-
Social Sensing in the Field: Challenges in Detecting Social Interactions in Construction Sites
S. Nawaz, C. Efstratiou, C. Mascolo, K. Soga
In Proceedings of the 1st ACM Workshop on Mobile Systems for Computational Social Science (in conjunction with MOBISYS'12).
Lake District, UK. June 2012.
Abstract
Construction industry is a sector that is renowned for the
slow uptake of new technologies. This is usually due to the
conservative nature of this sector that relies heavily on tried
and tested and successful old business practices. However,
there is an eagerness in this industry to adopt Building Information Modelling (BIM) technologies to capture and record
accurate information about a building project. But vast
amounts of information and knowledge about the construction process is
typically hidden within informal social interactions that take place in the work environment. In this
paper we present a vision where smartphones and tablet devices carried by construction workers are used to capture the
interaction and communication between workers in the field.
Informal chats about decisions taken in the field, impromptu
formation of teams, identification of key persons for certain
tasks, and tracking the flow of information across the project
community, are some pieces of information that could be
captured by employing social sensing in the field. This information can not only be used during the construction to
improve the site processes but it can also be exploited by the
end user during maintenance of the building. We highlight
the challenges that need to be overcome for this mobile and
social sensing system to become a reality.
@inproceedings{naw12a,
title={Social Sensing in the Field: Challenges in Detecting Social Interactions in Construction Sites},
author={S. Nawaz and C. Efstratiou and C. Mascolo and K. Soga},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 1st ACM Workshop on Mobile Systems for Computational Social Science (in conjunction with MOBISYS'12)},
location={Lake Distrikt, UK},
month={June},
year=2012
}
-
Collecting Big Datasets of Human Activity One Checkin at a Time
T. Hossmann, C. Efstratiou, C. Mascolo
In Proceedings of the 4th ACM International Workshop on Hot Topics in Planet-Scale Measurement (HOTPLANET'12 in conjunction with MOBISYS'12).
Lake District, UK. June 2012.
Abstract
A variety of cutting edge applications for mobile phones exploit the availability of phone sensors to accurately infer the
user activity and location to o er more e ective services. To
validate and evaluate these new applications, appropriate
and extensive datasets are needed: in particular, large sets
of traces of sensor data (accelerometer, GPS, microphone,
etc.), labelled with corresponding user activities. So far,
such traces have only been collected in short-lived, small-scale setups. The primary reason for this is the diculty in
establishing accurate ground truth information outside the
laboratory. Here, we present our vision of a system for large-scale sensor data capturing, leveraging all sensors of todays
smart phones, with the aim of generating a large dataset
that is augmented with appropriate ground-truth information. The primary challenges that we address consider the
energy cost on the mobile device and the incentives for users
to keep running the system on their device for longer. We
argue for leveraging the concept of the checkin – as successfully introduced in online social networks (e.g. Foursquare)
– for collecting activity and context related datasets. With
a checkin, a user deliberately provides a small piece of data
about their behaviour while enabling the system to adjust
sensing and data collection around important activities.
In this work we present up2, a mobile app letting users
check in to their current activity (e.g., "waiting for the bus",
"riding a bicycle", "having dinner"). After a checkin, we use
the phone's sensors (GPS, accelerometer, microphone, etc.)
to gather data about the user's activity and surrounding.
This makes up2 a valuable tool for research in sensor based
activity detection.
@inproceedings{the12a,
title={Collecting Big Datasets of Human Activity One Checkin at a Time},
author={T. Hossmann and C. Efstratiou and C. Mascolo},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 4th ACM International Workshop on Hot Topics in Planet-Scale Measurement (HOTPLANET'12 in conjunction with MOBISYS'12)},
location={Lake Distrikt, UK},
month={June},
year=2012
}
-
Sense and Sensibility in a Pervasive World
C. Efstratiou, I. Leontiadis, M. Picone, K.
Rachuri, C. Mascolo, J. Crowcroft
In Proceedings of 10th International
Conference on Pervasive Computing (PERVASIVE 2012). Newcastle, UK. June
2012.
Abstract
The increasing popularity of location based social services such as
Facebook Places, Foursquare and Google Latitude, solicits a new trend
in fusing social networking with real world sensing. The availability
of a wide range of sensing technologies in our everyday environment
presents an opportunity to further enrich social networking systems
with fine-grained real-world sensing. However, the introduction of
passive sensing into a social networking application disrupts the
traditional, user-initiated input to social services, raising both
privacy and acceptability concerns. In this work we present an
empirical study of the introduction of a sensor-driven social sharing
application within the working environment of a research institution.
Our study is based on a real deployment of a system that involves
location tracking, conversation monitoring, and interaction with
physical objects. By utilizing surveys, interviews and experience
sampling techniques, we report on our findings regarding privacy and
user experience issues, and significant factors that can affect
acceptability of such services by the users. Our results suggest that
such systems deliver significant value in the form of self reflection and
comparison with others, while privacy concerns are raised primarily by
the limited control over the way individuals are projected to their
peers.
@inproceedings{efs12a,
title={Sense and Sensibility in a Pervasive
World},
author={C. Efstratiou and I. Leontiadis and M. Picone and K. Rachuri
and C. Mascolo and J. Crowcroft},
booktitle={Proceedings of 10th International Conference on Pervasive
Computing (PERVASIVE 2012)},
location={Newcastle, UK},
month={June},
year=2012
}
-
Reflections on Long-Term Experiments with
Public Displays
A. Friday, N. Davies, C. Efstratiou
IEEE Computer, vol 45, no 5. May, 2012.
Abstract
A reflection on the authors' experiences with public display research – systems built and lessons
learned – explores content creation and control, programmable infrastructures, and applications,
to offer unique insights for those considering research or practical deployments using this technology.
