506 research outputs found
Capacitive Sensing and Communication for Ubiquitous Interaction and Environmental Perception
During the last decade, the functionalities of electronic devices within a living environment constantly increased. Besides the personal computer, now tablet PCs, smart household appliances, and smartwatches enriched the technology landscape. The trend towards an ever-growing number of computing systems has resulted in many highly heterogeneous human-machine interfaces. Users are forced to adapt to technology instead of having the technology adapt to them. Gathering context information about the user is a key factor for improving the interaction experience. Emerging wearable devices show the benefits of sophisticated sensors which make interaction more efficient, natural, and enjoyable. However, many technologies still lack of these desirable properties, motivating me to work towards new ways of sensing a user's actions and thus enriching the context. In my dissertation I follow a human-centric approach which ranges from sensing hand movements to recognizing whole-body interactions with objects.
This goal can be approached with a vast variety of novel and existing sensing approaches. I focused on perceiving the environment with quasi-electrostatic fields by making use of capacitive coupling between devices and objects. Following this approach, it is possible to implement interfaces that are able to recognize gestures, body movements and manipulations of the environment at typical distances up to 50cm. These sensors usually have a limited resolution and can be sensitive to other conductive objects or electrical devices that affect electric fields. The technique allows for designing very energy-efficient and high-speed sensors that can be deployed unobtrusively underneath any kind of non-conductive surface. Compared to other sensing techniques, exploiting capacitive coupling also has a low impact on a user's perceived privacy.
In this work, I also aim at enhancing the interaction experience with new perceptional capabilities based on capacitive coupling. I follow a bottom-up methodology and begin by presenting two low-level approaches for environmental perception. In order to perceive a user in detail, I present a rapid prototyping toolkit for capacitive proximity sensing. The prototyping toolkit shows significant advancements in terms of temporal and spatial resolution. Due to some limitations, namely the inability to determine the identity and fine-grained manipulations of objects, I contribute a generic method for communications based on capacitive coupling. The method allows for designing highly interactive systems that can exchange information through air and the human body. I furthermore show how human body parts can be recognized from capacitive proximity sensors. The method is able to extract multiple object parameters and track body parts in real-time. I conclude my thesis with contributions in the domain of context-aware devices and explicit gesture-recognition systems
The Design and Use of a Smartphone Data Collection Tool and Accompanying Configuration Language
Understanding human behaviour is key to understanding the spread of epidemics, habit dispersion, and the efficacy of health interventions. Investigation into the patterns of and drivers for human behaviour has often been facilitated by paper tools such as surveys, journals, and diaries. These tools have drawbacks in that they can be forgotten, go unfilled, and depend on often unreliable human memories. Researcher-driven data collection mechanisms, such as interviews and direct observation, alleviate some of these problems while introducing others, such as bias and observer effects. In response to this, technological means such as special-purpose data collection hardware, wireless sensor networks, and apps for smart devices have been built to collect behavioural data. These technologies further reduce the problems experienced by more traditional behavioural research tools, but often experience problems of reliability, generality, extensibility, and ease of configuration.
