Fade to Play

Shortly after SXSW I was contacted by Kate Imbach who coordinates the developer program at Skyhook Wireless as a Location Awareness Marketing Manager the Director of Marketing and Developer Programs. She wanted to tell me about their current applications in the emerging area of location-based technology on-campus. As someone living on a college campus, I was interested in learning more about this and discussing with her possible applications for benefiting the lives of students on campus. I decided to interview her via Skype on March 28th and she was happy to oblige. I have been using the service since late March and I will also provide further analysis on my demoing of their product.

What is Loki?
Loki works with any wifi-enabled device in order to provide precise location positioning which can be shared. Loki uses the Skyhook Wireless’ Positioning System (WPS), a software-only location-based system to accomplish this task.

There is worldwide coverage for the service available in about 8500 cities/towns at the time of my interview. The skyhook reference database is continually being updated as drivers/walkers map the location of Wi-Fi access points (also called war-driving). The signal is picked up based on the mac address of the Wi-Fi enable device being used.

Relevance for Campuses
There are a number of possible applications for campuses such as campus security, location-based games, or integrated into a campus transportation system.

I was interested in how this system might be integrated into my own campus such as our shuttle bus system. I know that sometimes the bus just doesn’t show up on the route and having a way to let people along the route know its present location might be useful.

A White Paper report which described results by Skyhook and independent third parties conducted a series of performance field tests comparing the WPS capacity against GPS. One of the key findings within what they described as an Urban Canyon (a downtown area with buildings averaging more than 6 stories) found median accuracy to be 20-30 meters and availability to be 97% indoors and 98.8% outdoors.

Demoing Loki
In order to demo Loki, I went to their download page for firefox mac users from their webpage. Once downloaded and activated, an icon appeared to the left of the URL location on the toolbar. Pressing the Loki icon will activate my location. I have always found it to be very precise as shown by the example when I typed in Vancouver Art Gallery instead.

There is also a location feature called my.loki which I have yet to try. According to the website:

MyLoki location-enables social networking. As you travel around MyLoki can automatically let your friends know where you are using your favorite platform — Facebook, RSS Feeds, badges for your blog or even Jaiku. You can pick and choose how and where you want your location displayed.

There are a couple of posts on the topic of location awareness that I have read recently. The first is by Chris Messina and the second is by Todd Sieling regarding location and identity.

Relevance: Location awareness applications are becoming more commonplace whether automatically or manually shared as more people desire to let their friends know where they are. What are the implications for society as we continue to share where we are and what we are doing?

Vancouver is a great place for creative forms of expression to flourish in the areas of mobile technology and social media. I continue to be amazed at the quality of talent here. Tomorrow, Duane Storey will be a speaker at the first WordPress camp at the Network Hub. He will be speaking on mobile blogging because he has just launched the WPTouch iPhone theme in collaboration with Dale Mugford, one of his partners at BraveNewCode. Rebecca Bollwitt provided a fine review regarding her early impressions with screenshots. As well, Duane provides solid information about his theme on his blog.

As I don’t yet have an iPhone (I think I’m the only one if my circle without one), I am using iPhoney, an iPhone web browser simulator for designers to test out the look and feel of the theme on an iPhone. Looking at this theme, is definitely motivating me to get an iPhone. With a little help from Duane and following the well-written instructions, I was able to download the theme, upload it to my WordPress server, and activate it using iPhoney. The screenshots are of my blog on the iPhoney before and after with the WPTouch activated.

My blog without WPTouch

My blog with WPTouch

My blog entry with WPTouch

The theme is already being used by the CBC.

Relevance: Another example of talent within the Vancouver Tech scene.

Flickr photo courtesy of sallylondon

On CNN’s page there is an interesting article regarding research in Kenya exploring the social behaviour of zebras. Princeton researchers under a collaborative program called ZebraNet, have attached GPS devices to the necks of Grevy and Plains zebras. A particular emphasis behind the program is to gather data from the Grevy zebras, an endangered species whose numbers have dropped to 2000, as they social network, avoid becoming prey, and interact with others.

As a doctoral student at Duke University, Rubenstein was fascinated with how animals make decisions and why their societies form the way they do. He started studying equids — a family of mammals that includes horses, donkeys, and zebras — because they form associations among strangers.

He has also examined how the Grevy’s zebra social network — and he doesn’t mean Facebook or MySpace — may contribute to its endangerment. Associations between Grevy’s zebras are less close-knit than those of the Plains zebra, whose core societies consist of closed-membership harem-groups and bachelor groups.

