Smartphone picture organization: a hierarchical approach

We live in a society where the large majority of the population has a camera-equipped smartphone. In addition, hard drives and cloud storage are getting cheaper and cheaper, leading to a tremendous growth in stored personal photos. Unlike photo collections captured by a digital camera, which typically are pre-processed by the user who organizes them into event-related folders, smartphone pictures are automatically stored in the cloud. As a consequence, photo collections captured by a smartphone are highly unstructured and because smartphones are ubiquitous, they present a larger variability compared to pictures captured by a digital camera. To solve the need of organizing large smartphone photo collections automatically, we propose here a new methodology for hierarchical photo organization into topics and topic-related categories. Our approach successfully estimates latent topics in the pictures by applying probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis, and automatically assigns a name to each topic by relying on a lexical database. Topic-related categories are then estimated by using a set of topic-specific Convolutional Neuronal Networks. To validate our approach, we ensemble and make public a large dataset of more than 8,000 smartphone pictures from 40 persons. Experimental results demonstrate major user satisfaction with respect to state of the art solutions in terms of organization.Peer ReviewedPreprin

MOOC basados en tecnología móviles para profesores de lenguas: desafíos y oportunidades

The present paper explores pedagogical, technical, and institutional responses to the current challenges and opportunities that MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) present, specifically in the area of language teaching and learning. It does so through a review of the current state of the art in the field. Besides reporting on this, the aim of the present paper is ultimately to propose the factors to be taken into account in the design of a MOOC on MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning) for language teachers within CPD (Continuous Professional Development), which include technical, pedagogical and linguistic standards.El presente artículo explora las respuestas pedagógicas, técnicas e institucionales al actual desafío que los cursos masivos en abierto (en inglés MOOCs, Massive Open Online Courses) presentan, especialmente en el área de aprendizaje y enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras. Esto se hace por medio de una revisión del estado de la cuestión en la actualidad. Además, el objetivo de este trabajo es proponer una serie de factores a tener en cuenta para el diseño de un curso MOOC sobre aprendizaje de lenguas móvil (en inglés MALL, Mobile Assisted Language Learning) para profesores de lenguas extranjeras, que incluya estándares técnicos, pedagógicos y lingüísticos

Internet of robotic things : converging sensing/actuating, hypoconnectivity, artificial intelligence and IoT Platforms

The Internet of Things (IoT) concept is evolving rapidly and influencing newdevelopments in various application domains, such as the Internet of MobileThings (IoMT), Autonomous Internet of Things (A-IoT), Autonomous Systemof Things (ASoT), Internet of Autonomous Things (IoAT), Internetof Things Clouds (IoT-C) and the Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) etc.that are progressing/advancing by using IoT technology. The IoT influencerepresents new development and deployment challenges in different areassuch as seamless platform integration, context based cognitive network integration,new mobile sensor/actuator network paradigms, things identification(addressing, naming in IoT) and dynamic things discoverability and manyothers. The IoRT represents new convergence challenges and their need to be addressed, in one side the programmability and the communication ofmultiple heterogeneous mobile/autonomous/robotic things for cooperating,their coordination, configuration, exchange of information, security, safetyand protection. Developments in IoT heterogeneous parallel processing/communication and dynamic systems based on parallelism and concurrencyrequire new ideas for integrating the intelligent “devices”, collaborativerobots (COBOTS), into IoT applications. Dynamic maintainability, selfhealing,self-repair of resources, changing resource state, (re-) configurationand context based IoT systems for service implementation and integrationwith IoT network service composition are of paramount importance whennew “cognitive devices” are becoming active participants in IoT applications.This chapter aims to be an overview of the IoRT concept, technologies,architectures and applications and to provide a comprehensive coverage offuture challenges, developments and applications