This document details the construction of a smartphone-based app designed to collect data on human behaviour such that the difficulties of traditional tools are alleviated while still addressing the problems faced by modern supplemental technology. I describe the app's main data collection engine and its construction, architecture, reliability, generality, and extensibility, as well as the programming language developed to configure it and its feature set. To demonstrate the utility of the tool and its configuration language, I describe how they have been used to collect data in the field. Specifically, eleven case studies are presented in which the tool's architecture, flexibility, generality, extensibility, modularity, and ease of configuration have been exploited to facilitate a variety of behavioural monitoring endeavours. I further explain how the engine performs data collection, the major abstractions it employs, how its design and the development techniques used ensure ongoing reliability, and how the engine and its configuration language could be extended in the future to facilitate a greater range of experiments that require behavioural data to be collected. Finally, features and modules of the engine's encompassing system, iEpi, are presented that have not otherwise been documented to give the reader an understanding of where the work fits into the larger data collection and processing endeavour that spawned it
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Recommendations for Guidelines for EMF Personal Exposure Measurements, Rapid Project #4
The purpose of developing guidelines for electric and magnetic field (EMF) personal exposure measurements (lF'EM) is to ensure reliable and comparable data across I?EM studies. Study techniques may vary due to different populations or objectives, but the resulting data should be consistently reported and comparable, to the extent possible. Any guideline must allow creativity by the research-oriented investigator and provide specific guidance to industrial hygienists or other results-oriented investigators, requiring a standard protocol. Recognizing measurement studies with different purposes is an important aspect of these recommendations. The guidelines presented here intend to produce comparable data across studies while remaining flexible. The recommendations for designing and implementing an EMF PEM program describe a three-stage process. The first step is to clearly state the purpose of the PEM program. The next stage addresses the fundamental elements of an EMF PEM study, including an assessment of the scientific and organizational resources that will be required. This process is codified in a written study plan. These stages are described in 1 Section 5 of this report. The third stage of a PEM study involves the design, implementation and documentation of specific procedures and protocols fo~ sampling strategies, selection of measurement parameters; instrumentation, measurement and data collection, data management, data analysis, quality assurance, uncertainty evaluation, and archiving the study methods and results. The methods for designing these elements of an EMF PEM study are described in Section 6: Specific Guidelines for EMF I?EM Study Design
Early Abstraction of Inertial Sensor Data for Long-Term Deployments
Advances in microelectronics over the last decades have led to miniaturization of computing devices and sensors. A driving force to use these in various application scenarios is the desire to grasp physical phenomena from the environment, objects and living entities. We investigate sensing in two particularly challenging applications: one where small sensor modules are worn by people to detect their activities, and one where wirelessly networked sensors observe events over an area.
This thesis takes a data-driven approach, focusing on human motion and vibrations caused by trains that are captured by accelerometer sensors as time series and shall be analyzed for characteristic patterns. For both, the acceleration sensor must be sampled at relatively high rates in order to capture the essence of the phenomena, and remain active for long stretches of time. The large amounts of gathered sensor data demand novel approaches that are able to swiftly process the data while guaranteeing accurate classification results.
The following contributions are made in particular:
* A data logger that would suit the requirements of long-term deployments is designed and evaluated. In a power profiling study both hardware components and firmware parameters are thoroughly tested, revealing that the sensor is able to log acceleration data at a sampling rate of 100 Hertz for up to 14 full days on a single battery charge.
* A technique is proposed that swiftly and accurately abstracts an original signal with a set of linear segments, thus preserving its shape, while being twice as fast as a similar method. This allows for more efficient pattern matching, since for each pattern only a fraction of data points must be considered. A second study shows that this algorithm can perform data abstraction directly on a data logger with limited resources.
* The railway monitoring scenario requires streaming vibration data to be analyzed for particular sparse and complex events directly on the sensor node, extracting relevant information such as train type or length from the shape of the vibration footprint. In a study conducted on real-world data, a set of efficient shape features is identified that facilitates train type prediction and length estimation with very high accuracies.
* To achieve fast and accurate activity recognition for long-term bipolar patients monitoring scenarios, we present an approach that relies on the salience of motion patterns (motifs) that are characteristic for the target activity. These motifs are accumulated by using a symbolic abstraction that encodes the shape of the original signal. A large-scale study shows that a simple bag-of-words classifier trained with extracted motifs is on par with traditional approaches regarding the accuracy, while being much faster.
* Some activities are hard to predict from acceleration data alone with the aforementioned approach. We argue that human-object interactions, captured as human motion and grasped objects through RFID, are an ideal supplement. A custom bracelet-like antenna to detect objects from up to 14 cm is proposed, along with a novel benchmark to evaluate such wearable setups.
