Voice Enabled Indoor Localisation

The ability to track objects in real time offers a wide range of beneficial applications that include safety, security and the supply chain. The problem with location based systems is that they can be inconvenient and time-consuming to locate an object. A user has to access a computer and log onto a location system to locate an object. There are several problems with current location determination interfaces. Firstly a user has to log on to a computer; this can be inconvenient and time consuming as the user may have to locate a computer (which may be in another area of a building) and then log onto the system. The user has to look at a map that is displayed on screen to see where the object is located; the problem with this is that the user could make a mistake by looking at the wrong object or the wrong area of the building. Incorporating a voice control function into the system can solve interaction problems with some location based systems. This paper provides an overview of integrating voiceXML with an indoor location positioning system to locate objects through voice commands

Multi-Hop Distance Estimation: How Far are You?

Several access control systems are based on the users’ physical location/proximity to the access point. Distance- Bounding (DB) protocols constitute a classical solution to calculate the distance between a trusted verifier (e.g., an access point) and an untrusted prover (e.g., a pervasive device). The main limitation of DB is that the prover and the verifier need to lie in each other’s communication range. In this paper, we introduce the concept of Multi-Hop Distance-Estimation (MHDE) protocols, which enable a verifier to authenticate a possibly far-away prover and estimate its distance to this prover, when they are not in the communication range of each other, using an ad-hoc network of pervasive devices. More precisely, our contributions are three-fold, since we provide: (1) a formal definition for MHDE; (2) a threat model for MHDE that considers a powerful and distributed adversary; and (3) implementation of MHDE protocols with different settings. Additionally, we demonstrate our protocol to be secure in the considered threat model, and we provide a performance analysis regarding the accuracy of the distance estimation and the tolerance of limited mobility of the nodes. The results are promising in order to adopt MHDE in a distributed setting

Security Applications for Converging Technologies - Impact on the Constitutional State and the Legal order

In this study we investigate the impact of converging technologies on legal practice and criminology in a forward looking study intended for practitioners and policy makers in the field of legislation, crime prevention, and law enforcement. We look at a 15 years timeframe and discuss the scientific and technical progress in various domains as well as the ethical, legal, and policy dilemmas involved.

Smart e-Health System for Real-time Tracking and Monitoring of Patients, Staff and Assets for Healthcare Decision Support in Saudi Arabia

Healthcare in Saudi Arabia has been lagging behind the developed countries of the world, due to the insufficient number of healthcare practitioners and the lack of applications of tracking and monitoring technology. These shortages have contributed to problems such as patient misidentification, long patient waiting times, and the inability to locate medical equipment efficiently. The country’s Vision 2030 plan outlines ways to solve the deficient workforce problem by promoting more local health-related educational outlets, and by funding this expanding sector. Consequently, Saudi Arabia needs to adapt to the demanding nature of modern healthcare, which presents major problems that this research aims to help solve. The literature has shown that Information Technology systems have begun to be implemented in some hospitals across Saudi Arabia, but even in those hospitals these technologies are being under-utilised. The intention of this thesis is to provide an appropriate choice for a real-time tracking and monitoring technology in healthcare, in the form of an integrated RFID/ZigBee system. This thesis develops a holistic framework for healthcare institutions, to be followed for customised solutions in improving staff efficiency and productivity, and for better patient care, while minimising long-term costs. This holistic framework incorporates contextual elements from both the Information System Strategy Triangle (ISST) and the Human, Organisation and Technology-fit factors (HOT-fit) frameworks, in a way that ensures the new framework addresses technology, organisational, human and business factors. The holistic model is refined through Communities of Practice (CoPs), one of which was developed and utilised for the research purposes of this thesis, and assisted in the creation of a questionnaire for assessing the requirements and challenges of the KSA healthcare system. This questionnaire was based on 220 usable responses. It also helped to refine the framework for its final version, which included all identified factors relevant to the decision a healthcare institution faces in choosing a health information technology system. Various cases were analysed to improve the hospitals workflow, using the proposed technology and including processes such as relocating staff and medical assets. This led to the need for visualisation and knowledge management, to support real-time data analysis for business intelligence decision making. The end goal of this analysis is to provide interactive platforms to healthcare staff for use in improving efficiency and productivity. The outcomes of these improvements will be to ensure better patient care, lower patient waiting time, reduced healthcare costs, and to allow more time for staff to provide improved patient-centric care in the Saudi healthcare sector. Keywords: e-Health, Health Information Technology, Tracking and Monitoring System, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Holistic Framework, Communities of Practice, Knowledge Management, Visualisation, KFM

Cerbère au temps des " bio-maîtres " : la biométrie, servante-maîtresse d'une nouvelle ère biopolitique ? Le cas du programme US-VISIT

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal