News from the gadgets frontier: Brainband, sensor armband and more - not really mature yet

The sensor market blooms. Every month new devices are being delivered to market. 
Here I present 3 that my network has found relevant for me to know about. '
I have not had the gadgets in my hand, but have read about the products on their webpages. I belive for our purpose it it relevant to evaluate the products with respect to 4 properties

1. Sampling rates of the sensor data
2. Export facility
3. Connection to mobile
4. 'Research aimed?

 Melon, a stylish EEG headband  that Measures Your Mental Focus

Melon is a EEG sensor that aims to quantify your concentration. Melon collects a minimal number og EEG waves and predicts where your attention are at and how concentrated you are.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672577/kickstarting-a-headband-for-measuring-your-mental-focus#6

1. Sampling rates of the sensor data
   The Sampling rates of the EEG is ....low. The commercial/webpage do not describe how low but a headband cannot collect much EEG waves with only one sensor spot in the band. 
2. Export facility
   Usually manufactors have a business model that includes differentiating between consumers and professionals of one kind or another. No such differentiation is at hand at the webpage and there are no export facility. But the connection to the mobile phoneu is an integral part of the product and the visualisation of the probabilty based analysis and credible.
3. Connection to mobile
   Yes, integral part of the product. 
4. 'Research aimed?
   No not a all.

Scanadu Scout - A scanner packed with sensors that enables anyone to conduct sophisticated physical exams — in a snap.

 Scanadu Scout is device that collects a number of sensordata about the individual and give insight to patients themselves.

http://www.scanadu.com/scout/

1. Sampling rates of the sensor data
   The webpage does not include features yet, and which sensors that are being built into the "Scout" is unknown.
2. Export facility
   Is not possible to say yet - due to the inmaturity of the webpage. But it is likely that it will be able to export data due to the promoted product quality "....enables anyone to conduct sophisticated physical exams". 
3. Connection to mobile
   Unknown.
4. 'Research aimed?
   Not at all - aimed at consumers. 
5. 
   

BASIC - GET ACTIVE,BOOST ENERGY

Basic is a wristband filled with sensors, heart rate patterns, motion, perspiration and skin temperature are being captured. 

https://app.mybasis.com/

1. Sampling rates of the sensor data
   Again, something is missling in the webpage of the BASIC. tracks heart rate, motion, persiration and can calculate sleep patterns, kalories used and so on. But a more accurate description of the data collected is missing. 
2. Export facility
   The users request it - even a simple version but it seems as if the compagny dont even reply the users request. 
3. Connection to mobile
   The Basic Dashboard is larger and needs to be studied/used at a PC screen. It is probably an HTML5 thing and therefore possible to view on a mobile but not recommendable.  The mobile device to be used is the BASIC watch itself. 
4. 'Research aimed?
   No.

The conclusions must be 

- that the none of the products are attractive for research purposes. 

- these devices do not seeem attractive yet. But when/if they reach a sufficient large market it is most likely that they will extend the product with export facilities and better sensors that enables the devices to be used for research purposes. The devices can be cheap. 

It can be low fidelity but high volume tests.

Humansensing seminar - sensored!

The humansensing seminar exposed the variaty of activities at the humanistic faculty within humansensing. It spans from clinical like experiments to real world diaries. The hot discussion topic was how the large amount of quantitative data can be integrated in human science. A good day.

As the tradition prescribes a number of the active participants at the Humansensing seminar were wearing sensors. Four individuals: Anders Bonde(MÆRKK, Britta Frederiksen(Musictherapy), Niels Hannibal(Musik therapy) and Morten Aagaard(IndiMedia).

The data is collected in almost the time time interval. Britta data include context data too.

But the figures - the numbers differs remarkable.

Happy analysis!

