Advances In Tracking Technology Research Articles

Movement Pattern Analysis Based on Sequence Signatures

Increased affordability and deployment of advanced tracking technologies have led researchers from various domains to analyze the resulting spatio-temporal movement data sets for the purpose of knowledge discovery. Two different approaches can be considered in the analysis of moving objects: quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. This research focuses on the latter and uses the qualitative trajectory calculus (QTC), a type of calculus that represents qualitative data on moving point objects (MPOs), and establishes a framework to analyze the relative movement of multiple MPOs. A visualization technique called sequence signature (SESI) is used, which enables to map QTC patterns in a 2D indexed rasterized space in order to evaluate the similarity of relative movement patterns of multiple MPOs. The applicability of the proposed methodology is illustrated by means of two practical examples of interacting MPOs: cars on a highway and body parts of a samba dancer. The results show that the proposed method can be effectively used to analyze interactions of multiple MPOs in different domains.

Processing and visualising association data from animal-borne proximity loggers

With increasing interest in animal social networks, field biologists have started exploring the use of advanced tracking technologies for mapping social encounters in free-ranging subjects. Proximity logging, which involves the use of animal-borne tags with the capacity for two-way communication, has attracted particular attention in recent years. While the basic rationale of proximity logging is straightforward, systems generate very large datasets which pose considerable challenges in terms of processing and visualisation. Technical aspects of data handling are crucial for the success of proximity-logging studies, yet are only rarely reported in full detail. Here, we describe the procedures we employed for mining the data generated by a recent deployment of a novel proximity-logging system, “Encounternet”, to study social-network dynamics in tool-using New Caledonian crows. Our field deployment of an Encounternet system produced some 240,000 encounter logs for 33 crows over a 19-day study period. Using this dataset, we illustrate a range of procedures, including: examination of tag reciprocity (i.e. whether both tags participating in an encounter detected the encounter and, if so, whether their records differed); filtering of data according to a predetermined signal-strength criterion (to enable analyses that focus on encounters within a particular distance range); amalgamation of temporally clustered encounter logs (to remove data artefacts and to enable robust analysis of biological patterns); and visualisation of dynamic network data as timeline plots (which can be used, among other things, to visualise the simulated diffusion of information). Researchers wishing to study animal social networks with proximity-logging systems should be aware of the complexities involved. Successful data analysis requires not only a sound understanding of hardware and software operation, but also bioinformatics expertise. Our paper aims to facilitate future projects by explaining in detail some of the subtleties that are easily overlooked in first-pass analyses, but are key for reaching valid biological conclusions. We hope that this work will prove useful to other researchers, especially when read in conjunction with three recently published companion papers that report aspects of system calibration and key results.

Extended safety and support systems for people with dementia living at home

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexity surrounding the implementation of advanced electronic tracking, communication and emergency response technologies, namely, an extended safety and support (ESS) system for people with dementia (pwd) living at home. Results are presented from a Swedish demonstration study (2011-2012) conducted in 24 municipalities. Design/methodology/approach – It is a descriptive intervention study with a pre-post test design. Questionnaires were administered to pwd, carers and professionals at the outset and eight months later. ESS logging data were analyzed. Findings – ESS usage rates varied widely. A total of 650 alerts were triggered, mainly when the pwd was outdoors. Activities were reduced amongst pwd, most likely due to a progression of their disease. Carers noted that pwd were more independent than previously on those occasions when they engaged in outdoor activities. Staff considered that nearly half of pwd could remain living at home due to the ESS, compared with a third amongst carers. In total, 50 per cent of carers felt it was justified to equip their relative with an ESS without their explicit consent, compared to one in eight staff. Research limitations/implications – A limitation is the amount of missing data and high drop- out rates. Researchers should recruit pwd earlier in their illness trajectory. A mixed-methods approach to data collection is advisable. Practical implications – Carers played a crucial role in the adoption of ESS. Staff training/supervision about assistive devices and services is recommended. Social implications – Overall, use of ESS for pwd living at home was not an ethical problem. Originality/value – The study included key stakeholder groups and a detailed ethical analysis was conducted.

