and the consequent preparation of data for pre-specified purposes; sub-block 17 represents the sending (or making available) of control data, presentations or commands to the final recipients.

 [025] Still integrating the same block 5 is the block 18 representative of the Data Output Interface (hardware and software integration) according to the use of the process in question. In block 18 there are three subblocks indicated as 19, 20 and 21. Subblock 19 represents the Original Information of the Sensors and Questionnaires; sub-block 20 represents Processed Information for local or remote presentation / use in management decision making processes; and sub-block 21 represents Processed Information for local presentation of direct public interest (to the individual interviewed).

Finally still integrating the macro diagram of figure 1, but outside block 5, a final block indicated as block 22 is provided, which is representative of the Data Destination (Contextual Information) and includes a sub-block 23 representative of Researchers / Analysts; a representative sub-block 24 of Managers / Policy and Control Management Systems / Automation Systems; and finally, an insert 3A from block 3 that integrates block 1 and which concerns, within block 22, the Public with Custom Reviews to increase the quality of the experience.

 [027] -Figure 2 illustrates a general diagram of the conceptual steps of the human-machine communication strategy, where six blocks or sequential fields indicated as 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 are arranged around a field. or central block 31 representing the indication of the Phases of Man-Machine Communication Strategy.

[028] - Field or block 25 is representative of the topic called "Seduction", which contemplates the performative process anchored in the virtual interviewer aimed at attracting the audience near the terminal; field or block 26 is representative of the topic called "Stimulus", which contemplates the process of generating in the person who closely observes the terminal a positive expectation as to the possibility of activating the machine and initiating an interaction, culminating in such activation. ; field or block 27 is representative of the topic called "Adherence", which contemplates the process of making the interviewee engaged with the research, providing argumentative elements that give importance to the process; field or block 28 is representative of the topic called "Force", which contemplates the process of maintaining interest throughout the interview, with a view to reduce tiredness withdrawals pu disinterest; field or block 29 is representative of the topic called "Gratitude" which contemplates the process of thanking participation and reinforcing the importance of participation in order to maximize the positive experience with the terminal; and field or block 30 is representative of the topic called "Credit" that contemplates the process of attributing credibility and institutional value to the research.

 [029] -Figure 3 illustrates a general diagram of the equipment object of this patent application and its relationship and interconnection with the various sensor groups, peripherals and connections, where block 32 is representative of CAKI Research Terminal (equipment). - Control and processing unit consisting of integrated hardware and software.

 [030] -Block 32 connects to block 33 representing "Multidimensional Contextual Information" and in the opposite direction to block 34 representing modem / router peripherals, also to block 35 representative of the Internet environment and with block 36 representing the way of receiving information from remote sensors connected via the Internet.

[031] - Block 32 is further connected to blocks 37, 38, 39 and 40, where block 37 is representative of the remote sensor Information receiving pathway connected via wireless LAN; block 38 is representative of embedded local sensor information (on the equipment itself - block 32); block 39 is representative of the receiving route of the connected remote sensor information. via cable; and block 40 is representative of the information input / output interface for / by the interviewee himself.

 [032] The equipment proposed in the present patent application is shown schematically in Figure 4, which equipment performs the Integrated and Automated Process for Obtaining, Managing and Providing Multidimensional Information for Perception and Public Opinion Research. It is formed by three groups of integrated elements.

 [033] -The presence of these elements arranged in the proposed arrangements as well as the ordering of their functioning, governed by the specific and innovative logic of this process, results in the realization of the final functionalities of the process in question.

 The first equipment forming group (also referred to herein as the terminal) consists of an operating physical platform that houses the constructive elements, which are specifically arranged with each other and with respect to the person interviewed.

 [035] - The second group of elements consists of a virtual communication platform that houses the elements of the human-machine communication automation system and uses a subset of the physical base components for its virtual manifestation.

[036] -The third group of elements is formed by the software platform that, through modules of specific functionality, integrates the other formative elements and the aggregation of functional logic to the process. [037] - Figure 4 shows the first group of forming elements of the equipment, representing its operational physical base. Figure 4 is a basic plan view of the terminal in front view showing most of its components. The plan shows a person in the interviewed position in front of the terminal, represented by a hollow illustration 42.

 [038] -The equipment components that form the operational physical base include the structural elements; the information sending elements; information-receiving elements, which include the multiple environmental (physical and social) and bioemotional (biometric and psychophysiological) sensors, and the sensors are classified as proximal, distal and remote based on the location relative to the equipment; the connecting elements and finally the computational elements.

 [039] -All component parts of the equipment are individually ready-to-use items or materials available on the market that can be freely purchased.

 [040] -Innovation regarding the use of these items is found in their arrangement and integration in support of the steps of the Integrated and Automated Process for Obtaining, Managing and Providing Multidimensional Information for Perception and Public Opinion Research.

[041] -How structural elements are: cabinet body 43, which is a rigid structure that houses or supports the other components of the system. 0 The body of the cabinet is made up of internal structural elements and external cladding elements. The body shape of the cabinet is similar to that of a monolith and the approximate height is that of an adult standing person. The exact shape, volume, and coating patterns define the presence intensity and final appearance of the enclosure body and are arguments of the human-machine communication strategy that is part of the process automation method. The expected constructive variations for the enclosure body are therefore elements of maximizing the penetration of the system to its target audience. Therefore, these constructive characteristics can be adapted to the specificities of the use of the system, including aspects such as the place of application, the available space, whether indoors or outdoors, the location of the equipment in relation to the environment. flow of people, the type of survey and the type of audience to be interviewed.

 [042] - Still as part of the equipment is the imaging screen 44, formed by a flat panel color image generator with LCD or LED technology inserted in the body of the case and protected by a layer of high strength transparent plastic polymer. The set formed by the screen 44 and its protective layer has the property of being touch sensitive and is an element of information input into the system by the person interviewed.

[043] - Another component of the equipment is the interaction panel 45, which is formed by a flat-shaped cabinet shoulder and is located at the base of the screen. THE Panel 45 contains a set of elements of information input into the system by the person interviewed, consisting of alphanumeric keypad, joystick, optical mouse or equivalent system and command buttons.

 [044] - Sound Dome 46 is a three-dimensional oval circular structure attached to the top of the cabinet body and projecting high above the position occupied by the person during the interview process. Dome 46 provides support for the wireless communication antenna on the outside and inside for the interviewee's height sensor and a pair of stereo speakers pointing upwards. The main function of this dome is to bounce the sound from the speakers, concentrating it below, around the person interviewed, creating an immersive sound atmosphere that is not diffused throughout the surrounding environment. The sound dome allows for a richer sensory experience regarding the search terminal's presentation of multimedia content, is an argument of the system's communication strategy and is optional for use.

 [045] -Support base 47 is a flat structure that supports the enclosure body in horizontal terminal installations and has the primary function of providing stability to the structure. Base 47 is also used for. house the respondent's weight sensor. In vertical installations the enclosure body can be attached or inserted into screens, walls or pilasters and does not have a support base.

[046] - Infrared light source 48 is formed by a set of infrared wavelength LED bulbs housed in the front of the case body. It is used to enable the operation of sensors that depend on the lighting of the scene near the equipment, while not producing the inconvenience of a visible light source directly pointed at the subject.

 [047] -In addition to the present equipment are provided information-emitting elements, including direct speakers, which consist of a pair of speakers or sound projection sources housed in the front of the case body, laterally to the picture screen. The main function of direct speakers is to convey the voice of the virtual interviewer from a position analogous to a real dialogue with the speaker in front of the interviewee. Direct speakers can also be used to create stereo sound effects and to support other system audio communication functions.