@article{dav12a,
title={Reflections on Long-Term Experiments with Public Displays},
author={A. Friday and N. Davies and C. Efstratiou},
journal={IEEE Computer},
vol=45,
number=5,
pages={34--41},
month={May},
year=2012
-
Don't kill my ads! Balancing Privacy in an
Ad-Supported Mobile Application Market
I. Leontiadis, C. Efstratiou, M. Picone, C.
Mascolo
In Proceedings of 13th International
Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (HOTMOBILE 2012),
San Diego, California, February, 2012.
Abstract
Application markets have revolutionized the software download model of
mobile phones: third-party application developers offer software on the
market that users can effortlessly install on their phones. This great
step forward, however, also imposes some threats to user privacy:
applications often ask for permissions that reveal private information
such as the user’s location, contacts and messages. While some
mechanisms to prevent leaks of user privacy to applications have been
proposed by the research community, these solutions fail to consider
that application markets are primarily driven by advertisements that
rely on accurately profiling the user. In this paper we take into
account that there are two parties with conflicting interests: the user,
interested in maintaining their privacy and the developer who would
like to maximize their advertisement revenue through user profiling. We
have conducted an extensive analysis of more than 250,000 applications
in the Android market. Our results indicate that the current privacy
protection mechanisms are not effective as developers and advert
companies are not deterred. Therefore, we designed and implemented a
market-aware privacy protection framework that aims to achieve an
equilibrium between the developer’s revenue and the user’s privacy. The
proposed framework is based on the establishment of a feedback control
loop that adjusts the level of privacy protection on mobile phones, in
response to advertisement generated revenue.
@inproceedings{leo12b,
title={Don't kill my ads! Balancing Privacy
in an Ad-Supported Mobile Application Market},
author={I. Leontiadis and C. Efstratiou and M. Picone and C. Mascolo},
booktitle={Proceedings of 13th International Workshop on Mobile
Computing Systems and Applications (HOTMOBILE 2012)},
location={San Diego, CA},
month={February},
year=2012
}
-
SenShare: Transforming sensor networks into
multi-application sensing infrastructures
I. Leontiadis, C. Efstratiou, C. Mascolo, J.
Crowcroft
In Proceedings of European Conference on
Wireless Sensor Networks (EWSN 2012), Trento, Italy, February, 2012.
Abstract
Sensor networks are typically purpose-built, designed to sup- port a
single running application. As the demand for applications that can
harness the capabilities of a sensor-rich environment increases, and
the availability of sensing infrastructure put in place to monitor
various quantities soars, there are clear bene ts in a model where
infrastructure can be shared amongst multiple applications. This model
however intro- duces many challenges, mainly related to the management
of the commu- nication of the same application running on di erent
network nodes, and the isolation of applications within the network. In
this work we present SenShare, a platform that attempts to address the
technical challenges in transforming sensor networks into open access
infrastructures capa- ble of supporting multiple co-running
applications. SenShare provides a clear decoupling between the
infrastructure and the running application, building on the concept of
overlay networks. Each application operates in an isolated environment
consisting of an in-node hardware abstraction layer, and a dedicated
overlay sensor network. We further report on the deployment of SenShare
within our building, which presently supports the operation of multiple
sensing applications, including oce occupancy monitoring and
environmental monitoring.
@inproceedings{leo12a,
title={SenShare: Transforming sensor networks
into multi-application sensing infrastructures},
author={I. Leontiadis and C. Efstratiou and C. Mascolo and J.
Crowcroft},
booktitle={Proceedings of European Conference on Wireless Sensor
Networks (EWSN 2012)},
location={Trento, Italy},
month={February},
year=2012
}
-
Connected, computed, collective: Smart
Mobilities
M. Buscher, P. Coulton, C. Efstratiou, H.
Gellersen, D. Hemment
Book chapter in M. Grieco and J. Urry (eds)
Mobilities: new perspectives on transport and society. Ashgate. 2012.
@InCollection{bus12a,
author = {M. Buscher and P. Coulton and C.
Efstratiou and H. Gellersen and D. Hemment},
title = {Connected, computed, collective: Smart Mobilities},
booktitle = {Mobilities: new perspectives on transport and society},
pages = {135--158},
publisher = {Ashgate},
year = 2012,
editor = {M. Grieco and J. Urry}
}
Abstract
The ‘smart’ in ‘Smart Transport’ usually
refers to technologies, not people. From cars designed to be
‘stackable’, through signs that monitor parking spaces, to ‘automatic
cruise control’ systems that ‘intelligently’ control distances through
vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication:
technologies are key to smart transport. And it is true, people –
armoured with status symbol cars and stuck in traffic – often do not
behave intelligently, raging at other drivers and pedestrians, taking
risks that endanger themselves and others. However, underestimating
human intelligence could be a damaging oversight and missed opportunity
for transport designers. In this chapter we examine several related
aspects of human sense-making practices on the move and explore how
these could be productively integrated with smart transport. Starting
with a comparison of a ‘view from above’ and a ‘view from on the
ground’, key aspects of the social logics of our mobile societies
become visible. Then, new technologies are already an integral part of
the social organisation of mobilities – with some socio-technical
innovations that form a kind of parallel universe to the intelligent
transport solutions envisaged by engineers and traffic planners. We
discuss such ‘alternate smart mobilities’ through some utopian visions
of ‘collective intelligence’ (Levy 1997) and its more mundane
manifestations, including micro-coordination and an emergent digital
economy of mobilities, based on crowdsourcing, community sensing, and
data mashups. These ‘bottom-up’ innovations could come together
productively with the pervasive ‘qualculation’ (Thrift 2004) that
underpins traffic shaping and other engineering and design efforts
around ‘intelligent transport systems’ (ITS) (COM 2008). Moreover, such
a convergence of social and technological innovation could counteract
the threat of ‘Orwellian’ surveillance that is part of a potentially
Faustian bargain for more efficiency, convenience, sustainability and
security in transport (Dennis and Urry 2009). We conclude with
suggestions for mixed mobile research methods that can inform
innovation.
