Monitoring User’s Emotions Using Brain Computer Interfaces

This chapter discusses the use of commercial Brain Computer Interfaces to monitor the emotions and interactions of a subject as they use a system. Tracking how a user interacts with a system, and the emotion-based responses that are invoked as they interact with the system, yield very valuable datasets for the development of intelligent, adaptive systems. The proliferation of mobile devices as an emerging platform offers scope for the development of the relationship between Brain Computer Interfaces and mobile technology, towards ubiquitous, minimally invasive, mobile systems.

A Context-Aware Smart TV System with Body-Gesture Control and Personalized Recommendation

Smart TV enables viewers to conveniently access different multimedia content and interactive services in a single platform. This chapter addresses three important issues to enhance the performance of smart TV. The first is to design a body control system that recognizes and interprets human gestures as machine commands to control TV. The second is to develop a new social tag-based method to recommend most suitable multimedia content to users. Finally, a context-aware platform is implemented that takes into account different environmental situations in order to make the best recommendations.

Developing a Multimodal Application for a Scientific Experiment on Smartphones

Designing and developing multimodal mobile applications is an important knowledge for researchers and industrial engineers. It is crucial to be able to rapidly develop prototypes for smartphones and tablet devices in order to test and evaluate mobile multimedia solutions, without necessarily being an expert in signal processing (image processing, objects recognition, sensors processing, etc.). This chapter proposes to follow the development process of a scientific experiment, in which a mobile application will be used to determine which modality (touch, voice, QRcode) is preferred for entering expiration dates of alimentary products. For the conception and the generation of the mobile application, the AppInventor framework is used. Benefits and limitations of this visual tool are presented across the “Pervasive Fridge” case study, and the obtained final prototype is discussed.

Modeling and Documenting Aspect-Oriented Mobile Product Lines

Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD) has evolved as a software development paradigm over the last decade. Recent research work has explored the use of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) to modularize variations in product lines. This chapter presents a strategy for modeling and documenting aspect-oriented variations by integrating two existing approaches: (1) use cases are used to express the crosscutting nature of the variations of a mobile product line; and (2) crosscutting interfaces help the definition of the relevant variation join points that are raised by the mobile product line core and are extended by its respective variations. The synergy and benefits of the integration between these approaches are demonstrated by modeling and documenting MobileMedia, a software product line that provides support to manage different media (photo, music, and video) on mobile devices. Evolution scenarios of the MobileMedia are used to illustrate the benefits of the integrated usage of use cases and crosscutting interfaces in order to identify and analyze the change impact on the mobile product line.

Going DEEP

Unlike traditional forms of Human-Computer Interaction (such as conducting desktop or Web-based design), mobile design has by its nature little control over the contextual variables of its research. Short-term evaluations of novel mobile interaction techniques are abundant, but these controlled studies only address limited contexts through artificial deployments, which cannot hope to reveal the patterns of use that arise as people appropriate a tool and take it with them into the varying social and physical contexts of their lives. The authors propose a rapid and reflective model of in-situ deployment of high-fidelity prototypes, borrowing the tested habits of industry, where researchers relinquish tight control over their prototypes in exchange for an opportunity to observe patterns of use that would be intractable to plan for in controlled studies. The approach moves the emphasis in prototyping away from evaluation and towards exploration and reflection, promoting an iterative prototyping methodology that captures the complexities of the real world.

BioCondition Assessment Tool

Environmental degradation has become increasingly aggressive in recent years due to rapid urban development and other land use pressures. This chapter looks at BioCondition, a newly developed vegetation assessment framework by Queensland Department of Resource Management (DERM) and how mobile technology can assist beginners in conducting the survey. Even though BioCondition is designed to be simple, it is still fairly inaccessible to beginners due to its complex, time consuming, and repetitive nature. A Windows Phone mobile application, BioCondition Assessment Tool, was developed to provide on-site guidance to beginners and document the assessment process for future revision and comparison. The application was tested in an experiment at Samford Conservation Park with 12 students studying ecology in Queensland University of Technology.

