Investigation of Context Determination for Advanced Navigation using Smartphone Sensors

Navigation and positioning is inherently dependent on the context, which comprises both the operating environment and the behaviour of the host vehicle or user. The environment determines the type and quality of radio signals available for positioning, while the behaviour can contribute additional information to the navigation solution. Although many navigation and positioning techniques have been developed, no single one is capable of providing reliable and accurate positioning in all contexts. Therefore, it is necessary for a navigation system to be able to operate across different types of contexts. Context adaptive navigation offers a solution to this problem by detecting the operating contexts and adopting different positioning techniques accordingly. This study focuses on context determination with the available sensors on smartphone, through framework design, behavioural and environmental context detection, context association, comprehensive experimental tests, and system demonstration, building the foundation for a context-adaptive navigation system. In this thesis, the overall framework of context determination is first designed. Following the framework, the behavioural contexts, covering different human activities and vehicle motions, are recognised by different machine learning classifiers in hierarchy. Their classification results are further enhanced by feature selection and a connectivity dependent filter. Environmental contexts are detected from GNSS measurements. Indoor and outdoor environments are first distinguished based on the availability and strength of GNSS signals using a hidden Markov model based method. Within the model, the different levels of connections between environments are exploited as well. Then a fuzzy inference system is designed to enable the further classification of outdoor environments into urban and open-sky. As behaviours and environments are not completely independent, this study also considers context association, investigating how behaviours can be associated within environment detection. Tests in a series of multi-context scenarios have shown that the association mechanism can further improve the reliability of context detection. Finally, the proposed context determination system has been demonstrated in daily scenarios