-
Network Interrupts: Supporting Delay Sensitive
Applications in Low Power Wireless Control Networks.
J. Brown, J. Finney, C. Efstratiou, B.
Green, N. Davies, M. Lowton and G. Kortuem.
In Proceedings of CHANTS 2007: ACM MOBICOM
2007 Workshop on Challenged Networks, Montreal, Canada, pp.
51–58, September, 2007. ACM Press.
Abstract
The importance in maintaining energy efficient communications in low
power networks such as sensor and actuator networks is well understood.
However, in recent years, a growing number of delay sensitive and
interactive applications have been discovered for such networks, that
are no longer purely limited to the data gathering model of sensor
networks. Providing support application requiring low latency
interaction in such environments without negatively affecting energy
efficiency remains a challenging problem. This paper outlines the
importance of this emerging class of application, discusses problems
involved in supporting them in energy challenged environments, proposes
a combined hardware and software mechanism based on heterogeneous
wireless networking which works toward solving this problem, and goes
on to evaluate this mechanism through experimental analysis. The paper
concludes with a discussion of the applicability of the mechanism to
typical application scenarios.
@inproceedings{jam07a,
author = {J. Brown and J. Finney and C.
Efstratiou and B. Green and N. Davies and M. Lowton and G. Kortuem},
title = {Network Interrupts: Supporting Delay Sensitive Applications in
Low Power Wireless Control Networks},
booktitle = {Proceedings of CHANTS 2007: ACM MOBICOM 2007 Workshop on
Challenged Networks},
location = {Montreal, Canada},
month = {September},
year = {2007},
pages = {51--58},
publisher = {ACM Press},
address = {New York, USA},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/p51-brown.pdf},
abstract = {The importance in maintaining energy efficient
communications in low power networks such as sensor and actuator
networks is well understood. However, in recent years, a growing number
of delay sensitive and interactive applications have been discovered
for such networks, that are no longer purely limited to the data
gathering model of sensor networks. Providing support application
requiring low latency interaction in such environments without
negatively affecting energy efficiency remains a challenging problem.
This paper outlines the importance of this emerging class of
application, discusses problems involved in supporting them in energy
challenged environments, proposes a combined hardware and software
mechanism based on heterogeneous wireless networking which works toward
solving this problem, and goes on to evaluate this mechanism through
experimental analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of the
applicability of the mechanism to typical application scenarios.}
}
-
Sensor Networks or Smart Artifacts? An
Exploration of Organizational Issues of An Industrial Health and Safety
Monitoring System.
G. Kortuem, D. Alford, L. Ball, J. Busby, N.
Davies, C. Efstratiou, J. Finney, M. Iszatt-White and K. Kinder.
In Proceedings of UBICOMP 2007, Innsbruck,
Austria, pp. 465–482, September, 2007. Springer.
Abstract
Industrial health and safety is an important yet largely unexplored
application area of ubiquitous computing. In this paper we investigate
the relationship between technology and organization in the context of
a concrete industrial health and safety system. The system is designed
to reduce the number of incidents of "vibration white finger" (VWF) at
construction sites and uses wireless sensor nodes for monitoring
workers' exposure to vibrations and testing of compliance with legal
health and safety regulations. In particular we investigate the impact
of this ubiquitous technology on the relationship between management
and operatives, the formulation of health and safety rules and the risk
perception and risk behavior of operatives. In addition, we contrast
sensor-network inspired and smart artifact inspired compliance systems,
and make the case that these technology models have a strong influence
on the linkage between technology and organization.
@inproceedings{kor07a,
author = {G. Kortuem and D. Alford and L.
Ball and J. Busby and N. Davies and C. Efstratiou and J. Finney and M.
Iszatt-White and K. Kinder},
title = {Sensor Networks or Smart Artifacts? An Exploration of
Organizational Issues of An Industrial Health and Safety Monitoring
System},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Ubicomp 2007},
location = {Innsbruck, Austria},
month = {September},
year = {2007},
publisher = {Springer},
pages = {465--482},
address = {Berlin},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/Ubicomp-2007.pdf},
abstract = {Industrial health and safety is an important yet largely
unexplored application area of ubiquitous computing. In this paper we
investigate the relationship between technology and organization in the
context of a concrete industrial health and safety system. The system
is designed to reduce the number of incidents of "vibration white
finger" (VWF) at construction sites and uses wireless sensor nodes for
monitoring workers' exposure to vibrations and testing of compliance
with legal health and safety regulations. In particular we investigate
the impact of this ubiquitous technology on the relationship between
management and operatives, the formulation of health and safety rules
and the risk perception and risk behavior of operatives. In addition,
we contrast sensor-network inspired and smart artifact inspired
compliance systems, and make the case that these technology models have
a strong influence on the linkage between technology and organization.}
}
-
Experiences of Designing and Deploying
Intellignent Sensor Nodes to Monitor Hand-Arm Vibrations in the Field.
C. Efstratiou, N. Davies, G. Kortuem, J.
Finney, R. Hooper and M. Lowton.
In Proceedings of ACM MOBISYS 2007, San
Juan, Puerto Rico, pp. 127–138, June, 2007. ACM Press.
