IUCRC Collaborative Research Planning Grant: I/UCRC for Participatory Sensing

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The Center for Participatory Sensing will focus on exploring and promoting the development and the use of novel Participatory Sensing technologies and systems by engaging the diversity of industry partners needed to create an innovative Participatory Sensing ecosystem. University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) and the New York University (NYU) are collaborating to establish the proposed center, with UCLA as the lead institution. Participatory Sensing is the process of data collection, interpretation and engagement in which individuals (acting alone or in groups) use their personal mobile devices, web services, cloud computing, and social networking, to objectively explore interesting aspects of their worlds, ranging from health to culture. The proposed center will develop systems architectures, algorithms, mechanisms, and data sets associated with Participatory Sensing platforms and pilots. This is a new field that is emerging and being defined rapidly. The proposal has three interrelated activities: (1) design, development, evolution, and dissemination of a common software architecture with modular, application-specific components, published interface specifications, and reference implementations; (2) instrumented pilot deployments to gather quantitative data, identify technology bottlenecks, and foster emergent application opportunities; and (3) industry partner engagement through, member use of, and contribution to, the architecture, specific components, and novel pilots, as well as overall guidance to the research program though the industrial advisory board. The broader impacts for the proposed center include increasing participation of underrepresented groups and development of participatory sensing applications in health, community engagement, and education that serve diverse populations. The proposal claims that Participatory Sensing is poised to join blogging and social networking as a significant social force because it capitalizes on the massive penetration of mobile phones, increasingly with advanced sensing capabilities that are always on and accompany their owners through the context of their lives. Twitter and Facebook are cited as examples of participatory sensing innovation that have taken off recently. Participatory Sensing can be another class of mobile-to-web applications that influences consumer choice and offers a means of differentiation in the market for makers of devices and service providers.