 [048] - An indirect loudspeaker 50 is also provided, which consists of a pair of speakers mounted on a stand in the dome. The sound emitted is reflected on the lower surface of the dome and projected downwards to the surroundings of the interviewee's head.

[049] -The equipment also has an image screen 51, which is the support medium for the presentation of images in the announcement and interview process. Screen 51 may show static or plain text. motion, still images like photos and diagrams, or moving images like movies and animations. These types of images can be displayed in combined sets or full screen, depending on the purpose of each step of the interview process. The images shown on the screen may also be of two-dimensional or three-dimensional type, in the latter case assisted by an auxiliary 3D visualization system available to the interviewee.

 [050] -The present apparatus further has information receiving elements including an alphanumeric keypad 52.

 [051] -0 Alphanumeric keypad 52 is used for inputting cognitive information in answering open-ended quiz questions (allows text or number input). The keyboard 52 is installed on the interaction panel.

 [052] - Touch screen 53 is integrated with the imaging screen and serves to input cognitive information in answers to questions that admit single or multiple choice of predefined alternatives (closed questions) or questions whose answer means moving a button on the screen. screen representing a slider.

[053] -The Joystick 54 serves to input bioemotional information in responses to audiovisual stimuli that are presented sequentially to the respondent. The joystick 54 allows measuring the motor reflex to the stimuli, whose informative value is complementary to purely cognitive responses about the same stimuli. Joystick lever 54 is also the frame that receives the bioemotional sensor for measuring electrical conductivity of the skin. Joystick 54 is installed on the interaction panel.

 [054] -Optical mouse 55 is for input of cognitive or bioemotional information. It is an alternative to the touch screen system for entering survey responses. It can also be used to measure motor reflex to displayed stimuli, whose informative value is complementary to cognitive responses about the same stimuli. The optical mouse 55 is installed on the interaction panel and can be switched by similar system as track bali or track pad.

 [055] -The pushbuttons 56 have the function of creating an analog interface for interviewee input of responses, providing a characteristic and well-identified interaction experience with the search terminals. Knobs 56 are illuminated and can be either push or rotate (such as a selector or potentiometer). When triggered they produce a determined sound in the system, according to the action. The result of the respondent's action with the buttons is accompanied by changes to the content shown on the screen. Pushbuttons 56 are installed on the interaction panel.

[056] -The system developed for process-based interviewing comprises a wide range of digital sensors, detailed below, that transform respondent manifestations and environmental phenomena into variant digital signals that are in turn incorporated into logic. system for obtaining and processing information. [057] - The following list of environmental and bio-emotional sensors does not exhaust the types that can be incorporated into the process, nor does it require that for full functionality all sensors are present and connected at the same time.

 [058] -The extensive list of sensors derives from the very functional principle of the process in question, which is the ability to gather the most diverse information from cognitive, environmental and bioemotional factors into a processing logic that relies on reciprocal interactions. of these three dimensions of information.

 [059] -The sensor arrangements are dependent on the specifics of research that the terminal applies and may vary as to the types of sensors employed; for the quantities of each sensor and for the location of the sensors in the environment.

 [060] -All sensors are connected to the central computer via cables or wireless networks.

[061] - Multiple sensors are constructively classified by their position relative to the terminal and can be proximal, distal or remote. The proximal class sensors are housed in the case body itself and are wired directly to the central computer's USB ports. Examples of proximal sensors are the camera and microphone mounted on the front of the case body. Distal class sensors are in various positions located in the immediate vicinity of the terminal and in adjacent regions that are connected to formation of the interviewee's experience near the interview point.

[062] -These sensors are connected to the central computer via wired or wireless LAN depending on their specific locations ei _. n Available infrastructure. Examples of distal sensors are the rain gauge and the river or lake level sensor.

 [063] -Remote sensors are located at locations expressively physically distant from the interview point, but which perform measurements and produce data that by their breadth of effect still affects the interviewee, either directly or in the ongoing process of opinion formation.

 [064] -The connection of these remote sensors to the central computer is through one of the terminal's connection channels to the Internet and is mediated by data server computers connected to the Internet. Examples of remote real-time sensors are terrestrial observation satellites (weather, deforestation, burning, etc.) whose images and information can dynamically compose questionnaires that reflect the current conditions of the feature in question. Also classified as remote sensors are virtual online information sensors.

[065] - Virtual sensors are dedicated software agents, linked to the terminal integration and control system, which selectively compiles information from remotely connected databases and dynamically brings useful information to the system. interview process.

[066] - Proximal digital sensors include wide-angle camera 57, which captures images of the social environment around the interviewee; microphone 58, which captures sound from the social environment around the interviewee; directional microphone 59, which captures the interviewee's voice; high definition camera 60, which captures images used for recognition of hand and body gestures, individual recognition by facial geometry; facial expression recognition, pupillary dilation movement capture and eye direction capture; photometer 61, which measures the brightness of the. Lumens environment; person sensor 62, which captures person approach movement and interviewee presence in front of the terminal (function linked to the terminal automation); vibration sensor 63, which captures vibrations transmitted to the terminal by contact of the respondent (bio-emotional psycho-physiological sampling) or by vandalism (sampling of the social environment); thermometer 64, which measures the temperature of the interview site (physical environment sampling); hygrometer 65, which measures the air humidity of the interview site (physical environment sampling); distance sensor 66, which measures the height of the person standing in front of the terminal (biometric bioemotional sampling); weight sensor 67, which measures the weight of the person standing in front of the terminal (biometric bioemotional sampling); epithelial sensor 68, which measures skin conductivity, skin temperature, and heart rate. Mounts to joystick lever (bioemotional sampling psychophysiological type);

[067] -The equipment in question also has digital distal sensors, which include a barometer: measures atmospheric pressure (physical environment sampling); thermometer: measures local temperature (physical environment sampling); hygrometer: measures the humidity of the local air (physical environment sampling); rain gauge: measures accumulated local rainfall (physical environment sampling); anemometer: measures wind speed and direction (physical environment sampling); microphone: captures the noises incident in the region (sampling of the physical environment); photometer: measures local brightness (physical environment sampling); pyranometer: measures the intensity of local solar radiation (physical environment sampling); cloud sensor: measures cloud coverage (physical environment sampling); wave chart: measures wave frequency and amplitude (physical environment sampling); tide gauge: measures the tide level (physical environment sampling); water level: measures the level of rivers, lakes and floods (physical environment sampling); soil moisture: measures soil moisture in trails and ravines (physical environment sampling); air pollution: measures air quality for gases and particulate matter (physical environment sampling); water turbidity: measures water quality for transparency (physical environment sampling); Atmospheric mist: measures air quality for transparency (physical environment sampling); camera: captures landscape images (physical environment sampling); people counter: measures how many people pass a given point (environmental sampling Social); vehicle counter: measures the number of vehicles passing a given point (social environment sampling).

 [068] -The present equipment may also have remote digital sensors, which may include satellite: captures images of the Earth from space (sampling of the physical environment).

