Darjeeling, a Java compatible virtual machine for microcontrollers

The Java programming language enjoys widespread popularity on platforms ranging from servers to mobile phones. While efforts have been made to run Java on microcontroller platforms, there is currently no feature-rich, open source virtual machine available. In this paper we present Darjeeling, a system comprising offline tools and a memory efficient runtime. The offline post-compiler tool analyzes, links and consolidates Java class files into loadable modules. The runtime implements a modified Java VM that supports multithreading and is designed specifically to operate in constrained execution environments such as wireless sensor network nodes. Darjeeling improves upon existing work by supporting inheritance, threads, garbage collection, and loadable modules while keeping memory usage to a minimum. We have demonstrated Java running on AVR128 and MSP430 micro-controllers at speeds of up to 70,000 JVM instructions per second.

The design and evaluation of a mobile sensor/actuator network for autonomous animal control

This paper investigates a mobile, wireless sensor/actuator network application for use in the cattle breeding industry. Our goal is to prevent fighting between bulls in on-farm breeding paddocks by autonomously applying appropriate stimuli when one bull approaches another bull. This is an important application because fighting between high-value animals such as bulls during breeding seasons causes significant financial loss to producers. Furthermore, there are significant challenges in this type of application because it requires dynamic animal state estimation, real-time actuation and efficient mobile wireless transmissions. We designed and implemented an animal state estimation algorithm based on a state-machine mechanism for each animal. Autonomous actuation is performed based on the estimated states of an animal relative to other animals. A simple, yet effective, wireless communication model has been proposed and implemented to achieve high delivery rates in mobile environments. We evaluated the performance of our design by both simulations and field experiments, which demonstrated the effectiveness of our autonomous animal control system.

Mobile robot navigation as a planar visual servoing problem

This paper demonstrates some interesting connections between the hitherto disparate fields of mobile robot navigation and image-based visual servoing. A planar formulation of the well-known image-based visual servoing method leads to a bearing-only navigation system that requires no explicit localization and directly yields desired velocity. The well known benefits of image-based visual servoing such as robustness apply also to the planar case. Simulation results are presented.

ElectricCOW : A simulator for mobile sensors and actuators mounted on herds of cattle

ElectricCOW is a network, animal behaviour and agent simulator designed to allow detailed simulation of an ad-hoc model network built from small mote-like devices called flecks. Detailed radio communications, cattle behaviour and sensor and actuator network modelling allows a closed-loop environment, where the network can influence the behaviour of its mobile platforms.

Mobile robot navigation as a planar visual servoing problem

This paper demonstrates some interesting connections between the hitherto disparate fields of mobile robot navigation and image-based visual servoing. A planar formulation of the well-known image-based visual servoing method leads to a bearing-only navigation system that requires no explicit localization and directly yields desired velocity. The well known benefits of image-based visual servoing such as robustness apply also to the planar case. Simulation results are presented.

The use of Creative Commons licensing to enable open access to public sector information and publicly funded research results : an overview of recent Australian developments

This chapter provides an account of the use of Creative Commons (CC) licensing as a legally and operationally effective means by which governments can implement systems to enable open access to and reuse of their public sector information (PSI). It describes the experience of governments in Australia in applying CC licences to PSI in a context where a vast range of material and information produced, collected, commissioned of funded by government is subject to copyright. By applying CC licences, governments can give effect to their open access policies and create a public domain of PSI which is available for resue by other governmental agencies and the community at large.

An examination of the factors that influence drivers’ willingness to use hand-held mobile phones

Hand-held mobile phone use while driving is illegal throughout Australia yet many drivers persist with this behaviour. This study aims to understand the internal, driver-related and external, situational-related factors influencing drivers’ willingness to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving. Sampling 160 university students, this study utilised the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine a range of belief-based constructs. Additionally, drivers’ personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion were measured with the Neuroticism Extroversion Openness-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). In relation to the external, situational-related factors, four different driving-related scenarios, which were intended to evoke differing levels of drivers’ reported stress, were devised for the study and manipulated drivers’ time urgency (low versus high) and passenger presence (alone versus with friends). In these scenarios, drivers’ willingness to use a mobile phone in general was measured. Hierarchical regression analyses across the four different driving scenarios found that, overall, the TPB components significantly accounted for drivers’ willingness to use a mobile phone above and beyond the demographic variables. Subjective norms, however, was only a significant predictor of drivers’ willingness in situations where the drivers were driving alone. Generally, neuroticism and extroversion did not significantly predict drivers’ willingness above and beyond the TPB and demographic variables. Overall, the findings broaden our understanding of the internal and external factors influencing drivers’ willingness to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving despite the illegality of this behaviour. The findings may have important practical implications in terms of better informing road safety campaigns targeting drivers’ mobile phone use which, in turn, may contribute to a reduction in the extent that mobile phone use contributes to road crashes.

Needing to connect : The effect of self and others on young people’s involvement with their mobile phones

The present research was a preliminary examination of young Australians’ mobile phone behaviour. The study explored the relationship between, and psychological predictors of, frequency of mobile phone use and mobile phone involvement conceptualised as people’s cognitive and behavioural interaction with their mobile phone. Participants were 946 Australian youth aged between 15 and 24 years. A descriptive measurement tool, the Mobile Phone Involvement Questionnaire (MPIQ), was developed. Self-identity and validation from others were explored as predictors of both types of mobile phone behaviour. A distinction was found between frequency of mobile phone use and mobile phone involvement. Only self-identity predicted frequency of use whereas both self-identity and validation from others predicted mobile phone involvement. These findings reveal the importance of distinguishing between frequency of use and people’s psychological relationship with their phone and that factors relating to one’s self-concept and approval from others both impact on young people’s mobile phone involvement.

An architecture for user configurable mobile collaborative geographic applications

Geographic information is increasingly being touted for use in research and industrial projects. While the technology is now available and affordable, there is a lack of easy to use software that takes advantage of geographic information. This is an important problem because users are often researchers or scientists who have insufficient software skills, and by providing applications that are easier to use, time and financial resources can be taken from training and be better applied to the actual research and development work. A solution for this problem must cater for the user and research needs. In particular it must allow for mobile operation for fieldwork, flexibility or customisability of data input, sharing of data with other tools and collaborative capabilities for the usual teamwork environment. This thesis has developed a new architecture and data model to achieve the solution. The result is the Mobile Collaborative Annotation framework providing an implementation of the new architecture and data model. Mobile Collaborative Mapping implements the framework as a Web 2.0 mashup rich internet application and has proven to be an effective solution through its positive application to a case study with fieldwork scientists. This thesis has contributed to research into mobile computing, collaborative computing and geospatial systems by creating a simpler entry point to mobile geospatial applications, enabling simplified collaboration and providing tangible time savings.