Enabling technologies and cyber-physical systems for mission-critical scenarios

Programa Oficial de Doutoramento en Tecnoloxías da Información e Comunicacións en Redes Móbiles . 5029P01[Abstract] Reliable transport systems, defense, public safety and quality assurance in the Industry 4.0 are essential in a modern society. In a mission-critical scenario, a mission failure would jeopardize human lives and put at risk some other assets whose impairment or loss would significantly harm society or business results. Even small degradations of the communications supporting the mission could have large and possibly dire consequences. On the one hand, mission-critical organizations wish to utilize the most modern, disruptive and innovative communication systems and technologies, and yet, on the other hand, need to comply with strict requirements, which are very different to those of non critical scenarios. The aim of this thesis is to assess the feasibility of applying emerging technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and 4G broadband communications in mission-critical scenarios along three key critical infrastructure sectors: transportation, defense and public safety, and shipbuilding. Regarding the transport sector, this thesis provides an understanding of the progress of communications technologies used for railways since the implantation of Global System for Mobile communications-Railways (GSM-R). The aim of this work is to envision the potential contribution of Long Term Evolution (LTE) to provide additional features that GSM-R would never support. Furthermore, the ability of Industrial IoT for revolutionizing the railway industry and confront today's challenges is presented. Moreover, a detailed review of the most common flaws found in Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) based IoT systems is presented, including the latest attacks described in the literature. As a result, a novel methodology for auditing security and reverse engineering RFID communications in transport applications is introduced. The second sector selected is driven by new operational needs and the challenges that arise from modern military deployments. The strategic advantages of 4G broadband technologies massively deployed in civil scenarios are examined. Furthermore, this thesis analyzes the great potential for applying IoT technologies to revolutionize modern warfare and provide benefits similar to those in industry. It identifies scenarios where defense and public safety could leverage better commercial IoT capabilities to deliver greater survivability to the warfighter or first responders, while reducing costs and increasing operation efficiency and effectiveness. The last part is devoted to the shipbuilding industry. After defining the novel concept of Shipyard 4.0, how a shipyard pipe workshop works and what are the requirements for building a smart pipe system are described in detail. Furthermore, the foundations for enabling an affordable CPS for Shipyards 4.0 are presented. The CPS proposed consists of a network of beacons that continuously collect information about the location of the pipes. Its design allows shipyards to obtain more information on the pipes and to make better use of it. Moreover, it is indicated how to build a positioning system from scratch in an environment as harsh in terms of communications as a shipyard, showing an example of its architecture and implementation.[Resumen] En la sociedad moderna, los sistemas de transporte fiables, la defensa, la seguridad pública y el control de la calidad en la Industria 4.0 son esenciales. En un escenario de misión crítica, el fracaso de una misión pone en peligro vidas humanas y en riesgo otros activos cuyo deterioro o pérdida perjudicaría significativamente a la sociedad o a los resultados de una empresa. Incluso pequeñas degradaciones en las comunicaciones que apoyan la misión podrían tener importantes y posiblemente terribles consecuencias. Por un lado, las organizaciones de misión crítica desean utilizar los sistemas y tecnologías de comunicación más modernos, disruptivos e innovadores y, sin embargo, deben cumplir requisitos estrictos que son muy diferentes a los relativos a escenarios no críticos. El objetivo principal de esta tesis es evaluar la viabilidad de aplicar tecnologías emergentes como Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) y comunicaciones de banda ancha 4G en escenarios de misión crítica en tres sectores clave de infraestructura crítica: transporte, defensa y seguridad pública, y construcción naval. Respecto al sector del transporte, esta tesis permite comprender el progreso de las tecnologías de comunicación en el ámbito ferroviario desde la implantación de Global System for Mobile communications-Railway (GSM-R). El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la contribución potencial de Long Term Evolution (LTE) para proporcionar características adicionales que GSM-R nunca podría soportar. Además, se presenta la capacidad de la IoT industrial para revolucionar la industria ferroviaria y afrontar los retos actuales. Asimismo, se estudian con detalle las vulnerabilidades más comunes de los sistemas IoT basados en Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID), incluyendo los últimos ataques descritos en la literatura. Como resultado, se presenta una metodología innovadora para realizar auditorías de seguridad e ingeniería inversa de las comunicaciones RFID en aplicaciones de transporte. El segundo sector elegido viene impulsado por las nuevas necesidades operacionales y los desafíos que surgen de los despliegues militares modernos. Para afrontarlos, se analizan las ventajas estratégicas de las tecnologías de banda ancha 4G masivamente desplegadas en escenarios civiles. Asimismo, esta tesis analiza el gran potencial de aplicación de las tecnologías IoT para revolucionar la guerra moderna y proporcionar beneficios similares a los alcanzados por la industria. Se identifican escenarios en los que la defensa y la seguridad pública podrían aprovechar mejor las capacidades comerciales de IoT para ofrecer una mayor capacidad de supervivencia al combatiente o a los servicios de emergencias, a la vez que reduce los costes y aumenta la eficiencia y efectividad de las operaciones. La última parte se dedica a la industria de construcción naval. Después de definir el novedoso concepto de Astillero 4.0, se describe en detalle cómo funciona el taller de tubería de astillero y cuáles son los requisitos para construir un sistema de tuberías inteligentes. Además, se presentan los fundamentos para posibilitar un CPS asequible para Astilleros 4.0. El CPS propuesto consiste en una red de balizas que continuamente recogen información sobre la ubicación de las tuberías. Su diseño permite a los astilleros obtener más información sobre las tuberías y hacer un mejor uso de las mismas. Asimismo, se indica cómo construir un sistema de posicionamiento desde cero en un entorno tan hostil en términos de comunicaciones, mostrando un ejemplo de su arquitectura e implementación

Facilitating the development of location-based experiences

Location-based experiences depend on the availability and reliability of wireless infrastructures such as GPS, Wi-Fi, or mobile phone networks; but these technologies are not universally available everywhere and anytime. Studies of deployed experiences have shown that the characteristics of wireless infrastructures, especially their limited coverage and accuracy, have a major impact on the performance of an experience. It is in the designers’ interest to be aware of technological restrictions to their work. Current state of the art authoring tools for location-based experiences implement one common overarching model: the idea of taking a map of the physical area in which the experience is to take place and then somehow placing virtual trigger zones on top of it. This model leaves no space for technological shortcomings and assumes a perfect registration between the real and the virtual. In order to increase the designers’ awareness of the technology, this thesis suggests revealing the wireless infrastructures at authoring time through appropriate tools and workflows. This is thought to aid the designers in better understanding the characteristics of the underlying technology and thereby enable them to deal with potential problems before their work is deployed to the public. This approach was studied in practice by working with two groups of professional artists who built two commercially commissioned location-based experiences, and evaluated using qualitative research methods. The first experience is a pervasive game for mobile phones called ‘Love City’ that relies on cellular positioning. The second experience is a pervasive game for cyclists called ‘Rider Spoke’ that relies on Wi-Fi positioning. The evaluation of these two experiences revealed the importance of an integrated suite of tools that spans indoors and outdoors, and which supports the designers in better understanding the location mechanism that they decided to work with. It was found that designers can successfully create their experiences to deal with patchy, coarse grained, and varying wireless networks as long as they are made aware of the characteristics

