scholarly journals Using Multivariate Outliers from Smartphone Sensor Data to Detect Physical Barriers While Walking in Urban Areas

Technologies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Ramona Ruiz Blázquez ◽  
Mario Muñoz-Organero

Nowadays, our mobile devices have become smart computing platforms, incorporating a wide number of embedded sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, GPS receivers, and magnetometers. Smartphones are valuable devices for gathering user-related data and transforming it into value-added information for the user. In this study, a novel mechanism to process sensor data from mobile devices in order to detect the type of area the user is crossing while walking in an urban setting is presented. The method is based on combining outlier data analysis and classification techniques from data collected by several pedestrians while traversing an urban environment. A theoretical framework, composed of methods for detecting multivariate outliers combined with supervised classification techniques, has been proposed in order to identify different situations and physical barriers while walking. Each type of element to be detected is characterized by using a feature vector computed based on the outliers detected. Finally, a radial SVM is used for the classification task. The classifier is trained in a supervised way with data from 20 different segments containing several physical barriers and used later to assign a class to new un-labelled data. The results obtained with this approach are very promising with an average accuracy around 95% when detecting different types of physical barriers.

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e047665
Author(s):  
Raja Ram Dhungana ◽  
Khem Bahadur Karki ◽  
Bihungum Bista ◽  
Achyut Raj Pandey ◽  
Meghnath Dhimal ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo assess the prevalence, pattern and determinants of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) multimorbidity in Nepal.DesignSecondary analysis of the data from the NCD survey 2018, which was conducted between 2016 and 2018.SettingThe data belong to the nationally representative survey, that selected the study samples from throughout Nepal using multistage cluster sampling.Participants8931 participants aged 20 years and older were included in the study.Primary outcomesNCD multimorbidity (occurrence of two or more chronic conditions including hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease and cancer). Descriptive statistics, prevalence ratio and odds ratio were computed to assess pattern and determinants of multimorbidity.ResultsMean (SD) age was 46.7 years (14.9 years). The majority of the participants were women (57.8%), without formal education (53.4%) and from urban areas (51.5%). Multimorbidity was present in 13.96% (95% CI: 12.9% to 15.1%). Hypertension and diabetes coexisted in 5.7%. Age, alcohol consumption, body mass index, non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) level and rural–urban setting were significantly associated with multimorbidity.ConclusionMultimorbidity was prevalent in particular groups or geographical areas in Nepal suggesting a need for coordinated and integrated NCD care approach for the management of multiplicative co-comorbid conditions.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 726
Author(s):  
Paul Carroll ◽  
Eeva Aarrevaara

Future climate conditions need to be considered in planning for urban areas. As well as considering how new structures would best endure in the future, it is important to take into account factors that contribute to the degradation of cultural heritage buildings in the urban setting. Climate change can cause an increase in structural degradation. In this paper, a review of both what these factors are and how they are addressed by urban planners is presented. A series of inquiries into the topic was carried out on town planning personnel and those involved in cultural heritage preservation in several towns and cities in Finland and in a small number of other European countries. The target group members were asked about observed climate change impacts on cultural heritage, about present steps being taken to protect urban cultural heritage, and also their views were obtained on how climate change impacts will be emphasised in the future in this regard. The results of the inquiry demonstrate that climate change is still considered only in a limited way in urban planning, and more interaction between different bodies, both planning and heritage authorities, as well as current research on climate change impacts, is needed in the field.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-42
Author(s):  
Shuochao Yao ◽  
Jinyang Li ◽  
Dongxin Liu ◽  
Tianshi Wang ◽  
Shengzhong Liu ◽  
...  

Future mobile and embedded systems will be smarter and more user-friendly. They will perceive the physical environment, understand human context, and interact with end-users in a human-like fashion. Daily objects will be capable of leveraging sensor data to perform complex estimation and recognition tasks, such as recognizing visual inputs, understanding voice commands, tracking objects, and interpreting human actions. This raises important research questions on how to endow low-end embedded and mobile devices with the appearance of intelligence despite their resource limitations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihui Kim ◽  
Mihir Asthana ◽  
Siddhartha Bhargava ◽  
Kartik Krishnan Iyyer ◽  
Rohan Tangadpalliwar ◽  
...  