Invitation to Humansensing seminar 2013, May 3rd 815-14, Nyhavnsgade 14(Friis building), room 2.39

Program for the Humansensing seminar 2013
When: May 3rd, 815-14
Where: Nyhavnsgade 14(Friis building), room 2.39
Enrollment - please click here

815	Coffee & registration
830	Research field:   Humansensing
	Morten Aagaard,phd
	This years Humansensing seminar documents a growing interest in challenges within an umbrallo entitled “Humansensing” across a number of research fields. What constitutes the field in terms of fundamental theoretical questions, experiences with tools and methods and finally which challenges are investigated.
845	Ecological Momentary Storytelling – bringing down organizational stress through qualifying work-life stories
	Katja Lund,phd
	We have in this user-test examined ways in which a combination of ecological momentary assessments and reflective dialogues can provide a methodological framework for qualifying work-life stories in the process of reducing organizational stress. Focusing on hearing impaired people in the Danish work force as well as primary school teachers, we have used a stress tracking method based on HRV-measurements coupled with mobile questionnaires and reflective dialogues. Findings in the user-test indicated that the method is a tool that creates a story-based foundation on which it is possible to start a process of talking about own experiences, stress and stressors, strategies, contexts etc. when dealing with organizational stress.
930	Measuring Emotion and Gameplay Experience in Real-time with Electroencephalography
	Tom Garner, ass.professor
	This presentation outlines and discusses the data obtained from a recent study into the impact of fear-eliciting sound stimuli upon human EEG within a computer video game context. Participants were required to play a bespoke game level whilst EEG data was collected from an Emotiv EPOC, a commercial-grade EEG headset. Biometric data was synchronised to and assessed alongside: video of player’s facial expression, event-log data and retrospective qualitative data, for affective contextualisation. Results revealed a repeating pattern of EEG response data, suggesting that the Emotiv EPOC may have the potential to automatically recognise player emotion in real-time.
1015	Break
1030	Measuring Emotional Experience Elicited by Sound Installations
	Anders Bonde, ass.professor
	In my presentation I will discuss some preliminary results of a joint study on audiences’ emotional experiences with interactive features of media art. The study, which took place at Zentrum für Kunst und Medientchnologie (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany, centred on 12 sound art installations (compiled under the title ‘The Unheard Avant-gardes in Scandinavia’), and the object of the study was to find out whether the possibility of user interaction influences affective response and makes a difference for the experience. In the study, we used a mixed-method approach combining psycho-physiological measures, observed behaviour and self-reporting. 59 people agreed to wear a BodyMedia sensor (measuring galvanic skin response) while engaging with the art installations. They were told to move around in their own pace while we stayed in the background observing at what time they entered each installation, and at what time they left to enter into a new one. When finished they were asked to fill out a questionnaire concerning their emotional experience. We have not yet analyzed the results systematically, though it appears that there is a connection between level of user interaction and time spent. As for the sensor data, being a measure of the electrical conductance of the skin varying in moisture level, which may indicate shifting states of affect, mood or emotion, it was our hypothesis that the interactive devices made a significant difference in that regard. At the present moment, this issue remains to be investigated.
1115	Test experimences evaluating musictherapy sessions with GSR sensor
	Britta Frederiksen, phd
	In this presentation I will present the results of GSR measurements from a pilot study in my phd study. The phd study is a mixed method case study with the title: “The development of the therapeutic relationship in music therapy with forensic psychiatric inpatients with schizophrenia”. I am in the process of evaluating the GSR measurements and if they can be used in a triangulation of qualitative data in my phd study.
1200	Lunch
1245	Can media experience be measured with GSR sensors?
	Morten Aagaard, phd
	At 4.semester humanistic information science at the Department of Communication & Psychology  a larger empirical experiment has taken place. 160 students have been exposed to a stimuli material while having measured their  GSR value. Futhermore the students were psychographically segmentised. The results of the analysis  will be presented and challenges when working with large amounts of data will be presented.
1330	General experiences in empirical work in Humansensing - final discussion
	Discussion, Niels Hannibal, ass.professor

For more info - contact Morten Aagaard.

Enrollment - please click here

Ecological Momentary Assessments - an initial explanation

For some reason  the term Ecological Momentary Assessments(EMA)  has not been explained in wiki yet. 
This post is an attempt to compensate on that. 


