Mobile application as a tool for urban traffic data collection and generation to advanced traveler information systems using Wi-Fi networks available in urban centers

This paper presents an Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) developed on Android platform, which is open source and free. The developed application has as its main objective the free use of a Vehicle-to- Infrastructure (V2I) communication through the wireless network access points available in urban centers. In addition to providing the necessary information for an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to a central server, the application also receives the traffic data close to the vehicle. Once obtained this traffic information, the application displays them to the driver in a clear and efficient way, allowing the user to make decisions about his route in real time. The application was tested in a real environment and the results are presented in the article. In conclusion we present the benefits of this application. © 2012 IEEE.

Results of the Technical Validation of an Accessible Contact Manager for Mobile Devices

The apparition of new mobile phones operating systems often leads to a flood of mobile applications rushing into the market without taking into account needs of the most vulnerable users groups: the people with disabilities. The need of accessible applications for mobile is very important especially when it comes to access basic mobile functions such as making calls through a contact manager. This paper presents the technical validation process and results of an Accessible Contact Manager for mobile phones as a part of the evaluation of accessible applications for mobile phones for people with disabilities.

Towards hand biometrics in mobile devices

The increasing demand of security oriented to mobile applications has raised the attention to biometrics, as a proper and suitable solution for providing secure environment to mobile devices. With this aim, this document presents a biometric system based on hand geometry oriented to mobile devices, involving a high degree of freedom in terms of illumination, hand rotation and distance to camera. The user takes a picture of their own hand in the free space, without requiring any flat surface to locate the hand, and without removals of rings, bracelets or watches. The proposed biometric system relies on an accurate segmentation procedure, able to isolate hands from any background; a feature extraction, invariant to orientation, illumination, distance to camera and background; and a user classification, based on k-Nearest Neighbor approach, able to provide an accurate results on individual identification. The proposed method has been evaluated with two own databases collected with a HTC mobile. First database contains 120 individuals, with 20 acquisitions of both hands. Second database is a synthetic database, containing 408000 images of hand samples in different backgrounds: tiles, grass, water, sand, soil and the like. The system is able to identify individuals properly with False Reject Rate of 5.78% and False Acceptance Rate of 0.089%, using 60 features (15 features per finger)

Mobile gaming: Industry challenges and policy implications

Mobile games are a prime example of a successful mobile application and demonstrate the increasing range of platforms for the media and entertainment industries. Against this convergent background, this paper introduces the basic features of the mobile gaming market and its industrial ecosystem together with its main actors and activities. The focus of the paper lies in the challenges ahead for the evolution of mobile applications into a potentially dominant game platform and the possible disruptions along this road. The deep personal relationships between users and their mobile devices are considered to further explore the link between mobile games, players’ strategies and pending techno-economic developments. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of some policy options to assist with the development of this domain.

