26,795 research outputs found
Multi-Sensor Context-Awareness in Mobile Devices and Smart Artefacts
The use of context in mobile devices is receiving increasing attention in mobile and ubiquitous computing research. In this article we consider how to augment mobile devices with awareness of their environment and situation as context. Most work to date has been based on integration of generic context sensors, in particular for location and visual context. We propose a different approach based on integration of multiple diverse sensors for awareness of situational context that can not be inferred from location, and targeted at mobile device platforms that typically do not permit processing of visual context. We have investigated multi-sensor context-awareness in a series of projects, and report experience from development of a number of device prototypes. These include development of an awareness module for augmentation of a mobile phone, of the Mediacup exemplifying context-enabled everyday artifacts, and of the Smart-Its platform for aware mobile devices. The prototypes have been explored in various applications to validate the multi-sensor approach to awareness, and to develop new perspectives of how embedded context-awareness can be applied in mobile and ubiquitous computing
Cyber situational awareness: from geographical alerts to high-level management
This paper focuses on cyber situational awareness and describes a visual analytics solution for monitoring and putting in tight relation data from network level with the organization business. The goal of the proposed solution is to make different security profiles (network security officer, network security manager, and financial security manager) aware of the actual network state (e.g., risk and attack progress) and the impact it actually has on the business tasks, making clear the relationships that exist between the network level and the business level. The proposed solution is instantiated on the ACEA infrastructure, the Italian company that provides power and water purification services to cities in central Italy (millions of end users
Improving Big Data Visual Analytics with Interactive Virtual Reality
For decades, the growth and volume of digital data collection has made it
challenging to digest large volumes of information and extract underlying
structure. Coined 'Big Data', massive amounts of information has quite often
been gathered inconsistently (e.g from many sources, of various forms, at
different rates, etc.). These factors impede the practices of not only
processing data, but also analyzing and displaying it in an efficient manner to
the user. Many efforts have been completed in the data mining and visual
analytics community to create effective ways to further improve analysis and
achieve the knowledge desired for better understanding. Our approach for
improved big data visual analytics is two-fold, focusing on both visualization
and interaction. Given geo-tagged information, we are exploring the benefits of
visualizing datasets in the original geospatial domain by utilizing a virtual
reality platform. After running proven analytics on the data, we intend to
represent the information in a more realistic 3D setting, where analysts can
achieve an enhanced situational awareness and rely on familiar perceptions to
draw in-depth conclusions on the dataset. In addition, developing a
human-computer interface that responds to natural user actions and inputs
creates a more intuitive environment. Tasks can be performed to manipulate the
dataset and allow users to dive deeper upon request, adhering to desired
demands and intentions. Due to the volume and popularity of social media, we
developed a 3D tool visualizing Twitter on MIT's campus for analysis. Utilizing
emerging technologies of today to create a fully immersive tool that promotes
visualization and interaction can help ease the process of understanding and
representing big data.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, 2015 IEEE High Performance Extreme Computing
Conference (HPEC '15); corrected typo
Context-Aware Information Retrieval for Enhanced Situation Awareness
In the coalition forces, users are increasingly challenged with the issues of information overload and correlation of information from heterogeneous sources. Users might need different pieces of information, ranging from information about a single building, to the resolution strategy of a global conflict. Sometimes, the time, location and past history of information access can also shape the information needs of users. Information systems need to help users pull together data from disparate sources according to their expressed needs (as represented by system queries), as well as less specific criteria. Information consumers have varying roles, tasks/missions, goals and agendas, knowledge and background, and personal preferences. These factors can be used to shape both the execution of user queries and the form in which retrieved information is packaged. However, full automation of this daunting information aggregation and customization task is not possible with existing approaches. In this paper we present an infrastructure for context-aware information retrieval to enhance situation awareness. The infrastructure provides each user with a customized, mission-oriented system that gives access to the right information from heterogeneous sources in the context of a particular task, plan and/or mission. The approach lays on five intertwined fundamental concepts, namely Workflow, Context, Ontology, Profile and Information Aggregation. The exploitation of this knowledge, using appropriate domain ontologies, will make it feasible to provide contextual assistance in various ways to the work performed according to a userâs taskrelevant information requirements. This paper formalizes these concepts and their interrelationships
Satellite Navigation for the Age of Autonomy
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) brought navigation to the masses.
Coupled with smartphones, the blue dot in the palm of our hands has forever
changed the way we interact with the world. Looking forward, cyber-physical
systems such as self-driving cars and aerial mobility are pushing the limits of
what localization technologies including GNSS can provide. This autonomous
revolution requires a solution that supports safety-critical operation,
centimeter positioning, and cyber-security for millions of users. To meet these
demands, we propose a navigation service from Low Earth Orbiting (LEO)
satellites which deliver precision in-part through faster motion, higher power
signals for added robustness to interference, constellation autonomous
integrity monitoring for integrity, and encryption / authentication for
resistance to spoofing attacks. This paradigm is enabled by the 'New Space'
movement, where highly capable satellites and components are now built on
assembly lines and launch costs have decreased by more than tenfold. Such a
ubiquitous positioning service enables a consistent and secure standard where
trustworthy information can be validated and shared, extending the electronic
horizon from sensor line of sight to an entire city. This enables the
situational awareness needed for true safe operation to support autonomy at
scale.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 2020 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation
Symposium (PLANS
Social and interactional practices for disseminating current awareness information in an organisational setting.
Current awareness services are designed to keep users informed about recent developments based around user need profiles. In organisational settings, they may operate through both electronic and social interactions aimed at delivering information that is relevant, pertinent and current. Understanding these interactions can reveal the tensions in current awareness dissemination and help inform ways of making services more effective and efficient. We report an in-depth, observational study of electronic current awareness use within a large London law firm. The study found that selection, re-aggregation and forwarding of information by multiple actors gives rise to a complex sociotechnical distribution network. Knowledge management staff act as a layer of âintelligent filtersâ sensitive to complex, local information needs; their distribution decisions address multiple situational relevance factors in a situation fraught with information overload and restrictive time-pressures. Their decisions aim to optimise conflicting constraints of recall, precision and information quantity. Critical to this is the use of dynamic profile updates which propagate back through the network through formal and informal social interactions. This supports changes to situational relevance judgements and so allows the network to âself-tuneâ. These findings lead to design requirements, including that systems should support rapid assessment of information items against an individualâs interests; that it should be possible to organise information for different subsequent uses; and that there should be back-propagation from information consumers to providers, to tune the understanding of their information needs
STOP-IT: strategic, tactical, operational protection of water infrastructure against cyberphysical threats
Water supply and sanitation infrastructures are essential for our welfare, but vulnerable to several attack types facilitated by the ever-changing landscapes of the digital world. A cyber-attack on critical infrastructures could for example evolve along these threat vectors: chemical/biological contamination, physical or communications disruption between the network and the supervisory SCADA. Although conceptual and technological solutions to security and resilience are available, further work is required to bring them together in a risk management framework, strengthen the capacities of water utilities to systematically protect their systems, determine gaps in security technologies and improve risk management approaches. In particular, robust adaptable/flexible solutions for prevention, detection and mitigation of consequences in case of failure due to physical and cyber threats, their combination and cascading effects (from attacks to other critical infrastructure, i.e. energy) are still missing. There is (i) an urgent need to efficiently tackle cyber-physical security threats, (ii) an existing risk management gap in utilitiesâ practices and (iii) an un-tapped technology market potential for strategic, tactical and operational protection solutions for water infrastructure: how the H2020 STOP-IT project aims to bridge these gaps is presented in this paper.Postprint (published version
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