HABITAT: An IoT Solution for Independent Elderly

In this work, a flexible and extensive digital platform for Smart Homes is presented, exploiting the most advanced technologies of the Internet of Things, such as Radio Frequency Identification, wearable electronics, Wireless Sensor Networks, and Artificial Intelligence. Thus, the main novelty of the paper is the system-level description of the platform flexibility allowing the interoperability of different smart devices. This research was developed within the framework of the operative project HABITAT (Home Assistance Based on the Internet of Things for the Autonomy of Everybody), aiming at developing smart devices to support elderly people both in their own houses and in retirement homes, and embedding them in everyday life objects, thus reducing the expenses for healthcare due to the lower need for personal assistance, and providing a better life quality to the elderly users

HABITAT: An IoT solution for independent elderly

In this work, a flexible and extensive digital platform for Smart Homes is presented, exploiting the most advanced technologies of the Internet of Things, such as Radio Frequency Identification, wearable electronics, Wireless Sensor Networks, and Artificial Intelligence. Thus, the main novelty of the paper is the system-level description of the platform flexibility allowing the interoperability of different smart devices. This research was developed within the framework of the operative project HABITAT (Home Assistance Based on the Internet of Things for the Autonomy of Everybody), aiming at developing smart devices to support elderly people both in their own houses and in retirement homes, and embedding them in everyday life objects, thus reducing the expenses for healthcare due to the lower need for personal assistance, and providing a better life quality to the elderly users.In this work, a flexible and extensive digital platform for Smart Homes is presented, exploiting the most advanced technologies of the Internet of Things, such as Radio Frequency Identification, wearable electronics, Wireless Sensor Networks, and Artificial Intelligence. Thus, the main novelty of the paper is the system-level description of the platform flexibility allowing the interoperability of different smart devices. This research was developed within the framework of the operative project HABITAT (Home Assistance Based on the Internet of Things for the Autonomy of Everybody), aiming at developing smart devices to support elderly people both in their own houses and in retirement homes, and embedding them in everyday life objects, thus reducing the expenses for healthcare due to the lower need for personal assistance, and providing a better life quality to the elderly users

RFID-Assisted wireless sensor networks for cardiac tele-healthcare

As the baby boomers head into old age, America will see a dramatic increase in the number of elderly patients admitted to healthcare facilities, such as nursing homes. Due to this rising elderly population, it will be difficult for nursing home personnel to monitor all patients at once. One way to cut down on the amount of supervision by the staff is for patients to administer their own medication. This leads to new problems though, as a patient incorrectly administering one of their many medications could lead to a disastrous end. Technology to wirelessly transmit a patient’s electrocardiogram (ECG) has also been implemented to reduce supervision. Wireless transmissions are infamous for their error rate, but the ECG is a sensitive signal where every second of data matters and cannot tolerate such losses. Additionally, such existing networks employ an expensive communication infrastructure. Due to this healthcare crisis, the ability for a device to remotely monitor a patient’s medication intake and transmit accurate ECG readings, while being cost efficient, is a major innovation. To combat this crisis, this thesis focuses on a multi-hop wireless sensor network (WSN) composed of many wearable sensors, one for each patient, that host a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader and are capable of RF communication. Each wearable device is also assumed to contain an ECG sensor, though this was not implemented in this work. The system is responsible for two distinct features. The first is remotely supervised patient medication intake via RFID and a central workstation/database. The second is the accurate remote transmission of a patient’s ECG using the extended Kalman filter (EKF) for wireless error recovery

Federated Sensor Network architectural design for the Internet of Things (IoT)