Mobile assisted language learning : prototipo de la aplicación UP2B2

La forma de consumir contenidos en Internet ha cambiado durante los últimos años. Inicialmente se empleaban webs estáticas y con contenidos pobres visualmente. Con la evolución de las redes de comunicación, esta tendencia ha variado. A día de hoy, deseamos páginas agradables, accesibles y que nos presenten temas variados. Todo esto ha cambiado la forma de crear páginas web y en todos los casos se persigue el objetivo de atraer a los usuarios. El gran auge de los smartphones y las aplicaciones móviles que invaden el mercado actual han revolucionado el mundo del estudio de los idiomas permitiendo compatibilizar los recursos punteros con el aprendizaje tradicional. La popularidad de los dispositivos móviles y de las aplicaciones ha sido el principal motivo de la realización de este proyecto. En él se realizará un análisis de las diferentes tecnologías existentes y se elegirá la mejor opción que se ajuste a nuestras necesidades para poder desarrollar un sistema que implemente el enfoque llamado Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) que supone una aproximación innovadora al aprendizaje de idiomas con la ayuda de un dispositivo móvil. En este documento se va a ofrecer una panorámica general acerca del desarrollo de aplicaciones para dispositivos móviles en el entorno del e-learning. Se estudiarán características técnicas de diferentes plataformas seleccionando la mejor opción para la implementación de un sistema que proporcione los contenidos básicos para el aprendizaje de un idioma, en este caso del inglés, de forma intuitiva y divertida. Dicho sistema permitirá al usuario mejorar su nivel de inglés mediante una interfaz web de forma dinámica y cercana empleando los recursos que ofrecen los dispositivos móviles y haciendo uso del diseño adaptativo. Este proyecto está pensado para los usuarios que dispongan de poco tiempo libre para realizar un curso de forma presencial o, mejor aún, para reforzar o repasar contenidos ya aprendidos por otros medios más tradicionales o no. La aplicación ofrece la posibilidad de que se haga uso del sistema de forma fácil y sencilla desde cualquier dispositivo móvil del que se disponga como es un smartphone, tablet o un ordenador personal, compitiendo con otros usuarios o contra uno mismo y mejorando así el nivel de partida a través de las actividades propuestas. Durante el proyecto se han comparado diversas soluciones, la mayoría de código abierto y de libre distribución que permiten desplegar servicios de almacenamiento accesibles mediante Internet. Se concluirá con un caso práctico analizando los requisitos técnicos y llevando a cabo las fases de análisis, diseño, creación de la base de datos, implementación y pruebas dentro del ciclo de vida del software. Finalmente, se migrará la aplicación con toda la información a un servidor en la nube. ABSTRACT. The way of consuming content on the Internet has changed over the past years. Initially, static websites were used with poor visual contents. Nevertheless, with the evolution of communication networks this trend has changed. Nowadays, we expect pleasant, accessible and varied topic pages and such expectations have changed the way to create web pages generally aiming at appealing and therefore, attracting users. The great boom of smartphones and mobile applications in the current market, have revolutionized the world of language learning as they make it possible to combine computing with traditional learning resources. The popularity of mobile devices and applications has been the main reason for the development of this project. Here, the different existing technologies will be examined and we will try to select the best option that adapts to our needs in order to develop a system that implements Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) that in broad terms implies an approach to language learning with the help of a mobile device. This report provides an overview of the development of applications for mobile devices in the e-learning environment. We will study the technical characteristics of different platforms and we will select the best option for the implementation of a system that provide the basic content for learning a language, in this case English, by means of an intuitive and fun method. This system will allow the user to improve their level of English with a web interface in a dynamic and close way employing the resources offered by mobile devices using the adaptive design. This project is intended for users who do not have enough free time to make a classroom course or to review contents from more traditional courses as it offers the possibility to make use of the system quickly and easily from any mobile device available such as a smartphone, a tablet or a personal computer, competing with other users or against oneself and thus improving their departing level through different activities. During the project, different solutions have been compared. Most of them, open source and free distribution that allow to deploy storage services accessible via the Internet. It will conclude with a case study analyzing the technical requirements and conducting phases of analysis, design and creation of a database, implementation and testing in the software lifecycle. Finally, the application will be migrated with all the information to a server in the cloud.

Efficient Data Management with Applications to IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) consists of a worldwide “network of networks,” composed by billions of interconnected heterogeneous devices denoted as things or “Smart Objects” (SOs). Significant research efforts have been dedicated to port the experience gained in the design of the Internet to the IoT, with the goal of maximizing interoperability, using the Internet Protocol (IP) and designing specific protocols like the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), which have been widely accepted as drivers for the effective evolution of the IoT. This first wave of standardization can be considered successfully concluded and we can assume that communication with and between SOs is no longer an issue. At this time, to favor the widespread adoption of the IoT, it is crucial to provide mechanisms that facilitate IoT data management and the development of services enabling a real interaction with things. Several reference IoT scenarios have real-time or predictable latency requirements, dealing with billions of device collecting and sending an enormous quantity of data. These features create a new need for architectures specifically designed to handle this scenario, hear denoted as “Big Stream”. In this thesis a new Big Stream Listener-based Graph architecture is proposed. Another important step, is to build more applications around the Web model, bringing about the Web of Things (WoT). As several IoT testbeds have been focused on evaluating lower-layer communication aspects, this thesis proposes a new WoT Testbed aiming at allowing developers to work with a high level of abstraction, without worrying about low-level details. Finally, an innovative SOs-driven User Interface (UI) generation paradigm for mobile applications in heterogeneous IoT networks is proposed, to simplify interactions between users and things.

A comparison of microphone and speech recognition engine efficacy for mobile data entry

The research presented in this paper is part of an ongoing investigation into how best to incorporate speech-based input within mobile data collection applications. In our previous work [1], we evaluated the ability of a single speech recognition engine to support accurate, mobile, speech-based data input. Here, we build on our previous research to compare the achievable speaker-independent accuracy rates of a variety of speech recognition engines; we also consider the relative effectiveness of different speech recognition engine and microphone pairings in terms of their ability to support accurate text entry under realistic mobile conditions of use. Our intent is to provide some initial empirical data derived from mobile, user-based evaluations to support technological decisions faced by developers of mobile applications that would benefit from, or require, speech-based data entry facilities.