Temporo-spatial prompting for persons with cognitive impairment using smart wrist-worn interface

INTRODUCTION In this editorial, we report on the development of a smartwatch designed to enhance the Smart Home at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Tampa, a project that uses advanced tracking technology to help Veteran patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) independently plan, organize, and complete everyday activities [1]. The literature is replete with examples of proposed designed to influence or control behavior, the most recent incarnation being technologies [2-3]. While handheld smartphones have been the pervasive device that readers are most likely to have experience with, new devices targeted at the consumer market now include Google Glass and Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Both devices attempt to make the interaction with wireless computing infrastructures a ubiquitous experience. Similarly, many new persuasive applications have been developed to run on common devices such as smartphones, PDAs, and standard computer systems. These applications are often designed to prompt for desired behaviors contingent on time of day to provide basic reminder functions. Very few of these applications use global positioning system (GPS) to derive location and far fewer still are based on precise indoor location [4]. A handful of combine time of day with coarse indoor location to provide targeted prompts to individuals, as for example Takeuchi and Sugimoto, who developed a smartphone application that guides and makes purchasing suggestions to shoppers in Japan [5]. The application of precise location-aware to indoor navigation has been difficult to implement because of poor in-building GPS performance and the high cost of constructing indoor reference grids to duplicate the ranging functions performed outdoors by GPS satellites [6]. For certain applications, ultrawideband (UWB) have shown considerable promise, although the implementation costs can be significant [7]. In a prior Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development editorial, we reported on the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program (PTRP) Smart Home [1] that employs a UWB tracking system from Ubisense that is capable of resolving locations to around 20 cm (vs GPS's 3-5 m accuracy) anywhere in the facility. The system's Smart Home permit selective medication prompting, automated check-in and check-out from the facility, and guidance to therapeutic sessions by presenting prompts on wall-mounted, touch-sensitive screens. To date, 30 PTRP patients have firsthand experience with the Smart Home tracking technology. While the Smart Home results have been generally positive, we encountered a human-factors issue while deploying this technology in that Veterans would sometimes miss or ignore a prompting message even though the screen delivering the message was very close to the Veteran. In an effort to address this issue, a metric was added to track the changes in Veterans' location. Confirmation that a Veteran saw and responded to the prompt was presumed when the change in the Veteran's location was to that of the prompted destination. Preliminary examination of the data indicated a nominal prompt compliance rate of 75 percent. While seemingly quite high, this can and should be increased. Providing auditory cues when a message appears on the screen may improve the response rate, but providing multiple auditory cues throughout the facility would be an annoying distraction to others. A more personalized approach might be for the Veteran to wear a wireless prompting device with the capability of providing vibrotactile, auditory, and/or visual alerts based on location context. It is axiomatic that poor compliance with a prompt will occur if the item to be acted on is a large distance away. For example, if a Veteran is prompted to take medication when the pill bottle is not in the immediate vicinity, the Veteran may say, must remember to take my medication when I get home. …

Feasibility Analysis of Standing Desks for Sixth Graders

Background. In this pilot study, the authors aimed to examine the implementation of standing desks on classroom performance and behavior. They also examined how the standing desks affected in-class physical activity and body mass index. Methods. Eight sixth graders from Hope Lutheran elementary school participated in the study (age 11.3 ± 0.5 years). Baseline and 8-month postintervention measures were step counts using (W4L Classic pedometers), height, weight, and behavioral markers. Results. Data showed that there were no statistically significant changes in the participants’ body mass index (19.4 kg/m2 vs 19.3 kg/m2), step counts (1886 steps vs 2248 steps), and behavioral markers including classroom management, concentration, and discomfort. Height and weight changes were significant and are attributed to the normal growth rate associated with the age of the participants (146.8 cm vs 151.8 cm, P < .0001; 41.4 kg vs 44.5 kg, P > .0007). Conclusions. It is feasible to integrate standing desks into a classroom without negative effects. Although the authors observed over a 19% increase in pedometer activity, it was not statistically significant. This highlights the importance for larger experimental groups and the use of more advanced physical activity tracking and body composition technologies.

