Although sensor networks are gradually finding their way into commercial products, their applications are still mostly limited to data collection and wire replacement. Part of this limitation is attributed to the lack of systematic frameworks and appropriate sensors that actively interpret and consume sensor data instead of merely transporting it. This talk will describe our current efforts towards building the BehaviorScope, an event-driven network of heterogeneous sensor nodes that tries to observe human behaviors with a precision that is accurate enough to provide meaningful services. Three main components of the BehaviorScope will be presented (sensing, interpretation and middleware) in the context of our driver application, assisted living. We will discuss the requirements, deployment experiences and challenges in data interpretation. With these we will argue that sensing and data interpretation for these types of applications should be well understood before any networking decisions can be made.
Speaker Biography
Andreas Savvides is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Departments at Yale University. He is the founder of the Embedded Networks and Applications Lab (ENALAB) that specializes in the design and implementation of distributed sensor networks and smart spaces. Dr. Savvides completed his Ph.D. in the Electrical Engineering Department at UCLA in 2003. Before this he earned his B.S in Computer Engineering from the University of California, San Diego and an M.S in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UMASS, Amherst. Dr. Savvides’ research is supported by an NSF CAREER award as well as other federal grants and industrial support. For 2007, Dr. Savvides is supported by a Junior Faculty Fellowship from Yale University during which he is concentrating on the deployment and application of the BehaviorScope in assisted living applications.