The increasing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices with various sensors has resulted in a focus on Cloud-based sensing-as-a-service (CSaaS) as a new value-added service, for example, providing temperature-sensing data via a cloud computing system. However, the industry encounters various challenges in the dynamic provisioning of on-demand CSaaS on diverse sensor networks. We require a system that will provide users with standardized access to various sensor networks and a level of abstraction that hides the underlying complexity. In this study, we aim to develop a cloud-based solution to address the challenges mentioned earlier. Our solution, SenseCloud, includes asensor virtualizationmechanism that interfaces with diverse sensor networks, amultitenancymechanism that grants multiple users access to virtualized sensor networks while sharing the same underlying infrastructure, and adynamic provisioningmechanism to allow the users to leverage the vast pool of resources on demand and on a pay-per-use basis. We implement a prototype of SenseCloud by using real sensors and verify the feasibility of our system and its performance. SenseCloud bridges the gap between sensor providers and sensor data consumers who wish to utilize sensor data.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44
Author(s):  
Irina Bancescu

Rural areas in Romania are underdeveloped, with the main economic activity being agriculture. Urban-rural income gap and poverty levels are indicative of an underdeveloped rural area. Urban-rural absolute income gap for average monthly income increased from 352 RON in 2007 to 663 RON in 2017. Moreover, the work poverty rate is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Economic rural development can be achieved by improvements of the labour market and introduction of new value-added products. Agricultural and non-agricultural activities are dependent on each other for a successful rural development leading to poverty alleviation. An industry that combines the two types of economic activities is agriculture biomaterial industry. In this paper, the authos investigates the factors influencing rural poverty and analyses the current stage of the bioplastics market in Romania and its economic implications. Bioplastics industry can reduce urban-rural income gaps and poverty in rural areas.


Sensors ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 2062-2087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsa Macias ◽  
Jaime Lloret ◽  
Alvaro Suarez ◽  
Miguel Garcia

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 949-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Cheng ◽  
J. B. Kirkbride ◽  
B. R. Lennox ◽  
J. Perez ◽  
K. Masson ◽  
...  

BackgroundEarly Intervention in Psychosis Services (EIS) for young people in England experiencing first-episode psychosis (FEP) were commissioned in 2002, based on an expected incidence of 15 cases per 100 000 person-years, as reported by schizophrenia epidemiology in highly urban settings. Unconfirmed reports from EIS thereafter have suggested higher than anticipated rates. The aim of this study was to compare the observed with the expected incidence and delineate the clinical epidemiology of FEP using epidemiologically complete data from the CAMEO EIS, over a 6-year period in Cambridgeshire, for a mixed rural–urban population.MethodA population-based study of FEP (ICD-10, F10–39) in people aged 17–35 years referred between 2002 and 2007; the denominator was estimated from mid-year census statistics. Sociodemographic variation was explored by Poisson regression. Crude and directly standardized rates (for age, sex and ethnicity) were compared with pre-EIS rates from two major epidemiological FEP studies conducted in urban English settings.ResultsA total of 285 cases met FEP diagnoses in CAMEO, yielding a crude incidence of 50 per 100 000 person-years [95% confidence interval (CI) 44.5–56.2]. Age- and sex-adjusted rates were raised for people from black ethnic groups compared with the white British [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 2.1, 95% CI 1.1–3.8]. Rates in our EIS were comparable with pre-EIS rates observed in more urban areas after age, sex and ethnicity standardization.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the incidence observed in EIS is far higher than originally anticipated and is comparable to rates observed in more urban settings prior to the advent of EIS. Sociodemographic variation due to ethnicity and other factors extend beyond urban populations. Our results have implications for psychosis aetiology and service planning.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Geggie ◽  
M. B. Fenton

We compared the foraging activity of populations of Eptesicus fuscus in rural and urban settings in eastern Ontario and western Quebec by monitoring their echolocation calls and by radio tracking individuals during the summer of 1980. Foraging was detected in all of the rural and urban habitats we monitored. There were no significant differences in the levels of foraging activity over different urban habitats, but the overall foraging rates were significantly higher in the rural than in the urban areas. Foraging in rural areas was significantly higher in residential zones and over water and was less common in parkland and farmland. Bats in rural areas foraged among aggregations of insects at lights, a pattern of behaviour not seen among urban bats. Differences in foraging rates and the fact that rural bats spent significantly less time away from their roosts suggest that prey density was lower in the urban setting. Although urban habitats appear to provide E. fuscus with a wealth of roosting sites, food supplies are lower there.


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