Increasing the Reliability of Production Schedules in a Pharmaceutical Packaging Department

This paper studies quantitative methods for evaluating the potential benefits of introducing new advanced tracking technologies in the pharmaceutical industry with special reference to radio frequency identification (RFID). RFID technology is an effective way for increasing the quality of the data that are used to generate production schedules, but there is a lack of scientific research to quantify the return on investment that can be achieved in practice. In this work, we distinguish two major sources of data unreliability: one is the inherent stochasticity of operations, which cannot be reduced by RFID, and the other one is the data estimation error, which can be significantly reduced by RFID. We focus on the marginal contribution of the latter quantity to the productivity of the packaging department of a pharmaceutical plant, propose a systematic method for assessing this impact and discuss its implementation in a practical test case. Our results confirm that advanced tracking technologies in combination with effective scheduling procedures show a significant potential for improving productivity. Extensions to other production environments and their issues associated with scheduling problems are also discussed.

Applying RFID in warehouse operations of an Italian courier express company

This paper deals with the re-engineering and design optimization of a warehouse for package storage operations occurring daily at a leading courier express company in Italy. The objective of our study is to quantify the return on investment and error reduction that can be achieved by the application of advanced tracking technologies in the package management process. This study considers the use of RFID tags to facilitate identifying items in a package delivery service facility. In a first phase, we analyze the current process and show the speed-up of the operators with barcode readers compared to the operations handbook. In a second phase, we introduce radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies in the warehouse and perform practical experiments in order to detect configurations with error-free item scanning. An optimal configuration of the warehouse and of the RFID-based package management process is obtained by a non-linear optimization model that minimizes the overall technology and management costs. The probability of item errors is modeled by a maximum likelihood estimation procedure that determines the scanning area of each antenna with minimal scanning error. The new process with RFID technology reduces the costs of daily operations in the studied warehouse up to 25% and the workload of the operators up to 4 h.

Use of the global positioning system to measure the out-of-home mobility of older adults with differing cognitive functioning

ABSTRACTCognitive impairment manifests in changed out-of-home mobility. Until recently, the assessment of outdoor mobility relied on the reports of family care-givers and institutional staff and used observational approaches, activity monitoring or behavioural checklists. This article presents data for 41 mildly demented, mildly cognitively impaired and healthy men and women aged 64–90 years in Tel-Aviv (Israel) who took part in an interdisciplinary project, SenTra, that is studying the outdoor activities of elderly people using advanced tracking technologies and that involves researchers from geography, social work, gerontology, psychology and medicine. The participants were tracked for 28 consecutive days using a location kit that combined a global positioning system (GPS) with radio frequency identification. The high-resolution spatial and temporal data enabled detailed analysis of the differences in the timing and distance of the participants' daily outdoor mobility patterns. It was found that the spatial range of the mobility of elderly people with cognitive impairment is severely restricted, with most out-of-home time spent in close proximity to their residences. We conclude that GPS is an advanced research tool able to understand out-of-home behaviour better than was possible with previous methods.

Assessing the Outcomes of Spine Surgery Using Global Positioning Systems

Pilot study. To examine whether surgical outcomes can be assessed objectively by advanced tracking technology, based on Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Outcome studies are the commonest way to assess the results of surgical procedures. The success of these efforts is impeded by a number of factors, including the lack of valid outcome measures, difficulty in assessing changes in patients' expectations (response shift) and confounding effects of secondary gains. The measurement of walking speed, distances, and number of walking events per day, claudication index (maximal walking distance), characteristics during motorized trips, and the amount of time spent outdoors were monitored in 2 patients undergoing spine surgery for several weeks using advanced tracking technologies. In 1 patient, all parameters increased progressively from the time of surgery to the end of the recording period. These findings were consistent with her recovery from surgery. In a second patient, tracking showed the patient's difficulty in mobilizing, leading to the diagnosis of another orthopedic problem, and to total hip replacement surgery. The technology presented in this pilot appears to be useful in understanding a patient's level and breathe of activity. These data will assist in better understanding the limitations imposed by specific musculoskeletal pathology and in monitoring perioperative function and complications and their related causes. Spatial data may indirectly reflect a patient's social and mental conditions. This interdisciplinary pilot may lead to the development of valid outcome measures for a range of medical conditions. Studies comparing questionnaires to this new outcome measure may shed light on issues like response shifts and secondary gain. Norms and clusters of spatial behaviors in different pathologies may enable better patient selection for medical, mental, and surgical interventions.

