A management system to personalize notifications in the TV ecosystem

This article presents a prototype to generate, schedule, and monitor personalized notifications for the TV ecosystem, which encompasses the television, connected devices, and personal mobile devices. Based on the identification of guidelines and usage scenarios in the literature and the collection of empirical data through focus groups, were systematized settings for the notifications according to the type of event/content to be notified. The settings include the sending moments and triggers on the TV set-top box (STB), as well as users’ responses to the notifications, like changing the channel, going to an app, or asking to repeat the reminder. The prototype, which will be tested in the laboratory with experts and field tests with users, is part of an R&D project in partnership with a Portuguese IPTV provider, to possibly integrate this feature into their service.publishe

Delivering elder-care environments utilizing TV-channel based mechanisms

In this paper, we present a smart environment for elderly. What makes the development of such system challenging is that the concept of smartness for elderly brings to the extreme the idea of invisibility of the technology. In our experience, elders are well-disposed to new technologies, provided that those will not require significant changes - namely, they are invisible - to their habits. Starting from this consideration, 200 caregivers responses were collected by questionnaire, so as to better understand elders' needs and habits. A system was subsequently developed allowing elders to access a number of "modern web services" as standard TV channels: at channel 43 there is the health status, at channel 45 the photos of the family, at 46 the agenda of the week, just to mention few of the available services. The content of such services is automatically generated by the smart devices in the environment and is managed by the caregivers (e.g., family members) by simple web apps. Fourteen families were asked to install the system in their house. The results of these experiments confirm that the proposed system is considered effective and user-friendly by elders

A Model-Driven Cross-Platform App Development Process for Heterogeneous Device Classes

App development has gained importance since the advent of smartphones to enable the ubiquitous access to information. Until now, multi- or cross-platform approaches are usually limited to different platforms for smartphones and tablets. With the recent trend towards app-enabled mobile devices, a plethora of heterogeneous devices such as smartwatches and smart TVs continues to emerge. For app developers, the situation resembles the early days of smartphones but worsened by the widely differing hardware, platform capabilities, and usage patterns. In order to tackle the identified challenges of app development beyond the boundaries of individual device classes, a systematic process built on the model-driven paradigm is presented. In addition, we demonstrate its applicability using the MAML framework to create interoperable business apps for both smartphones and smartwatches from a common, platform-independent model

AwareNotifications: Multi-Device Semantic Notification Handling with User-Defined Preferences

With the increase of connected devices and online services, the number of notifications received by each person is growing. Although notifications are useful to inform users about important information such as new messages and events, the continuous interruptions, the notification duplication, and the rigid delivery can be sources of discomfort. To overcome these issues, we present AwareNotifications, an intelligent system based on user-defined preferences to manage multi-device notifications. AwareNotifications is powered by Semantic Web technologies. By directly exploiting user preferences in the semantic reasoning process, the system is able to identify suitable device(s), modality, and moment(s) to deliver the incoming user notifications. We evaluated AwareNotifications in a user study with 15 participants, in which we compared our system with the "traditional" notification delivery system. The study confirms the perceived effectiveness of AwareNotifications, and provides insights to further improve the system

Examining the role of smart TVs and VR HMDs in synchronous at-a-distance media consumption

This article examines synchronous at-a-distance media consumption from two perspectives: How it can be facilitated using existing consumer displays (through TVs combined with smartphones), and imminently available consumer displays (through virtual reality (VR) HMDs combined with RGBD sensing). First, we discuss results from an initial evaluation of a synchronous shared at-a-distance smart TV system, CastAway. Through week-long in-home deployments with five couples, we gain formative insights into the adoption and usage of at-a-distance media consumption and how couples communicated during said consumption. We then examine how the imminent availability and potential adoption of consumer VR HMDs could affect preferences toward how synchronous at-a-distance media consumption is conducted, in a laboratory study of 12 pairs, by enhancing media immersion and supporting embodied telepresence for communication. Finally, we discuss the implications these studies have for the near-future of consumer synchronous at-a-distance media consumption. When combined, these studies begin to explore a design space regarding the varying ways in which at-a-distance media consumption can be supported and experienced (through music, TV content, augmenting existing TV content for immersion, and immersive VR content), what factors might influence usage and adoption and the implications for supporting communication and telepresence during media consumption

After the Gold Rush: The Boom of the Internet of Things, and the Busts of Data-Security and Privacy

This Article addresses the impact that the lack of oversight of the Internet of Things has on digital privacy. While the Internet of Things is but one vehicle for technological innovation, it has created a broad glimpse into domestic life, thus triggering several privacy issues that the law is attempting to keep pace with. What the Internet of Things can reveal is beyond the control of the individual, as it collects information about every practical aspect of an individual’s life, and provides essentially unfettered access into the mind of its users. This Article proposes that the federal government and the state governments bend toward consumer protection while creating a cogent and predictable body of law surrounding the Internet of Things. Through privacy-by-design or self-help, it is imperative that the Internet of Things—and any of its unforeseen progeny—develop with an eye toward safeguarding individual privacy while allowing technological development

Analysis of Internet-Based Smart Safety Helmet Systems in Occupational Health and Safety Implementation

The Smart Safety Helmet, utilizing Industrial Revolution 4.0, addresses the high rate of construction accidents with efficient data management. Equipped with Nodemcu technology, it constantly transmits location data to related parties through a smartphone link. Upon a strong impact, the GPS Shield retrieves accident coordinates, sending an instant location link to users. Crash sensor testing reveals a baseline value of 0, triggering notifications only upon a significant impact. The tilt sensor, yielding X: 325.5, Y: 348.65, Z: 253.73, measures helmet inclination. Android smartphone testing confirms accurate data presentation. The GPS module records latitude: 0.542073, longitude: 123.089958. Discrepancies in displayed location on Google Maps result from GPS signal variations, device factors, and module placement. This integrated system ensures swift accident alerts, enhancing safety measures in the construction industry