Body-worn Devices Research Articles

Study on a smart knee sleeve based on piezoresistive strain sensing for stride estimation

PurposeDevices for step estimation are body-worn devices used to compute steps taken and/or distance covered by the user. Even though textiles or clothing are foremost to come to mind in terms of articles meant to be worn, their prominence among devices and systems meant for cadence is overshadowed by electronic products such as accelerometers, wristbands and smart phones. Athletes and sports enthusiasts using knee sleeves should be able to track their performances and monitor workout progress without the need to carry other devices with no direct sport utility, such as wristbands and wearable accelerometers. The purpose of this study thus is to contribute to the broad area of wearable devices for cadence application by developing a cheap but effective and efficient stride measurement system based on a knee sleeve.Design/methodology/approachA textile strain sensor is designed by weft knitting silver-plated nylon yarn together with nylon DTY and covered elastic yarn using a 1 × 1 rib structure. The area occupied by the silver-plated yarn within the structure served as the strain sensor. It worked such that, upon being subjected to stress, the electrical resistance of the sensor increases and in turn, is restored when the stress is removed. The strip with the sensor is knitted separately and subsequently sewn to the knee sleeve. The knee sleeve is then connected to a custom-made signal acquisition and processing system. A volunteer was employed for a wearer trial.FindingsExperimental results establish that the number of strides taken by the wearer can easily be correlated to the knee flexion and extension cycles of the wearer. The number of peaks computed by the signal acquisition and processing system is therefore counted to represent stride per minute. Therefore, the sensor is able to effectively count the number of strides taken by the user per minute. The coefficient of variation of over-ground test results yielded 0.03%, and stair climbing also obtained 0.14%, an indication of very high sensor repeatability.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted using limited number of volunteers for the wearer trials.Practical implicationsBy embedding textile piezoresistive sensors in some specific garments and or accessories, physical activity such as gait and its related data can be effectively measured.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of piezoresistive sensing in the knee sleeve for stride estimation. Also, this study establishes that it is possible to attach (sew) already-knit textile strain sensors to apparel to effectuate smart functionality.

Real Time Detection of Freezing of Gait of Parkinson Patients based on Machine Learning Running on a Body Worn Device

In this work, we present a system that detects Freezing of Gait Detection (FOG) that uses of a single wearable inertial sensor to automatically evaluate a Parkinson’s patient’s gait instability and detect FOG in real-time. A wearable vibrator is our cueing system which is triggered by the FOG detection whenever a FOG episode takes place. The vibration impulses help the patient to prevent FOG by switching to voluntarily movement execution. Sensor data were collected from nine patients with Parkinson’s disease performing Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) test under the supervision of a clinical expert. Along with data recording, a video was taken from patient’s parkour. The data were labeled through the recorded video of the patient’s tests and FOG and non-FOG data were assigned. A machine learning model using a deep Long-Short-Term-Memory (LSTM) employ the accelerometer data from the sensor and the inference leads to a FOG or non-FOG classification. The FOG detection model is pruned, quantized and used for real-time inference on Google Coral board worn on the patient’ body. The model deployed on a Google coral board sends a trigger to the cuing device right after the FOG detection and the patient get alert for the happening FOG. The individualized model for one-second windows applied in this work performed an average of 91.5% of sensitivity and 86.5% specificity for models running on PC and 91.7% of sensitivity and 86.7% of specificity for the models tested on Google coral with the latency of 50 millisecond on real-time testing.

THU120 Validation Of A Novel Automated System, Fluispotter®, For Serial Sampling Of Dried Blood Spots

Abstract Disclosure: J. Krogh: None. P. Plomgaard: None. R. Frikke-Schmidt: None. S. Velschow: None. J. Johannesen: None. L. Hilsted: None. M. Schrøder: None. U. Feldt-Rasmussen: None. Repeated blood sampling is required in certain clinical and research settings, which is currently performed by drawing blood from venous catheters requiring manual handling of each sample at time of collection. Collecting samples in a stressful environment, e.g. during the night or admission as inpatient to hospital potentially influences the hormone concentrations to be studied. The hypothesis of this study was that a novel body-worn device for repeated serial samples, Fluispotter®, with automated extraction, collection and storage of up to 20 venous dried blood spot samples over the course of 20 hours may overcome problems with current methods for serial sampling. The purpose of the study was to assess the performance and safety of Fluispotter for the first time in healthy subjects and perform cortisol measurements from the blood spots by mass spectrometry. Fluispotter consists of a cartridge with tubing, reservoir for flushing solution, pumps and filter-paper and a multi-lumen catheter placed in the brachial vein. We recruited healthy subjects for testing in an in-hospital setting. Fluispotter was attached to 22 healthy subjects of which 9/22 (40.9 %) participants had all 20 samples taken, which was lower than the expected 80% (p = 0.02). The main reason for sample failure was clogging of blood flow which was observed in 11/22 (50 %) of the participants. No serious adverse events occurred, and the participants rated the pain from insertion and removal of catheter as very low. A cortisol profile showed nadir values at midnight and highest values at 5 a.m. Although full sampling was not successful in all participants, the Fluispotter technology proved safe and highly acceptable to the participants producing the expected cortisol profile in an undisturbed environment without the requirement of staff during sample collection. The minor technical problems of blood clotting can be solved by increasing the flow of the rinsing fluid between samples. The Fluispotter may thus facilitate future circadian hormone assessments e.g. in patients on pituitary cortisol replacement with a perspective of improving management of patients with pituitary insufficiency. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023

BMAR

A requirement of cross-modal signal processing is accurate signal alignment. Though simple on a single device, accurate signal synchronization becomes challenging as soon as multiple devices are involved, such as during activity monitoring, health tracking, or motion capture---particularly outside controlled scenarios where data collection must be standalone, low-power, and support long runtimes. In this paper, we present BMAR, a novel synchronization method that operates purely based on recorded signals and is thus suitable for offline processing. BMAR needs no wireless communication between devices during runtime and does not require any specific user input, action, or behavior. BMAR operates on the data from devices worn by the same person that record barometric pressure and acceleration---inexpensive, low-power, and thus commonly included sensors in today's wearable devices. In its first stage, BMAR verifies that two recordings were acquired simultaneously and pre-aligns all data traces. In a second stage, BMAR refines the alignment using acceleration measurements while accounting for clock skew between devices. In our evaluation, three to five body-worn devices recorded signals from the wearer for up to ten hours during a series of activities. BMAR synchronized all signal recordings with a median error of 33.4 ms and reliably rejected non-overlapping signal traces. The worst-case activity was sleeping, where BMAR's second stage could not exploit motion for refinement and, thus, aligned traces with a median error of 3.06 s.

The dilemma and countermeasures of online sports teaching under the background of big data and Internet of Things

With the continuous progress of data science, big data technology has been continuously integrated into human daily life. The application of big data technology in the field of education to improve the teaching and learning efficiency of teachers and students has become the focus of current scholars. With the popularization of the concept of the Internet of Everything, the Internet of Things technology has gradually become a hot spot for technology fans. It is widely used in home and body-worn devices. Applying the Internet of Things technology in the education field to obtain student status feedback data can make teachers more accurately understand the goals of student learning. The continuous raging of the epidemic has led to the change of many courses from offline face-to-face teaching to home online teaching, which has brought about a huge change in the traditional offline face-to-face physical education teaching method. Therefore, in order to better protect against the epidemic and prevent the spread of the epidemic more effectively, X Academy responded to the country’s call to “suspend classes without teaching, and without stopping learning”, so that physical education courses other than other cultural courses will be conducted offline and face-to-face. Teaching has changed to online physical education. This paper firstly defines the concepts of big data, Internet of Things and online physical education teaching, and then conducts research on the current situation and countermeasures of online physical education teaching. Find optimized countermeasures, so that X College can get better teaching results when it conducts online physical education teaching again in the face of similar public health emergencies in the future, allowing students to exercise, improve physical fitness, enhance sports skills, and enhance their own resistance. power goal. The research method of this paper mainly adopts the data analysis method of questionnaire survey and statistics. Through the second survey, it is found that all aspects of online physical education teaching have been improved after adopting the improved strategy.

