All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace: Border Searches of Electronic Devices in the Digital Age

The border search exception to the Fourth Amendment has historically given the U.S. government the right to conduct suspicionless searches of the belongings of any individual crossing the border. The federal government relies on the border search exception to search and detain travelers’ electronic devices at the border without a warrant or individualized suspicion. The government’s justification for suspicionless searches of electronic devices under the traditional border search exception for travelers’ property has recently been called into question in a series of federal court decisions. In March 2013, the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Cotterman became the first federal circuit court to rule that a border search of an electronic device may require reasonable suspicion that its owner committed a crime due to the privacy impact of such a search. The following year, in Riley v. California (a nonborder search case), the U.S. Supreme Court explicitly endorsed the view that searches of cell phones implicate privacy concerns far beyond those implicated by searches of other physical items. Most recently, two divergent circuit court decisions, United States v. Kolsuz and United States v. Touset, lay bare the conflict in the federal circuit courts between a view that border searches of electronic devices are no different than those of other personal property and an emerging sense that digital border searches merit additional scrutiny due to their increased likelihood to harm travelers’ Fourth Amendment privacy interests. This Note proposes that courts should extend the logic of Riley to the border by treating searches of travelers’ electronic devices as distinctly more harmful to Fourth Amendment interests than searches of other types of property. This Note argues that border searches of electronic devices should be justified by a standard of at least reasonable suspicion in order to balance the necessity of border searches with the adverse impact on Fourth Amendment privacy concerns caused by extensive searches of travelers’ digital devices

Multi-contrast imaging and digital refocusing on a mobile microscope with a domed LED array

We demonstrate the design and application of an add-on device for improving the diagnostic and research capabilities of CellScope--a low-cost, smartphone-based point-of-care microscope. We replace the single LED illumination of the original CellScope with a programmable domed LED array. By leveraging recent advances in computational illumination, this new device enables simultaneous multi-contrast imaging with brightfield, darkfield, and phase imaging modes. Further, we scan through illumination angles to capture lightfield datasets, which can be used to recover 3D intensity and phase images without any hardware changes. This digital refocusing procedure can be used for either 3D imaging or software-only focus correction, reducing the need for precise mechanical focusing during field experiments. All acquisition and processing is performed on the mobile phone and controlled through a smartphone application, making the computational microscope compact and portable. Using multiple samples and different objective magnifications, we demonstrate that the performance of our device is comparable to that of a commercial microscope. This unique device platform extends the field imaging capabilities of CellScope, opening up new clinical and research possibilities

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

Applications and Challenges of Real-time Mobile DNA Analysis

The DNA sequencing is the process of identifying the exact order of nucleotides within a given DNA molecule. The new portable and relatively inexpensive DNA sequencers, such as Oxford Nanopore MinION, have the potential to move DNA sequencing outside of laboratory, leading to faster and more accessible DNA-based diagnostics. However, portable DNA sequencing and analysis are challenging for mobile systems, owing to high data throughputs and computationally intensive processing performed in environments with unreliable connectivity and power. In this paper, we provide an analysis of the challenges that mobile systems and mobile computing must address to maximize the potential of portable DNA sequencing, and in situ DNA analysis. We explain the DNA sequencing process and highlight the main differences between traditional and portable DNA sequencing in the context of the actual and envisioned applications. We look at the identified challenges from the perspective of both algorithms and systems design, showing the need for careful co-design

Seamless mobility with personal servers

We describe the concept and the taxonomy of personal servers, and their implications in seamless mobility. Personal servers could offer electronic services independently of network availability or quality, provide a greater flexibility in the choice of user access device, and support the key concept of continuous user experience. We describe the organization of mobile and remote personal servers, define three relevant communication modes, and discuss means for users to exploit seamless services on the personal server

Project HealthDesign: Rethinking the Power and Potential of Personal Health Records: Round One Final Report

Describes an initiative to develop prototypes for next-generation personal health record applications on a common platform focused on self-management for better health. Outlines grantees' prototypes for user-centered daily monitoring and lessons learned

Ergonomic, adaptable keyboard for fast data entry on mobile computing devices

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 22-24).The usefulness of modem portable computational devices such as cellular phones and portable digital assistants (PDAs) is currently limited by the lack of an effective method for text entry. The currently available input options (such as the 12-key phone pad and PDA touch screens) are a quarter to a third of the speed of the standard desktop QWERTY keyboards. Therefore, it is slow and frustrating for people to use these systems for any significant text input, such as writing emails, taking notes in a meeting, or writing down thoughts while on-the-go. The proposed solution is a one-handed, hand-held, wireless, portable keyboard that would allow the mobile device user to achieve speeds closer to the desktop standard while performing text-entry tasks. Previously developed handheld input devices employ unfamiliar typing systems, are too large, or are not ergonomically comfortable, which may be the reasons they have not been widely adopted by the public. The device described in this paper is small enough to store in one's pocket, is inconspicuous during use, and is adjustable so that the keys reach the fingers in their natural curved position. One interface point allows each finger to control multiple buttons thereby preventing the fingers from, needing to move into uncomfortable positions.(cont.) These features were incorporated into a prototype that proves the feasibility of a compact and comfortable hand-held keyboard. The device also has potential as an ergonomic replacement to the standard desktop keyboard. Unlike traditional keyboards it allows the typist to be relaxed and mobile eliminating some risk factors for repetitive strain injury.by Alexander Mekelburg.S.B

Low Power system Design techniques for mobile computers

Portable products are being used increasingly. Because these systems are battery powered, reducing power consumption is vital. In this report we give the properties of low power design and techniques to exploit them on the architecture of the system. We focus on: min imizing capacitance, avoiding unnecessary and wasteful activity, and reducing voltage and frequency. We review energy reduction techniques in the architecture and design of a hand-held computer and the wireless communication system, including error control, sys tem decomposition, communication and MAC protocols, and low power short range net works