729 research outputs found
Mobile augmented reality techniques for emergency response
Get PDFFCT/MCTES PEstUID/CEC/04516/2019In an emergency situation, each response agent must act quickly and accurately. The support of a mobile device that can provide an appropriate insight of the surroundings and that allows users to exchange information with the other members of the emergency teams, can prevent harm and even save many lives. This paper presents a mobile application that integrates a georeferenced system with augmented reality techniques, in order to serve the needs of the operatives in emergency situations. The work intends to introduce solutions which optimize the performance with which the user takes advantage of the mobile application, such as the organization of the data flow that is displayed and the augmentation of the surrounding area. User studies were conducted with members of the National Navy. The results were positive although there are still some aspects that should be improved.publishersversionpublishe
From Sensor to Observation Web with Environmental Enablers in the Future Internet
Get PDFThis paper outlines the grand challenges in global sustainability research and the objectives of the FP7 Future Internet PPP program within the Digital Agenda for Europe. Large user communities are generating significant amounts of valuable environmental observations at local and regional scales using the devices and services of the Future Internet. These communities’ environmental observations represent a wealth of information which is currently hardly used or used only in isolation and therefore in need of integration with other information sources. Indeed, this very integration will lead to a paradigm shift from a mere Sensor Web to an Observation Web with semantically enriched content emanating from sensors, environmental simulations and citizens. The paper also describes the research challenges to realize the Observation Web and the associated environmental enablers for the Future Internet. Such an environmental enabler could for instance be an electronic sensing device, a web-service application, or even a social networking group affording or facilitating the capability of the Future Internet applications to consume, produce, and use environmental observations in cross-domain applications. The term ?envirofied? Future Internet is coined to describe this overall target that forms a cornerstone of work in the Environmental Usage Area within the Future Internet PPP program. Relevant trends described in the paper are the usage of ubiquitous sensors (anywhere), the provision and generation of information by citizens, and the convergence of real and virtual realities to convey understanding of environmental observations. The paper addresses the technical challenges in the Environmental Usage Area and the need for designing multi-style service oriented architecture. Key topics are the mapping of requirements to capabilities, providing scalability and robustness with implementing context aware information retrieval. Another essential research topic is handling data fusion and model based computation, and the related propagation of information uncertainty. Approaches to security, standardization and harmonization, all essential for sustainable solutions, are summarized from the perspective of the Environmental Usage Area. The paper concludes with an overview of emerging, high impact applications in the environmental areas concerning land ecosystems (biodiversity), air quality (atmospheric conditions) and water ecosystems (marine asset management)
From GeoVisualization to visual-analytics: methodologies and techniques for human-information discourse
Get PDF2010 - 2011The objective of our research is to give support to decision makers when facing problems which require rapid solutions in spite of the complexity of scenarios under investigation. In order to achieve this goal our studies have been focused on GeoVisualization and GeoVisual Analytics research field, which play a relevant role in this scope, because they exploit results from several disciplines, such as exploratory data analysis and GIScience, to provide expert users with highly interactive tools by which they can both visually synthesize information from large datasets and perform complex analytical tasks.