By aiming for wearable and wirelessly networked sensor systems, these contributions apply for particularly challenging applications that require long-term deployments of miniature sensors in general. They form the basis of a framework towards efficient event detection that relies heavily on early data abstraction and shape-based features for time series, while focusing less on the classification techniques
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A Wearer-Centred Framework to Design for Wearability in Animal Biotelemetry
In a technological era, monitoring animals for scientific, husbandry, or caring reasons is often done by using tracking systems attached to the animals’ bodies. Remote data acquisition from animals has enhanced the knowledge about their biology and ecology. However, there is evidence that carrying biotelemetry tags affects the welfare of animal wearers and interferes with the validity of recorded data.
On welfare and scientific grounds, animal scientists have advocated for the re-design of physical and functional aspects of tags, proposing guidelines aimed at minimising device-induced impacts. However, such guidelines are dispersed and difficult to apply systematically. Hence, there is a need for an approach to systematising the design of animal-borne tags in order to minimise their impact on the wearer.
This thesis addresses such a challenge. It draws on the concept of wearability and proposes it as a design goal to develop devices that afford a better wearer experience (WX) for animals. The thesis develops a wearer-centred design framework (WCF) and applies it to demonstrate its usefulness to systematically design for good wearability.
Specifically, after the framework’s elements were derived by analysing relevant information in the biotelemetry and interaction design literature, the framework was administered to teams of workshop participants who implemented it to perform a requirements analysis for a cat-tracking device. Workshop requirements served to produce a feline-centred prototype which was tested with cat wearers to investigate their experience of wearing it and thus evaluate its wearability. Outcomes show improvements of the prototype in relation to off-the-shelf devices which were tested in a parallel study. This study established a baseline for investigating a cat WX and highlighted various wearability issues with the off-the-shelf tags.
Lastly, this research demonstrates that designers can systematically design for wearability using the WCF therefore supporting the thesis that the reduction of device-related impacts is achievable
Sound based social networks
The sound environment is an eco of the activity and character of each
place, often carrying additional information to that made available to the eyes
(both new and redundant). It is, therefore, an intangible and volatile acoustic
fingerprint of the place, or simply an acoustic snapshot of a single event. Such
rich resource, full of meaning and subtleness, Schaeffer called Soundscape.
The exploratory research project presented here addresses the Soundscape
in the context of Mobile Online Social Networking, aiming at determining the
extent of its applicability regarding the establishment and/or strengthening of
new and existing social links. Such research goal demanded an interdisciplinary
approach, which we have anchored in three main stems: Soundscapes,
Mobile Sound and Social Networking. These three areas pave the scientific
ground for this study and are introduced during the first part of the thesis. An
extensive survey of the state-of-the-arte projects related with this research is
also presented, gathering examples from different but adjacent areas such as
mobile sensing, wearable computing, sonification, social media and contextaware
computing. This survey validates that our approach is scientifically opportune
and unique, at the same time.
Furthermore, in order to assess the role of Soundscapes in the context
of Social Networking, an experimental procedure has been implemented
based on an Online Social Networking mobile application, enriched with environmental
sensing mechanisms, able to capture and analyze the surrounding
Soundscape and users' movements. Two main goals guided this prototypal
research tool: collecting data regarding users' activity (both sonic and kinetic)
and providing users with a real experience using a Sound-Based Social Network,
in order to collect informed opinions about this unique type of Social
Networking. The application – Hurly-Burly – senses the surrounding Soundscape
and analyzes it using machine audition techniques, classifying it according
to four categories: speech, music, environmental sounds and silence. Additionally, it determines the sound pressure level of the sensed Soundscape
in dB(A)eq. This information is then broadcasted to the entire online social
network of the user, allowing each element to visualize and audition a representation
of the collected data. An individual record for each user is kept
available in a webserver and can be accessed through an online application,
displaying the continuous acoustic profile of each user along a timeline graph.
The experimental procedure included three different test groups, forming each
one a social network with a cluster coefficient equal to one.