In a harem, several females choose to live with one male that protects them against harassment in exchange for sex. Female Grevy’s zebras, on the other hand, don’t stay with one male for long periods of time, meaning they don’t have the benefit of a larger male watching out for them.

Relevance: I have Social Media and Location based Systems interests in relation to their use by humans. What can we learn from the animal kingdom and their social networks that is of relevance to our own everyday lives and research?

As a graduate student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada [map], I have been fortunate to attend a university where WiFi is available across campus. What this does is help students become more productive as the Internet can be accessed anywhere as needed (e.g. in the Student Union Building, in front of Koerner Library, or while studying in the pool). However, whenever I travelled across the street to the UBC village, it was like I was in a deadzone. The only WiFi available was through Starbucks which wasn’t free.

I was surprised when I went on Sunday to the UBC Village to meet a friend and while attempting to access the Internet, a screen appeared by WiCity offering free WiFi. I had no idea what it was because I hadn’t heard anything about free WiFi in the village and really wondered if it was legit. However, I felt reassured as I recognised the company name: Photo Violation Technologies because I had blogged about their trial Parking Meter system last May. I cautiously registered with a username and password and I immediately able to get online. I didn’t notice any problems with accessing webpages and the quality of the service seemed to be on par with what I am used to on campus.

Being the inquisitive person I am, I emailed the contact email address which led to a phone conversation on Monday with Priya Chand, Client Relations Manager for Photo Violation Technologies to answer questions I had and provide information about what they were doing in Vancouver.

She stated that they had been offering free WiFi in the UBC Village since August as part of an ongoing trial. There are 3 access points: one at the old Helley Hansen store (Western Parkway), one at Starbucks (Dalhousie Rd), and one at the Pita Pit store (Allison Rd) which is across from a park. The 3 access points are mounted on the UEL owned light poles that are located in front of Starbucks (Dalhousie Rd), The Dollar store (Dalhousie Rd) and one in front of the Pita Pit (Allison Rd). The benefit of the trial is to be able to calculate different statistics regarding usage in a controlled environment. So far about 30-40 unique MAC IDs are logged on at any one time. Each access point has a 300 foot radius meaning that the park is within range and the objective of the trial is to show the benefits of WiFi. This site is to be a test model for future rollouts in the rest of North America. At present, the other trials are in Niagara Falls, NY and San Francisco. There aren’t any other test sites in Canada.

I’m excited that there is free WiFi in the UBC Village and as students become more aware of this service (perhaps through prominent signage/stickers), it should become quite popular.

Experiencing free WiFi courtesy of WiCity

Relevance: This is a great opportunity to use my laptop in the UBC Village as I need to access the Internet while doing grad research. Free WiFi rocks!!!

I have been using a new mobile social networking site for the last few days. Basically you take your mobile phone and call in and describe what you are doing. Automatically it is posted on your page. In addition, you can use your phone to take photos or create a video and they can be uploaded directly to your site.

It is fun and I think I will be using it daily for the immediate future. I like how easy it is to share what I am doing with the Internet.

I’ve been uttering.

Relevance: I haven’t used many mobile social networking sites. My phone doesn’t have any video capacities so I was using my Canon SD400 point and shoot. I want to experience how I can use mobile technology to create a holistic experience about my life that I can then instantly share.

Last Saturday night I attended the Tiësto concert here in Vancouver. Although, it was an amazing concert, rather than focus on the music, I would like to share my experiences as an ethnographer, regarding the mobile technology which I observed.

Before Tiësto even appeared, as the music began everyone at the front had their mobile phones or digital camera out to record the moment when he would appear. Throughout the concert, although, some people took pictures, many were recording the music onto their digital devices to listen to later. What is interesting is that, we have now become accustomed to being allowed to digitally capture significant moments in our lives, whether a birthday party, a gathering at a club, or a concert.

Relevance:

Recording special moments to share later with friends or to help ourselves remember ‘being there’ are now an expected part of the concert experience. Could you imagine attending a concert where digital recording wasn’t allowed?

technorati tags: digital camera mobile phone tiësto vancouver concert

Barcamp Vancouver is in one month (August 17-18). It is part of Barcamp Earth and I am soo excited to be going for the first time. I don’t know yet what I will talk about though, hope to narrow down a topic before the end of the month. Add your name to the waiting list if you aren’t registered.