Abstract
The NEMO project is exploring the use of mobile sensor nodes to augment
physical work artefacts in order to ensure compliance with health and
safety regulations. In this paper we present our experiences of
designing and deploying the NEMO Hand Arm Vibration (HAV) monitoring
system. Long term exposure to hand arm vibration can lead to serious
health conditions and the NEMO HAV monitoring system offers an
integrated architecture for capturing HAV exposure data in the field,
providing feedback about exposure levels both in the field and as input
to a back-end database. Our design allows health and safety regulations
specified at the enterprise level to be embedded within the wireless
sensor nodes allowing them to operate without any infrastructural
support. The system has been the subject of a two week field trial that
took place with the collaboration of a British construction and
maintenance company. During the field trial, the NEMO HAV system was
deployed to a road maintenance patching gang and data was collected on
HAV exposure caused by hydraulic drills. The paper reports on the
results of the field trial and the lessons learned through the real
deployment of the system.
@inproceedings{efs07b,
author = {C. Efstratiou and N. Davies and G.
Kortuem and J. Finney and R. Hooper and M. Lowton},
title = {Experiences of Designing and Deploying Intellignent Sensor
Nodes to Monitor Hand-Arm Vibrations in the Field},
booktitle = {Proceedings of ACM MobiSys 2007},
location = {San Juan, Puerto Rico},
month = {June},
year = {2007},
pages = {127--138},
publisher = {ACM Press},
address = {New York, USA},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/sys5742-efstratiou.pdf},
abstract = { The NEMO project is exploring the use of mobile sensor
nodes to augment physical work artefacts in order to ensure compliance
with health and safety regulations. In this paper we present our
experiences of designing and deploying the NEMO Hand Arm Vibration
(HAV) monitoring system. Long term exposure to hand arm vibration can
lead to serious health conditions and the NEMO HAV monitoring system
offers an integrated architecture for capturing HAV exposure data in
the field, providing feedback about exposure levels both in the field
and as input to a back-end database. Our design allows health and
safety regulations specified at the enterprise level to be embedded
within the wireless sensor nodes allowing them to operate without any
infrastructural support. The system has been the subject of a two week
field trial that took place with the collaboration of a British
construction and maintenance company. During the field trial, the NEMO
HAV system was deployed to a road maintenance patching gang and data
was collected on HAV exposure caused by hydraulic drills. The paper
reports on the results of the field trial and the lessons learned
through the real deployment of the system.}
}
-
Monitoring Hand-Arm Vibrations in Construction
Sites.
C. Efstratiou, N. Davies, G. Kortuem, J.
Finney, R. Hooper and M. Lowton.
In Demo Abstracts, ACM MOBISYS 2007, San
Juan, Puerto Rico, June, 2007.
@misc{efs07a,
author = {C. Efstratiou and N. Davies and G.
Kortuem and J. Finney and R. Hooper and M. Lowton},
title = {Monitoring Hand-Arm Vibrations in Construction Sites},
howpublished = {In Demo Abstracts, ACM MobiSys 2007},
location = {San Juan, Puerto Rico},
month = {June},
year = {2007}
}
-
Sensing Danger - Challenges in Supporting
Health and Safety Compliance in the Field.
N. Davies, C. Efstratiou, J. Finney, R.
Hooper, G. Kortuem and M. Lowton.
In Proceedings of the 8th IEEE Workshop on
Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (HOTMOBILE 2007), Tucson,
Arizona, February, 2007.
Abstract
Many workers operate in environments that are inherently hazardous and
that are subject to strict health and safety rules and regulations. We
envisage a world in which physical work artefacts such as tools are
augmented with intelligent mobile nodes that are able to observe the
working activities taking place, evaluate compliance with health and
safety regulations and assist or actively enforce compliance with these
regulations. This vision creates a new field of work in the area of
health and safety aware intelligent mobile sensor networks. In this
paper we describe a number of new challenges faced when developing
mobile systems for compliance with health and safety regulations.
@inproceedings{dav07a,
author = {N. Davies and C. Efstratiou and J.
Finney and R. Hooper and G. Kortuem and M. Lowton},
title = {Sensing Danger - Challenges in Supporting Health and Safety
Compliance in the Field},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 8th IEEE Workshop on Mobile Computing
Systems and Applications (HotMobile 2007)},
location = {Tucson, Arizona},
month = {February},
year = {2007},
file =
{http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/davies-SensingDanger.pdf},
abstract = {Many workers operate in environments that are inherently
hazardous and that are subject to strict health and safety rules and
regulations. We envisage a world in which physical work artefacts such
as tools are augmented with intelligent mobile nodes that are able to
observe the working activities taking place, evaluate compliance with
health and safety regulations and assist or actively enforce compliance
with these regulations. This vision creates a new field of work in the
area of health and safety aware intelligent mobile sensor networks. In
this paper we describe a number of new challenges faced when developing
mobile systems for compliance with health and safety regulations.},
}
-
Health and Safety Compliance in the Field.
N. Davies, C. Efstratiou, J. Finney, R.
Hooper, G. Kortuem, M. Lowton and M. Strohbach.
In Demo Abstracts, ACM MOBISYS 2006,
Uppsala, Sweden, June, 2006. ACM Press.
@misc{dav06a,
author = {N. Davies and C. Efstratiou and J.
Finney and R. Hooper and G. Kortuem and M. Lowton and M. Strohbach},
title = {Health and Safety Compliance in the Field},
howpublished = {In Demo Abstracts, ACM MobiSys 2006},
location = {Uppsala, Sweden},
month = {June},
year = {2006},
publisher = {ACM Press},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/MobiSys06Demo.pdf}
}
-
A Platform Supporting Coordinated Adaptation
in Mobile Systems.