[069] - Virtual sensors can also be provided: captures data from timeframes and current fact information (sampling of social and physical environments). An example of the application of virtual sensors is to obtain, from the interviewee entering his / her zip code, geo-referenced geographic information such as photos, digital maps and others, which will integrate questionnaires in execution. Another example is to obtain patterns of cyclical phenomena, evidenced by time series of stored data, such as the climatic regimes of a particular region, defined only at the time of the interview. The application of virtual sensors also includes obtaining data on current facts and trends, derived from information sourced from online media, the various instant monitoring systems available online such as webcams, airports, traffic, etc. or filtered data extracted from social networks such as Facebook, ^' Twitter, Google+, etc., which are collected and inserted in interviews in sync with the reported events themselves.

[070] -0 this equipment, or more specifically the search terminal, has connections for energy and communication. Connections are made via cables or are made using wireless technologies where a power supply cable 69 is provided.

 [071] - Power cord 69 has the function of connecting the unit to the local power supply infrastructure. The energy from such a connection is used directly for the operation of the computational elements / sensors and other electrical and electronic elements of the system, as well as to charge the batteries of the internal UPS system.

 [072] - A LAN communication cable 70 is also provided for connecting the unit's computer to a wired LAN when available at the location of use. Wired LAN, when enabled, provides the system with access to the Internet in situations where terminal operation is performed wholly or partially in online mode. This link can be used for standard terminal communication functions (sending survey data, querying external databases, and updating software and loaded surveys).

[073] - USB 71 communication cables are also provided, which have the function of connecting the unit's computer to the environmental and bioemotional digital sensors installed in the case itself. USB communication cable 71 is also for connecting the unit to a USB memory stick. Such an arrangement Allows manual extraction of data generated by applied searches or for updating the software and searches loaded on the terminal, in situations where the operation is done exclusively in offline mode.

 [074] - Another item foreseen in this section is Wireless Local Area Network Antenna 72, which is part of the system that communicates between the unit and the environmental sensors installed in its vicinity. Such a system also connects the unit to a wireless LAN via access points which, when enabled, provides the system with access to the Internet in situations where the operation of the terminal is performed wholly or partially in online mode. The wireless LAN antenna is installed on top of the enclosure body or dome when present.

[075] - Also included in the terminal is the wireless LAN adapter, which generates and interprets wireless LAN signals for data communication. This component is part of the system that communicates between the unit and the surrounding environmental sensors. Such a system also connects the unit to a wireless LAN via access points which, when enabled, provides the system with access to the Internet in situations where the operation of the terminal is performed wholly or partially in online mode. This link can be used for standard terminal communication functions (sending survey data, querying external databases, and updating software and loaded surveys). Wireless LAN adapter is installed internally to the case body as a peripheral component of the central computer.

 [076] - A paired wireless connection system is also envisaged, which is part of the system that provides optional direct communication between the terminal and interviewed user mobile devices (smartphones, for example).

 [077] - A cellular modem (3G modem, for example) is provided at the terminal being handled and adds to the unit wireless Internet access capability via cellular operators' data network services, which have wide coverage. on a global scale. This connection can be used for both the terminal's standard communication functions (sending survey data, browsing external databases and updating software and loaded searches) as well as the emergency communication system, which notifies a service. technical support should the terminal experience any type of operational failure or failure. The cell phone modem is installed internally to the body of the case.

[078] -The terminal also has a central computer that makes the physical connection between the various elements of the system through its input and output (I / O) ports, and operates them from the software commands of the system, which runs on your central processing (CPU). The computer is integrated with a memory media for data storage (Hard Disk Drive or similar), which stores both the data generated by the application of the interviews and the terminal software, the surveys. loaded and auxiliary databases, if any. The central computer hardware may be that of a typical personal computer (PC) and is installed internally within the body of the case.

[079] - Figure 5 in its detail "A", "B", ⁿ C "and ^W D" depicts elements of the multimedia virtual communication platform employed in the human-machine communication strategy, which constitute the second set of elements that form the research equipment. The virtual communication platform houses the elements of the automation system of human machine communication. The physical basis for its virtual manifestation is formed by a subset of the components formed by the image screen, the speakers and the proximity and presence sensors. Figure 5 shows the graphics and screen arrangements. The specific elements of the virtual communication system are described below, where initially the character is.

[080] -The terminal shows an anthropomorphic virtual character who establishes communication with the passing audience and the interviewee when it becomes defined. _. The character (pictured in figure 5) can take various forms and features. It can be a realistic or caricatured representation of a human (generic or famous), a robot, an animal, a drawing, an abstract creature, or any representation to which human characteristics such as expressions, gestures, and speech are attributed. The choice of the specific character or characters to be employed in the application of research will depend on factors linked to the nature of the research, the intended audience. reach and characteristics of the public attending the place of installation of the equipment.

 [081] -Performances: To establish a verbal and nonverbal personal communication channel between the electronic terminal and the person interviewed, the anthropomorphized virtual character is programmed to perform performances that include tracking the movement of a person near the terminal, looking at the interviewee's eye / gesturing with head, hands 74 and body 75, expressing face emotions, expressing comics, giving breath and sigh signals, talking, pointing at objects on and off screen, virtually holding panel with written questions from the 76 and dance, among other forms of mimicking human behaviors characteristic of interpersonal contact. The main lines of the character include greeting the audience, inviting them to participate in the research, explaining the purpose of the research, giving instructions on how to use the terminal, giving a stimulus message while filling out questionnaires, leading the interviewee not to give up in the middle and thanking them for their thanks. participation.

 [082] - Screen Arrangements: The 44 screen image that equips the terminal has four combined functions. It is the media support for the survey textual ad 77 ("banner") that also identifies the institutions responsible for the study, which is an essential credibility element for performing valid sampling.

[083] - The screen is also the stage on which the virtual character performs his performances and establishes a firm bond between people and the terminal. [084] - The screen is still the element where questions, visual stimuli and alternatives are shown to respondents 78. And finally, at the bottom of the screen is the information panel 79 which provides a follow up of the interview progress and gives express (written and iconic) instructions on what next action the interviewee should take.

 [085] - In full screen mode the terminal displays only one visual element, which may be the banner, the interviewer or the multimedia questionnaire and, depending on the application phase, the information panel.

 [086] - In shared screen mode the terminal displays the elements in various content arrangements. The main variations are described below. Arrangement number 1 indicated by reference number 80 has

banner, interviewer bust and information panel; arrangement number 2 indicated by reference numeral 81 has a banner, interviewer's torso and information panel; Arrangement number 3 indicated by numerical reference 82 has interviewer body and information panel Arrangement number 4 indicated by numerical reference 83 has interviewer body, text panel and information panel.

[087] - Software integration and control system elements: the third set that forms the research equipment is the software platform that, through eight specific functionality modules, integrates the other training elements and adds functional logic to the process. Integrated and Automated Information Collection, Management, and Availability Multidimensional Research for Perceptions and Public Opinion. The software was developed especially for this process and is not available for purchase on the market.

 [088] -The modules that make up the software platform are: virtual approach; sampling and survey control; digital sensor control (request and control sub-module; active filter sub-module; specific sub-modules for integrating each type of sensor); presentation of multimedia questionnaire; information integration and processing (linear and adaptive operation); connection and communication; information output (for technical and scientific purposes; automation; self-service information) and terminal automation and monitoring. Each software platform module is described in detail:

 [089] - Virtual Approach Module: This module controls the behavior of the virtual character in approaching the audience. It uses information from presence and proximity sensors for character selection and scripting and to determine character action in aspects such as facial expression, head and body movements, gaze, gestures, and speech.