What do cognitively intact older people think about the use of electronic tracking devices for people with dementia? A preliminary analysis

The issue of using advanced tracking technologies such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) is part of a wider debate on the acceptability of assistive technology to older people with dementia. The use of GPS can enhance the personal safety of older people by alerting caregivers to potential dangers or adverse events that might threaten the individual's health and safety, but at the same time it raises ethical concerns. This study examines the attitudes of cognitively intact older people toward the use of tracking devices for people with dementia. The analysis is based on quantitative data from a convenience sample (n = 42) and qualitative data gathered from two focus groups of cognitively intact older people in Israel. Whereas cognitively intact older people clearly differentiate between themselves and people with dementia, they support the use of tracking devices when dementia is either formally diagnosed or its signs are evident. They value the safety of people with dementia above preserving their autonomy. Although they perceive the decision to use tracking devices as an intra-family issue, they expect guidance from professional caregivers of people with dementia. The acceptability of tracking devices is dependent on their appropriate weight, size and ease of use. Cognitively intact older people favor the idea of tracking people with dementia. To facilitate family decision-making on the use of tracking devices, structured meetings guided by professionals and including persons with dementia and their family caregivers are suggested.

Future scenarios for the relation between advanced tracking research and urban design and planning

It is of prime importance for urban designers and planners to become aware of the real ways in which people use physical urban environments so as to avoid obvious design errors and to aim for high quality urban environments for the people that inhabit and visit them. To inform the making of such urban designs and plans, it seems logical to use advanced tracking technologies (ATTs) which are currently developing rapidly. However, there are several applicability problems that hinder the use of tracking research in an urban design and planning context–both general problems and particular ones for tracking technologies. Applicability problems are, for a large part, a result of how researchers formulate their research questions in fundamentally different ways than designers (or planners)–oriented towards analysis versus oriented towards synthesis. Thus, an important element of understanding the potential of tracking technologies in the domain of urban design and planning is the way in which research questions come to light through the epistemological ‘framing’ of research on activity and mobility behaviour of people. This article links the frames held by experts using tracking technologies to possible future scenarios for research using tracking technologies within the domain of urban design and planning. The scenarios identified in this article suggest that it will remain highly problematic for designers to formulate synthesis-oriented research questions for spatial scientists on the basis of the availability of ATTs. However, in terms of sensitising designers to the ways in which people behave in physical urban environments, tracking technologies might be helpful–as the description of initial experimentation in the context of urban design and planning will demonstrate.

What can we learn about the mobility of the elderly in the GPS era?

Until recently, the assessment of outdoor mobility of the elderly relied mainly on self-administered time–space diaries or on reports of family caregivers and institutional staff, using observational approaches, activity monitoring, or behavioral checklists. In recent years, however, the rapid development and availability of small, inexpensive, and reliable tracking devices has led to a growing volume of research that uses this technology as a tool for data collection in various disciplines. This paper presents new insights that are now available regarding the outdoor mobility of the elderly due to the analysis of GPS data with automatic scripts and GIS platforms. The data presented are based on the activity of 49 elderly people from the Tel-Aviv Metropolitan area (Israel), who took part in an interdisciplinary project, involving researchers in geography, social work, gerontology, psychology and medicine, that studies the outdoor activities of elderly people in time and space using advanced tracking technologies. Participants were tracked for an average of 28 consecutive days using a location kit that combined GPS with RFID technology. Differences were found in various walking and driving parameters, such as speed, length, timing, and frequency of participants with different levels of cognitive function. The trends present a general decline in out-of-home mobility of elderly people with cognitive impairment and illuminates as well the important role that additional factors as age, gender, and the accessibility to a private car play in determining levels of out-of-home mobility.

