12,665 research outputs found
Smart Computing and Sensing Technologies for Animal Welfare: A Systematic Review
Animals play a profoundly important and intricate role in our lives today.
Dogs have been human companions for thousands of years, but they now work
closely with us to assist the disabled, and in combat and search and rescue
situations. Farm animals are a critical part of the global food supply chain,
and there is increasing consumer interest in organically fed and humanely
raised livestock, and how it impacts our health and environmental footprint.
Wild animals are threatened with extinction by human induced factors, and
shrinking and compromised habitat. This review sets the goal to systematically
survey the existing literature in smart computing and sensing technologies for
domestic, farm and wild animal welfare. We use the notion of \emph{animal
welfare} in broad terms, to review the technologies for assessing whether
animals are healthy, free of pain and suffering, and also positively stimulated
in their environment. Also the notion of \emph{smart computing and sensing} is
used in broad terms, to refer to computing and sensing systems that are not
isolated but interconnected with communication networks, and capable of remote
data collection, processing, exchange and analysis. We review smart
technologies for domestic animals, indoor and outdoor animal farming, as well
as animals in the wild and zoos. The findings of this review are expected to
motivate future research and contribute to data, information and communication
management as well as policy for animal welfare
Tactons: structured tactile messages for non-visual information display
Tactile displays are now becoming available in a form that can be easily used in a user interface. This paper describes a new form of tactile output. Tactons, or tactile icons, are structured, abstract messages that can be used to communicate messages non-visually. A range of different parameters can be used for Tacton construction including: frequency, amplitude and duration of a tactile pulse, plus other parameters such as rhythm and location. Tactons have the potential to improve interaction in a range of different areas, particularly where the visual display is overloaded, limited in size or not available, such as interfaces for blind people or in mobile and wearable devices. This paper describes Tactons, the parameters used to construct them and some possible ways to design them. Examples of where Tactons might prove useful in user interfaces are given
MINDtouch embodied ephemeral transference: Mobile media performance research
This is the post-print version of the final published article that is available from the link below. Copyright @ Intellect Ltd 2011.The aim of the author's media art research has been to uncover any new understandings of the sensations of liveness and presence that may emerge in participatory networked performance, using mobile phones and physiological wearable devices. To practically investigate these concepts, a mobile media performance series was created, called MINDtouch. The MINDtouch project proposed that the mobile videophone become a new way to communicate non-verbally, visually and sensually across space. It explored notions of ephemeral transference, distance collaboration and participant as performer to study presence and liveness emerging from the use of wireless mobile technologies within real-time, mobile performance contexts. Through participation by in-person and remote interactors, creating mobile video-streamed mixes, the project interweaves and embodies a daisy chain of technologies through the network space. As part of a practice-based Ph.D. research conducted at the SMARTlab Digital Media Institute at the University of East London, MINDtouch has been under the direction of Professor Lizbeth Goodman and sponsored by BBC R&D. The aim of this article is to discuss the project research, conducted and recently completed for submission, in terms of the technical and aesthetic developments from 2008 to present, as well as the final phase of staging the events from July 2009 to February 2010. This piece builds on the article (Baker 2008) which focused on the outcomes of phase 1 of the research project and initial developments in phase 2. The outcomes from phase 2 and 3 of the project are discussed in this article
M-health review: joining up healthcare in a wireless world
In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver health and social care. This trend is bound to continue as providers (whether public or private) strive to deliver better care to more people under conditions of severe budgetary constraint
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Optimising multi-disciplinary contributions for the smart clothing development process
This research aims to introduce a strategic approach to overcome the creative boundaries and optimize multidisciplinary contributions in Smart Clothing development, since the former research results revealed that these issues are key to achieving fully integrated Smart Clothes. Therefore, this paper examines collaborative projects that are shown to break through the creative boundary and integrate multidisciplinary contributions, and identifies how individual designers overcome their creative constraints and collaborate with others, in order to identify a practical method. The research result indicates that a clear description of Smart Clothing’s context will provide a new framework for the developers to work on
Some problems of designing for augmentative and alternative communication users: an enquiry through practical design activity
The submission is concerned with, and addresses, problems of designing for people
with disabilities, with specific reference to people who are illiterate and cannot
speak. People with such disabilities often depend on electronic AAC
(Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices for interpersonal
communication. A central theme of the thesis, however, is that such products, and
products intended for people with disabilities more generally, have characteristics
that inadequately attend to users' needs. Through a combination of practical
product development and literature reviews, the thesis demonstrates how
improvements to AAC devices 'can be made through user-participatory, usercentred
and more sensitive and perceptive design. Literature reviews in the
following subjects are reported: AAC; the operational knowledge base for design
and disability; user participatory design; and wearable computing.