[090] - Sampling and Surveys Control Module: This module controls how many interviews and which surveys should be applied daily by the terminal to complete the projected samples at the scheduled times. Terminal automation allows multiple searches to be conducted concurrently on a same terminal. The next interviewee may answer a survey other than the previous one. The module also automatically pre-evaluates the internal consistency of responses and the quality of questionnaires by increasing ^" or ^" decreasing the final sampling for loaded surveys. It checks the volume of unanswered questions, questions answered in less than the minimum required time and geometric patterns of choice of answers, among other aspects that decrease the value of use of the questionnaire in data analysis.

 [091] - Digital Sensor Control Module: This module interfaces between the digital sensors and the information processing and integration module. It sends a sensor information request and receives the measurement data that is made available to other stages of integrated information processing. This module is comprised of a request and control sub-module, an active filter sub-module, which monitors the sensors to determine predefined critical conditions and specific sub-modules for integrating each type of sensor capable of interacting with the sensor. system. This modular architecture allows new types of sensors to be added to the system at any time.

[0923-Multimedia Quiz Presentation Module: This module displays on-screen or through the virtual interviewer's speech the content of the questionnaire and collects the cognitive responses entered by the interviewee, the content presented can be from texts, pictures, movies and animations, with . answer options that can be virtual buttons (tap on screen) or physical, joystick or mouse movements, voice, and gestures. This module provides the information for the integration and processing module.

 [093] - Information Integration and Processing Module: This module provides and controls the coordinated retrieval of multidimensional information. To perform this function, the module compares with each other and against predefined scores the values obtained in the cognitive, environmental and bioemotional variables. From specific instructions and parameters determined by the program according to each research, the module invokes the questions that will be dynamically presented to the interviewee following and also determines the new obtaining of sensory data, in a process that culminates with the generation of multidimensional information- human-environmental aggregate. The Information Integration and Processing Module has two modes of operation: linear and adaptive. In the linear mode, environmental / bioemotional data are captured from requests for this information, which are inserted in the sequence of questionnaire questions. In adaptive mode the definition of the incident subject in the questionnaire, or the sequence of interviewee incident issues occurs from certain continuously varying environmental / bioemotional conditions predetermined by conditional logic filters preloaded into the system.

[094] - Connection & Communication Module: This Module performs terminal operations that involve connecting to wired and wireless networks and cellular networks. It includes establishing connections, tracking stability and restore connections in the event of a fall. The module also persistently executes the search-generated data delivery to remote servers, updates the terminal software, and loads new searches to be run or revised versions of searches in the process of being applied. In offline operating terminals this module provides an automated interface for extracting survey data, loading surveys and updating software by simply inserting a flash drive into a USB port, accompanied by entering a terminal access password. The module also communicates via Bluetooth to transmit data, depending on their destination, directly to respondents' mobile devices.

[095] - Information Output Module: This module formats information obtained and processed in accordance with the three uses provided for in the Integrated and Automated Process for Obtaining, Managing and Providing Multidimensional Information for Perception and Public Opinion Research, aimed at analysis. primary data, for digital automation and for the interviewee himself. For the technical and scientific purpose the module generates a set of digital information accessible in databases to be used in quantitative and qualitative analysis of primary data, performed through specialized software. For automation purposes, the module generates processed digital information to be read by digitally controllable machines and devices, with specific formats dependent on each target data system. The purpose of automation It also includes feeding social networks through the module's generation of information interpreted in the form of text messages to be immediately understood by people and presents the information via automatic postings on social networking services. For the purpose of self-service information, the module generates interpreted information to be immediately understood by a human and presents the information through the communication elements present in the terminal itself (screen, speakers, etc). The information thus generated can be transferred to the interviewee-user domain via electronic data transmission (to email addresses or to portable devices via Bluetooth wireless communication).

[096] - Terminal automation and monitoring module: This module has four basic functionalities: regulation of terminal operating cycles, monitoring of system functional health, identification and prevention of acts of vandalism, and logging of all operation performed and operating status and errors full time. In the function of regulating the duty cycles the module controls the days when the terminal should be active or inactive, determines the beginning of the interview period and its end from predefined times, displays the message "out of service". "when appropriate. In the system functional health monitoring function, the module also checks whether the software is functional or uneven, if there is power to the terminal, if there is persistent failure in network communication location and if there are malfunctioning sensors. In the vandalism prevention function, the module receives signals from the vibration sensor and determines if the terminal is being vandalized, activating the protection features (on-screen and sound alert messages, surveillance system activation, etc.). In the logging function all operations performed by the terminal, periodic health status data and occurrence of problems are recorded in detail and make up the terminal's memory. When a problem is detected, malfunctioning or vandalism, the module immediately sends the technician responsible for the terminal SMS message by cell phone with information of the incident code.

 [097] - In order to allow the understanding of the object proposed by the present patent application, an explanation will be given below as to how an interview takes place through the use of the terminal treated here.

 [098] -Description of an interview: For the narrative description of the operation of the process, the person, entity or system receiving the final data is considered as the client, and the person providing the information in the form of opinions, perceptions and opinions is interviewed. bioemotional data.

[099] -The process can have three types of application, considering three scenarios of use of the generated final information. In type 1, information is made available to search clients, who will conduct data analysis according to their search interests. In type 2, the data feeds Secondary processes for controlling _/ automating or remotely displaying information, including integrating and formatting information to automatically feed social networks. In type 3, the client of the information processed is the interviewee himself, who benefits from the intelligent integration of the information he provides with information provided by the system into a final information product of interest.

 [100] -0 The process begins from the moment the research terminal, which is located in a circulation area of people in public or private places, enters the range of vision of the person to be potentially interviewed. The terminal has a size and layout designed to provide a firm but harmonious presence at the installation site. Be both easily seen and minimally intrusive in the environment. When viewing the terminal the person is drawn to its proximity by executing a machine-man communication strategy.

 [101] - In a first stage of communication, this strategy is based on the performance of a virtual interviewer, or character, who occupies the screen and broadcasts specific messages. The character has been loaded and is run by the part of the talk show that makes the human machine interface. This character then performs communication action by displaying an inviting facial expression or an explicit gesture inviting interaction with the terminal.

[102] One possible form this interviewer assumes is that of a charismatic animal, such as a friendly gesturing and talking coati. When already near can identify smaller elements arranged in it, begins a second communication stage / where the interviewee receives graphic visual stimuli to press a button on the screen, which effectively initiates the virtual interview. This button is pressed directly on the screen if a touch monitor is used or via a computer mouse arranged on a stand near the screen.

 [103] - These graphic stimuli involve flashy icons and text with information about the search and languages spoken by the terminal and appear in the main area of the screen. The stimuli also come from a set of animated visual demonstration icons and short phrases with instruction on the next action the respondent wants or expects to take, both arranged in a status bar below the main screen area.

[104] At this point the animated icon refers to the simplified drawing of a hand performing the click action and the phrase is a caption to the icon. The short phrase is displayed sequentially in the languages in which the terminal is enabled to speak for the search in question. Once the click (command) that initiates the interview is performed, the virtual interviewer who explains about the research, its importance, the time involved and a call for participation, which aims to form or reinforce the interviewee's conviction about their participation, occupies the screen. research and, as far as possible, participate until the end of the process. At the end of the presentation comes the first question, which starts the cognitive phase of the process. This phase consists of a set of questions and their answer tables, which can be T BR2015 / 000004

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 be formed by clickable alternatives, open fields for entering numeric and text information, sliding virtual buttons, spoken response pickup, among others.