Handbook of research on user interface design and evaluation for mobile technology

In recent years, mobile technology has been one of the major growth areas in computing. Designing the user interface for mobile applications, however, is a very complex undertaking which is made even more challenging by the rapid technological developments in mobile hardware. Mobile human-computer interaction, unlike desktop-based interaction, must be cognizant of a variety of complex contextual factors affecting both users and technology. The Handbook of Research on User Interface Design and Evaluation provides students, researchers, educators, and practitioners with a compendium of research on the key issues surrounding the design and evaluation of mobile user interfaces, such as the physical environment and social context in which a mobile device is being used and the impact of multitasking behavior typically exhibited by mobile-device users. Compiling the expertise of over 150 leading experts from 26 countries, this exemplary reference tool will make an indispensable addition to every library collection.

A comparison of microphone and speech recognition engine efficacy for mobile data entry

The research presented in this paper is part of an ongoing investigation into how best to incorporate speech-based input within mobile data collection applications. In our previous work [1], we evaluated the ability of a single speech recognition engine to support accurate, mobile, speech-based data input. Here, we build on our previous research to compare the achievable speaker-independent accuracy rates of a variety of speech recognition engines; we also consider the relative effectiveness of different speech recognition engine and microphone pairings in terms of their ability to support accurate text entry under realistic mobile conditions of use. Our intent is to provide some initial empirical data derived from mobile, user-based evaluations to support technological decisions faced by developers of mobile applications that would benefit from, or require, speech-based data entry facilities.

A technique for incorporating dynamic paths in lab-based mobile evaluations

Increasingly, lab evaluations of mobile applications are incorporating mobility. The inclusion of mobility alone, however, is insufficient to generate a realistic evaluation context since real-life users will typically be required to monitor their environment while moving through it. While field evaluations represent a more realistic evaluation context, such evaluations pose difficulties, including data capture and environmental control, which mean that a lab-based evaluation is often a more practical choice. This paper describes a novel evaluation technique that mimics a realistic mobile usage context in a lab setting. The technique requires that participants monitor their environment and change the route they are walking to avoid dynamically changing hazards (much as reallife users would be required to do). Two studies that employed this technique are described, and the results (which indicate the technique is useful) are discussed.

Bringing a construction site into the lab:a context-relevant lab-based evaluation of a multimodal mobile application

Mobile technology has not yet achieved widespread acceptance in the Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. This paper presents work that is part of an ongoing research project focusing on the development of multimodal mobile applications for use in the AEC industry. This paper focuses specifically on a context-relevant lab-based evaluation of two input modalities – stylus and soft-keyboard v. speech-based input – for use with a mobile data collection application for concrete test technicians. The manner in which the evaluation was conducted as well as the results obtained are discussed in detail.

Provision of Mobile Learning in Higher Schools

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2013

Mobile Exploring of the Bulgarian Iconography through QR Codes in the GUIDE@HAND Tourist Guide Application

The following paper presents an application of QR code marking of digital iconographical collections for their outdoor mobile access and exploring through the GUIDE@HAND audio tourist guide.

Security in the Mobile World

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2014

Optimising QoE distribution for video applications through LTE-WiFi interworking

Mobile WiFi devices are becoming increasingly popular in non-seamless and user-controlled mobile traffic offloading alongside the standard WiFi hotspots. Unlike the operator-controlled hotspots, a mobile WiFi device relies on the capacity of the macro-cell for the data rate allocated to it. This type of devices can help offloading data traffic from the macro-cell base station and serve the end users within a closer range, but will change the pattern of resource distributions operated by the base station. We propose a resource allocation scheme that aims to optimize user quality of experience (QoE) when accessing video services in the environment where traffic offloading is taking place through interworking between a mobile communication system and low range wireless LANs. In this scheme, a rate redistribution algorithm is derived to perform scheduling which is controlled by a no-reference quality assessment metric in order to achieve the desired trade-offs between efficiency and fairness. We show the performance of this algorithm in terms of the distribution of the allocated data rates throughout the macro-cell investigated and the service coverage offered by the WiFi access point.