Fusing Thermopile Infrared Sensor Data for Single Component Activity Recognition within a Smart Environment

To provide accurate activity recognition within a smart environment, visible spectrum cameras can be used as data capture devices in solution applications. Privacy, however, is a significant concern with regards to monitoring in a smart environment, particularly with visible spectrum cameras. Their use, therefore, may not be ideal. The need for accurate activity recognition is still required and so an unobtrusive approach is addressed in this research highlighting the use of a thermopile infrared sensor as the sole means of data collection. Image frames of the monitored scene are acquired from a thermopile infrared sensor that only highlights sources of heat, for example, a person. The recorded frames feature no discernable characteristics of people; hence privacy concerns can successfully be alleviated. To demonstrate how thermopile infrared sensors can be used for this task, an experiment was conducted to capture almost 600 thermal frames of a person performing four single component activities. The person’s position within a room, along with the action being performed, is used to appropriately predict the activity. The results demonstrated that high accuracy levels, 91.47%, for activity recognition can be obtained using only thermopile infrared sensors

Promoting Behaviour Change in Long term Conditions using a Self-Management Platform

Physical rehabilitation of brain injuries and strokes is a time consuming and costly process. Over the past decade several studies have emerged looking at the use of highly sophisticated technologies, such as robotics and virtual reality to tap into the needs of clinicians and patients. While such technologies can be a valuable tool to facilitate intensive movement practice in a motivating and engaging environment, success of therapy also depends on self-administered therapy beyond hospital stay. With the emergence of low-cost gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Wii, new opportunities arise for home-therapy paradigms centred on social interactions and values, which could reduce the sense of isolation and other depression related complications. In this paper we examine the potential, user acceptance and usability of an unmodified Nintendo Wii gaming console as a low-cost treatment alternative to complement current rehabilitation programmes

Medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) study from the five-fold surface of icosahedral Ag-In-Yb quasicrystal

Medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) is employed to characterize the composition and structure of the five-fold surface of the icosahedral Ag42In42Yb16 quasicrystal. The composition of the surface after sputtering is dominated by Ag and In, and when the surface is annealed at temperatures approaching 430°C, Yb is restored at the surface. The composition is that expected from the bulk structure if the surface is formed at bulk planes involving the centre of rhombic triacontahedral clusters, the building blocks of the system. Structural analysis of MEIS results are also consistent with a surface after annealing that is in close agreement with bulk truncation intersecting the cluster centre