 [105] -The part of the human-machine interface that performs the cognitive phase is comprised of a sequence of question screens, answer boards, and procedural information for answering and advancing the research, based on a pleasing and smoothly functioning visual experience. intuitive. Depending on the type of quiz and survey, the interviewer character may appear to ask questions, make encouraging comments, or give instructions to proceed, creating an interactive machine experience that closely resembles human-to-human experience.

 [106] - Parallel to the processes of the Cognitive phase, the system realizes functionalities of the bioemotional and environmental phases, transparent to the interviewee, and which make up the multidimensional characteristic of the system. In these phases there is the collection of biometric and psychophysiological information from the interviewee and information from the physical and social environments in which the interviewee is under influence.

[107] - The program processes this collected information and uses it in a logical context that guides or is guided by the development of Cognitive phase issues. At all times of the interview the information panel shows a progress bar of the process and the remaining minutes until its completion. When the questions are over, the virtual interviewer returns to the screen and expresses a message of Thanks for participating, after which the research credits are shown on the screen, ending the Cognitive phase, ie, the interview cycle visible to the interviewee. This termination occurs at this time for terminal type 1 or type 2 uses.

 [108] - When using type 3, the resulting processed information that is of interest to the interviewee may also be displayed on the screen, who may decide to permanently retain this information via local printing, network transmission to the Internet. or direct transmission to mobile communication device, among others.

 [109] - In any mode of use, the terminal internally records the data generated from the interview held in an electronic form and stores it on its hard disk or sends it, via a network to which it is connected, to a server that becomes a server. make data available in real time to survey clients, who in type 3 is the interviewee himself.

 [110] - Conceptual background: Automated interviews through an anthropomorphic character performing the role of virtual interviewer.

[111] - A key innovation that has been implemented in this new research method is that it gives the process the ability to automate interviews while maintaining reliability in the data obtained. The mode of operation of this component of the process that makes interview automation involves creating an interviewer simulation, which causes the respondent to involuntary illusion of perception. of the interaction that would be expected if the interviewer were human. This stems from the fact that people generally tend to automatically confer truly human attributions on anthropomorphic characters, that is, with human characteristics. This phenomenon has been studied by the field of psychology and forms the conceptual basis of the developments of this invention.

 [112] In the invention the "anthropomorphic factor" is employed in the form of a virtual interviewer, which may be the figure of an animal, a robot or a drawing to which human characteristics are attributed, or even a properly human figure. This figure that is shown on a monitor and is animated by the computer program that controls the system, displays head and body movements, facial expressions, speech, movements and so on.

[113] - Respected scientific studies indicate that the perception of humanity in characters stems from subconscious psychological factors conditioned by the degree of anthropomorphism of these characters. Among the main characteristics that provoke this perception is that it has a human face, which acquires social and emotional significance. People automatically answer faces, which make objects look more human [1]. Two other characteristics in this sense is that the character has a physical appearance, not just the face, and expresses social behavior. Attributes such as head, arms or legs increase anthropomorphism, especially when accompanied by social movements such as turning the head towards the person [2]. T / BR2015 / 000004

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 They also contribute to the perception of humanity social context stimuli such as having a person's name and demonstrating personality characteristics. Humans often attribute personality traits to animals and objects when their behaviors fit into stereotypes of people with these same traits. Doing this is automatic and helps to predict behavior and form expectations from familiar patterns [4]. The reason for this is that humans make mental models of themselves and others during social interactions. Anthropomorphism involves a mental model in which the nonhuman (animal or object) is seen to have human attributes. Interaction with a nonhuman consumes cognitive resources (attention, reasoning, etc.) that are not unlimited resources in the brain. During an interaction with an animal or object, rather than thinking intellectually about what happens, it focuses on what it is doing and automatically assigns mental models, as it does on human interaction [5].

 [115] -In this invention the anthropomorphic virtual interviewer performs social action in a sequence of actions that form part of the terminal's communication strategy as described above.

[116] An experiment was conducted with a prototype of the invention to demonstrate the designed functionality of generating statistically valid sampling. In the study in question, for one month the people interviewed were randomly divided into two groups. One group was approached by one human interviewer and the other group participated in the interview only interacting with the research terminal and its virtual interviewer. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the quality and quantity of data obtained in each of the samples, which was expected and is explained by these advanced psychological studies [9].

 [117] - The previously existing research terminal technology, which does not have the "anthropomorphic factor" in its strategy of interaction with the interviewee, is not capable of generating such results, because people end up attributing to the machine what it it really is, by reducing the attention paid to it and the interest in initiating and sustaining an interaction, except for people particularly interested in machines and technology, which characterizes lower use value sampling by partiality of representation.

 [118] - Multidimensionality of information collected, processed and made available.

 [119] - The presence of environmental (physical and social) and bioemotional (biometric and psychophysiological) sensors integrated into the application of cognitive questionnaires, coordinated and controlled by a computer program that makes up the interview process, is another fundamental innovation of the present invention. . This arrangement allows obtaining information of dimensions not normally explored together by traditional researches, even those employing some electronic technology.

[120] -The incorporation of environmental sensors in the process allows to measure the influence that 4

 46

 physical environment or social environment cause the people interviewed. Physical environment sensors incorporated in the method include microphone / landscape cameras (to measure factors such as water turbidity and atmospheric visibility), rain gauge, thermometer, barometer, anemometer, hygrometer, radiometer, GPS, river and lake level, wavograph, among others. These sensors may be close to the research electronic terminal, wired directly to it, or positioned away from it and wired wirelessly. Sensors of the social environment include automatic people and vehicle counters, people-produced noise level microphones, license plate readers and virtual sensors, Internet-based information pickups such as news, social networking topics and so on. .

[121] - Already. The incorporation of bioemotional sensors allows us to measure body characteristics and responses, which reveal perceptions and values more deeply rooted in the human psyche and free of cognitive filters. The field of science that studies such relationships is affective or emotional computing and is referred to as computing that is relative, derived from, or influences emotion [6]. Affective computing results from a multidisciplinary knowledge that encompasses psychology, cognition, physiology, and the science of science. computation. Given the essential role of emotion in human cognition and perception as demonstrated by recent neurological studies, affective computing has great potential to help understand people's perceptions, attitudes, and intentions. Between the The most characteristic bioemographic sensors integrated in this invention include the facial expression capture camera, the pupillary dilation / contraction capture camera, the contact electrometer for measuring the electrical conductivity of the skin, the infrared thermometer, the heart rate meter, the mass scale and height meter. Bioemotional sensors also allow for implicit association testing (IAT) [7] which is an indirect way of measuring cognitive parameters that does not use direct opinion measured through questionnaires. This form is considered much less susceptible to having the information falsified, intentionally or not, by the interviewee [8]. An example of using IAT is measuring how quickly the respondent moves a cursor by hand to click on a particular picture or caption of an object or idea that represents something more or less meaningful to it rather than another of value. diverse. The muscle command to perform the action comes from brain activity that precedes any thought filters that accomplish the stated cognitive response.

[1223-E because the research terminals developed in this invention are placed where the public naturally passes, this data from multiple sources is captured at the point where the experience takes place, in the interviewee's environments and natural situations, giving more reliability to the information in relation to a alternative use where, for example, people are taken to laboratories to measure non-cognitive variables, which already predisposes them to feel objects of study, interfering 15 000004

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 in their reactions, perceptions and opinions.