At the core of the thesis is the presentation and discussion of an empirical case
study, carried out by the researcher, to design and develop the Portland
Communication Aid (PCA). The PCA was conceived as an AAC product that
would attempt to redress the inadequacies of predecessor devices. The design
activity for the PCA is traced in the thesis, from initial concepts and development
models through to a working prototype. Key ideas and essential principles of the
design are illustrated. Throughout the work on the PCA, many problems
associated with designing for people with severe communication disabilities were
encountered. These problems, as with their resolutions, comprised matters of both
designing (as an activity) and design (as product specification). The thesis contains
comprehensive exposure and analysis of these problems and resolutions. In
particular, the value of shaping meaning, metaphor, and other product semantics
into devices intended for use by people with disabilities is explored.
The study provides two substantive conclusions. First, that both the activity and
the outcomes of Industrial Design have a valuable role in the empowerment and
rehabilitation of AAC users. And second, that key principles have been identified
that will enable designers to better identify, articulate and respond to the needs of
people with communication disabilities (and the needs of people with disabilities
more generally
Combining mobile-health (mHealth) and artificial intelligence (AI) methods to avoid suicide attempts: the Smartcrises study protocol
The screening of digital footprint for clinical purposes relies on the capacity of wearable technologies
to collect data and extract relevant information’s for patient management. Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques
allow processing of real-time observational information and continuously learning from data to build
understanding. We designed a system able to get clinical sense from digital footprints based on the smartphone’s
native sensors and advanced machine learning and signal processing techniques in order to identify suicide risk.
Method/design: The Smartcrisis study is a cross-national comparative study. The study goal is to determine the
relationship between suicide risk and changes in sleep quality and disturbed appetite. Outpatients from the
Hospital Fundación Jiménez DÃaz Psychiatry Department (Madrid, Spain) and the University Hospital of Nimes
(France) will be proposed to participate to the study. Two smartphone applications and a wearable armband will
be used to capture the data. In the intervention group, a smartphone application (MEmind) will allow for the
ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data capture related with sleep, appetite and suicide ideations.
Discussion: Some concerns regarding data security might be raised. Our system complies with the highest level of
security regarding patients’ data. Several important ethical considerations related to EMA method must also be
considered. EMA methods entails a non-negligible time commitment on behalf of the participants. EMA rely on
daily, or sometimes more frequent, Smartphone notifications. Furthermore, recording participants’ daily experiences
in a continuous manner is an integral part of EMA. This approach may be significantly more than asking a
participant to complete a retrospective questionnaire but also more accurate in terms of symptoms monitoring.
Overall, we believe that Smartcrises could participate to a paradigm shift from the traditional identification of risks
factors to personalized prevention strategies tailored to characteristics for each patientThis study was partly funded by Fundación Jiménez DÃaz Hospital, Instituto
de Salud Carlos III (PI16/01852), Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan
Nacional de Drogas (20151073), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
(AFSP) (LSRG-1-005-16), the Madrid Regional Government (B2017/BMD-3740
AGES-CM 2CM; Y2018/TCS-4705 PRACTICO-CM) and Structural Funds of the
European Union. MINECO/FEDER (‘ADVENTURE’, id. TEC2015–69868-C2–1-R)
and MCIU Explora Grant ‘aMBITION’ (id. TEC2017–92552-EXP), the French Embassy
in Madrid, Spain, The foundation de l’avenir, and the Fondation de
France. The work of D. RamÃrez and A. Artés-RodrÃguez has been partly supported
by Ministerio de EconomÃa of Spain under projects: OTOSIS
(TEC2013–41718-R), AID (TEC2014–62194-EXP) and the COMONSENS Network
(TEC2015–69648-REDC), by the Ministerio de EconomÃa of Spain jointly with
the European Commission (ERDF) under projects ADVENTURE (TEC2015–
69868-C2–1-R) and CAIMAN (TEC2017–86921-C2–2-R), and by the Comunidad
de Madrid under project CASI-CAM-CM (S2013/ICE-2845). The work of P.
Moreno-Muñoz has been supported by FPI grant BES-2016-07762
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