Gamifying Everyday Activities using Mobile Sensing

The addition of game design elements to non-game contexts has become known as gamification. Previous research has suggested that framing tedious and non-motivating tasks as game-like can make them enjoyable and motivating (e.g., de Oliveira, et al., 2010; Fujiki, et al., 2007; Chiu, et al., 2009). Smartphone applications lend themselves to being gamified as the underlying mobile technology has the ability to sense user activities and their surrounding environment. These sensed activities can be used to implement and enforce game-like rules based around many physical activities (e.g., exercise, travel, or eating). If researchers wish to investigate this area, they first need an existing gamified application to study. However if an appropriate application does not exist then the researcher may need to create their own gamified prototype to study. Unfortunately, there is little previous research that details or explains the design and integration of game elements to non-game mobile applications. This chapter explores this gap and shares a framework that was used to add videogame-like achievements to an orientation mobile application developed for new university students. The framework proved useful and initial results are discussed from two studies. However, further development of the framework is needed, including further consideration of what makes an effective gamified experience.

Ubiquitous Multimedia Data Access in Electronic Health Care Systems

Advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have enabled the provisioning of more cost-efficient means of delivering healthcare services through electronic healthcare systems (e-health). However, these solutions have constrained the mobility of medical professionals as well as patients. Mobile devices have been sought as a potential solution to free medical professionals and patients from mobility constraints. This chapter discusses the literature proposed in multimedia data transfer and retrieval, utilizing mobile devices and a multitude of wireless access technologies. A background section presents the different software technologies utilized by the proposed work, as well as a literature review. Following that, the authors compare these proposed systems and discuss issues and controversies found in these proposed systems, as well as propose means to address some of these issues. They conclude with an overall conclusion and outline future directions in this field.

User-Centered Study on Quality of Mobile Video Services

Mobile video, as an emerging market and a promising research field, has attracted much attention from both industry and researchers. Considering the quality of user-experience as the crux of mobile video services, this chapter aims to provide a guide to user-centered studies of mobile video quality. This will benefit future research in better understanding user needs and experiences, designing effective research, and providing solid solutions to improve the quality of mobile video. This chapter is organized in three main parts: (1) a review of recent user studies from the perspectives of research focuses, user study methods, and data analysis methods; (2) an example of conducting a user study of mobile video research, together with the discussion on a series of relative issues, such as participants, materials and devices, study procedure, and analysis results; and (3) a conclusion with an open discussion about challenges and opportunities in mobile video related research, and associated potential future improvements.

WayFinder

Navigating a university campus can be difficult for visitors and incoming students/staff, particularly those who are blind or vision-impaired. Universities around the world, including University College Cork (UCC), generally rely on physical sign-posting and map-based information (available as a download from the university Website) to direct visitors, staff, and students. These methods are not appropriate for those with vision-impairments. Mobility training is provided by UCC’s Disability Support Service (DSS) to enable blind/vision-impaired staff and students to safely and independently navigate campus, but the training is route-specific, time-consuming, and expensive. A navigation solution that facilitates all campus users, both sighted and vision-impaired, could be provided via mobile and wireless technologies. Research has been conducted to assess the needs of those navigating campus, to evaluate relevant technologies, and to assess the state-of-the-art in regard to the provision of navigational information. The results suggest that no off-the-shelf solution exists that fully meets the requirements of UCC. Existing systems fall short in various respects, in particular in the accuracy and reliability of the localization information and the nature of the feedback provided to the user. This chapter summarizes the results obtained from the review. A system is described which has been designed, in the light of the review findings, to enable visitors, staff, and students (both sighted and vision-impaired/blind) to safely and independently navigate the campus using a smart-phone. This system has potential for use at other universities and institutions. The development and initial testing of the user interface layer of the system is described.