Context-Aware Mobile Games Using Android, Arduino and HTML5

Mobiilitehnoloogiate areng ja nutitelefonide kiire levik loob uusi võimalusi mobiilirakenduste arendamiseks ning palju rõhku pannakse mängudele. Loodavad mängud muutuvad aga keerulisemaks, sest üha enam kasutatakse keskkonnast tulevat informatsiooni, et kohandada mängu vastavalt kasutaja asukohale ja kontekstile. Mänge, mis seovad kasutaja füüsile asukoha ja oleku virtuaalmaailmaga keskkonnateadlikuks mänguks. Üha enam luuakse rakendusi veebiplatvormile, mitte kindlatele operatsioonisüsteemidele, sest veebitehnoloogiad võimaldavad luua võrdväärse funktsionaalsuse ning kasutajamugavusega rakendusi. Veebipõhiste rakenduste suurimaks eeliseks on see, et nende tööks on vaja ainult veebibrauserit ning igale operastioonisüteemile ei pea kirjutama eraldi programmi. Antud tehnoloogiad on jõudnud ka mobiilimaailma, kus iga operatsioonisõsteemi jaoks peab arendama eraldiseisva rakenduse, sest iga tootja süsteem on teistest erinev. Antud bakalaurusetöö eesmärgiks on luua veebitehnoloogiaid kasutades mobiilimäng, mille juhtimiseks kasutatakse nutitelefonis olevaid sensoreid ning lisaks Arduino mikrokontrolleritest tulevat väliskeskoona informatsiooni. Antud bakalaurusetöö suurimaks panuseks on PhoneGap raamistikule loodud moodul, mis võimaldab pärida Arduino mikrokontrollerist saadetud sensorite informatsiooni kliendipoolsest koodist, mis tavaliste lahendustega pole võimalik.Latest technological achievements in mobile and open-source electronics platforms made it possible to develop pervasive applications that use environmental information to enhance software usability aspects in real-time, like in the case of context-aware mobile games. However, the development of this kind of pervasive applications is tied to speci c aspects owned by each mobile platform (e.g. programming language, SDK and tools, etc.). Moreover, a considerable effort and knowledge in low-level programming techniques is required for porting the applications between platforms, and thus in general most of the solutions are targeted at particular platform. In order to investigate the possibility of creating portable pervasive applications that combine sensor information from the multiple micromechanical artefacts embedded within the smartphones, we used contextual sensor data provided by Arduino Microcontroller. The current thesis proposed extending the existing implementation of PhoneGap to create hybrid mobile applications based on HTML5 that are easy to port, maintain and reuse

Privacy in Gaming

Video game platforms and business models are increasingly built on collection, use, and sharing of personal information for purposes of both functionality and revenue. This paper examines privacy issues and explores data practices, technical specifications, and policy statements of the most popular games and gaming platforms to provide an overview of the current privacy legal landscape for mobile gaming, console gaming, and virtual reality devices. The research observes how modern gaming aligns with information privacy notions and norms and how data practices and technologies specific to gaming may affect users and, in particular, child gamers. After objectively selecting and analyzing major players in gaming, the research notes the many different ways that game companies collect data from users, including through cameras, sensors, microphones, and other hardware, through platform features for social interaction and user-generated content, and by means of tracking technologies like cookies and beacons. The paper also notes how location and biometric data are collected routinely through game platforms and explores issues specific to mobile gaming and pairing with smartphones and other external hardware devices. The paper concludes that transparency as to gaming companies’ data practices could be much improved, especially regarding sharing with third party affiliates. In addition, the research considers how children’s privacy may be particularly affected while gaming, determining that special attention should be paid to user control mechanisms and privacy settings within games and platforms, that social media and other interactive features create unique privacy and safety concerns for children which require gamer and parent education, and that privacy policy language is often incongruent with age ratings advertised to children and parents. To contribute additional research value and resources, the paper attaches a comprehensive set of appendices, on which the research conclusions are in part based, detailing the technical specifications and privacy policy statements of popular games and gaming platforms for mobile gaming, console gaming, and virtual reality devices