 [123] - Integrates the process multidimensionality with the electronic questionnaire application interface with support of multimedia resources for the collection of declared cognitive information. There are two ways to apply questions: in spontaneous mode the questions are asked directly and the answers collected. In the stimulated mode, textual information, a picture, audio, animation, or video with information defined by the interview study are shown on the screen before the question is presented and answered. This interface is equipped with solutions that reduce the difficulty or effort of answering the questionnaire by adopting a clean layout, graphic elements that create metaphors of real objects and situations (gradient of smiling and sad drawings to express joy or satisfaction) to replace scales. excessively technical psychological problems, such as the Likert scale.

[124] Intelligent integration of multidimensional data: The presence of bioemotional and environmental sensors and the concomitant application of electronic cognitive questionnaires form a data entry basis for a higher level of system implementation. Based on process innovation, intelligent integration of multidimensional data is operationalized by software that performs dynamic control of data collection and integration and processing according to the elaborate information product that has been defined as the output or destination of the data. The logical combination of the three dimensions of information makes it possible to investigate both people and phenomena. that affect or are affected by them in a unique way. An experiment was conducted with a prototype of the invention to demonstrate this functionality. The satisfaction of visitors to a natural park was surveyed through electronic questionnaire questions and, at the same time, sensors measured a set of environmental variables linked to climatic conditions and water parameters used for recreation.

[125] - Environmental factors have been found to have a statistically significant impact on perceived satisfaction with the visit [9]. In another implementation of the same experiment, a camera automatically photographed facial expressions of respondents in sync with two predetermined moments of an on-screen display of the anthropomorphic character acting as a virtual interviewer. The moment before the performance was registered a majority of serious faces and after the performance, with a moderate dose of humor, the faces were smiling, showing that the interviewees were having a pleasant experience with the electronic research terminal. This test demonstrated the effectiveness of employing the communication strategy incorporated into the interview process developed in this invention. And it also explained the high degree of adherence of respondents to remain until the end in the automatic interview, without leaving the terminal prematurely [9]. The system has been structured so that this integration between multiple sensor based data pathways can be used to apply dynamic questionnaires where the questions are chosen by the system to measure respondents' perception and opinion of the physical and social phenomena that are occurring at that moment, whether it is the noise of a passing train or helicopter, a wave of heat or cold, a bombshell broadcast by the media. communication, which is also captured by social environmental sensors integrated into the terminal process.

 [126] - This ability to measure point phenomena is also due to the automatic character of operation, which makes the terminal always ready to conduct the research determined by the intelligent information generation system processed. These features are virtually impossible to achieve in a traditional survey method, even those that use electronic support today.

 [127] - Process product distribution: multidimensional-human-environmental aggregate information.

 [128] - In this final step of the process, interactively collected multidimensional data is processed and prepared to meet the end-customer need for human-environmental multidimensional-aggregated information generated by the research electronic terminal. The process can have three types of application, considering three scenarios of utilization of the generated final data. The information processed is the system products, which may be intended for (1) Post-analysis, (2) Digital Automation, including Media Broadcast, and (3) Self-Service Information.

[129] Post-analysis: Information prepared for The post-analysis output product is formatted as a compendium of the process-generated primary data and includes three types of data: response data (cognitive and environmental and bioemotional sensors), metadata (content information, and data types generated in the survey) and paradados (data about the process by which survey data were collected). Data in this mode is made available in databases with minimal or no compilation compared to data immediately generated by the search terminal and intended for technical and scientific use. This presentation produces text and numeric inputs for specialized software (MS Exceli, MS Access, SPSS, n-Vivo, HyperResearch, etc.) that researchers and managers use for advanced data analysis in quantitative and qualitative research.

[130] -Digital automation: The information prepared for the digital automation output product is intensely processed and formatted as a pre-analyzed data set, ready to feed a second processing step, as input of process-related digital equipment. . The purpose of this product is automation that takes into account the multi-dimensionality of human experience in environments of interest that the process is capable of extracting. Application examples involve feeding digital information panels that translate into graphs and consolidated values the quality of the experience of the public subjected to intensive management of space, behavior and people themselves. These panels can be simple and public, like a "thermometer" of happiness. of people in a locality or complex and reserved, as in the management of a park network that follows in real time the efficiency indicators of their resource management prescriptions within the scope of visitation / through objective and subjective visitor satisfaction. Another application may, from measured human reactions, automatically change ambient music, change air conditioning temperature, send email or mobile alert of satisfaction, service and product satisfaction below (or above) established limits. , among others.

[131] - Information prepared for the digital automation output product may further be intended for media diffusion, which is formatted to feed and interact with social networks. The module generates interpreted information to be immediately understood by society and presents the information via automatic post creation on social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and other online information services. The purpose of this service is to enable members of society to consult or receive real-time updates on the set of experience that sites equipped with the research terminal are generating in the public, broken down into their various profiles, reported with statistical accuracy by the public themselves. , sensors and intelligent process algorithm. As an example, a person might look for where people with the same interests are having the most fun or if Absolutely Funniest Places contemplate the individual characteristics of the seeker with the rigor of bioemotional information computing and environmental in the result.

[132] - Self-service information: Information prepared for the self-service information output product is formatted as the respondent's own consumption-oriented data, which benefits from the intelligent integration of the information provided by him with other information provided by the system. This combination produces a final information product of interest that contains the accumulated knowledge of the real-time physical and social environmental sensors that feed the terminal, cross-referenced with customer characteristics _/ desires and preferences, informed by cognitive questionnaire and bioemotional sensors. The recommendations thus generated are absolutely personalized and unique in time and space. An example is the use of self-service information terminals in. tourist cities that could indicate places and activities that take into account factors such as visitor personality plus wave height to recommend surfing or not recommend boating or recommend a beach with few people and a restaurant with many people, factors these which change frequently and stochastically. The resulting information can be viewed on the screen, uploaded to a mobile device via a Bluetooth connection, or sent to an email address.

[133] -Objectively the process hereby presented has the following characteristics, * A) Automating the application of research by a terminal equipment 32, being anchored in a developed man-machine communication strategy using a virtual interviewer and related arguments for obtaining sampling with statistical validity; B) Be based on the integrated and concomitant use of multiple environmental dimension sensors, which include physical and social environments and the bioemotional dimension, where multiple sensors are included for biometric and psychophysiological information in conjunction with the cognitive interface of an electronic questionnaire, which allows to explore exclusively social and environmental phenomena and their intrinsic relations; C) The process in question allows to capture environmental / bioemotional data from requests for this information that are inserted in the sequence of questions of the questionnaire; D) Define the subject matter in the questionnaire, or the sequence of questions incident to the interviewee from certain continuously varying environmental / bioemotional conditions, predetermined by conditional logic filters preloaded into the system; E) be based on the CAKI search method.

 [134] - Bibliographical references:

 {1} DiSalvo, C.F., Gemperle, F., Forlizzi, J, Kiesler, S. (2002). Ali robots are not created equal: The design and perception of humanoid robot heads. DIS Conference Proceedings, London, England, June 25-28.

 {2} Bruce, A., Nourbakhsh, I., and Simmons, R. (2002). The role of expressiveness and attention in human-robot interaction. ICRA

(3) Heider, F. and Simmel, (1944) An experimental study of apparent behavior, America Journal of Psychology, 57, 243-249. {4} Bargh, JA, Chen, M., and Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 230-244.

 {5} Malle, B.F., and Pearce, B.E. (2001). Attention to behavioral events during interaction: Two actor-observer gaps and three attempts to close them. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 278-294.

 - {6} Picard, R. W (2000). Affective Computing.

Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

 {7} Green Ald, A. G. McGhee, D. E .; Schwartz, J.L. K. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality arid Social Psychology, Vol 74 (6), 1464-1480

 {8} Steffens, M.C. (2004). Is the Implicit Association Test Immune to Faking? Experimental Psychology, 51, 3, 165-179

 {9} Noble, I. (2011). The development and evaluation of an automated multimedia kiosk-based visitor survey system in Iguazu National Park, Brazil. Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. Colorado State University. Fort Collins, CO.

 {10} Olsen, R. & Sheets, C. (2008). Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). In Lavrakas, P. (Ed.). Encyclopedia of survey research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. P. 119-122. DiSalvo, C.F., Gemperle, F., Forlizzi, J, Kiesler, S. (2002). Ali robots are not created equal: The design and perception of umanoid robot heads. DIS Conference Proceedings, London, England, June 25-28.

Claims

 "INTEGRATED AND AUTOMATED PROCESS FOR OBTAINING, MANAGEMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL INFORMATION FOR PERCEPTION AND PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH", which is characterized by the automatic application of searches by terminal equipment (32),. being anchored in a developed human-machine communication strategy using a virtual interviewer and related arguments to obtain sampling with statistical validity; The proposed process is based on the integrated and concomitant use of multiple environmental dimension sensors, which include physical and social environments, and the bioemotional dimension, where multiple sensors are included to obtain biometric and psychophysiological information, in conjunction with the cognitive interface. an electronic questionnaire; The process in question allows capturing environmental / bioemotional data from requests for this information that are inserted in the sequence of questions of the questionnaire; The present process allows us to define the subject matter in the questionnaire, or the sequence of questions that occur to the interviewee from certain continuously varying environmental / bioemotional conditions predetermined by conditional logic filters preloaded into the system.

2 .- "INTEGRATED AND AUTOMATED PROCESS FOR OBTAINING, MANAGEMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF MULTI-DIMENSIONAL INFORMATION FOR PERCEPTION AND PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH", according to claim 1, characterized in consider in its flowchart a first block (1) / representing the "Data Source", which represents the information in its raw state, and within that level of the process in question is the block (2) representative of the "Physical Environment and Social ", being such block 2 representative of the condition that in the process under consideration are considered the characteristics and quality of the environment, which include: noise, pollution, management codes, agglomerations of people, social conflicts, among others; cyclic and stochastic phenomena that include: seasonal climate variability, weather conditions, global climate change, among others; within the same level represented by block (1) is still block (3) representative of the "Public" and which considers demographic aspects; opinions; perceptions; present and past experiences; preferences; values; guidelines; attitudes; behaviors; activities and specialization; sense of space; among others; same block (3) has a branch that converges to the data destination at the end of the process; between blocks (2) and (3) is the representation of the "Underlying Intrinsic and Reciprocal Interactions", indicated as (4); block (5) is representative of the process proposed here, which starts from multidimensional information and that considers aspects: environmental, bioemotional and cognitive, said block 5 comprises a block (6) that presents sub-blocks of the dimensional levels considered in the present. process, where sub-blocks (7), (8) and (9) are, where sub-block 7 deals with the "Environmental Dimension", where Physical and Social aspects or parameters are involved; sub-block 8 already deals with "Bioemotional Dimension", where the Psychophysiological and Biometric aspects or parameters are involved; and sub-block (9) deals with the "Cognitive Dimension" _/ where the aspects or parameters of "Spontaneous Opinion" and "Stimulated Opinion" are involved; block 10 represents "Data Entry Interface" where hardware and software integration occurs, said block 10 includes three sub-blocks indicated as {11), (12) and (13), where block (11) concerns the "Multiple Sensors" used for measurements of phenomena in the "Environmental Dimension"; sub-block (12) concerns the other "Multiple Sensors" used for measurements of "Bioemotional Dimension"phenomena; and subblock 13 represents the "Computer-User Communication System" and the "Multimedia Questionnaire"; both based on the "Computer-User Interaction System"; block (14) contained in block (5) represents "Main Processing Software" and includes three sub-blocks indicated as (15), (16) and (17); where subblock (15) represents "Information acquisition control" in an integrated and dynamic manner between the Dimensions represented in subblocks (7), (8) and (9); since the sub-block (16) is the condition that occurs computation of information that include information acquired and pre-existing and subsequent preparation of data for the purposes pre-speci ^O ADAS; subblock (17) represents the sending or making available of data, presentations or IOCT commands to final recipients; still integrating the block (5) there is the block (18) representative of the data output interface, where the integration of hardware and In this block (18) there are three sub-blocks indicated as (19), (20) and (21), and sub-block (19) represents the "Original Information of the Sensors and Questionnaires"; sub-block 20 represents "Processed Information for local or remote presentation / use in management decision making"; and subblock 21 represents "Processed Information" for local presentation of direct public interest to the individual interviewed; further integrating the macro diagram, but outside block 5, a final block indicated as block 22 is provided, which is representative of the "Data Destination" which is defined as "Contextual Information" and includes a subblock. (23) representative of "Researchers / Analysts"; a sub-block (24) representative of "Policy & Control Management / Automation Systems / Managers"; An insertion (3A) of block (3) which is part of block (1) and which concerns, within block (22), the "Public" with "Custom analysis to increase the quality of the experiment".

3. - "INTEGRATED AND AUTOMATED PROCESS FOR OBTAINING, MANAGEMENT AND AVAILABLE OF MULTI-DIMENSIONAL INFORMATION FOR PERCEPTION AND PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH", according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the conceptual steps of the human-machine communication strategy consider to six sequential blocks or fields indicated as (25), (26), (27), (28), (29) and (30) arranged in relation to a central field or block (31) representative of the "Phases" indication. Machine Communication Strategy "; the field or block (25) is representative of the topic called Seduction ", which contemplates the performative process anchored in the virtual interviewer aimed at attracting the audience near the terminal; the field or block (26) is representative of the topic called" Stimulus ", which contemplates the process generating a positive expectation in the person who observes the terminal positively as to the possibility of activating the machine and initiating an interaction, culminating in the completion of such activation, the field or block (27) is representative of the topic called "Adherence", which contemplates the process of making the interviewee engaged with the research, providing argumentative elements that give importance to the process, the field or block (28) is representative of the topic called "Vigor", which contemplates the process of maintaining interest throughout interview with a view to reducing withdrawal due to tiredness or disinterest, field or block (29) is representative of the topic "Gratitude" that contains completes the process of thanking them for their participation and reinforcing the importance of their participation in order to maximize the positive experience with the terminal; and field or block (30) is representative of a topic called "Credit" that contemplates the process of attributing credibility and institutional value to the research.

