Trina S. Myers

SEMAT — The Next Generation of Inexpensive Marine Environmental Monitoring and Measurement Systems

There is an increasing need for environmental measurement systems to further science and thereby lead to improved policies for sustainable management. Marine environments are particularly hostile and extremely difficult for deploying sensitive measurement systems. As a consequence the need for data is greatest in marine environments, particularly in the developing economies/regions. Expense is typically the most significant limiting factor in the number of measurement systems that can be deployed, although technical complexity and the consequent high level of technical skill required for deployment and servicing runs a close second. This paper describes the Smart Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Technologies (SEMAT) project and the present development of the SEMAT technology. SEMAT is a “smart” wireless sensor network that uses a commodity-based approach for selecting technologies most appropriate to the scientifically driven marine research and monitoring domain/field. This approach allows for significantly cheaper environmental observation systems that cover a larger geographical area and can therefore collect more representative data. We describe SEMATs goals, which include: (1) The ability to adapt and evolve; (2) Underwater wireless communications; (3) Short-range wireless power transmission; (4) Plug and play components; (5) Minimal deployment expertise; (6) Near real-time analysis tools; and (7) Intelligent sensors. This paper illustrates how the capacity of the system has been improved over three iterations towards realising these goals. The result is an inexpensive and flexible system that is ideal for short-term deployments in shallow coastal and other aquatic environments.

A Meta-Synthesis of Behavioral Outcomes from Telemedicine Clinical Trials for Type 2 Diabetes and the Clinical User-Experience Evaluation (CUE)

A worldwide demographic shift is in progress and the aged population proportion is projected to more than double across the next four decades. Our current healthcare models may not be adequate to handle this shift in demography, which may have serious consequences for the ageing population who are more prone to chronic diseases. One proposed remediation is to provide in-home assisted healthcare with technology-intervened approaches. Telemedicine, telehealth, e-health are paradigms found in scientific literature that provide clinical treatment through a technology intervention. In evidence-based medical science, these technology interventions are evaluated through clinical trials, which are targeted to measure improvements in medical conditions and the treatment’s cost effectiveness. However, effectiveness of a technology also depends on the interaction pattern between the technology and its’ users, especially the patients. This paper presents (1) a meta-synthesis of clinical trials for technology-intervened treatments of type 2 diabetes and (2) the Clinical User-Experience Evaluation (CUE). CUE is a recommendation for future telemedicine clinical trials that focuses on the patient as the user from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) perspective and was developed as part of this research. The clinical trials reviewed were interpreted from a technology perspective and the non-medical or non-biological improvements of the users (patients) rather than the medical outcome. Results show that technology-intervened treatments provide positive behavior changes among patients and are potentially highly beneficial for chronic illness management such as type 2 diabetes. The results from the CUE method show how it complements clinical trials to capture patients’ interaction with a technology.

Semantically Enabling the SEMAT Project: Extending Marine Sensor Networks for Decision Support and Hypothesis Testing

The SEMAT project is a multi-institution/multi-discipline program developing advanced wireless sensor networks to collect, store, process and interpret data in coastal systems. The marine environment, specifically coral reefs within the Great Barrier Reef, is one of the initial deployments for a prototype SEMAT network. Wireless sensor networks are being deployed to extract environmental data for research into environmental issues such as climate change, water quality and ecosystem health. Remote monitoring networks in remote marine locations are logistically challenging. However, the interpretation of the complex multidimensional data generated is a problem of at least equal complexity. Application of the semantic tools and methods developed in the Semantic Reef project are being mapped onto the SEMAT use-cases with the goal to develop a data model capable of complex inference, as well as conventional data storage and analysis.

SUPPORTING CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS RESEARCH THROUGH MODELLING A REUSABLE ONTOLOGY FRAMEWORK

A set of reusable ontologies has been developed as separate components within a knowledge representation (KR) system, to generically model a reef system. The ontology design, ranging from light to heavyweight, aims to leverage from the scalable characteristics of semantic technologies to allow for flexibility when posing domain and locality-specific hypotheses, such as predicting coral bleaching. The Semantic Reef Project is an eco-informatics application designed to test ecological hypotheses to derive information about environmental systems. The intention is to develop an automated data processing, problem-solving, and knowledge discovery system that will assist in developing our understanding and management of coral reef ecosystems. Remote environmental monitoring (including sensor networks) is being widely developed and used for collecting real-time data across widely distributed locations. As the volume of raw data increases, it is envisaged that bottlenecks will develop in the data analysis phases because current data processing procedures still involve manual manipulation and will soon become unfeasible to manage. Ontologies provide a new approach and methodology for modulating this data overflow while also improving our ability to extract knowledge from the data collected.

Geological Visualisation with Augmented Reality

Geological visualisation while working in the field often requires expensive specialised equipment that is conventionally hard to master. Knowledge and prior experience of the specific techniques and formats used by the different devices is required to create data. This paper presents a new method that applies Augmented Reality (AR) with generic smart phones and tablets to view existing geological data sets. AR is an emerging technology that is a synthesised hybrid between the virtual world and the real world. Here, this method negates the need to understand mapping techniques when referencing three-dimensional (3D) models to the above ground terrain. Geologists can explore subterranean phenomenon with datasets visually laid accurately over the environment so the need to reference diagrams and maps to the physical world while in the field is no longer necessary. Geologists can see data as though it were part of the environment, analogous to giving them x-ray vision in the field. We present a prototype that can be applied in fields of education or as device to assist the mining industry to enhance understanding of subterranean geological structures. For example, volcanic structures, faults and fractures can be seen as they would appear from the surface or mine data such as tunnels, ventilation, ore bodies and rock types. AR techniques used for geological visualisation in the field is a new application area with potential for wider commercial applications.