Facilitating the development of location-based experiences

Location-based experiences depend on the availability and reliability of wireless infrastructures such as GPS, Wi-Fi, or mobile phone networks; but these technologies are not universally available everywhere and anytime. Studies of deployed experiences have shown that the characteristics of wireless infrastructures, especially their limited coverage and accuracy, have a major impact on the performance of an experience. It is in the designers’ interest to be aware of technological restrictions to their work. Current state of the art authoring tools for location-based experiences implement one common overarching model: the idea of taking a map of the physical area in which the experience is to take place and then somehow placing virtual trigger zones on top of it. This model leaves no space for technological shortcomings and assumes a perfect registration between the real and the virtual. In order to increase the designers’ awareness of the technology, this thesis suggests revealing the wireless infrastructures at authoring time through appropriate tools and workflows. This is thought to aid the designers in better understanding the characteristics of the underlying technology and thereby enable them to deal with potential problems before their work is deployed to the public. This approach was studied in practice by working with two groups of professional artists who built two commercially commissioned location-based experiences, and evaluated using qualitative research methods. The first experience is a pervasive game for mobile phones called ‘Love City’ that relies on cellular positioning. The second experience is a pervasive game for cyclists called ‘Rider Spoke’ that relies on Wi-Fi positioning. The evaluation of these two experiences revealed the importance of an integrated suite of tools that spans indoors and outdoors, and which supports the designers in better understanding the location mechanism that they decided to work with. It was found that designers can successfully create their experiences to deal with patchy, coarse grained, and varying wireless networks as long as they are made aware of the characteristics

An aesthetics of touch: investigating the language of design relating to form

How well can designers communicate qualities of touch? This paper presents evidence that they have some capability to do so, much of which appears to have been learned, but at present make limited use of such language. Interviews with graduate designer-makers suggest that they are aware of and value the importance of touch and materiality in their work, but lack a vocabulary to fully relate to their detailed explanations of other aspects such as their intent or selection of materials. We believe that more attention should be paid to the verbal dialogue that happens in the design process, particularly as other researchers show that even making-based learning also has a strong verbal element to it. However, verbal language alone does not appear to be adequate for a comprehensive language of touch. Graduate designers-makers’ descriptive practices combined non-verbal manipulation within verbal accounts. We thus argue that haptic vocabularies do not simply describe material qualities, but rather are situated competences that physically demonstrate the presence of haptic qualities. Such competencies are more important than groups of verbal vocabularies in isolation. Design support for developing and extending haptic competences must take this wide range of considerations into account to comprehensively improve designers’ capabilities

Methods of Understanding and Designing For Mobile Communities

Society is increasingly on the move, mobile devices are commonly being used to coordinate group actions, and group communication features are rapidly being added to existing technologies. Despite this, little is known about how mobile groups act, or how communications technologies should be designed to augment existing behaviour. This is partially due to minimal research being done on the topic, but also to the lack of research methods available to study the topic with. Mobile groups are challenging to study because of frequent and long-duration movement, frequent distribution, and the rapidly changing environments they operate within. To address these issues, this research focuses on methodological issues surrounding the development of mobile devices for mobile groups and communities. More specifically it addresses backpackers, who are a relevant example of this type of community. The research primarily explores the convergence of computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) and the field of mobile device development. This enables the combination of emphasis on designing technologies for groups, social implications, mobile device design, and mobile settings. Major research outcomes presented in this thesis lie in three areas: 1) methods, 2) technology designs, and 3) backpacker culture. Five studies of backpacker behaviour and requirements form the core of the research. The methods used are in-situ and exploratory, and apply both novel and existing techniques to the domain of backpackers and mobile groups. Methods demonstrated in this research include: field trips for exploring mobile group behaviour and device usage, a social pairing exercise to explore social networks, contextual postcards to gain distributed feedback, and blog analysis which provides post-hoc diary data. Theoretical contributions include: observations on method triangulation, a taxonomy of mobility research, method templates to assist method usage, and identification of key categories leading to mobile group requirements. Design related outcomes include: 57 mobile tourism product ideas, a format for conveying product concepts, and a design for a wearable device to assist mobile researchers. Our understanding of backpacker culture has also improved as a consequence of the research. It has also generated user requirements to aid mobile development, methods of visualising mobile groups and communities, and a listing of relevant design tensions. Additionally, the research has added to our understanding of how new technologies such as blogs, SMS and iPods are being used by backpackers and how mobile groups naturally communicate