4.- "INTEGRATED AND AUTOMATED PROCESS FOR OBTAINING, MANAGEMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF MULTI-DIMENSIONAL INFORMATION FOR PERCEPTION AND PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH", which is used to enable the process described in claims 1 to 3 to be carried out. fact that the equipment defined as "CAKI" Research Terminal and which is indicated by reference (32) establishes relationship and interconnection with the various groups of sensors, peripherals and connections having a Control and Processing Unit consisting of integrated hardware and software; the equipment (32) connects to the block (33) representative of the "Contextualized Multidimensional Information" and in the opposite direction to the block (34) representative of the Modem / Router peripherals, also to the block (35) representative of the environment. Internet and also with block (36) representing the way of receiving Information from remote sensors connected via the Internet; to the equipment (32) are also connected the blocks (37), (38), (39) and (40), where the block (37) is representative of the way of receiving information from remote sensors connected via wireless LAN; block (38) is representative of local sensor information embedded in the equipment itself (32); block 39 is representative of the route for receiving the information from remote sensors connected via cable; and block 40 is representative of the information input / output interface for / by the interviewee himself; equipment (32) is defined by an enclosure body (43), which is a rigid structure housing or supporting the other components of the system; the enclosure body is comprised of internal structural members and exterior cladding elements having an image screen (44) formed by a flat panel color image generator with LCD or LED technology inserted into the enclosure body and protected by a layer of clear plastic polymer; the set formed by the screen 44 and its protective layer is touch sensitive and is an element of information input into the system by the person interviewed; The apparatus 32 further has an interaction panel 45 which is formed by a flat-shaped cabinet shoulder and is located at the base of the screen; panel (45) contains a set of elements of information input into the system by the interviewee, consisting of alphanumeric keypad, joystick, optical mouse or equivalent system and command buttons; The apparatus 32 also has a Dome 46 which is a three-dimensional oval circular structure attached to the top of the cabinet body and protrudes above the position occupied by the person during the interview process; Dome (46) provides support for the wireless communication antenna on the outside and inside for the respondent's height sensor and a pair of upwardly pointing stereo speakers; Sound Dome (46) rebounds the sound from the speakers, concentrating it below, around the person interviewed; equipment (32) has a support base (47) which is a flat structure supporting the enclosure body in horizontal terminal installations; base (47) houses the respondent's weight sensor; an infrared light source (48) is formed by a set of infrared wavelength LED lamps housed in the front of the enclosure body; Also incorporating the present equipment (32), information transmitting elements are provided, which include direct speakers, which consist of a pair of speakers or sound projection sources housed in the front of the case body, lateral to the imaging screen; an indirect speaker (50) is also provided for in the equipment (32), which consists of a pair of speakers mounted on a stand in the dome (46); apparatus 32 further has an image screen 51 which is the support means for presenting images in the announcement and interviewing processes; the present apparatus (32) further has information receiving elements, including an alphanumeric keyboard (52) for inputting cognitive information in answering open-type questionnaire questions, said keyboard (52) is installed in the interaction panel; a touchscreen (53) is integrated with the imaging screen and serves to input cognitive information in answers to questions that admit single or multiple choice of predefined alternatives or questions whose answer means moving a button on the screen that represents a slider. ; a Joystick (54) is incorporated into equipment (32) and serves to input bioemotional information in responses to audiovisual stimuli that are presented sequentially to the respondent; the joystick lever (54) is also the housing that receives the bioemotional sensor for measuring electrical conductivity of the skin and is installed in the interaction panel; An optical mouse (55) is provided and serves for the input of cognitive or bioemotional information and is installed in the interaction panel; the equipment (32) also has command buttons (56) that define an analog interface for the respondent to input answers, being installed on the interaction panel.

5.- _; "EQUIPMENT FOR CARRYING OUT INTEGRATED AND AUTOMATED PROCESS TO OBTAIN, MANAGE AND AVAILABLE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL INFORMATION FOR PERCEPTION AND PUBLIC SURVEY" according to claim 4, characterized in that the equipment (32) comprises environmental and bio-digital digital sensors , where proximal digital sensors are provided that include wide-angle camera (57), which captures images of the social environment around the interviewee; microphone (58), which captures sound from the social environment around the interviewee; directional microphone (59), which captures the interviewee's voice; high definition camera (60), which captures images used for recognition of hand and body gestures, individual recognition by facial geometry, facial expression recognition, pupillary dilation movement capture and gaze direction capture; photometer (61), which measures the brightness of the environment; person sensor (62), which captures person approach movement and interviewee presence in front of the terminal; vibration sensor (63), which captures vibrations transmitted to the terminal by contact of the interviewee or by vandalism; thermometer (64), which measures the temperature of the interview site; hygrometer (65), which measures the air humidity of the interview site; distance sensor (66), which measures the height of the person standing in front of the terminal; weight sensor (67), which measures the weight of the person standing in front of the terminal; epithelial sensor (68), which measures skin conductivity, skin temperature, skin and heart rate, being installed on the joystick lever; The apparatus 32 also has digital distal sensors which include a barometer: measures atmospheric pressure; thermometer: measures the local temperature; Hygrometer: Measures the humidity _. local air; rain gauge: measures accumulated local rainfall; anemometer: measures wind speed and direction; microphone: captures the noises incident in the region; photometer: measures the local brightness; pyranometer: measures the intensity of local solar radiation; cloud sensor: measures cloud cover; wavograph: measures the frequency and amplitude of waves; tide gauge: measures the tide level; water level: measures the level of rivers, lakes and floods; soil moisture: measures soil moisture in trails and ravines; air pollution: measures air quality for gases and particulate matter; water turbidity: measures water quality for transparency; Atmospheric mist: measures air quality for transparency; camera: captures landscape images; people counter: measures the number of people who pass a certain point; vehicle counter: measures the number of vehicles passing a given point; equipment 32 may also have remote digital sensors, which may include satellite: captures images of the earth from space; The apparatus 32 may also have virtual sensors: capturing data from temporal archives and current fact information; The present equipment (32) has connections for power and communication, and the connections are made through cables or are made using wireless, where a power supply cable (69) is provided that has the function of connecting the unit to the local electricity supply infrastructure; Also provided is a LAN communication cable (70) which has the function of connecting the unit's computer to a wired LAN when available at the place of use; Wired LAN, when enabled, provides the system with access to the Internet in situations where the terminal is fully or partially operated online; USB communication cables (71) are also provided, which have the function of connecting the unit's computer to the environmental and bio-emotional digital sensors installed in the cabinet itself; The USB communication cable (71) also serves to connect the unit to a USB flash memory device where the terminal operation is performed wholly or partially in offline mode; equipment (32) further provides a wireless LAN antenna (72), which is part of the system that performs communication between the unit and the environmental sensors installed in its vicinity; apparatus 32 also has a wireless LAN adapter which generates and interprets wireless LAN signals for data communication; A paired wireless connection system is also provided, which is part of the system that provides optional direct communication between the terminal and interviewed user mobile devices, which may include smartphones; the equipment (32) also has a central computer that physically connects the various elements of the system through its input and output ports (1/0 ⁾ , and operates them from the commands of the system software, which runs in its central processing center (CPU).

6 .- "EQUIPMENT FOR CARRYING OUT INTEGRATED AND AUTOMATED PROCESS FOR OBTAINING, MANAGING AND AVAILABLE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH." PERCEPTION AND PUBLIC OPINION "according to claim 4, characterized by the fact that the equipment (3.2). It has a multimedia virtual communication platform for machine-to-machine communication that has a physical basis for its virtual manifestation that is formed by a subset of the components formed by the image screen, the speakers and the proximity and presence sensors. multimedia platform supporting graphics and screen arrangements, where the specific elements of the virtual communication system include an anthropomorphic virtual character who establishes communication with the passing audience and the interviewee when it becomes defined; The character can assume various forms and features, and may be a realistic or caricatured representation of a human being defined as a drawing (73), an abstract creature or any representation to which human particularities are attributed; the image screen (44) equipping the equipment (32) is the media support for the textual search advertisement (77); the screen is also the stage on which the virtual character performs his performances and establishes a firm bond between people and the terminal; the screen is still the element where questions, visual stimuli and alternatives are shown to the interviewees (78), and also at the bottom of the screen is the panel (79) that provides follow-up on interview progress and gives explicit instructions on what next action the interviewee should take.