Monitoring of context aware physical environments through the integration of virtual reality, wireless sensor networks and context aware computing areas

• Grant number: 06/00741-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: October 01, 2006 - September 30, 2008
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Principal Investigator: Regina Borges de Araujo
• Grantee: Regina Borges de Araujo
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The areas of virtual reality, wireless sensor networks and context aware computing can be integrated for the purpose of accurate monitoring of physical environments. This integration aims to overcome the limitations of current interfaces, such as hypermedia or video, when the experiences that occur in the physical environment are very complex and/or change too rapidly. Existing physical environment monitoring systems are typically very specific and, therefore, difficult to be adapted to other application scenarios. These systems exhibit a textual or bidimensional interface what limits the accurate visualization of the events that are ocurring in the physical environment being monitored. The objective of this work is to develop an integrated solution that overcomes the limitation of existing monitoring systems by using Collaborative Virtual Environments - CVEs along with wireless sensor networks that are deployed on the physical environments. The integration of these technologies can provide a natural interface that helps users to understand, with more accuracy, what is happening in the physical environment being monitored. A temperature alteration, for instance, can be imperceptible when the monitoring is made through video. However, it can be easily represented in a 3D environment through colors for instance (like red for high temperatures and blue for low temperatures). In the system to be developed, information is captured from the real world through rehearsals or events collected from a wireless sensor network deployed on a physical environment. This information is interpreted, recorded, mapped into a visual language and reflected on a 3D environment that imitates the physical environment. The 3D CVE visualization can be done in both real time and at posteriori. Five sub-projects will be developed in a partnership with Embraer (Brazilian Aeronautic Company): 1) Project and evaluation of protocols that meet ground rehearsals requirements;2) Interpretation, recording and visual mapping of abnormal situations obtained from flight rehearsals for the aerodynamics pressure distribution over supporting surfaces;3) Interpretation, recording and visual mapping of abnormal situations obtained from flight rehearsals for the pressure and temperature distribution inside a jet-motor;4) Interpretation, recording and visual mapping of abnormal situations obtained from flutter rehearsals;5) Creation of simulations that reflect the cockpit of an aircraft, through the concept of non-linear stories.Additional voice processing interface will be implemented in the 3D CVEs generated. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BOUKERCHE‚ A.; ARAUJO‚ RB; SILVA‚ FHS; VILLAS‚ L.. Wireless sensor and actor networks context interpretation for the emergency preparedness class of applications. COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS, v. 30, n. 13, p. 2593-2602, 2007. (06/00741-7)