The research we are carrying out along this line is meant to develop software applications capable both to build an immediate overview of a scenario and to explore elements featuring it. To this aim, we are defining methodologies and techniques which embed key aspects from different disciplines, such as augmented reality and location-based services. Their integration is targeted to realize advanced tools where the geographic component role is primary and is meant to contribute to a human-information discourse... [edited by author]X n.s
Utilising spatial technologies to support the catchment based approach to landscape management
Get PDFMuch of the UK’s water environment is degraded due to centuries of intensive land management. Driven by the combined pressures of EU targets for water quality, climate change, urbanisation, and population growth the requirement for better management of water resources has led to the adoption of catchment scale management. Despite fewer funding opportunities available to catchment organisations government expectations remain high. Spatial technologies have much to offer to aid collaboration between catchment organisations and stakeholders in their aims to improve the water environment, but research evaluating the application of low cost spatial technologies to support the Catchment Based Approach within the UK has to date been limited. Through three case studies this thesis explored how spatial technologies could support the development of future sustainable and multifunctional river catchment landscapes. The methodology of each case study retained a practitioner focus and evaluated both practitioner interaction with the technologies and the technology development itself. The research examined the strengths and weaknesses of spatial technology in practice and identified barriers to wider adoption by the catchment partnerships and rivers trusts. Results indicate untapped potential for spatial technologies to support the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) but three barriers to adoption exist. First, there are technological restrictions which need to be overcome with further development. Secondly, significant resources are required, and thirdly, the disruptive influence of technology on institutional structure must be accommodated. Even with the suggested further development the spatial technologies evaluated in this thesis remain outside of the scope of many catchment institutions in terms of skill, understanding of best practice and the resources to support implementation. The future of our water environment and the wider landscape is constrained not by those carrying out the work but the lack of funds and governance frameworks for catchment institutions to work together
(So) Big Data and the transformation of the city
Get PDFThe exponential increase in the availability of large-scale mobility data has fueled the vision of smart cities that will transform our lives. The truth is that we have just scratched the surface of the research challenges that should be tackled in order to make this vision a reality. Consequently, there is an increasing interest among different research communities (ranging from civil engineering to computer science) and industrial stakeholders in building knowledge discovery pipelines over such data sources. At the same time, this widespread data availability also raises privacy issues that must be considered by both industrial and academic stakeholders. In this paper, we provide a wide perspective on the role that big data have in reshaping cities. The paper covers the main aspects of urban data analytics, focusing on privacy issues, algorithms, applications and services, and georeferenced data from social media. In discussing these aspects, we leverage, as concrete examples and case studies of urban data science tools, the results obtained in the “City of Citizens” thematic area of the Horizon 2020 SoBigData initiative, which includes a virtual research environment with mobility datasets and urban analytics methods developed by several institutions around Europe. We conclude the paper outlining the main research challenges that urban data science has yet to address in order to help make the smart city vision a reality
Designing usable mobile interfaces for spatial data
Get PDF2010 - 2011This
dissertation
deals
mainly
with
the
discipline
of
Human-‐Computer
Interaction
(HCI),
with
particular
attention
on
the
role
that
it
plays
in
the
domain
of
modern
mobile
devices.
Mobile
devices
today
offer
a
crucial
support
to
a
plethora
of
daily
activities
for
nearly
everyone.
Ranging
from
checking
business
mails
while
traveling,
to
accessing
social
networks
while
in
a
mall,
to
carrying
out
business
transactions
while
out
of
office,
to
using
all
kinds
of
online
public
services,
mobile
devices
play
the
important
role
to
connect
people
while
physically
apart.
Modern
mobile
interfaces
are
therefore
expected
to
improve
the
user's
interaction
experience
with
the
surrounding
environment
and
offer
different
adaptive
views
of
the
real
world.
The
goal
of
this
thesis
is
to
enhance
the
usability
of
mobile
interfaces
for
spatial
data.
Spatial
data
are
particular
data
in
which
the
spatial
component
plays
an
important
role
in
clarifying
the
meaning
of
the
data
themselves.
Nowadays,
this
kind
of
data
is
totally
widespread
in
mobile
applications.
Spatial
data
are
present
in
games,
map
applications,
mobile
community
applications
and
office
automations.
In
order
to
enhance
the
usability
of
spatial
data
interfaces,
my
research
investigates
on
two
major
issues:
1. Enhancing
the
visualization
of
spatial
data
on
small
screens
2. Enhancing
the
text-‐input
methods
I
selected
the
Design Science Research approach
to
investigate
the
above
research
questions.
The
idea
underling
this
approach
is
“you
build artifact to learn from it”, in
other
words
researchers
clarify
what
is
new
in
their
design.
The
new
knowledge
carried
out
from
the
artifact
will
be
presented
in
form
of
interaction
design
patterns
in
order
to
support
developers
in
dealing
with
issues
of
mobile
interfaces.
The
thesis
is
organized
as
follows.
Initially
I
present
the
broader
context,
the
research
questions
and
the
approaches
I
used
to
investigate
them.