E-Guess: Evaluación de usabilidad para juegos educativos

Usability is a relevant aspect in the analysis of the human-machine interface, as it concerns the dialogue established between subjects, artefacts and quality of use, and interaction allowed by the system. This work presents a specific heuristic for evaluating educational games, created from Game User Experience Satisfaction (GUESS) and, concomitantly, Nielsen's assessment tools. To this purpose, applied research using a quantitative-qualitative approach - with the participation of 3 specialized users and 4 potential users in an educational game used as a case study. The choice of GUESS as a starting point was due to a systematic review of the usability literature. Based on the model, users were invited to operate the educational game and present their impressions. From the selected results, a new use assessment tool, called E-GUESS, was formulated. With Educational-GUESS, we introduced changes aimed at pedagogical issues and educational content that also seeks to elucidate important points in the development of an educational game by allowing insights that are easily ignored during the design phase to overcome the alleged bipolarity between "fun" and "educational" in educational software games. Another contribution of the research was the usability analysis performed for the educational game used in data collection. This game, which deals with the theme Periodic Table of Chemistry and is in the validation phase, received valuable contributions for adjustments in its gameplay.Usabilidad es un aspecto relevante en el análisis de la interfaz hombre-máquina, ya que se trata del diálogo que se establece entre sujetos, artefacto y calidad de uso e interacción que permite el sistema. Este trabajo presenta una heurística específica para la evaluación de juegos educativos, creada a partir de Game User Experience Satisfaction (GUESS) y, concomitantemente, las herramientas de evaluación de Nielsen. Para ello, se realizó una investigación aplicada con un enfoque cuantitativo-cualitativo - con la participación de 3 usuarios especializados y 4 usuarios potenciales en un juego educativo utilizado como estudio de caso. La elección de GUESS como punto de partida se debió a una revisión sistemática de la literatura sobre usabilidad. Según el modelo, se invitó a los usuarios a operar el juego educativo y presentar sus impresiones. A partir de los resultados seleccionados, se formuló una nueva herramienta de evaluación de uso, denominada E-GUESS. Con Educational-GUESS, introdujimos cambios dirigidos a temas pedagógicos y contenidos educativos que también busca dilucidar puntos importantes en el desarrollo de un juego educativo al permitir percepciones que son fácilmente ignorados durante la fase de diseño con la intención de superar la supuesta bipolaridad entre "divertido" y "educativo" en los juegos de software educativo. Otro aporte de la investigación fue el análisis de usabilidad realizado para el juego educativo utilizado en la recolección de datos. Este juego, que trata sobre el tema Tabla Periódica de Química y se encuentra en fase de validación, recibió valiosos aportes para ajustes en su jugabilidad

360º Indoors image processing for 3D model reconstruction

In this modern age of computer technology we are pushing the unimaginable limits of our reality. One of the human desires with these advances is to digitise the vast amount of information that is present in our reality. An important source of information is the 3-dimensional space in which we live. Especially indoors environments that we frequently occupy, for example, living places. With the proliferation of photographing devices, the development of cheap omnidirectional cameras has been one of the interests. So nowadays it is quite easy to obtain spatial data of interior spaces in form of equirectangular images. In this project we study the problem of 3D Indoors Model Reconstruction from Spherical Images. Though, we study it under perspective based methods as it is possible to perform the conversion from one to other. We first formally specify the problem to be solved. We find many different specifications and describe reconstruction methods for some of them. We choose one specification for our use case. Most of the methods require feature extraction and matching, and then performing multi-view geometry estimation. We continue the study of these methods in the experimentation phase. We propose different hypothesis relevant to different steps, perform experiments and form our conclusions. We finish our work by implementing a very simple system solving this problem, making use of ASIFT feature extractor, FLANN kD-Tree feature matcher, and OpenCV's essential matrix estimation algorithm.En aquesta era moderna de la tecnologia de computadors estem empenyent els líımits inimaginables de la nostra realitat. Una de les aspiracions humanes amb aquests avenços és la digitalització de l’enorme quantitat d’informació present en la nostra realitat. Una de les fonts importants d’informació és l’espai 3-dimensional en el que vivim. Especialment, els entorns interiors que habitem, per exemple, els habitatges. Amb la proliferació dels dispositius fotogràfics, el desenvolupament de càmeres omnidireccionals barates ha estat un dels interessos. Per aquest motiu, avui en dia és molt fàcil obtenir dades espacials dels espais interiors en forma d’imatges equirectangulars. En aquest projecte estudiem el problema de la Reconstrucció de Models 3D d’Interiors a partir d’Imatges Esfèriques. Tanmateix, estudiem el problema fent ús de mètodes basats en la perspectiva ja que és possible fer la conversió d’un a l’altre. En primer lloc, especifiquem formalment el problema a resoldre. A continuació, trobem diverses especificacions i descrivim mètodes de reconstruccions per algunes d’elles. Seleccionem una especificaciò pel nostre cas d’ús. La majoria de mètodes utilitzen feature extraction, feature matching i epipolar geometry. Continuem l’estudi amb la fase d’experimentació. Proposem hipòtesis rellevants a diferents passos, realitzem els experiments i extraiem conclusions. Acabem el treball implementant un sistema simple resolent el problema, fent ús de ASIFT feature extractor, FLANN kD- Tree feature matcher, i l’algorisme d’OpenCV per l’aproximació de la matriu essencialEn esta era moderna de tecnología de computadores estamos empujando los límites inimaginables de nuestra realidad. Una de las aspiraciones humanas con estos avances es la digitalización de la tremenda cantidad de información presente en nuestra realidad. Una de las importantes fuentes de información es el espacio 3-dimensional en que vivimos. Especialmente los entornos interiores que habitamos, por ejemplo, las viviendas. Con la proliferación de los dispositivos fotográficos, el desarrollo de cámaras omnidireccionales baratas ha sido uno de los intereses. Por ello, hoy en día es muy fácil de obtener datos espaciales de los espacios interiores en forma de imágenes equirectangulares. En este proyecto estudiamos el problema de Reconstrucción de Modelos 3D de Interiores desde Imágenes Esféricas. Sin embargo, estudiamos el problema bajo métodos basados en la perspectiva ya que es posible hacer la conversión de uno al otro. Primero especificamos formalmente el problema a resolver. Encontramos distintas especificaciones y describimos métodos de reconstruccion para algunas de ellas. Seleccionamos una especificación para nuestro caso de uso. La mayoría de métodos utilizan feature extraction, feature matching, y epipolar geometry. Continuamos el estudio en la fase de experimentación. Proponemos hipótesis relevantes a diferentes pasos, realizamos los experimentos y sacamos conclusiones. Acabamos el trabajo implementando un sistema simple resolviendo el problema, haciendo uso de ASIFT feature extractor, FLANN kD-Tree feature matcher, y el algoritmo de OpenCV para la aproximación de la matriz esencial

