Wireless Sensor Networks Blog

Latest Research in Wearable Technology: Video Demos and Abstracts

Some of the latest research applications in wearable and ubiquitous technology were submitted and presented at EMBC’s UnConference this year. All entries submitted a project abstract and many have included a short demo video illustrating the research and technology in action.

 The videos provide a real insight into some of the emerging applications in wearable technology from integrating sensors in textiles, mobile phone based sensing, non invasive cardiovascular reactivity measurement, and body worn monitoring tailored to a range of domains.

 Awards were presented to Nizan Fridman for ‘MusicGlove: A Music-Based Device for Hand Rehabilitation and Quantitative Assessment of Hand Function’ for the most innovative demo, and to Virg Bento for ‘The SWORD ambulatory rehabilitation system’ for the highest potential impact demos.

All abstracts and demo videos can be accessed here - definitely worth a visit for anyone looking for an engaging and interesting way of keeping up to date on research in the wearable technology and mHealth domains.

The pieces are falling into place for an “internet of things”

From GigaOM:

It may be difficult to describe what exactly the phrase “an internet of things” means, but the pieces of the puzzle that are required for that to develop are all here today, ThingM CEO Mike Kuniavsky told attendees at GigaOM’s Mobilize conference in San Francisco. Those puzzle pieces include ubiquitous network connectivity, cloud-based services, cheap assembly of electronics, social design, open collaboration tools and low-volume sales channels. When put together, Kuniavsky said, they create an “innovation ecosystem” that is the foundation for an internet of things.

ThingM is what Kuniavsky called a “micro-OEM” that creates small batch custom electronics for a variety of clients, but the ThingM CEO and co-founder is actually a designer by training, who worked in web design and then user design before founding Adaptive Path, and who still works as a design consultant for large electronics companies and has written a book called Smart Things. The ThingM CEO said that based on his understanding of the custom electronics market, the “landscape in which we’re creating ubiquitous devices is about to fundamentally change.”

Although the phrase “internet of things” has become a popular buzzword that Gartner Research recently included on its Hype Cycle, Kuniavsky said that there are already aspects of this phenomenon that are affecting our lives — for example, the use of RFID chips and near-field communications (NFC) can help tell us where the food we buy was grown, while GPS and other technologies are allowing cities to reinvent things like the parking meter so that they can apply time-based pricing. Small companies like Green Goose are taking advantage of these trends by selling tiny stick-on widgets that include a sensor and a communications chip.

More info here.

The Latest Sports Stat: Players' Vital Signs

Wearable sensors collect data from athletes as they’re playing—data that could soon be broadcast during the game.

Statistics in sports is about to hit a whole new level. A new generation of wearable monitors that measure heart rate, electrical activity in the heart, lung capacity, metabolism, and other metrics is allowing scientists to study athletes’ physiology as they play.

The data has obvious potential to enhance players’ health, and to help trainers tailor workouts, but device makers and the sports industry seem most excited about the prospects for entertainment. They are already working on ways to display the data during games, in stadiums and television, giving fans unprecedented insight into players.

Last February, when the NFL held its annual scouting combine to assess the top-ranked college players, the highest-profile draftees wore special shirts fitted with sensor technology, developed by Under Armour and Zephyr Technologies. The players’ data—such as acceleration during the first 10 yards of the 40 yard dash—was recorded as they ran through the various physical trials.

“Millions of dollars in decisions are made based on the 40-yard dash,” says Leslie Saxon, a cardiologist and director of the center for body computing at the University of Southern California, who led a panel on sports and body sensors at a conference held there last week. “If you can get much more sophisticated statistics on body position, physiology, and mechanics, I think it could play a big role.”

More info here.

Researchers in Sweden to Develop Low-Energy Consuming Wireless Sensors

A team of researchers at Sweden’s Luleå University of Technology have been inspired by the nervous system of fruit flies to develop advanced wireless sensors.

The university researchers have begun work on a four year research project to develop sensors that can be used in the monitoring of machines, in medical applications, in monitoring of plantations as well as in railway and roadway navigation and monitoring.

A researcher from the EISLAB department at the university, Fredrik Sandin explained that the impact on society made by the advancement can be compared to the revolution that the Internet has created in people’s lives. The advanced wireless sensor networks feature microcomputers, sensors and wireless communication which enable the collation of information that can revolutionize our everyday lives and the industry. The wireless sensors will be capable of performing the task of analyzing and encoding information with low energy consumption, similar to fruit flies. Sandin compares the microprocessors to the biological nervous system of the flies.

For large-scale systems, sensor units are required to analyze large amounts of data without consuming too much power. Since a central computer performs the task of data analysis, the goal of the project is to develop a “neuromorfic” chip that can encode and process the signals efficiently.

A neuromorfic chip consumes just a few microwatts and can perform the task using existing technology in a power saving mode.

More info here.

GSU-UNC-MSU Joint Postdoctoral Fellowship

Georgia State University (GSU), Department of Computer Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Department of Geological Sciences
Michigan State University (MSU), Department of Computer Science
in Collaboration with the Instituto Geofisco of the Escuela Politecnica Nacional (IG-EPN) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA-JPL)
http://sensorweb.cs.gsu.edu/research/VolcanoSRI.html

Applications are sought for a new postdoctoral fellowship position being offered by GSU-UNC-MSU in the NSF-funded VolcanoSRI project . This project will create a new paradigm, VolcanoSRI (Volcano Seismic Realtime Imaging), for imaging 4D (four-dimensional) tomography of an active volcano in real-time. VolcanoSRI is a large-scale sensor network of low-cost geophysical stations that analyzes seismic signals and computes real-time, full-scale, three-dimensional fluid dynamics of the volcano conduit system within the active network. The computed 4D tomography model will illuminate complex, time-varying dynamics of an erupting volcano, providing a deeper scientific understanding of volcanic processes, as well as a basis for rapid detection of volcanic hazards. VolcanoSRI will potentially make the fictional holographic projector known as Virgil in the film “Supervolcano” (3:49) a reality. Realizing the VolcanoSRI system requires a transformative study on the science of complex volcano systems and the design of large-scale sensor networks. Our approach integrates innovations on distributed tomographic algorithms, collaborative signal processing and situation-aware networking technology for large-scale real-time sensor systems. The distributed tomography algorithm disperses the computational burden to the sensor nodes and performs real-time tomographic inversion within the network. Such an approach has never been attempted before and represents a major achievement for both earth and computer science. The team is composed of computer and earth scientists including early pioneers of wireless sensor networks as applied to volcano monitoring. In collaboration with the Instituto Geofisco of the Escuela Politecnica Nacional (IG-EPN), we are planning to deploy a prototype network at an Active Volcano of Ecudor (e.g., Reventador or Tungurahua), in the year 2005.

This postdoctoral fellowship provides an opportunity to engage with an emerging research area involving wireless sensor networks and volcanology, to work with three university teams as well as researchers at NASA-JPL and IG-EPN, gain real-world sensor network deployment experience, and build a strong publication record. We are seeking highly qualified applicants with a background in sensor networks, parallel/distributed computing, seismology or applied mathematics (the key research problem involves solving constrained optimization problems (e.g., tomography) in distributed sensor networks), with a strong preference for applicants with previous experience building real-world sensor network solutions. Applicants should hold (or will obtain within six months of application) a Ph.D in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

The payrate is $4000/month. To apply: Please send your cover letter, CV, research statement, and names of up to four references to Prof. Song at the addresses below (email applications only). Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Prof. WenZhan Song
Georgia State University
wsong@gsu.edu