Then
the
results
are
split
into
two
main
parts.
In
the
first
part
I
present
the
visualization
technique
called
Framy.
The
technique
is
designed
to
support
users
in
visualizing
geographical
data
on
mobile
map
applications.
I
also
introduce
a
multimodal
extension
of
Framy
obtained
by
adding
sounds
and
vibrations.
After
that
I
present
the
process
that
turned
the
multimodal
interface
into
a
means
to
allow
visually
impaired
users
to
interact
with
Framy.
Some
projects
involving
the
design
principles
of
Framy
are
shown
in
order
to
demonstrate
the
adaptability
of
the
technique
in
different
contexts.
The
second
part
concerns
the
issue
related
to
text-‐input
methods.
In
particular
I
focus
on
the
work
done
in
the
area
of
virtual
keyboards
for
mobile
devices.
A
new
kind
of
virtual
keyboard
called
TaS
provides
users
with
an
input
system
more
efficient
and
effective
than
the
traditional
QWERTY
keyboard.
Finally,
in
the
last
chapter,
the
knowledge
acquired
is
formalized
in
form
of
interaction
design
patterns. [edited by author]X n.s
Mobile heritage practices. Implications for scholarly research, user experience design, and evaluation methods using mobile apps.
Get PDFMobile heritage apps have become one of the most popular means for audience
engagement and curation of museum collections and heritage contexts. This
raises practical and ethical questions for both researchers and practitioners, such
as: what kind of audience engagement can be built using mobile apps? what are
the current approaches? how can audience engagement with these experience
be evaluated? how can those experiences be made more resilient, and in turn
sustainable? In this thesis I explore experience design scholarships together with
personal professional insights to analyse digital heritage practices with a view to
accelerating thinking about and critique of mobile apps in particular. As a result,
the chapters that follow here look at the evolution of digital heritage practices,
examining the cultural, societal, and technological contexts in which mobile
heritage apps are developed by the creative media industry, the academic
institutions, and how these forces are shaping the user experience design
methods. Drawing from studies in digital (critical) heritage, Human-Computer
Interaction (HCI), and design thinking, this thesis provides a critical analysis of
the development and use of mobile practices for the heritage. Furthermore,
through an empirical and embedded approach to research, the thesis also
presents auto-ethnographic case studies in order to show evidence that mobile
experiences conceptualised by more organic design approaches, can result in
more resilient and sustainable heritage practices. By doing so, this thesis
encourages a renewed understanding of the pivotal role of these practices in the
broader sociocultural, political and environmental changes.AHRC REAC
Multimodal Content Delivery for Geo-services
Get PDFThis thesis describes a body of work carried out over several research projects in the area of multimodal interaction for location-based services. Research in this area has progressed from using simulated mobile environments to demonstrate the visual modality, to the ubiquitous delivery of rich media using multimodal interfaces (geo- services). To effectively deliver these services, research focused on innovative solutions to real-world problems in a number of disciplines including geo-location, mobile spatial interaction, location-based services, rich media interfaces and auditory user interfaces. My original contributions to knowledge are made in the areas of multimodal interaction underpinned by advances in geo-location technology and supported by the proliferation of mobile device technology into modern life. Accurate positioning is a known problem for location-based services, contributions in the area of mobile positioning demonstrate a hybrid positioning technology for mobile devices that uses terrestrial beacons to trilaterate position. Information overload is an active concern for location-based applications that struggle to manage large amounts of data, contributions in the area of egocentric visibility that filter data based on field-of-view demonstrate novel forms of multimodal input. One of the more pertinent characteristics of these applications is the delivery or output modality employed (auditory, visual or tactile). Further contributions in the area of multimodal content delivery are made, where multiple modalities are used to deliver information using graphical user interfaces, tactile interfaces and more notably auditory user interfaces. It is demonstrated how a combination of these interfaces can be used to synergistically deliver context sensitive rich media to users - in a responsive way - based on usage scenarios that consider the affordance of the device, the geographical position and bearing of the device and also the location of the device
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