After the implementation and result analysis stages we concluded that
Soundscapes can have a role in the Online Social Networking paradigm, specially
when concerning mobile applications. Has been proven that current offthe-
shelf mobile technology is a promising opportunity for accomplishing this
kind of tasks (such as continuous monitoring, life logging and environment
sensing) but battery limitations and multitasking's constraints are still the bottleneck,
hindering the massification of successful applications. Additionally,
online privacy is something that users are not enthusiastic in letting go: using
captured sound instead of representations of the sound would abstain users
from utilizing such applications. We also demonstrated that users who are
more aware of the Soundscape concept are also more inclined to assume it
as playing an important role in OSN. This means that more pedagogy towards
the acoustic phenomenon is needed and this type of research gives a step
further in that direction.O ambiente sonoro de um lugar é um eco da sua atividade e carácter,
transportando, na maior parte da vezes, informação adicional àquela que é
proporcionada à visão (quer seja redundante ou complementar). É, portanto,
uma impressão digital acústica - tangível e volátil - do lugar a que pertence,
ou simplesmente uma fotografia acústica de um evento pontual. A este opulento
recurso, carregado de significados e subtilezas, Schafer chamou de
Paisagem-Sonora. O projeto de investigação de carácter exploratório que
aqui apresentamos visa o estudo da Paisagem-Sonora no contexto das Redes
Sociais Móveis Em-Linha, procurando entender os moldes e limites da
sua aplicação, tendo em vista o estabelecimento e/ou reforço de novos ou
existente laços sociais, respectivamente. Para satisfazer este objectivo foi
necessária uma abordagem multidisciplinar, ancorada em três pilares principais:
a Paisagem-Sonora, o Som Móvel e as Redes Sociais. Estas três áreas
determinaram a moldura científica de referência em que se enquadrou esta
investigação, sendo explanadas na primeira parte da tese. Um extenso levantamento
do estado-da-arte referente a projetos relacionados com este estudo
é também apresentado, compilando exemplos de áreas distintas mas adjacentes,
tais como: Computação Sensorial Móvel, Computação Vestível, Sonificação,
Média Social e Computação Contexto-Dependente. Este levantamento
veio confirmar quer a originalidade quer a pertinência científica do projeto
apresentado.
Posteriormente, a fim de avaliar o papel da Paisagem-Sonora no contexto
das Redes Sociais, foi posto em prática um procedimento experimental
baseado numa Rede Social Sonora Em-Linha, desenvolvida de raiz para dispositivos
móveis e acrescida de mecanismos sensoriais para estímulos ambientais,
capazes de analisar a Paisagem-Sonora envolvente e os movimentos
do utilizador. Dois objectivos principais guiaram a produção desta ferramenta
de investigação: recolher dados relativos à atividade cinética e sonora dos utilizadores e proporcionar a estes uma experiência real de utilização
uma Rede Social Sonora, de modo a recolher opiniões fundamentadas sobre
esta tipologia específica de socialização. A aplicação – Hurly-Burly – analisa
a Paisagem-Sonora através de algoritmos de Audição Computacional, classificando-
a de acordo com quatro categorias: diálogo (voz), música, sons ambientais
(“ruídos”) e silêncio. Adicionalmente, determina o seu nível de pressão
sonora em dB(A)eq. Esta informação é então distribuída pela rede social
dos utilizadores, permitindo a cada elemento visualizar e ouvir uma representação
do som analisado. É mantido num servidor Web um registo individual
da informação sonora e cinética captada, o qual pode ser acedido através de
uma aplicação Web que mostra o perfil sonoro de cada utilizador ao longo do
tempo, numa visualização ao estilo linha-temporal. O procedimento experimental
incluiu três grupos de teste distintos, formando cada um a sua própria
rede social com coeficiente de aglomeração igual a um. Após a implementação
da experiência e análise de resultados, concluímos que a Paisagem-
Sonora pode desempenhar um papel no paradigma das Redes Sociais Em-
Linha, em particular no que diz respeito à sua presença nos dispositivos móveis.
