Mobile sensing for behavioral research: A component-based approach for rapid deployment of sensing campaigns
Metadata
Show full item recordEditorial
SAGE Publications
Materia
Mobile phone sensing Sensing tool Data processing
Date
2019-09Referencia bibliográfica
Felix, I. R., Castro, L. A., Rodriguez, L.-F., & Banos, O. (2019). Mobile sensing for behavioral research: A component-based approach for rapid deployment of sensing campaigns. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1550147719874186]
Abstract
Collecting experimental data from multiple sensing devices has just recently become quite popular in behavioral and
social sciences. Among existing devices, mobile phones stand out as they allow researchers to collect data from individuals
in an unbiased, precise, unobtrusive, and timely manner. Current mobile sensing applications are typically developed
from scratch, provide no reusable components, and frequently do not take advantage of the devices’ processing capabilities.
In light of such limitations, this work presents a novel tool that leverages mobile phones not only to collect data via
their sensors but also to process them on the device as soon as they are gathered. The tool provides researchers with
easy-to-use services that allow them to configure the required processing routines on the mobile phones. This work
proposes a new approach for rapid deployment of sensing campaigns targeted at scientists with basic technical knowledge
and requiring low effort. We performed an evaluation aimed at determining whether there is a significant improvement
in terms of user effectiveness and efficiency in the definition of new components. The results suggest that the
proposed tool speeds up the time and reduces the effort taken for setting up and deploying a sensing campaign.