Since 1990 there has been a growing research interest in the oppurtunity to do assessments - most cases introsubjective, but also as a professional inspection of a situation or state of a person. And the invention of smartphones has made the interest grow more. 


Formally speaking a Ecological Momentary Assesment is a micro assessment of the current state(mood, wellbeing, physical state(sleeping quality) a more. It is captured in an context that can be time, place,physical properties of the situation(sounds  or visual properties)  or social situations properties. An finally e-behavior, And all 5 combined. 


The assessment is most often done in quantative data but with the invent of smartphones qualitative data can easily be captured to: videorecording or audiorecordings. 

2-dimensionel visual assessment of mood.
Context is unknown

The EMA can be textual, visual audial or all combined. 




EMA is attractive for a number of reasons. 

1. First of all because cognition and behaviour is context bound and therefore difficult reestablish in a post festum interview.
2. Second because the observational bias can be designed either as weak or strong. Weak by minimising or eliminating the surveillance factor. Strong by maximaxing the surveillance factor. 
3. Third the EMAs can function as initial radar for interesting cases to be studies in qualitative manners. 
4. Fourth the EMA do have strong persuasive properties that clients, children an more and benefit from. 
5. Fifth - they are cheap and are getting cheaper to develop. 

The drawback of EMAs is that they are Micro assessment without an  humans empatical ability to retrieve more substantial explanations. 


Psychologist Jonathan Led Larsen from Region Nord and I are writting an Review article on EMAs. 


See his posting "Can Ecological Momentary Assessments also deliver therapeutic interventions?" on the topic.




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Morten 

Guestlecture at Institute of Communication & Psychology/AAU - May 10, 10 am: Rob Kranenburg

"The Internet Of Things, body area networks and Natural Born Cyborgs – treats and opportunities" 

Rob Kranenburg, visionary, author and founder of the think tank "The Internet of Things" is comming to Institute of Communication and Psychology/AAU 10 of May and will be giving a lecture

Articles of Rob can be found at the bottom of this post.

Targetgroups:

Researchers within social medias, humansensing, psychology, INDIMEDIA, MAERKK and researchers working with ethical issues.

Students interested in working with contemporary and future challenges.

Rob has as educated in litteraturestudies and are having "helicopter view" on technology trends and are very much aware of the significant potentials and pittfals of the current development within IOT.

The internet of things, body area networks and Natural Born Cyborgs – treats and opportunities

Rob Kranenburg, director of IOT  - the Internet of Things

Time: May 10^th, 10-12 am, Nyhavnsgade 14, room 1.09

A new technological wave is rolling – IOT. The fact that more and more things or devices are connected to the internet and are interactive. One of these things are jewelries, exercise gadgets or preventive ICT health equipment or technically speaking our body area network(ban) that gives rise to new opportunities for persuasive cognitive support systems that will give ease development of competence and ease handling difficult challenges. On one hand. On the other hand the potential is that the devices will eliminate vital cognitive competences. Private logdata will be the new source of wealth for the individual and for the big corporation.
Being a natural born cyborg is not 5 years away rather 5 month.

Rob Kranenburg will present IOT, ban and discuss the new techno-political agenda. 

Articles

Reading facial expressions?

Hi everybody,
The for humansensing/affective computing market is really rolling.

Try this out:

Press - "Try demo Now".

If have tried it myselv:
Morten tries facial expression reader from Affectiva when seeing a SuperBowl commercial

(It gives the same results as the human sensing seminar did:
I am quite lively!)


Please notice the very informative descriptive statistics. I find such very valuable.

Obviously is there no export facility of the data in the demo.

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Morten

The dreams of the Musictherapist (might) come true

Dear everybody!
A wealth of new mobile sensors are announced and presented at various conferences.
A good place to start is
Wired or http://mobihealthnews.com/

A Sensor Patch from BodyMedia








With an page title Saying "Your Body Is an API: 9 Gadgets for Tracking Health and Fitness" Wired announces a wealth of mobile sensors including the plaster above.

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Morten