A Smartphone-Based System for Outdoor Data Gathering Using a Wireless Beacon Network and GPS Data: From Cyber Spaces to Senseable Spaces

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and mobile devices are deeply influencing all facets of life, directly affecting the way people experience space and time. ICTs are also tools for supporting urban development, and they have also been adopted as equipment for furnishing public spaces. Hence, ICTs have created a new paradigm of hybrid space that can be defined as Senseable Spaces. Even if there are relevant cases where the adoption of ICT has made the use of public open spaces more “smart”, the interrelation and the recognition of added value need to be further developed. This is one of the motivations for the research presented in this paper. The main goal of the work reported here is the deployment of a system composed of three different connected elements (a real-world infrastructure, a data gathering system, and a data processing and analysis platform) for analysis of human behavior in the open space of Cardeto Park, in Ancona, Italy. For this purpose, and because of the complexity of this task, several actions have been carried out: the deployment of a complete real-world infrastructure in Cardeto Park, the implementation of an ad-hoc smartphone application for the gathering of participants’ data, and the development of a data pre-processing and analysis system for dealing with all the gathered data. A detailed description of these three aspects and the way in which they are connected to create a unique system is the main focus of this paper.This work has been supported by the Cost Action TU1306, called CYBERPARKS: Fostering knowledge about the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies and Public Spaces supported by strategies to improve their use and attractiveness, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the ESPHIA project (ref. TIN2014-56042-JIN) and the TARSIUS project (ref. TIN2015-71564-C4-4-R), and the Basque Country Department of Education under the BLUE project (ref. PI-2016-0010). The authors would also like to thank the staff of UbiSive s.r.l. for the support in developing the application

Performance Evaluation of Energy-Autonomous Sensors Using Power-Harvesting Beacons for Environmental Monitoring in Internet of Things (IoT)

Environmental conditions and air quality monitoring have become crucial today due to the undeniable changes of the climate and accelerated urbanization. To efficiently monitor environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, and the levels of pollutants, such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air, and to collect data covering vast geographical areas, the development of cheap energy-autonomous sensors for large scale deployment and fine-grained data acquisition is required. Rapid advances in electronics and communication technologies along with the emergence of paradigms such as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) and the Internet of Things (IoT) have led to the development of low-cost sensor devices that can operate unattended for long periods of time and communicate using wired or wireless connections through the Internet. We investigate the energy efficiency of an environmental monitoring system based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons that operate in the IoT environment. The beacons developed measure the temperature, the relative humidity, the light intensity, and the CO2 and VOC levels in the air. Based on our analysis we have developed efficient sleep scheduling algorithms that allow the sensor nodes developed to operate autonomously without requiring the replacement of the power supply. The experimental results show that low-power sensors communicating using BLE technology can operate autonomously (from the energy perspective) in applications that monitor the environment or the air quality in indoor or outdoor settings

Passenger BIBO detection with IoT support and machine learning techniques for intelligent transport systems

The present article discusses the issue of automation of the CICO (Check-In/Check-Out) process for public transport fare collection systems, using modern tools forming part of the Internet of Things, such as Beacon and Smartphone. It describes the concept of an integrated passenger identification model applying machine learning technology in order to reduce or eliminate the risks associated with the incorrect classification of a smartphone user as a vehicle passenger. This will allow for the construction of an intelligent fare collection system, operating in the BIBO (Be-In/Be-Out) model, implementing the "hands-free" and "pay-as-you-go" approach. The article describes the architecture of the research environment, and the implementation of the elaborated model in the Bad.App4 proprietary solution. We also presented the complete process of concept verification under real-life conditions. Research results were described and supplemented with commentary

Detection of Pause in a Pedestrian’s Movement on a Linear Walkway using Bluetooth Low Energy Received Signal Strength Indicator

In recent years, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has amassed significant attention in several applications. Its potential, however, remains largely unexplored for understanding pedestrian behaviour. This study focuses on investigating the potential of BLE in identifying pedestrian activity in an outdoor linear walkway. We specifically examine the likelihood of detecting pauses in the movement of pedestrians on a linear walkway using the strength of the signals obtained from a BLE device carried by the pedestrian. To accomplish this, a volunteer pedestrian intentionally pauses at selected points on the chosen walkway for varying predetermined intervals. The obtained data was conditioned using a polynomial curve to reduce the impact of anomalous data and was subsequently used to detect flatness in the trend of the signals to identify a pause. This flatness was identified using a sliding window standard deviation (SD) calculation over the curve obtained through polynomial fitting. Our results indicate a strong likelihood of detecting long pauses in a pedestrian’s journey