Special Issue on Wireless Technologies, Mobile Practices :: Mobile wireless devices such as handheld pdas, cellular telephones, and portable computers are part of a changing landscape of communications and culture. In the last decade alone, for instance, the use of cell phones has increased fourfold in Canada signaling a remarkable shift in the telecommunications industry, the convergence of a number of technologies onto a single platform, and new ways of conducting person-to-person communication and creating community. In addition to these devices, Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth, WANS, and GPS comprise integrated segments of the new infrastructure of the so-called wireless world as well as an emergent vocabulary for citizens and consumers.

The Canadian Journal of Communication invites submissions, in English or in French, for a forthcoming special issue on mobile communications and wireless technologies. We are interested in innovative, critical approaches that decipher a range of mobile technologies and practices in wireless contexts. Possible themes include:

:: Everyday uses: sharing our lives via the mobile (text, voice, video)
:: Civic engagement, activism and mobile technologies
:: Wireless services and emergency communication
:: Privacy, surveillance and mobile phones
:: Community Wireless Networks
:: Policy: CRTC regulations and spectrum policy
:: Mobility, Labour: new conditions of work
:: Shifting notions of space, place and time in a mobile world
:: Rhetoric and discourses on mobility and wireless worlds
:: Art, design and mobile technologies
:: Mobile genres and cellular convergence
:: Global and international perspectives on mobile technologies

Full-length papers (@ 7000-9000 words) should be submitted electronically following the guidelines laid out on the CJC submissions website. Make sure to write in all caps “MOBILE” in the Comments to the Editor field, and to include it on the cover page of your article as well. Do not include your name on the cover page.

Deadline for papers is Sept. 1, 2007. Papers selected by the editors will then be sent for peer review for final decision.

Comments and queries can be sent to one of the special issue editors:

Dr. Barbara Crow, York University, bacrow[at]sympatico.ca
Dr. Kim Sawchuk, Concordia University, kim.sawchuk[at]sympatico.ca
Dr. Richard Smith, Simon Fraser University, smith[at]sfu.ca

found via Networked Performanance

Since February 2006 Photoviolationmeter.com has operated parking meters on a trial basis at the UBC village. From the perspective of ubiquitous computing and HCI, I am interested in how extensively these are being used and the ease of use for patrons. As there are a number of regular parking meters nearly I wonder the extent to which people (if aware of the option) are willing to try something new vs. focussing on what is known.

You can pay with a credit card and then would have the option of staying up to 2 hours at which time the exact amount will be charged to your card when you drive away. The “keep clear” sign is there so that a camera on the machine can record your license number.

There are instructions to operate the machine and you can spend as 10 cents for 2 minutes and if your meter expires you are expected to pay the expired amount before leaving (flashing red light indicates a violation). Credit cards (visa/mastercard) are accepted or coins can be used. A standard keypad is provided for input.

Some questions I have: What factors determine whether someone tries a new ubiquitous technology. For example, do those who’s first language is not english avoid this machine becuase of the amount of reading required? Is time, cost to learn to use, availability of other meters nearby a factor? How are violations enforced? What privacy issues will exist now?

Relevance: System uses ubicomp technology on campus.

Flickr photo courtesy of abcode.

A story in the Economist describes how ubiquitous computing technology is being used to assist conservationists and rangers in stopping poaching of elephants.

The value of meat from elephants, apes and other animals has also risen as loggers and miners move deeper into the country’s forests. Nor is this a problem confined to Congo. Last year, poachers are estimated to have killed more than 23,000 African elephants. According to a study by the University of Washington, that is about one in seventeen of the continent’s total.

Through the use of metal detectors on trails frequented by elephants that operate on a friend or foe system or adding fire detectors into the trees (poachers like to smoke their meat before transportation), they hope to benefit the conservation effort.

These technologies may also have value outside of forestry areas.

In savannahs, for example, traffic moves toward or away from watering holes—and brush, sand and slopes keep most vehicles on tracks. The Galapagos Islands, a prime target for unlicensed hunting, has few practicable landing spots for boats and passages through the volcanic-rock landscape. Given that animals have established breeding grounds, this dictates poachers’ movements, according to James Gibbs, who works at SUNY’s environmental-science department. He is testing a metal-detector-and-satellite system at a place on Isabela, the largest of the islands, where giant tortoises gather.

Relevance: After hearing about the deaths of rangers in Kenya this week after engaging in a firefight with poachers, I realise that the protection of wildlife is not an easy task. I wonder if there is technology that could better protect the rangers once they respond to these incidents especially as they may be out-gunned.