Validation of a novel automated system, Fluispotter®, for serial sampling of dried blood spots.

Repeated blood sampling is required in certain clinical and research settings, which is currently performed by drawing blood from venous catheters requiring manual handling of each sample at the time of collection. A novel body-worn device for repeated serial samples, Fluispotter®, with automated extraction, collection, and storage of up to 20 venous dried blood spot samples over the course of 20 h may overcome problems with current methods for serial sampling. The purpose of this study was to assess the performance and safety of Fluispotter for the first time in healthy subjects. Fluispotter consists of a cartridge with tubing, a reservoir for flushing solution, pumps and filterpaper, and a multi-lumen catheter placed in the brachial vein. We recruited healthy subjects for testing in an in-hospital setting. Fluispotter was attached by an anesthesiologist to 22 healthy subjects of which 9/22 (40.9%) participants had all 20 samples taken, which was lower than the goal of complete sampling in 80% of the subjects (P = 0.02). The main reason for sample failure was clogging of blood flow which was observed in 11/22 (50%) of the participants. No serious adverse events occurred, and the participants rated the pain from the insertion and the removal of catheter as very low. A cortisol profile showed nadir values at midnight and highest values at 05:00 h. Although full sampling was not successful in all participants, the Fluispotter technology proved safe and highly acceptable to the participants producing the expected cortisol profile without the requirement of staff during sample collection.

A Flexible Miniature Antenna for Body-Worn Devices: Design and Transmission Performance

The last few years have seen a rapid increase in body-worn devices because these devices cover a broad spectrum of potential uses. Moreover, body-worn devices still require improvements in their flexibility, size, and weight that necessitate the development of flexible and miniature antennas. In this paper, we present a new flexible miniature antenna for body-worn devices. To ensure flexibility and comfort when the antenna is in contact with the human body, a substrate from natural rubber filled with TiO2 is developed. The miniaturization is achieved using the quadratic Koch curve. The antenna design, optimization, and characterization are performed on a human body model. The performance of the antenna is analyzed in two scenarios: (1) in- to on-body, and (2) on- to off-body wireless communications. The results show that the antenna realized the maximum telemetry range of more than 80 mm for in-body communications and more than 2 m for off-body communications. Moreover, the highest 10 g specific absorption rate value was 0.62 W/kg. These results, in addition to the antenna's compact dimensions (12 mm × 26 mm × 2.5 mm) and the low manufacturing price, make the proposed antenna an ideal candidate for health telemetry applications.

Manipulating device-to-body forces in passive exosuit: An experimental investigation on the effect of moment arm orientation using passive back-assist exosuit emulator.

Passive exosuits have been vastly researched in the past decade for lifting tasks to alleviate the mechanical loading on the spine and reduce the lower back muscle activities in lifting tasks. Despite promising advantages of exosuits, factors such as comfort directly influence the user's acceptability of such body-worn devices. Exosuits' routing/anchoring points, which transmit device-to-body forces, remain the leading cause of discomfort among users. In the present study, we sought to investigate the effect of the routing element, that is, the "moment arm," in altering the device-to-body forces and perceived discomfort. We first presented a simplified human-exosuit model to establish insight into the effect of the moment arm on the device-to-body forces acting at the shoulder (FS) and waist (FW). Further, an experimental investigation was conducted on 10 participants with six different exosuit moment arm configurations (C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6) to investigate their effect on the device-to-body forces, perceived discomfort, and muscle activity using a passive back-assist exosuit emulator in a lifting/lowering task. Configuration C4 was found to be most beneficial in reducing device-to-body forces at the shoulder and waist by up to 44.6 and 22.2%, respectively, during lifting. Subjective scores also comprehended with the device-to-body forces, indicating that C4 produces significantly less discomfort for participants. The outcome of the study illustrates the importance of selecting an appropriate moment arm configuration for passive back support exosuits in alleviating the device-to-body forces and perceived discomfort.