The evolution of the SEMAT sensor network management system

Smart Environmental Measurements and Analysis Technologies (SEMAT) is a multidisplinary project aimed at constructing smart sensor networks that can be deployed in aquatic settings. The SEMAT system has been developed based on the Sensor Abstraction Layer (SAL). SAL is a middleware integration platform which provides an interface for managing sensors, and viewing the sensed data regardless of the technologies involved. SAL has a graphical user interface application tool for user interaction, referred as the SAL-Client. The interface provides remote-access to the functionalities of SAL. However, the existing design for the SAL-Client has many limitations which detracts from its usefulness. This paper introduces the SEMAT sensor network management system and describes how it has evolved from the SAL-Client based on practical usage in a real world deployment. The current system design for SEMAT has been moving forward to provide support for the Open Geospatial Consortium Sensor Web Enablement standards (OGC-SWE) and also the current popular data streaming/buffering technologies. The SEMAT sensor network management system automates the process for data collection, calibration, quality assurance, data management, reports and maintenance.

Sensors in heat: A pilot study for high resolution urban sensing in an integrated streetlight platform

Wide-scale and high resolution urban sensing to monitor the climate and traffic conditions along the road would benefit urban decision-making and environmental research. This resolution can be accomplished via an intelligent streetlight platform. Solid-state street lights offers several advanced features over existing lighting infrastructure, but require a sophisticated controller to take full advantage of these features. Environmental sensors can be embedded inside the lighting fixture and interface with its controller to create an urban sensor network with a high spatial resolution. Data collected by this sensor network can be used to better inform urban planning with detailed climate, pollution, and traffic information. This paper presents a pilot urban sensing study to investigate the requirements and considerations needed by an urban sensor network mounted in street lights in a tropical region. A wireless sensor network pilot study, which monitored external aspects of a building, was deployed to investigate the network design and explore what sensors and features could be used in the main intelligent lighting control platform project. The tropic zone experiences high temperatures and humidity, so consideration and management of sensors that are exposed to extreme heat for long periods was a focus. The pilot study found the sensor units case temperature averaged at 50°C during winter and 65° Celsius in early summer with expected temperatures to exceed the maximum prescribed for functionality.

Efficient batch authentication for hierarchical wireless sensor networks

Authentication in wireless sensor networks is critical, as they are often deployed unattended in hostile environments and must transmit information over unsecured mediums. However, the cost of performing cryptographic operations is an extremely limiting factor because sensor devices and related equipment are constrained by storage and computational ability. The problem is further compounded by the fact that one device (typically a base station) may be required to perform a large number of verifications proportional to the number of sensing devices. This paper investigates the efficiency of message authentication in hierarchical wireless sensor network systems. Scenarios are explored for verifying messages as a batch process, thereby saving overhead and computation. If a device is incapable of performing verification, it can sign the batch and pass it up the hierarchy to another device to undertake the verification procedure. This effectively overcomes many problems with power, storage and computational constraints. We contrast two approaches based on message authentication codes and short digital signatures. A framework is presented for how digital signatures can be used for batch authentication within a hierarchical wireless sensor network.

Optimizing spatial healthcare assets with Internet of Things

Six percent of the total cost of healthcare delivery in Australia is from buying, building and maintaining physical assets. Current practice does not measure the efficient use of existing clinical spaces prior to making funding decisions for service expansion, remodeling or relocation. Healthcare service delivery can be increased through existing assets by optimizing the use of clinical space. The wait times for healthcare service consumers and capital expenditure pressures could be reduced, which would result in increased funds available for frontline services. Sensor technology has been used to study aspects of time in ambulatory outpatient clinics using Infra-red Tags or Radio Frequency Identification tags. This paper proposes the use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to assist in the optimization of high-value clinical spaces and presents phase one of the project where a trial was held in a non-clinical location to evaluate sensor performance. In Phase two, sensors will be installed to count people across an ambulatory outpatient clinic in a live public healthcare environment to understand clinical space utilization and inform decision-makers. The data produced by the sensors on room use is processed for visualization in “dashboard” format so frontline and executive staff have evidence-based decision-making support for space optimization strategies. This paper presents the phase one trial and preliminary results that show the disparity space utilization patterns between the IoT sensed occupancy data with the current room reservation system in a non-clinical space.

If we post it they will come: a small business perspective of social media marketing

The use of Web-based technologies can provide powerful opportunities to transform small business engagement with their communities and markets. However, there are few studies on the adoption of social media by small businesses to determine their levels of confidence and use of the platforms. This paper presents preliminary results of a study that explored the adoption social networking platforms, specifically Facebook, by small business in a regional context. A cross sectional empirical survey was conducted with 237 participants, each the proprietor of a regional small business (RSB) in a northern Australian region. The purpose of the study was to compare existing engagement and technology adoption theories and current practice in regional small business communities. The preliminary results indicate certain engagement dimensions are of higher importance that suggest design focus areas from the technological development perspective to potentially convert RSB Non-Facebook users (NFBU) to Facebook Users (FBU). For example, findings show the highest importance was for timely information to consumers whereas conducting competitions and discounts were of least importance to FBU and NFBU groups. There is also a high importance on consumers ability to comment, add suggestions and discussions of opinions on products or services provided by the RSB and the ability to provide recognition to customers to better harness the audience of the RSB. The outcomes of this study may inform developers of social media platforms to increase technology uptake and use.1