Context-Aware Mobile and Wearable Device Interfaces

In this chapter, recent research on context-aware mobile and wearable computing is described. Starting from the observation of recent developments on Smartphones and research done in wearable computing, the focus is on possibilities to unobtrusively support the use of mobile and wearable devices. There is the observation that size and form matters when dealing with these devices; multimodality concerning input and output is important and context information can be used to satisfy the requirement of unobtrusiveness. Here, Frameworks as middleware are a means to an end. Starting with an introduction on wearable computing, recent developments of Frameworks for context-aware user interface design are presented, motivating the need for future research on knowledge-based intuitive interaction design.

CAFCLA

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) promotes the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in daily life in order to ease the execution of everyday tasks. In this sense, education becomes a field where AmI can improve the learning process by means of context-aware technologies. However, it is necessary to develop new tools that can be adapted to a wide range of technologies and application scenarios. Here is where Agent Technology can demonstrate its potential. This chapter presents CAFCLA, a multi-agent framework that allows developing learning applications based on the pedagogical CSCL (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning) approach and the Ambient Intelligence paradigm. CAFCLA integrates different context-aware technologies so that learning applications designed, developed, and deployed upon it are dynamic, adaptive, and easy to use by users such as students and teachers.

Application Mobility

Mobility has become an omnipresent part of our modern IT society. Alongside the general taxonomy of mobile users, terminals, sessions, and services, there are also more specialized forms of mobility. Context-Awareness Supported Application Mobility (CASAM) or “Application Mobility” is one such form that is explored in this chapter. CASAM builds on the idea of using context to move an application between different devices during its execution in order to provide relevant information and/or services. The authors use a concept-driven approach to advance mobile systems research, integrating it with a more traditional user-centric method and a case study, further exploring the concept of CASAM. To empirically situate our design work they conducted an empirical study of a home care service group serving the Swedish municipality of Skellefteå, followed by an exercise in matching the properties of the CASAM concept in relation to problems within current workflow.

Rehabilitation Systems in Ambient Assisted Living Environments

This chapter reviews Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) in the context of movement-based rehabilitation. The authors analyse the need for AAL solutions and how they can overcome many of the drawbacks associated with traditional rehabilitation. They discuss the benefits and challenges of rehabilitation within the AAL paradigm and the well-known benefits that the telerehabilitation and telemedicine models have already established. The authors review the top ambient technologies in use today, detailing their advantages and shortcomings. The review focuses primarily on areas such as motion capture, serious games, and robotic rehabilitation. The authors carry out a structured search of two well-known databases to find the most recent advances and present the most interesting lines of research and development. Finally, the authors discuss the review findings and draw conclusions on the future of personalised rehabilitation within an AAL paradigm.

A Camera-Based System for Determining Hand Range of Movement Measurements in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis affects around 1% of the world's population. Detection of the disease relies heavily on observation by physicians. The effectiveness of these kinds of tests is dependent on the ability and experience and can vary depending on the observer. This chapter aims to investigate the use of Xbox Kinect camera for monitoring in rheumatoid arthritis patients as a cost-effective and precise method of assessment. A system has been developed that implements the Kinect sensor for usage in a hand recognition and digit measurement capacity. This system performs the tasks usually completed by a physician such as digit dimension monitoring and exercise observations. With the system being designed to be portable and easy-to-use, it is an ideal solution for both the physician monitoring patients in a clinic as well as posing a possible solution for patients wishing to monitor their own condition in their homes.

Holophonor

This chapter discusses the progression of visual music and related audio-visual artworks through the 20th Century and considers the next steps for this field of research. The principles of visual music are described, with reference to the films of early pioneers such as John Whitney. A further exploration of the wider spectrum of subsequent work in various audio-visual art forms is then given. These include visualisations, light synthesizers, VJ performances, digital audio-visual artworks, projection mapping artworks, and interactive visual music artworks. Through consideration of visual music as a continuum of related work, the authors consider the Holophonor, a fictional audio-visual instrument, as an example of the ideal visual music instrument of the future. They conclude by proposing that a device such as the Holophonor could be constructed in the near future by utilising inter-disciplinary approaches from the fields of HCI and affective computing.

Developing Team Work in IT Education to Foster Student Engagement

Teamwork is an important aspect that should be provided by both employers and employees. This chapter proposes relating this ethos to an educational environment in order to foster encouragement among students. Students demonstrating professionalism can provide important discussion points that can help the class environment run more efficiently. When issues arise in a class, students learn not to hesitate in speaking up. Many co-workers fail to work as a team because people do not voice their opinions on certain matters. Learning how to voice that opinion can aid students/employees in progressing an assignment without hindering any other processes. This chapter outlines how to incorporate teamwork into IT educational environments in order to encourage students to engage more with the process. It also gathers information based on student, staff, and industry surveys and strives to highlight the importance of teamwork as a skill essential for IT graduates.

Combined Ambient and Wearable Sensors for Gesture-Based Environmental Control in the Home

Home-based therapy will need to play a huge role in the future if we are to achieve effective and cost-efficient forms of rehabilitation. Creative solutions are already being implemented by researchers with the development of revolutionary applications for healthcare leveraging commercially available technology. In this chapter, the authors endeavour to contribute to this goal, describing their ongoing contributions through the application of combined ambient and wearable sensors for gesture-based environmental control. The authors describe in detail the development of three novel systems: an autonomous sensor glove that classifies hand gestures and controls Infrared (IR)-based devices, a smart watch that recognises motion gestures to interact with Radio Frequency (RF) controlled devices, and a hybrid (sensor glove and LEAP motion controller) sensor solution for achieving high fidelity hand and finger motion capture/playback with applications for virtual ambient systems.

Smart Displays in Ambient Intelligence Environments

A public display that is able to present the right information at the right time is a very compelling concept. However, realising or even approaching this ability to autonomously select appropriate content based on some interpretation of the surrounding social context represents a major challenge. This chapter provides an overview of the key challenges involved and an exploration of some of the main alternatives available. It also describes a novel content adaptation framework that defines the key building blocks for supporting autonomous selection of the Web sources for presentation on public displays. This framework is based on a place model that combines content suggestions expressed by multiple place visitors with those expressed by the place owner. Evaluation results have shown that a place tag cloud can provide a valuable approach to this issue and that people recognize and understand the sensitivity of the system to their demands.

Smart Home Energy Management

Autonomically managing energy within the home is a formidable challenge, as any solution needs to interoperate with a decidedly heterogeneous network of sensors and appliances, not just in terms of technologies and protocols but also by managing smart as well as “dumb” appliances. Furthermore, as studies have shown that simply providing energy usage feedback to homeowners is inadequate in realising long-term behavioural change, autonomic energy management has the potential to deliver concrete and lasting energy savings without the need for user interventions. However, this necessitates that such interventions be performed in an intelligent and context-aware fashion, all the while taking into account system as well as user constraints and preferences. Thus, this chapter proposes the augmentation of home area networks with autonomic computing capabilities. Such networks seek to support opportunistic decision-making pertaining to the effective energy management within the home by seamlessly integrating a range of off-the-shelf sensor technologies with a software infrastructure for deliberation, activation, and visualisation.