An information technology that can combine the physical world and virtual world is desired. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a concept system that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), WSN and barcode scanners to sense and to detect physical objects and events. This information is shared with people on the Internet. With the announcement of the Smarter Planet concept by IBM, the problem of how to share this data was raised. However, the original design of WSN aims to provide environment monitoring and control within a small scale local network. It cannot meet the demands of the IoT because there is a lack of multi-connection functionality with other WSNs and upper level applications. As various standards of WSNs provide information for different purposes, a hybrid system that gives a complete answer by combining all of them could be promising for future IoT applications. This thesis is on the subject of `Federated Sensor Network' design and architectural development for the Internet of Things. A Federated Sensor Network (FSN) is a system that integrates WSNs and the Internet. Currently, methods of integrating WSNs and the Internet can follow one of three main directions: a Front-End Proxy solution, a Gateway solution or a TCP/IP Overlay solution. Architectures based on the ideas from all three directions are presented in this thesis; this forms a comprehensive body of research on possible Federated Sensor Network architecture designs. In addition, a fully compatible technology for the sensor network application, namely the Sensor Model Language (SensorML), has been reviewed and embedded into our FSN systems. The IoT as a new concept is also comprehensively described and the major technical issues discussed. Finally, a case study of the IoT in logistic management for emergency response is given. Proposed FSN architectures based on the Gateway solution are demonstrated through hardware implementation and lab tests. A demonstration of the 6LoWPAN enabled federated sensor network based on the TCP/IP Overlay solution presents a good result for the iNET localization and tracking project. All the tests of the designs have verified feasibility and achieve the target of the IoT concept

Ortsbezogene Anwendungen und Dienste: 9. Fachgespräch der GI/ITG-Fachgruppe Kommunikation und Verteilte Systeme ; 13. & 14. September 2012

Der Aufenthaltsort eines mobilen Benutzers stellt eine wichtige Information für Anwendungen aus den Bereichen Mobile Computing, Wearable Computing oder Ubiquitous Computing dar. Ist ein mobiles Endgerät in der Lage, die aktuelle Position des Benutzers zu bestimmen, kann diese Information von der Anwendung berücksichtigt werden -- man spricht dabei allgemein von ortsbezogenen Anwendungen. Eng verknüpft mit dem Begriff der ortsbezogenen Anwendung ist der Begriff des ortsbezogenen Dienstes. Hierbei handelt es sich beispielsweise um einen Dienst, der Informationen über den aktuellen Standort übermittelt. Mittlerweile werden solche Dienste kommerziell eingesetzt und erlauben etwa, dass ein Reisender ein Hotel, eine Tankstelle oder eine Apotheke in der näheren Umgebung findet. Man erwartet, nicht zuletzt durch die Einführung von LTE, ein großes Potenzial ortsbezogener Anwendungen für die Zukunft. Das jährlich stattfindende Fachgespräch "Ortsbezogene Anwendungen und Dienste" der GI/ITG-Fachgruppe Kommunikation und Verteilte Systeme hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, aktuelle Entwicklungen dieses Fachgebiets in einem breiten Teilnehmerkreis aus Industrie und Wissenschaft zu diskutieren. Der vorliegende Konferenzband fasst die Ergebnisse des neunten Fachgesprächs zusammen.The location of a mobile user poses an important information for applications in the scope of Mobile Computung, Wearable Computing and Ubiquitous Computing. If a mobile device is able to determine the current location of its user, this information may be taken into account by an application. Such applications are called a location-based applications. Closely related to location-based applications are location-based services, which for example provides the user informations about his current location. Meanwhile such services are deployed commercially and enable travelers for example to find a hotel, a petrol station or a pharmacy in his vicinity. It is expected, not least because of the introduction of LTE, a great potential of locations-based applications in the future. The annual technical meeting "Location-based Applications and Services" of the GI/ITG specialized group "Communication and Dsitributed Systems" targets to discuss current evolutions in a broad group of participants assembling of industrial representatives and scientists. The present proceedings summarizes the result of the 9th annual meeting