C. Efstratiou, A. Friday, N. Davies and K.
Cheverst.
In Proceedings of the 4th IEEE Workshop on
Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (WMCSA / HOTMOBILE 2002),
Callicoon, New York, pp. 128–137, June, 2002. IEEE Computer
Society.
Abstract
Mobile environments are highly dynamic, characterised by frequent and
sudden changes in resource availability. As a consequence, adaptive
mobile applications need to be capable of adapting their behaviour to
ensure they continue to offer the best possible level of service to the
user. Our experience of developing such applications has led us to
believe that existing mobile middleware platforms fail to consider
adaptive applications on a host as an ensemble of entities competing
for the same resources; instead, focusing on the requirements of each
application in isolation. A new approach is required which offers the
mechanisms to support coordination of the adaptive behaviour of
multiple applications in order to achieve a common goal. In this paper,
we present a platform designed to meet this objective. Our platform is
based on the notion of the definition of system-wide flexible
adaptation policies written using a form of Kowalsky's event calculus,
that may be adapted according to user needs. Moreover, we also believe
that by using our approach it will soon be possible to identify and
resolve conflicts caused by the need to adapt to multiple contextual
triggers.
@inproceedings{efs02b,
author = {C. Efstratiou and A. Friday and N.
Davies and K. Cheverst},
title = {A Platform Supporting Coordinated Adaptation in Mobile
Systems},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 4th {IEEE} Workshop on Mobile Computing
Systems and Applications ({WMCSA}'02)},
location = {Callicoon, New York},
pages = {128--137},
month = {June},
year = {2002},
publisher = {{IEEE Computer Society}},
address = {Los Alamitos, CA, USA},
abstract = {Mobile environments are highly dynamic, characterised by
frequent and sudden changes in resource availability. As a consequence,
adaptive mobile applications need to be capable of adapting their
behaviour to ensure they continue to offer the best possible level of
service to the user. Our experience of developing such applications has
led us to believe that existing mobile middleware platforms fail to
consider adaptive applications on a host as an ensemble of entities
competing for the same resources; instead, focusing on the requirements
of each application in isolation. A new approach is required which
offers the mechanisms to support coordination of the adaptive behaviour
of multiple applications in order to achieve a common goal. In this
paper, we present a platform designed to meet this objective. Our
platform is based on the notion of the definition of system-wide
flexible adaptation policies written using a form of Kowalsky's event
calculus, that may be adapted according to user needs. Moreover, we
also believe that by using our approach it will soon be possible to
identify and resolve conflicts caused by the need to adapt to multiple
contextual triggers.},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/efstratiou-wmcsa2002.pdf}
}
-
Utilising the Event Calculus for Policy Driven
Adaptation in Mobile Systems.
C. Efstratiou, A. Friday, N. Davies and K.
Cheverst.
In Proceedings of the 3rd International
Workshop on Policies for Distributed Systems and Networks (POLICY
2002), Monterey, California, pp. 13–24, June, 2002. IEEE Computer
Society.
Abstract
Adaptation is an important requirement for mobile applications due to
the varying levels of resource availability that characterises mobile
environments. However without proper control, multiple applications can
each adapt independently in response to a range of different adaptive
stimuli, causing conflicts or suboptimal performance. In this paper we
present a policy driven approach for mobile adaptive systems that can
overcome the aforementioned problems. Our system is based on a policy
language derived from the Event Calculus logic programming formalism.
Important characteristics of our policy language are the support for
explicit expressions of time dependencies and the simple and user
friendly syntax.
@inproceedings{efs02a,
author = {C. Efstratiou and A. Friday and N.
Davies and K. Cheverst},
title = {Utilising the Event Calculus for Policy Driven Adaptation in
Mobile Systems},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Policies
for Distributed Systems and Networks ({POLICY} 2002)},
location = {Monterey, California},
pages = {13--24},
month = {June},
year = {2002},
publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},
address = {Washington, DC, USA},
abstract = {Adaptation is an important requirement for mobile
applications due to the varying levels of resource availability that
characterises mobile environments. However without proper control,
multiple applications can each adapt independently in response to a
range of different adaptive stimuli, causing conflicts or suboptimal
performance. In this paper we present a policy driven approach for
mobile adaptive systems that can overcome the aforementioned problems.
Our system is based on a policy language derived from the Event
Calculus logic programming formalism. Important characteristics of our
policy language are the support for explicit expressions of time
dependencies and the simple and user friendly syntax.},
file =
{http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/efstratiou-policy2002.pdf}
}
-
The Rational for Infrastructure Support for
Adaptive and Context-Aware Applications: A Position Paper.
N. Davies, K. Cheverst, C. Efstratiou and A.
Friday.
In Proceedings of NSF Workshop on
Infrastructure for Mobile and Wireless Systems, Scottsdale, Arizona,
pp. 146–152, October, 2001. Springer.
Abstract
Research has demonstrated that mobile and wireless applications benefit
from a knowledge of their operating environment. Examples of
contextaware or adaptive applications have been constructed and
evaluated with the results being widely disseminated within the
research community. However, the field is still sufficiently new that
there are currently no standards for describing, disseminating or
managing the necessary contextual information. Moreover, there are no
standards (or even accepted best practices) for coordinating adaptation
across multiple applications and systems. In this position paper we
argue that the lack of standards in this area will inhibit the
widespread deployment of many of the compelling context-aware mobile
applications currently being designed.
@inproceedings{dav01a,
author = {N. Davies and K. Cheverst and C.
