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From Sensys 2007
A SENSYS 2007 Workshop
[edit] Sensing on Everyday Mobile Phones in Support of Participatory Research
November 6, 2007 at the Swissotel
Signs will be posted at the hotel to direct participants to the workshop room.
This workshop promotes exchange among sensing system researchers and those involved with participatory research in areas including public health, community development, and cultural expression.
It will focus on how mobile phones and other everyday devices can be employed as network- connected, location-aware, human-in-the-loop sensors that enable participatory data collection, geotagged documentation, mapping, and other case-making capabilities.
[edit] Audience
- Sensing system researchers are invited to submit provocative short papers on technology approaches to human-in-the-loop sensing using mobile phones and other off-the-shelf devices that could support participatory research.
- People involved in all forms of participatory research, including Community-Based Participatory Research, Participatory Action Research, and Participatory GIS, from universities, communities and other organizations, are invited to submit (or simply attend and discuss) their needs and possible design processes that could be applied to technology development for this area.
[edit] Motivation
Two billion people carry mobile phones, which are increasingly capable of capturing, classifying and transmitting image, audio, location and other data, interactively or autonomously. Their capabilities and proliferation offer the opportunity to consider these devices as much more than just a medium for person-to-person communication.
With an appropriate system architecture, mobile phones can act as privacy-aware sensor nodes and location-based data collection instruments. As sensors, network-connected mobile handsets are embedded near the ultimate elusive subjects: people and their built environments. But instead of being in the hands of a central observer, these sensors are always available and under their owners’ control. Thus, employing them effectively and conscientiously will require models that prioritize people’s participation in sensing and in the creation of sensing systems.
By involving people in defining and participating in their own data collection, participatory approaches to sensing could address significant challenges in large-scale data collection, from dietary intake assessment in large populations to geotagged audio documentary that gathers the ‘sounds of the city’ for cultural experience or noise pollution assessment.
Collaborative data gathering by professionals and the public, facilitated by sensing systems comprised of everyday mobile devices, presents a provocative opportunity for pervasive computing.
CBPR and related approaches in the health sciences, urban planning, economic development and participatory GIS set out to do no less than improve ‘the quality and validity of research by engaging local knowledge and theory based on the lived experience of people involved.’ Central to these activities is documentation of the environment (location), people and their lives that requires rugged, low-cost, ubiquitous data capture. As these capabilities move into close proximity to individuals, more than ever new design processes are necessary (and possible!) that explicitly involve communities in the specifying data collection needs and performing data collection.
This workshop will explore design approaches and technological mechanisms for involving specific communities in the design and deployment of participatory sensing systems and the role of this new technology in participatory research.
[edit] Submissions
Submissions are sought from institutions, communities, and individuals involved in participatory research that are interested in using sensing systems and designers of new technologies that could be used for such participatory research.
To encourage exchange, the full day workshop will set aside time for open response and discussion in addition to formal presentations, invited talks, and breakout sessions.
Please send submissions including position papers, case studies, proposed architectures and early results. Feel free to offer suggestions for the workshop process itself.
All accepted papers will appear in the ACM Sensys 2007 conference proceedings. Only original, unpublished papers will be considered. Length limit: 2 pages.
Please e-mail submissions in PDF, DOC, or RTF format to jburke (at) remap (dot) ucla (dot) edu.
[edit] Important Dates
- Full paper submissions due Monday, July 30, 2007 (5:00pm Pacific)
- Notification to authors Friday, August 31, 2007
- Camera-ready copy due Monday, September 24, 2007 (5:00pm Pacific)
- Workshop date November 6, 2007
[edit] Organizers
- Program Committee