Defining usability heuristics for adoption and efficiency of an electronic workflow document management system

Usability heuristics have been established for different uses and applications as general guidelines for user interfaces. These can affect the implementation of industry solutions and play a significant role regarding cost reduction and process efficiency. The area of electronic workflow document management (EWDM) solutions, also known as workflow, lacks a formal definition of usability heuristics. With the advent of new technologies such as mobile devices, defining a set of usability heuristics contributes to the adoption and efficiency of an EWDM system. Workflow usability has been evaluated for various industries. Most significantly research has been done for electronic healthcare records (EHR). In other areas such as the financial sector and educational institutions there is also some literature available but not as abundant as for EHR. This was identified as a possible research limitation. The general purpose of this research was to establish and validate an overarching set of usability heuristics for EWDM in general. This was approached by conducting a literature review and a survey on 32 workflow consultants from Hyland Software, Inc. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected focusing on the study’s main research question: “what usability heuristics should be defined to ensure the adoption and efficiency of a workflow implementation? Findings based on regression testing and expert opinions have suggested a proposed set of usability heuristics. The final list consists of: adaptability to diverse platforms, user control, system feedback, intuitive interfaces, visibility on mobile devices, error management, help, and documentation

Mapping field photographs to textured surface meshes directly on mobile devices

Funded by Research Council of Norway. Grant Number: 234111/E30Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Creative Exploration of the Use of Intelligent Agents in Spatial Narrative Structures

This thesis is an interdisciplinary study of authoring tools for creating spatial narrative structures– exposing the relationship between artists, the tools they use, and the experiences they create. It is a research-creation enterprise resulting in the creation of a new authoring tool. A prototype collaborative tool for authoring spatial narratives used at the Land|Slide: Possible Futures public art exhibit in Markham, Ontario 2013 is described. Using narrative analysis of biographical information a cultural context for authoring and experiencing spatial narrative structures is discussed. The biographical information of artists using digital technologies is posited as a context framing for usability design heuristics. The intersection of intelligent agents and spatial narrative structures provide a future scenario by which to assess the suitability of the approach outlined in this study

Genres, Media, and Usability in the Evaluation of Writing Quality in Digital Environments

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) has recognized that there may be a problem with depending too much on usability studies for identifying some weaknesses in digital media. In their effort to find a substitute, they have funded more than $250,000 in research in the past two years

Adaptation of Heuristic Evaluation for Mobile Applications and the Impact of Context of Use

The aim of this programme of research was to build upon prior work regarding the heuristic evaluation of mobile applications in two important areas. A mixed methods approach was taken to address the research questions using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and statistical analyses. The first contribution of this programme of research was to adapt traditional usability heuristics, so they could be used to more effectively evaluate the usability of mobile applications. The resulting set of mobile application usability heuristics uncovered the highest number of usability issues in absolute terms, as well as the most critical issues within a well-known travel mobile application when compared to two other sets of usability heuristics. In addition, the set of mobile application usability heuristics defined within this programme of research was ranked as the most useful set by participants knowledgeable in the field of human-computer interaction when compared to two other sets of usability heuristics. The second contribution of this programme of research was to extend the set of mobile application heuristics allowing human-computer interaction researchers and practitioners to more effectively consider the potential impact of context of use on the usability of mobile applications. This addressed a gap in the literature as few effective methods existed for this purpose. The protocol was deemed easy to use, easy to understand and easy to learn by participants knowledgeable in the field of human-computer interaction. The beneficiaries of this programme of research are human-computer interaction researchers and practitioners, as well as mobile application users.