Efstratiou and A. Friday},
title = {The Rational for Infrastructure Support for Adaptive and
Context-Aware Applications: A Position Paper },
booktitle = {Proceedings of NSF Workshop on Infrastructure for Mobile
and Wireless Systems},
location = {Scottsdale, Arizona},
publisher = {Springer},
pages = {146--152},
month = {October},
year = {2001},
abstract = {Research has demonstrated that mobile and wireless
applications benefit from a knowledge of their operating environment.
Examples of contextaware or adaptive applications have been constructed
and evaluated with the results being widely disseminated within the
research community. However, the field is still sufficiently new that
there are currently no standards for describing, disseminating or
managing the necessary contextual information. Moreover, there are no
standards (or even accepted best practices) for coordinating adaptation
across multiple applications and systems. In this position paper we
argue that the lack of standards in this area will inhibit the
widespread deployment of many of the compelling context-aware mobile
applications currently being designed.},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/RationalInfra.pdf}
}
-
'Feature' Interactions outside a Telecom
Domain.
L. Blair, G. Blair, J. Pang and C.
Efstratiou.
In Proceedings of Workshop on Feature
Interactions in Composed Systems, ECOOP2001, Budapest, pp.
233–248, June, 2001. Kluwer, B.V.
Abstract
Feature interactions in the original sense of the term (i.e. within a
telecommunications domain), have now been the subject of significant
research activity for over ten years. This paper considers several
different sources of interactions in other domains, arising during the
course of our research at Lancaster. These interactions are taken from
a variety of areas within the field of Distributed Systems, and stand
to benefit greatly from the application of techniques developed in the
feature interaction community. Furthermore, we believe they represent a
potentially important generalisation for feature interaction research.
@inproceedings{bla01a,
author = {L. Blair and G. Blair and J. Pang
and C. Efstratiou},
title = {`{F}eature' Interactions outside a Telecom Domain},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Workshop on Feature Interactions in
Composed Systems, {ECOOP2001}},
location = {Budapest},
month = {June},
pages = {233--248},
publisher = {Kluwer, B.V.},
address = {Deventer, The Netherlands},
year = {2001},
abstract = {Feature interactions in the original sense of the term
(i.e. within a telecommunications domain), have now been the subject of
significant research activity for over ten years. This paper considers
several different sources of interactions in other domains, arising
during the course of our research at Lancaster. These interactions are
taken from a variety of areas within the field of Distributed Systems,
and stand to benefit greatly from the application of techniques
developed in the feature interaction community. Furthermore, we believe
they represent a potentially important generalisation for feature
interaction research. },
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/FICS01.pdf}
}
-
Using Context as a Crystal Ball: Rewards and
Pitfalls.
K. Cheverst, N. Davies, K. Mitchell and C.
Efstratiou.
Personal Technologies Journal, vol
5(1), pp. 8–11, February, 2001. Springer.
Abstract
Context-awareness can be used to simplify a user's understanding of,
and interaction with, interactive systems. In effect, through
adaptation, context-aware systems can migrate complexity away from the
user and into the system (or agent). However, the incorporation of
context-awareness raises a number of issues. For example, users are
required to trust the behaviour of the system's intelligence and this
requires the system to have predictable behaviour and the ability to
successfully and consistently preempt the user's goal. Unfortunately,
the agent may incorrectly preempt the user's goal, owing to either
flawed intelligence or to incorrect or out-of-date contextual
information. In such circumstances the user is likely to feel
frustration because the system will either appear overly prescriptive
or, worse still, present incorrect results. This paper considers these
issues, a number of which are described in anecdotal form, based on our
experiences in developing and evaluating the context-aware GUIDE
system.
@article{che01a,
author = {K. Cheverst and N. Davies and K.
Mitchell and C. Efstratiou},
title = {Using Context as a Crystal Ball: Rewards and Pitfalls},
journal = {Personal Technologies Journal},
volume = {5},
number = {1},
month = {February},
pages = {8--11},
publisher = {Springer},
year = {2001},
abstract = {Context-awareness can be used to simplify a user's
understanding of, and interaction with, interactive systems. In effect,
through adaptation, context-aware systems can migrate complexity away
from the user and into the system (or agent). However, the
incorporation of context-awareness raises a number of issues. For
example, users are required to trust the behaviour of the system's
intelligence and this requires the system to have predictable behaviour
and the ability to successfully and consistently preempt the user's
goal. Unfortunately, the agent may incorrectly preempt the user's goal,
owing to either flawed intelligence or to incorrect or out-of-date
contextual information. In such circumstances the user is likely to
feel frustration because the system will either appear overly
prescriptive or, worse still, present incorrect results. This paper
considers these issues, a number of which are described in anecdotal
form, based on our experiences in developing and evaluating the
context-aware GUIDE system.},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/crystal.pdf}
}
-
An Architecture for the Effective Support of
Adaptive Context-Aware Applications.
C. Efstratiou, K. Cheverst, N. Davies and A.
Friday.
In Proceedings of Mobile Data Management
(MDM'01), Hong Kong, pp. 15–26, January, 2001. Springer.
Abstract
Mobile applications are required to operate in environments
characterised by change. More specifically, the availability of
resources and services may change significantly during a typical period
of system operation. As a consequence, adaptive mobile applications
need to be capable of adapting to these changes to ensure they offer
the best possible level of service to the user. Our experiences of
developing and evaluating adaptive context-aware applications in mobile
environments has led us to believe that existing architectures fail to
provide the necessary support for such applications. In this paper, we
discuss the shortcomings of existing approaches and present work on our
own architecture that has been designed to meet the key requirements of
context-aware adaptive applications.