Smart Sensing Technologies for Personalised Coaching

People living in both developed and developing countries face serious health challenges related to sedentary lifestyles. It is therefore essential to find new ways to improve health so that people can live longer and can age well. With an ever-growing number of smart sensing systems developed and deployed across the globe, experts are primed to help coach people toward healthier behaviors. The increasing accountability associated with app- and device-based behavior tracking not only provides timely and personalized information and support but also gives us an incentive to set goals and to do more. This book presents some of the recent efforts made towards automatic and autonomous identification and coaching of troublesome behaviors to procure lasting, beneficial behavioral changes

On the Security of Bluetooth Low Energy in Two Consumer Wearable Heart Rate Monitors/Sensing Devices

Since its inception in 2013, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has become the standard for short-distance wireless communication in many consumer devices, as well as special-purpose devices. In this study, we analyze the security features available in Bluetooth LE standards and evaluate the features implemented in two BLE wearable devices (a Fitbit heart rate wristband and a Polar heart rate chest wearable) and a BLE keyboard to explore which security features in the BLE standards are implemented in the devices. In this study, we used the ComProbe Bluetooth Protocol Analyzer, along with the ComProbe software to capture the BLE traffic of these three devices. We found that even though the standards provide security mechanisms, because the Bluetooth Special Interest Group does not require that manufacturers fully comply with the standards, some manufacturers fail to implement proper security mechanisms. The circumvention of security in Bluetooth devices could leak private data that could be exploited by rogue actors/hackers, thus creating security, privacy, and, possibly, safety issues for consumers and the public. We propose the design of a Bluetooth Security Facts Label (BSFL) to be included on a Bluetooth/BLE enabled device’s commercial packaging and conclude that there should be better mechanisms for informing users about the security and privacy provisions of the devices they acquire and use and to educate the public on protection of their privacy when buying a connected device

A model personal energy meter

Every day each of us consumes a significant amount of energy, both directly through transport, heating and use of appliances, and indirectly from our needs for the production of food, manufacture of goods and provision of services. This dissertation investigates a personal energy meter which can record and apportion an individual's energy usage in order to supply baseline information and incentives for reducing our environmental impact. If the energy costs of large shared resources are split evenly without regard for individual consumption each person minimises his own losses by taking advantage of others. Context awareness offers the potential to change this balance and apportion energy costs to those who cause them to be incurred. This dissertation explores how sensor systems installed in many buildings today can be used to apportion energy consumption between users, including an evaluation of a range of strategies in a case study and elaboration of the overriding principles that are generally applicable. It also shows how second-order estimators combined with location data can provide a proxy for fine-grained sensing. A key ingredient for apportionment mechanisms is data on energy usage. This may come from metering devices or buildings directly, or from profiling devices and using secondary indicators to infer their power state. A mechanism for profiling devices to determine the energy costs of specific activities, particularly applicable to shared programmable devices is presented which can make this process simpler and more accurate. By combining crowdsourced building-inventory information and a simple building energy model it is possible to estimate an individual's energy use disaggregated by device class with very little direct sensing. Contextual information provides crucial cues for apportioning the use and energy costs of resources, and one of the most valuable sources from which to infer context is location. A key ingredient for a personal energy meter is a low cost, low infrastructure location system that can be deployed on a truly global scale. This dissertation presents a description and evaluation of the new concept of inquiry-free Bluetooth tracking that has the potential to offer indoor location information with significantly less infrastructure and calibration than other systems. Finally, a suitable architecture for a personal energy meter on a global scale is demonstrated using a mobile phone application to aggregate energy feeds based on the case studies and technologies developed

Digital platform/mobile App to boost cycling for the promotion of sustainable mobility in mid-sized starter cycling cities

According to the United Nations, cities will represent two-thirds of the world’s population in 2050, which presents some challenges, especially to the transportation sector. To improve the population’s quality of life and the sustainability of cities, mobility must be sustainable, and cycling will play an important role in achieving this. Literature shows that we can promote cycling with better infrastructures, through multimodality, and through behavioral changes. Promoting the use of bicycles through behavior can involve a number of aspects, but in this work, we explore what a digital platform should have in order to promote and increase bicycle usage, as well as to improve cycling conditions in a city. To evaluate what is needed, we conducted an analysis on different types of digital platforms that are available on the market in order to assess the main characteristics and outputs that they provide to cyclists, as well as the type of information that can and should be added to promote the use of bicycles in cities. Moreover, we also carried out a survey in a Portuguese mid-sized “starter cycling city”, which showed, among other data, the relevance and type of information that a digital platform dedicated to cyclists should have in such types of cities.The authors would like to thank all participants of the survey in Braga. They would like to thank the administration of TUB (Transportes Urbanos de Braga) for all the support and Adolfo and Nuno Ferreira from BSB who helped in the development of the application