Nuno Pombo

A Survey on IoT: Architectures, Elements, Applications, QoS, Platforms and Security Concepts

The recent development of communication devices and wireless network technologies continues to advance the new era of the Internet and the telecommunications. The vision for the Internet of Things (IoT) states that various “things”, which include not only communication devices but also every other physical object on the planet, are going to be connected and will be controlled across the Internet. The concept of the IoT has attracted significantly attention from many investigators in recent years. The incessant scientific improvements make possible to construct smart devices with huge potentials for sensing and connecting, allowing several enhancements based on the IoT paradigm. This chapter presents a review on research on IoT and analyses several IoT projects focused on IoT architectures, elements, Quality of Service (QoS) and currently open issues. The main objective of this chapter is to allow the reader to have an overview on the most important concepts and fundamental knowledge in IoT.

Towards a Fully Automated Bracelet for Health Emergency Solution.

Activity and health monitoring bracelets are currently a popular consumer electronic wearable, and several different manufacturers market several different versions, integrating a wide and diverse range of sensors. The several different types of bracelets often require the user to interact with the bracelet itself or with the help line attendant. However, this interaction is not suitable in many emergency scenarios. Thus, this paper presents a novel system to monitor, detect and communicate health critical situations, in a full automated manner. The system encompasses a bracelet capable for health abnormalities detection based on both vital signs, and accelerometer data collection from the user. This paper also describes the design and prototyping process of the bracelet, providing insight and solutions to observed problems. In spite of the early stage of this system, the observed results are promising and offer room for improvements on either complementary studies or different clinical emergence scenarios.

Conceptual Definition of a Platform for the Monitoring of the Subjects with Nephrolithiasis Based on the Energy Expenditure and the Activities of Daily Living Performed

Nephrolithiasis disease is commonly related with the low activity performance, i.e., the regular performance of physical activity can reduce the risk of kidney stones. Sensors available in off-the-shelf mobile devices may handle the control and recognition of the activities performed, including the energy expenditure and their identification. This paper identifies the common values that should be measured during the treatment of this disease, including water consumption (with regular registration), daily calories intake (defined by a professional) and urinary pH (measured with test strips), which may be combined with the measurement of the energy expenditure and the activities performed. As the treatment and prevention of the Nephrolithiasis disease includes the performance of hard physical activity and the regular trip to the toilet, where this identification provides a control of the evolution of the treatment. The combination of these concepts and the use of the technology may increase the control and speed of the treatment.

Measurement of the Reaction Time in the 30-S Chair Stand Test using the Accelerometer Sensor Available in off-the-Shelf Mobile Devices

The 30-s Chair Stand Test (CST) is commonly used with elderly people for assessing the lower limbs strength, which can provide sufficient information regarding the general mobility and fall risk. The mobile devices are widely used for the acquisition of the different physical and physiological data from the sensors available, including the accelerometer. In this way, the aim of the present study consisted on the development of an automatic method for the measurement of the reaction time (RT) based on the 30-s CST using a mobile device. Besides that, the data acquisition through an accelerometer allows the assessment of different variables, such as the maximum values of the acceleration, the instant velocity, the maximum force and the peak power, that may contribute to a better understanding of the physical demands during the 30-s CST performance. The results presented in this study demonstrated that the calculation of the RT and the different variables during the 30-s CST performance is possible, opening new possibilities for the development of scientific projects, namely those that encompasses the motor and cognitive training of

Elderly mobility analysis during Timed Up and Go test using biosignals

With increasing life expectancy and a higher demand for quality of life it becomes more important to implement control tests for evaluate the mobility in the elderly people. The main objective of this work lies in the elderly mobility assessment through the acquisition of electromyography, and accelerometer signals while they perform the Timed Up and Go test. In this study participated 20 elderlies: 7 males and 13 females aged between 65 and 94 years. The study evaluated the biosignals electromyography in muscles rectus femoris, biceps femoris, rectus abdominis and lumbar iliocostalis. The triaxial accelerometer was placed on the head to measure the acceleration of the movement of the head while the elderly performs the Timed Up and Go test. With this work we confirm, as expected, a weak mobility among the participants, some being evaluated with very low disability and only a small part with reduced mobility. Finally, its essential to pay more efforts to create and improve forecasting strategies to prevent and/or identify mobility changes in the elderly.