Contributions to privacy protection for ubiquitous computing

El desenvolupament de noves tecnologies ha introduït el concepte de Computació Ubiqua, a on els objectes que ens envolten poden tenir processadors integrats i establir la comunicació amb altres sistemes, amb la finalitat d'oferir serveis personalitzats per ajudar-nos amb les nostres tasques habituals. No obstant això, a causa de que és possible tenir ordinadors en gairebé qualsevol lloc o objecte, això ha obert noves discussions sobre temes tals com la privadesa i la seguretat, considerats des de diferents punts de vista, com el desenvolupaments jurídics, socials, econòmics i tecnològics, amb una importància cada vegada major al món actual. En aquesta tesi discutim i analitzem algunes de les principals qüestions de seguretat i privadesa a les tecnologies actuals, tals com a telèfons intel·ligents, dispositius RFID o ciutats intel·ligents, i proposem alguns protocols per fer front a aquests temes garantint la privadesa dels usuaris a tot moment.El desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías ha introducido el concepto de Computación Ubicua , en donde los objetos que nos rodean pueden tener procesadores integrados y establecer la comunicación con otros sistemas, con el fin de ofrecer servicios personalizados para ayudarnos con nuestras tareas habituales. Sin embargo, debido a que es posible tener ordenadores en casi cualquier lugar u objeto, esto ha abierto nuevas discusiones sobre temas tales como la privacidad y la seguridad, considerado desde diferentes puntos de vista, como el desarrollos jurídicos, sociales, económicos y tecnológicos, con una importancia cada vez mayor en el mundo actual. En esta tesis discutimos y analizamos algunas de las principales cuestiones de seguridad y privacidad en las tecnologías actuales, tales como teléfonos inteligentes, dispositivos RFID o ciudades inteligentes, y proponemos algunos protocolos para hacer frente a estos temas garantizando la privacidad de los usuarios en todo momento.The development of new technologies has introduced the concept of Ubiquitous Computing, whereby the objects around us can have an embedded computer and establish communications with each other, in order to provide personalized services to assist with our tasks. However, because it is possible to have computers almost anywhere and within any object, this has opened up new discussions on issues such as privacy and security, considered from many different views, such as the legal, social, economic and technological development perspectives, all taking an increasingly significant importance in today’s world. In this dissertation we discuss and analyze some of the main privacy and security issues in current technologies, such as smartphones, RFIDs or smart cities, and we propose some protocols in order to face these issues guarantying users' privacy anytime

Development of an information system for the traceability of citrus-plant nursery chain related to the Italian National Service for Voluntary Certification

Abstract: At present, the production of certified plants in Italy, which is obtained by using propagating materials verified in terms of varietal trueness-to-type and phytosanitary condition, is guaranteed by the National Service for Voluntary Certification.  The monitoring of productions and activities that are carried out in the centres established by the National Service for Voluntary Certification is crucial for the identification of both possible sources of disease risk and the destination of the propagating materials.  In previous studies a methodology was proposed and applied to carry out the requirements analysis and specification for the development of an integrated computer-based information system for certified citrus-plant traceability.  This study proposes a methodology for the implementation of the information system suitable to execute the previously designed functionalities.  The use of PostgreSQL, a free and open-source object-relational database management system, allowed the implementation of the entity-relation scheme that included the information related to the managed propagating materials and the process activities defined by the certification program.  System functionalities were implemented in applications developed on the basis of the client-server paradigm.  The proposed methodology was applied to the case study of the Italian citrus-plant nursery chain.  Specific information derived from plants and centres of the National Service for Voluntary Certification were included in the database along with the geolocation of both certified citrus plants produced in the nurseries and planted in the field and citrus mother plants.  Geographic data acquired by using a GPS system were combined with other information concerning plant health condition and treatments with the aim to find out possible relations between the citrus-plant health status and the territory.  The system implemented in this study allows the definition and utilisation of ‘track and trace’ procedures of propagation materials and plants that are in the certified Italian citrus-plant nursery chain, as well as the evaluation and prevention of the diffusion of the Citrus Tristeza Virus which causes one of the most damaging diseases in citrus orchards.   Keywords: citrus, certification, traceability, nursery chain, GIS, information system, plant disease