Ficou provado que os dispositivos móveis comerciais da atualidade
apresentam-se com uma oportunidade promissora para desempenhar este
tipo de tarefas (tais como: monitorização contínua, registo quotidiano e análise
sensorial ambiental), mas as limitações relacionadas com a autonomia
energética e funcionamento em multitarefa representam ainda um constrangimento
que impede a sua massificação. Além disso, a privacidade no mundo
virtual é algo que os utilizadores atuais não estão dispostos a abdicar: partilhar
continuamente a Paisagem-Sonora real em detrimento de uma representação
de alto nível é algo que refrearia os utilizadores de usar a aplicação.
Também demonstrámos que os utilizadores que mais conhecedores do fenómeno
da Paisagem-Sonora são também os que consideram esta como importante
no contexto das Redes Sociais Em-Linha. Isso significa que uma atitude
pedagógica em relação ao fenómeno sonoro é essencial para obter dele
o maior ganho possível. Esta investigação propõe-se a dar um passo em
frente nessa direção
Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice
22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3
Quantifying Quality of Life
Describes technological methods and tools for objective and quantitative assessment of QoL Appraises technology-enabled methods for incorporating QoL measurements in medicine Highlights the success factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods This open access book presents the rise of technology-enabled methods and tools for objective, quantitative assessment of Quality of Life (QoL), while following the WHOQOL model. It is an in-depth resource describing and examining state-of-the-art, minimally obtrusive, ubiquitous technologies. Highlighting the required factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods and tools for QoL assessment, it also describes how these technologies can be leveraged for behavior change, disease prevention, health management and long-term QoL enhancement in populations at large. Quantifying Quality of Life: Incorporating Daily Life into Medicine fills a gap in the field of QoL by providing assessment methods, techniques and tools. These assessments differ from the current methods that are now mostly infrequent, subjective, qualitative, memory-based, context-poor and sparse. Therefore, it is an ideal resource for physicians, physicians in training, software and hardware developers, computer scientists, data scientists, behavioural scientists, entrepreneurs, healthcare leaders and administrators who are seeking an up-to-date resource on this subject
A socio-technical investigation into the electrical end use patterns of information, communication and entertainment technologies in UK homes.
Information, communication and entertainment (ICE) appliances are consumer electronics and information and communication technologies (ICT). Forecasts suggest that ICE appliance use will soon become the most significant domestic electricity end-use in the UK. Knowledge concerning “real world” ICE electricity consumption is currently limited and it has been suggested that this deficiency could lead to ineffective policy programmes.
This socio-technical study measured ICE appliance electricity consumption in fourteen UK households’ and undertook household interviews to explore the behavioural factors that influenced the measurements recorded. The interviews were informed by two social psychology theories:
(i) Triandis’ (1977) Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour (TIB); (ii) Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT).
The study supports the position that ICE appliance use and standby power consumption are significant electricity end-uses in UK homes. Key appliances that contributed to the sample’s average electricity consumption are identified. Inconspicuous electricity consumption from network appliances is an issue of particular concern due to policy gaps. The interviews found that a range of internal and external factors influenced ICE appliance use. Behavioural intentions and habits were found to be facilitated or impeded by personal ability, knowledge and physical constraints. Social structures and expectations also supported the more expansive ownership and use of ICE appliances and energy consumption was an issue largely excluded from adoption decisions. The findings imply that a multifaceted approach is required to reduce household ICE appliance electricity consumption.
This study supports the recent implementation of minimum energy performance standards and provides further recommendations that include: (i) improved product design; (ii) the expansion of mandatory energy labelling; (iii) improved electricity consumption feedback in UK homes; (iv) the use of behaviour change campaigns; (v) the integration of ICE appliance energy saving objectives into UK policies
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