@inproceedings{efs01a,
author = {C. Efstratiou and K. Cheverst and
N. Davies and A. Friday},
title = {An Architecture for the Effective Support of Adaptive
Context-Aware Applications},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Mobile Data Management ({MDM}'01)},
location = {Hong Kong},
month = {January},
year = {2001},
pages = {15--26},
publisher = {Springer},
address = {Berlin},
abstract = {Mobile applications are required to operate in environments
characterised by change. More specifically, the availability of
resources and services may change significantly during a typical period
of system operation. As a consequence, adaptive mobile applications
need to be capable of adapting to these changes to ensure they offer
the best possible level of service to the user. Our experiences of
developing and evaluating adaptive context-aware applications in mobile
environments has led us to believe that existing architectures fail to
provide the necessary support for such applications. In this paper, we
discuss the shortcomings of existing approaches and present work on our
own architecture that has been designed to meet the key requirements of
context-aware adaptive applications. },
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/mdm2001.pdf}
}
-
Architectural Ideas for the Support of
Adaptive Context-Aware Applications.
K. Cheverst, C. Efstratiou, N. Davies and A.
Friday.
In Proceedings of Workshop on Infrastructure
for Smart Devices - How to Make Ubiquity an Actuality, HUC'00, Bristol,
September, 2000.
@inproceedings{che00a,
author = {K. Cheverst and C. Efstratiou and
N. Davies and A. Friday},
title = {Architectural Ideas for the Support of Adaptive Context-Aware
Applications},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Workshop on Infrastructure for Smart
Devices - How to Make Ubiquity an Actuality, HUC'00},
location = {Bristol},
month = {September},
year = {2000},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/ArchIdeas.pdf}
}
-
Architectural Requirements for the Effective
Support of Adaptive Mobile Applications.
C. Efstratiou, K. Cheverst, N. Davies and A.
Friday.
Work in progress paper in Middleware2000,
USA:New York, April, 2000.
Abstract
Mobile applications are required to operate in environments that
change. Specifically, the availability of resources and services may
change significantly during typical system operation. As a consequence,
mobile applications need to be capable of adapting to these changes to
ensure they offer the best possible level of service to the user. Our
experiences of developing adaptive applications have led us to believe
that existing middleware fails to provide the necessary support for
such applications. Moreover, we believe that current research in this
area is also failing to address the core requirements of adaptive
mobile systems. In this paper we present a set of requirements for
future mobile middleware which have been derived by considering the
shortcomings of existing approaches and the needs of application
developers. Key among these requirements is the need to support
coordinated action between application and system components and the
resolution of conflicts caused by the need to adapt to multiple
contextual triggers. The paper concludes with the presentation of an
architectural framework within which middleware researchers can deploy
solutions to the problems identified.
@inproceedings{efs00a,
author = {C. Efstratiou and K. Cheverst and
N. Davies and A. Friday},
title = {Architectural Requirements for the Effective Support of
Adaptive Mobile Applications},
booktitle = {Work in progress paper in {M}iddleware2000},
location = {{USA}:{N}ew {Y}ork},
month = {April},
year = {2000},
abstract = {Mobile applications are required to operate in environments
that change. Specifically, the availability of resources and services
may change significantly during typical system operation. As a
consequence, mobile applications need to be capable of adapting to
these changes to ensure they offer the best possible level of service
to the user. Our experiences of developing adaptive applications have
led us to believe that existing middleware fails to provide the
necessary support for such applications. Moreover, we believe that
current research in this area is also failing to address the core
requirements of adaptive mobile systems. In this paper we present a set
of requirements for future mobile middleware which have been derived by
considering the shortcomings of existing approaches and the needs of
application developers. Key among these requirements is the need to
support coordinated action between application and system components
and the resolution of conflicts caused by the need to adapt to multiple
contextual triggers. The paper concludes with the presentation of an
architectural framework within which middleware researchers can deploy
solutions to the problems identified.},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/Middleware2000.pdf}
}
-
Reflection: A Solution For Highly Adaptive
Mobile Systems.
C. Efstratiou and K. Cheverst.
Position paper at the Reflective Middleware
Workshop in conjunction with Middleware 2000, New York, April, 2000.
@misc{efs00b,
author = {C. Efstratiou and K. Cheverst},
title = {Reflection: A Solution For Highly Adaptive Mobile Systems},
howpublished = {Position paper at the Reflective Middleware Workshop in
conjunction with Middleware 2000},
location = {New York},
year = {2000},
month = {April},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/reflection.pdf}
}
-
Developing a context-aware electronic tourist
guide: some issues and experiences.
K. Cheverst, N. Davies, K. Mitchell, A.
Friday and C. Efstratiou.
In Proceedings of the 2000 Conference on
Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI-00), edt. Thea Turner and Gerd
Szwillus and Mary Czerwinski and Paterno Fabio, New York, pp.
17–24, April, 2000. ACM Press.
Abstract
In this paper, we describe our experiences of developing and evaluating
GUIDE, an intelligent electronic tourist guide. The GUIDE system has
been built to overcome many of the limitations of the traditional
information and navigation tools available to city visitors. For
example, group-based tours are inherently inflexible with fixed
starting times and fixed durations and (like most guidebooks) are
constrained by the need to satisfy the interests of the majority rather
than the specific interests of individuals. Following a period of
requirements capture, involving experts in the field of tourism, we
developed and installed a system for use by visitors to Lancaster. The
system combines mobile computing technologies with a wireless
infrastructure to present city visitors with information tailored to
both their personal and environmental contexts. In this paper we
present an evaluation of GUIDE, focusing on the quality of the
visitor's experience when using the system.
@inproceedings{che00b,
author = {K. Cheverst and N. Davies and K.