Experiences with AR plots: A travel time augmented reality game

Digital games have the potential for changing attitudes towards social issues such as climate change and sustainability. These games don’t have to be based on fixed computing and with the rise of smart phone, they can make use of a range of sensor and augmented reality technologies. This paper presents the experience of developing AR Plots, a prototype locative game with an augmented reality interface. It is a game designed to fit in with the fractured nature of travel time on public transport. This paper discusses technical challenges, usability issues and game design approaches used to work within these constraints

Studienlandschaft Schwingbachtal: an out-door full-scale learning tool newly equipped with augmented reality

This paper addresses education and communication in hydrology and geosciences. Many approaches can be used, such as the well-known seminars, modelling exercises and practical field work but out-door learning in our discipline is a must, and this paper focuses on the recent development of a new out-door learning tool at the landscape scale. To facilitate improved teaching and hands-on experience, we designed the Studienlandschaft Schwingbachtal. Equipped with field instrumentation, education trails, and geocache, we now implemented an augmented reality App, adding virtual teaching objects on the real landscape. The App development is detailed, to serve as methodology for people wishing to implement such a tool. The resulting application, namely the Schwingbachtal App, is described as an example. We conclude that such an App is useful for communication and education purposes, making learning pleasant, and offering personalized options

ENHANCING USERS’ EXPERIENCE WITH SMART MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

The aim of this thesis is to investigate mobile guides for use with smartphones. Mobile guides have been successfully used to provide information, personalisation and navigation for the user. The researcher also wanted to ascertain how and in what ways mobile guides can enhance users' experience. This research involved designing and developing web based applications to run on smartphones. Four studies were conducted, two of which involved testing of the particular application. The applications tested were a museum mobile guide application and a university mobile guide mapping application. Initial testing examined the prototype work for the ‘Chronology of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah’ application. The results were used to assess the potential of using similar mobile guides in Brunei Darussalam’s museums. The second study involved testing of the ‘Kent LiveMap’ application for use at the University of Kent. Students at the university tested this mapping application, which uses crowdsourcing of information to provide live data. The results were promising and indicate that users' experience was enhanced when using the application. Overall results from testing and using the two applications that were developed as part of this thesis show that mobile guides have the potential to be implemented in Brunei Darussalam’s museums and on campus at the University of Kent. However, modifications to both applications are required to fulfil their potential and take them beyond the prototype stage in order to be fully functioning and commercially viable

Innovations Around Mobile Applications: Scope for Indian Developers

This paper explores innovations around mobile applications, globally, and brings out the scope for monetization of these trends, by Indian Application Developers. The paper is based on qualitative research and utilizes Content Analysis Technique for tabulating and reporting the data. A thorough literature review has been conducted to understand the innovations around mobile applications globally and to identify the top 5 categories of mobile applications. These categories serve as variables for understanding the scope for Indian mobile application developers. Data on Indian Mobile application market has been sourced from mass media: Top 3 English newspapers (Indian) and 6 online sources. Recommendations for Indian developers have been generated on the basis on data which was reported under 5 identified categories of mobile applications. Scope for Indian Mobile application developers is in (but not limited to) the following areas; Developing cloud enabled applications, developing customised Indian applications, working on innovations based on global acceptability through multi-language apps., synchronising data with backend systems and addressing security threats, reducing costs through prudent locations and newer API’s (Application Programming Interface), beta testing applications and appropriate keyword tagging for marketing and making applications oriented towards customer delight so that in the process of diffusion of the innovation, the application becomes an integral part of the customer’s life. Methodical content analysis brings out the scope for Indian application developers and offers them valuable insights on monetization tactics. Since the findings are based on published data from Indian Mass Media, it makes the paper very contemporary and the recommendations very implementable for the industry. Academicians working in this area too, will also find an avenue for further exploration. This research work is distinctive because of the lack of scholarly studies in this area, especially in the Indian context. Data from mass media and use of content analysis – a widely used qualitative analytic method for a scholarly study, increases its value by making the work recent, contemporary and worthy of further scholarly explorations