Laurence Claeys

I would DiYSE for it!: a manifesto for do-it-yourself internet-of-things creation

This paper presents a manifesto directed at developers and designers of internet-of-things creation platforms. Currently, most existing creation platforms are tailored to specific types of end-users, mostly people with a substantial background in or affinity with technology. The thirteen items presented in the manifesto however, resulted from several user studies including non-technical users, and highlight aspects that should be taken into account in order to open up internet-of-things creation to a wider audience. To reach out and involve more people in internet-of-things creation, a relation is made to the social phenomenon of do-it-yourself, which provides valuable insights into how society can be encouraged to get involved in creation activities. Most importantly, the manifesto aims at providing a framework for do-it-yourself systems enabling non-technical users to create internet-of-things applications.

Enabling the Masses to Become Creative in Smart Spaces

In this chapter we present a first analysis towards the enablement of mass creativity in the Internet of Things, potentially leading to a wide range of new tangible, interactive applications that leverage the fundamental new possibilities of an emerging Web of Things. After an introduction of the socio-cultural practice of ‘Do-it-Yourself’ (DiY) as apparent in society, and a discussion on what DiY can mean for the Internet of Things, we introduce a typology of how people can potentially create and customise on top of the Internet of Things. Based on that, we elaborate three concepts forming a basis for new creation paradigms in such smart spaces, potentially leading to new DiY-enabling functions in Internet of Things service creation environments: the Call-Out Internet of Things, the Smart Composables Internet of Things, and the Phenomena Internet of Things. Next to a discussion of applicable state-of-the-art for implementing parts of these concepts, we show first experimental grounding for them, as part of the ongoing exploration process.

Deconstructing casensa: The caemp context-aware empowering platform

In this paper, we deconstruct Casensa, a context-aware assisted living prototype created by Bell Labs, based on critical user participation criteria for context awareness. Casensa supports elderly with early dementia and their caregivers, providing a mechanism for more independent living. In the first part of the paper, we present refined and improved critical participation criteria based on lessons learned from user research. From this, we extract the generic design considerations that guided the design of the platform on which Casensa is actually built: the Context-Aware Empowering Platform (CAEMP). Understanding, configuring, and controlling a self-created intelligent environment form the central topics of the reworked criteria. Next, we discuss how these criteria are translated within Casensa by providing several means to let end users create their own rule-based smart behavior using their own (evolving) language and by allowing the exchange of smart behavior. In the final part of the paper, we demonstrate the technological impact on architecture and an implementation of applying the defined criteria.

Secukinumab : IL-17A inhibition to treat psoriatic arthritis

Interleukin-17A is an important cytokine in the pathogenesis of psoriatic arthritis. Secukinumab is a recombinant, high-affinity, fully human immunoglobulin G1kappa monoclonal antibody with a selective binding and neutralization of interleukin-17A. By providing an alternative mechanism of action to current treatments, secukinumab has shown efficacy in the key clinical domains of psoriatic arthritis. In the present paper, we discuss the role of interleukin-17A as a clinically relevant target in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis, based on preclinical findings, dose-ranging and regimen-finding, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials.

Empowering elderly end-users for ambient programming: the tangible way

This paper presents a novel tangible interaction technique leveraging Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled Magnetic Cards to empower elderly end-users in programming their pervasive computing environment. Following a user-centric design approach through cultural probes, we have explored the design space of possible programming opportunities for elderly users. Accordingly we have identified interaction techniques and candidate artefacts that could offer this user group a seamless programming experience for augmenting their ambient environment with software driven personalized behavior. Three aspects of programming - behavior generation, modification and (de) activation are addressed using two tangible user interfaces - i) NFC cards for smart behavior creation and modification and ii) a digital memo board as a placeholder for (de) activation of intelligent behavior. A qualitative feasibility study suggests that the proposed approach is simple, comprehensive and has the potential to be easily incorporated in the everyday routines of the elderly end-users.

Citizen Science Is in the Air – Engagement Mechanisms from Technology-Mediated Citizen Science Projects Addressing Air Pollution

Environmental data is collected at unprecedented scales and speeds, targeting diverse societal challenges, and through the inclusion of multiple stakeholders. Yet, an understanding of enabling technologies involved in the engagement of citizens appear largely outside of the realm of air pollution. Recently, different air pollution projects have been rolled out in Europe and abroad; a structured analysis, however, of the way citizens are involved in these type of projects does not yet exist. In contribution to the ongoing EU-Funded project hackAIR, this paper therefore explores this research gap on the topic of air pollution and citizen science through the following question: Which engagement mechanisms can be identified in existing air pollution citizen science projects? We combine multiple literature sources, employ a systematic case study analysis and conduct seven qualitative interviews with key experts to target citizen science projects related to air pollution. Several mechanisms emerged at the interface between air pollution, citizen participation and knowledge production. These include: (1) Scale, (2) User-involvement and co-creation, (3) Communication, and (4) User motivation and aspects of behaviour. Despite its growing reputation in digital innovation, a majority of the mapped projects do not explicitly engage in any co-creation process. Multiple project insights suggest the importance of non-academic stakeholders as agents for communication and engagement. Campaign-based gamification can prove successful in establishing urgency in local contexts. Common engagement barriers include issues in the data contribution, science communication, technical project limitations, scaling and the critical nature of distributed sensors. This preliminary research offers a fruitful approach in assessing and comparing initiatives, and can enrich our understanding of the contribution that air pollution technology can have in citizen science.