Mitchell and A. Friday and C. Efstratiou},
title = {Developing a context-aware electronic tourist guide: some
issues and experiences},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2000 Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems ({CHI}-00)},
publisher = {ACM Press},
editor = {Thea Turner and Gerd Szwillus and Mary Czerwinski and
Patern{\`o} Fabio},
location = {New York},
pages = {17--24},
month = {April},
year = {2000},
abstract = {In this paper, we describe our experiences of developing
and evaluating GUIDE, an intelligent electronic tourist guide. The
GUIDE system has been built to overcome many of the limitations of the
traditional information and navigation tools available to city
visitors. For example, group-based tours are inherently inflexible with
fixed starting times and fixed durations and (like most guidebooks) are
constrained by the need to satisfy the interests of the majority rather
than the specific interests of individuals. Following a period of
requirements capture, involving experts in the field of tourism, we
developed and installed a system for use by visitors to Lancaster. The
system combines mobile computing technologies with a wireless
infrastructure to present city visitors with information tailored to
both their personal and environmental contexts. In this paper we
present an evaluation of GUIDE, focusing on the quality of the
visitor's experience when using the system.},
file = {http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ce291/papers/CHI.pdf},
}
-
A Layered Architecture for Computer-based
simulation supporting skills learning: an X-ray imaging paradigm.
L. Costaridou, G. Panayiotakis, C.
Efstratiou, C. Papnikolaou and N. Palikarakis.
Medical Informatics Journal, vol
22(2), pp. 165–177, 1997.
Abstract
Simulation is characterized by strong learning potential, providing the
basis for a new category of systems, the simulation-based learning
systems. To strengthen the learning potential of these systems, models
are needed not only of the actual system being imitated, but also of
the operational expertise required to carry out manipulations of the
simulated system, inherently linked to learning. In this paper, an
architecture is reported aimed at supporting the organization of
multimodal simulation resources to induce skills learning. This
architecture is based on distinct layers, allowing independent
representation of learning and simulation components. Its applicability
has been demonstrated by means of a paradigm, including simulation of
X-ray imaging procedure, as well as authoring of learning scenarios
pertaining to such procedures.
@article{cos97a,
author = {L. Costaridou and G. Panayiotakis
and C. Efstratiou and C. Papnikolaou and N. Palikarakis},
title = {A Layered Architecture for Computer-based simulation
supporting skills learning: an X-ray imaging paradigm},
journal = {Medical Informatics Journal},
volume = {22},
number = {2},
pages = {165--177},
year = {1997},
abstract = {Simulation is characterized by strong learning potential,
providing the basis for a new category of systems, the simulation-based
learning systems. To strengthen the learning potential of these
systems, models are needed not only of the actual system being
imitated, but also of the operational expertise required to carry out
manipulations of the simulated system, inherently linked to learning.
In this paper, an architecture is reported aimed at supporting the
organization of multimodal simulation resources to induce skills
learning. This architecture is based on distinct layers, allowing
independent representation of learning and simulation components. Its
applicability has been demonstrated by means of a paradigm, including
simulation of X-ray imaging procedure, as well as authoring of learning
scenarios pertaining to such procedures.}
}
-
PRONET Services for Distance Learning in
Mammographic Image Processing.
L. Costaridou, G. Panayiotakis, C.
Efstratiou, P. Sakellaropoulos, D. Cavouras, C. Kalogeropoulos, K.
Varakis, L. Giannakou and J. Dimopoulos.
In Proceedings of the XIII International
Congress of the European Federation for Medical Informatics (MIE'97),
Greece, pp. 165–177, 1997. Amsterdam : IOS Press.
Abstract
The potential of telematics services is investigated with respect to
learning needs of medical physicists and biomedical engineers.
Telematics services are integrated into a system, the PRONET, which
evolves around multimedia computer based courses and distance tutoring
support. In addition, information database access and special interest
group support are offered. System architecture is based on a component
integration approach. The services are delivered in three modes: LAN,
ISDN and Internet. Mammographic image processing is selected as an
example content area.
@inproceedings{cos97b,
title = {PRONET Services for Distance
Learning in Mammographic Image Processing},
author = {L. Costaridou and G. Panayiotakis and C. Efstratiou and P.
Sakellaropoulos and D. Cavouras and C. Kalogeropoulos and K. Varakis
and L. Giannakou and J. Dimopoulos},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the XIII International Congress of the
European Federation for Medical Informatics (MIE'97)},
location = {Greece},
publisher = {Amsterdam : IOS Press},
pages = {165--177},
year = {1997},
abstract = {The potential of telematics services is investigated with
respect to learning needs of medical physicists and biomedical
engineers. Telematics services are integrated into a system, the
PRONET, which evolves around multimedia computer based courses and
distance tutoring support. In addition, information database access and
special interest group support are offered. System architecture is
based on a component integration approach. The services are delivered
in three modes: LAN, ISDN and Internet. Mammographic image processing
is selected as an example content area.}
}
-
Modelling X-Ray Imaging Procedures: A Tool for
Generating Learning Tasks.
L. Costaridou, C. Papnikolaou, C.
Efstratiou, K. Hatzis, N. Palikarakis and G. Panayiotakis.
In Proceedings of the XII International
Congress of the European Federation for Medical Informatics (MIE'96),
Denmark, pp. 1047–1051, 1996. Amsterdam : IOS Press.
@inproceedings{cos97b,
author = {L. Costaridou and C. Papnikolaou
and C. Efstratiou and K. Hatzis and N. Palikarakis and G.
Panayiotakis},
title = {Modelling X-Ray Imaging Procedures: A Tool for Generating
Learning Tasks},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the XII International Congress of the
European Federation for Medical Informatics (MIE'96)},
location = {Denmark},
publisher = {Amsterdam : IOS Press},
year = {1996},
pages = {1047--1051}
}
citations in this body of work according
to Google Scholar.