3,213 research outputs found
Filters for Wi-Fi Generated Crowd Movement Data
Cities represent large groups of people that share a common infrastructure, common social groups and/or common interests. With the development of new technologies current cities aim to become what is known as smart cities, in which all the small details of these large constructs are controlled to better improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. One of the important gears that powers a city is given by traffic, be it vehicular or pedestrian. As such traffic is closely related to all other activities that take place inside of a city. Understanding traffic is still a difficult process as we have to be able to not only measure it in the sense of how many people are using a particular path but also in analyzing where people are going and when, while still maintaining individual privacy. And all this has to be done at a scale that would cover most if not all individuals in a city. With the high increase in smartphones adoption we can reliably assume that a large part of the population in cities are carrying with them, at all times, at least one Wi-Fi enabled device. Because Wi-Fi devices are regularly transmitting signals we can rely on these devices to detect individual's movements unobtrusively without identifying or tracking any particular individual. Special sensors that monitor Wi-Fi frequencies can be placed around a city to gather data that can later be used to identify patterns in the traffic flows. We present a set of filters that can be used to minimize the amount of data needed for processing and without negatively impacting the result or the information that can be extracted from this data. Part of the filters we present can be deployed at the sensor level, making the entire system more scalable, while a different part can be executed before data processing thus enabling real time information extraction and a broader temporal and spatial range for data analysis. Some of these filters are particular to Wi-Fi but some of them can be applied to any detection system
Eavesdropping Whilst You're Shopping: Balancing Personalisation and Privacy in Connected Retail Spaces
Physical retailers, who once led the way in tracking with loyalty cards and
`reverse appends', now lag behind online competitors. Yet we might be seeing
these tables turn, as many increasingly deploy technologies ranging from simple
sensors to advanced emotion detection systems, even enabling them to tailor
prices and shopping experiences on a per-customer basis. Here, we examine these
in-store tracking technologies in the retail context, and evaluate them from
both technical and regulatory standpoints. We first introduce the relevant
technologies in context, before considering privacy impacts, the current
remedies individuals might seek through technology and the law, and those
remedies' limitations. To illustrate challenging tensions in this space we
consider the feasibility of technical and legal approaches to both a) the
recent `Go' store concept from Amazon which requires fine-grained, multi-modal
tracking to function as a shop, and b) current challenges in opting in or out
of increasingly pervasive passive Wi-Fi tracking. The `Go' store presents
significant challenges with its legality in Europe significantly unclear and
unilateral, technical measures to avoid biometric tracking likely ineffective.
In the case of MAC addresses, we see a difficult-to-reconcile clash between
privacy-as-confidentiality and privacy-as-control, and suggest a technical
framework which might help balance the two. Significant challenges exist when
seeking to balance personalisation with privacy, and researchers must work
together, including across the boundaries of preferred privacy definitions, to
come up with solutions that draw on both technology and the legal frameworks to
provide effective and proportionate protection. Retailers, simultaneously, must
ensure that their tracking is not just legal, but worthy of the trust of
concerned data subjects.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of the PETRAS/IoTUK/IET Living in the
Internet of Things Conference, London, United Kingdom, 28-29 March 201
TechNews digests: Jan - Mar 2010
TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month
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