CML Lab | Computer Science Department | Institute of Networking & Multimedia | National Taiwan University
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:: i-Care project

Projects

SpinLoc (2008) :: sensor network, localization

This thesis proposes the novel use of spinning beacons for precise indoor localization. The proposed SpinLoc (Spinning Indoor Localization) system uses spinning(i.e., rotating) beacons to create and detect predictable and highly distinguishable Doppler signals for sub-meter localization accuracy. The system analyzes Doppler frequency shifts of signals from spinning beacons, which are then used to find the direction from the spinning center to the target. By obtaining direction of the target from two or more spinning beacons, SpinLoc can precisely locate stationary targets. After designing and implementing the system using MICA2 motes, its performance was tested in an indoor garage environment. The experimental results revealed a median error of 40~50 centimeters and a 90% error of 70~90 centimeters.

  • video (21MB)
  • Faculty collaborators: Prof. Polly Huang
  • Students: Ho-lin Chang ,Ben Jr-ben Tian, Ted Lai
ChroMirror

ChroMirror (2008) :: smart object, color-harmonic dressing, persuasion

This study presents the ChroMirror system, a digital mirror imaging system which helps users select appropriate clothing color combinations. By digitally rendering a mirror image of the user wearing clothing in different color-harmonic combinations, this system enables users to easily and playfully explore a wide variety of chromatic and color-harmonic clothing combinations (i.e., without having to physically change clothing). A long-term goal of the ChroMirror system is to encourage users to experiment with colorful and color-harmonic clothes.

  • video (12 MB)
  • Faculty collaborators: Prof. Ming Ouhyoung, Prof. Yung-Yu Chuang
  • Students: Jamie Chueh-Min Cheng, Frieda Meng-Fang Chung, Ming-Yang Yu

Nutrition-aware Kitchen (2007) :: smart enviroment, context awareness, health care

This work is a smart kitchen with UbiComp technology to improve home cooking by providing calorie awareness of food ingredients used in prepared meals during the cooking process.The kitchen has sensors to track the number of calories in food ingredients, and then provides real-time feedback to users on these values through an awareness display.

  • video (33 MB)
  • Students: Pei-yu Peggy Chi, Jen-hao Chen
mug tree

Mug tree (2007) :: persuasion, smart object, water drinking

We have explored the design of a playful mug, called Mug-Tree, to motivate people to drink water regularly and to develop a good water-drinking habit. Our system includes (1) a smart mug that can recognize user drinking from it, and (2) a digital photo frame that displays a playful game connecting water drinking to watering a virtual tree. The Mug-Tree reminds users to drink water regularly, and also help users to develop a good water drinking habit by attracting continuous participation to this game.

  • video (7 MB)
  • Faculty collaborator: Prof. Yi-Ping Hung
  • Student: Ju-Chun Ko

Playful toothbrush (2007) :: persuasion, play-based occupational therapy, smart object

It is about a playful toothbrush to assist parents in motivating and getting their young children into a habit of proper and thor-ough tooth brushing. Our system includes a vision-based motion tracker that recognizes different tooth brushing motions, and a fun tooth brushing game in which a young child clean his/her mirror dirty virtual teeth by physically brushing his/her own teeth.

  • video (40 MB / H.264 MP4)
  • Faculty collaborator: Prof. Jin-Ling Lo
  • Students: Yu-chen Chang, Jason Chao-ju Huang

Adaptive RIP System (2007) :: sensor network, localization


It is about enhancing the accuracy of radio interferometric positioning (RIP) system by adaptively selecting the best set of beacon nodes for locating a set of mobile targets. To realize this adaptive RIP system, we have developed an estimation error model to predict positioning error of the RIP algorithm given different combinations of beacon nodes. Building upon this estimation error model, we further devise an adaptive algorithm that finds the optimal beacons that give a smallest amount of positional error to a set of mobile targets.

  • video (34 MB)
  • Faculty collaborator: Prof. Polly Huang
  • Students: Hao-ji Wu, Chuang-wen You, Henry Ho-lin Chang

Persuasive lunch tray (2006) :: persuasion, play-based occupational therapy, smart object


It is an interactive, persuasive game built into an ordinary lunch tray to assist parents to improve dietary behaviors of their young children. The persuasive game is played over a smart lunch tray. By eating from the lunch tray, a child can see his/her favorite cartoon character being colored. The smart lunch tray incorporates both the context-awareness (of pervasive computing) and the persuasive media (of persuasive computing), enabling the creation of a smart object that is not only aware of human behavior but can also influence and shape human behaviors through their natural interactions with the object.

  • video (30 MB / H.264 MP4)
  • video (17 MB - older version)
  • Students: Dori Tung-yun Lin, Arthur Jen-hao Chen, Keng-hao Chang, Shih-yen Liu

Energy-efficient Zigbee localization (2006) :: sensor network, indoor localization, power saving


It is an energy-aware indoor localization system based on Zigbee radio sensor network. Given a request for a certain positional accuracy from an application, it can meet this request while minimizing energy consumption on a target mobile badge. Our method is to adapt the sampling rate to the target's mobility level. Our localization method is based on combining signal strength fingerprinting and signal strength propagation model, optimizing it for Zigbee radio characteristics. We have created several real testbed deployments, and we have shown that energy saving can be as high as 50%.

  • video (17 MB in Chinese)
  • Students: Chuang-wen You, Yi-Chao Chen, Ji-Rung Chiang

Object location tracker (2006) :: sensor network, indoor localization, power saving


Do you have any frustrating experiences in which you forget where you last placed things, such as glasses, cell phone, wallet, keys, remote controls, etc.? This is an object locator that can automatically track whereabouts of objects you have misplaced by hands, so you won't waste your time looking for misplaced objects. This system is composed of (1) a finger ring RFID antenna, (2) a wrist band connecting the RFID reader to a Zigbee radio sensor node, (3) RFID tags on tracked objects, and (4) any choice of an indoor localization system (see the energy-efficient Zigbee localization above).

  • video (29 MB)
  • Student: Shin-jan Wu

Diet-aware dining table (2005) :: context-awareness, smart object


It is a dietary tracker built into an ordinary dining table. It is a "smart" dining table that is "aware" of our natural eating behavior. It can automatically track what and how much we eat from the tabletop surface. The goal is to provide users with information about their eating patterns, therefore, help them sensible and healthy eating. The dining table is augmented with two layers of weighting and RFID sensor surfaces to detect and recognize multiple, concurrent person-object interactions occurring on the table.

  • video (4 MB)
  • Students: Keng-hao Chang, Shih-yen Liu, Dori Tung-yun Lin

Geta sandals (2005) :: indoor localization, self-tracker, smart object


It is a self location tracker built into an ordinary Japanese Geta sandals, making them "smart" sandals aware of their user's location. It is based on a footprint-based indoor location system. It works by measuring and tracking the displacement vectors along a trial of footprints (each displacement vector is formed by drawing a line between each pair of footprints). The position of a user can be calculated by summing up the current and all previous displacement vectors. In comparison to existing indoor location systems, this footprint location system has a unique advantage that it is infrastructure-free. A user simply has to wear the Geta sandals to track his/her locations without any setup or calibration efforts. This makes our footprint method easy for everywhere deployment.

  • video (41 MB)
  • Students: Shun-yuan Yeh, Chon-in Wu, Kenji Okuda, Keng-hao Chang

Sensor assisted Wi-Fi indoor location system (2005)


Wi-Fi based indoor location systems have been shown to be both cost-effective and accurate, since they can attain meter-level positioning accuracy by using existing Wi-Fi infrastructure in the environment. However, two major technical challenges persist for current Wi-Fi based location systems: instability in positioning accuracy due to changing environment dynamics, and the need for manual offline calibration during site survey. We have looked at three dynamic environment factors (people, doors, and humidity) that can interfere with radio signals and cause positioning inaccuracy in the Wi-Fi location systems are identified. We have proposed a sensor-assisted adaptation method that employs RFID sensors and environment sensors to adapt the location systems automatically to the changing environment dynamics. The adaptation method performs online calibration to build multiple context-aware radio maps under various environment conditions, selects the radio map that best matches the current environment condition, and uses it for to determine the location.

  • Students: Yi-Chao Chen, Ji-Rung Chiang

Privacy cameras (2005)


Privacy cameras can protect the privacy of passers-by in public spaces given the ubiquity of digital cameras everywhere. Privacy cameras can also protect the camera takers from passers-by who unintentional walk into their pictures and ruin them. Privacy cameras are based on the positioning systems. By knowing the relative locations of passers-by to camera-takers and the cameras' orientations, privacy cameras can determine if passers will enter the recording views of surrounding cameras. In addition, each passer will wear a badge that can warn him/her of recording regions of surrounding cameras. We have incorporated a space model to coordinate the use of spaces and resolve conflicts between camera takers and passers.

mProducer (2004) :: personal experience computing


The mProducer is a mobile authoring tool that enables everyday users to effectively and efficiently perform archiving and editing at or immediately after the point-of-capture of digital personal experiences from their camera-equipped mobile devices.