The Use of Tracking Technologies for the Analysis of Outdoor Mobility in the Face of Dementia: First Steps into a Project and Some Illustrative Findings From Germany

As people age in place, cognitive impairment is a major threat to maintaining out-of-home mobility. The SenTra project measures outdoor mobility by taking advantage of tracking technology in an interdisciplinary project involving researchers from geography, social work, gerontology, psychology, and medicine disciplines. The project assesses mobility patterns of urban-dwelling demented and mildly cognitively impaired elders and cognitively intact persons over a period of 3 years in Israel and Germany. The main objectives are to learn more about out-of-home mobility by means of global positioning system/geographical information system technology, to analyze the relationships between cognitive functioning, mobility behavior, and well-being, to examine the ethical implications of the use of advanced tracking technologies in this population, and to assess the potential of tracking technologies in the diagnosis of various types of cognitive impairment. The article presents preliminary findings to illustrate the potential of interdisciplinary data analyses to be performed later in the project. Pilot data were drawn from a combined psychiatric, psycho-social, and tracking data assessment of a group of 19 men and women between 63 and 80 years of age (7 who were healthy, 6 who were mildly cognitive impaired, 6 who were demented) living in Germany. The findings revealed that healthy participants have better health and higher levels of well-being and smaller networks compared to elders who are cognitively impaired. Examples of daily outdoor trips indicate meaningful mobility patterns and the need to combine psycho-social and geographical data to understand the relationships between outdoor mobility, socio-structural dimensions, behavior patterns, and well-being. By achieving its aims, the project will be able to make a substantial contribution to basic, applied, and clinical knowledge gaps in the area of mobility and cognitive impairment research.

Mining RFID Behavior Data using Unsupervised Learning

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) is an advanced tracking technology that can be used to study the spatial organization of individual’s spatio-temporal activity. The aim of this work is firstly to build a new RFID-based autonomous system which can follow individuals’ spatio-temporal activity, a tool not currently available. Secondly, the authors aim to develop new tools for automatic data mining. In this paper, they study how to transform these data to investigate the division of labor, the intra-colonial cooperation and conflict in an ant colony. They also develop a new unsupervised learning data mining method (DS2L-SOM: Density based Simultaneous Two-Level - Self Organizing Map) to find homogeneous clusters (i.e., sets of individual which share a similar behavior). According to the experimental results, this method is very fast and efficient. It also allows a very useful visualization of the results.

The use of advanced tracking technologies for the analysis of mobility in Alzheimer's disease and related cognitive diseases.

BackgroundOne of the more common behavioral manifestations of dementia-related disorders is severe problems with out-of-home mobility. Various efforts have been attempted to attain a better understanding of mobility behavior, but most studies are based on institutionalized patients and the assessment usually relies on reports of caregivers and institutional staff, using observational approaches, activity monitoring, or behavioral checklists. The current manuscript describes the research protocol of a project that measures mobility in Alzheimer's disease and related cognitive disorders in an innovative way, by taking advantage of advanced tracking technologies.Methods/designParticipants are 360 demented persons, mildly cognitively impaired persons, and unimpaired controls aged ≥ 65 in Israel and Germany. Data regarding space-time activities will be collected via a GPS tracking kit for a period of 4 weeks in 3 waves (one year apart) with the same participants (using a repeated measures design). Participants will be interviewed by use of a battery of instruments prior to and following GPS data collection. Further, a family member will complete a questionnaire both before and after data tracking.Statistical analyses will strive to explain differences in mobility based on a wide range of socio-structural, clinical, affect-related and environmental variables. We will also assess the impact of the use of advanced tracking technology on the quality of life of dementia patients and care givers, as well as its potential as a diagnostic tool. Systematic assessment of ethical issues involved in the use of tracking technology will be an integral component of the project.DiscussionThis project will be able to make a substantial contribution to basic as well as applied and clinical aspects in the area of mobility and cognitive impairment research. The innovative technologies applied in this study will allow for assessing a range of dimensions of out-of-home mobility, and provide better quality data.

Application of Tracking Technologies to the Study of Pedestrian Spatial Behavior*

Research into human spatial behavior has tended to rely solely on evidence provided by the research subjects themselves. Subjects' accounts of where they were and for how long were logged and integrated into time-space diaries. In the past few years, a number of studies have exploited advanced tracking technologies instead of the traditional diary technique, however these were mostly transport studies focusing on vehicular movement. This article explores the implementation of tracking technologies as a tool for gathering data on pedestrian spatial behavior. The article considers two of the principal tracking technologies available today: satellite navigation systems and land-based navigation systems. The makeup and properties of each technology are detailed, and their potential as data-gathering tools on pedestrian spatial behavior is evaluated.