A photopaper‐based low‐cost, wideband wearable antenna for wireless body area network applications

This study presents a low-cost, compact, flexible, and wideband wearable antenna for different wireless body area network (WBAN) band applications, covering medical body area network band of 2.4 GHz, industrial, scientific, and medical band of 2.45 GHz, WiMAX band of 3.5 GHz, and wireless local area network band of 5.2 GHz. The final antenna topology is obtained by hexagonal microstrip radiator patch fabricated on commercially available low-cost photo paper substrate and defected ground plane below the feed line acting as a partial ground to achieve a conformable structure wideband operation. The overall size of the fabricated antenna is 30 × 40 mm2 and yields a wide-bandwidth of 3 GHz (2.30–5.30 GHz), radiation efficiency of 84.35%, and the highest gain of 3.48 dBi at the centre frequency of 5.2 GHz, and minimum gain of 1.91 dBi at 2.45 GHz. Furthermore, our detailed numerical and experimental investigations involving specific absorption rate performance assessment and bending analysis revealed the proposed design's excellent robustness to both human body loading and structural deformation scenarios. Therefore, simulated and measured results strongly advocate that the proposed design has profound implications for flexible and body-worn devices in WBAN applications.

A Survey on Wireless Wearable Body Area Networks: A Perspective of Technology and Economy.

The deployment of wearable or body-worn devices is increasing rapidly, and thus researchers’ interests mainly include technical and economical issues, such as networking, interoperability, security, power optimization, business growth and regulation. To address these issues properly, previous survey papers usually focused on describing the wireless body area network architecture and network protocols. This implies that deployment issues and awareness issues of wearable and BAN devices are not emphasized in previous work. To defeat this problem, in this study, we have focused on feasibility, limitations, and security concerns in wireless body area networks. In the aspect of the economy, we have focused on the compound annual growth rate of these devices in the global market, different regulations of wearable/wireless body area network devices in different regions and countries of the world and feasible research projects for wireless body area networks. In addition, this study focuses on the domain of devices that are equally important to physicians, sportsmen, trainers and coaches, computer scientists, engineers, and investors. The outcomes of this study relating to physicians, fitness trainers and coaches indicate that the use of these devices means they would be able to treat their clients in a more effective way. The study also converges the focus of businessmen on the Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and provides manufacturers and vendors with information about different regulatory bodies that are monitoring and regulating WBAN devices. Therefore, by providing deployment issues in the aspects of technology and economy at the same time, we believe that this survey can serve as a preliminary material that will lead to more advancements and improvements in deployment in the area of wearable wireless body area networks. Finally, we present open issues and further research direction in the area of wireless body area networks.

IBSync: Intra-body synchronization and implicit contextualization of wearable devices using artificial ECG landmarks

With a smaller form factor and a larger set of applications, body-worn devices have evolved into a collection of simultaneously deployed hardware units, rather than into a single all-round wearable. The sensor data, logged by such devices across the user's body, contains a wealth of information but is often difficult to synchronize. Especially the application of machine learning techniques, e.g., for activity recognition, suffers from the inaccuracy of the devices' internal clocks. In recent years, intra-body communication emerged as a promising alternative to the traditional wired and wireless communication techniques. Distributed wearable systems will notably benefit from its advantages, such as a superior energy efficiency. However, due to the absence of commercially available platforms, applications using this innovative technique remain rare and underinvestigated. With IBSync, we present a novel concept in which artificial landmark signals are received by body-worn devices on touching, approaching, or passing certain areas, surfaces, or objects with embedded transmitter beacons. The landmark signals enable both the wearables' intentional or incidental synchronization as well as the implicit contextualization using supplementary information about the beacons' situational context. For the detection of the landmarks, we propose to repurpose the on-board ECG sensor front-end available in recent commercial wearable devices. Evaluated on a total of 215 min of recordings from two devices, we demonstrate the concept's feasibility and a promising synchronization error of 0.80±1.79 samples or 6.25±14.00 ms at a device's sampling rate of 128 Hz.

DIY head-controlled mouse: an affordable assistive technology solution for people with severe motor disabilities

People with severe motor disabilities require a variety of options to access computer and alternative communication technologies. Tracking the head movement of the user to control the mouse cursor can be done in several ways - using a webcam or using sensors. Body-worn devices with gyroscope sensor that can track the head movement are available commercially as Assistive Technology (AT). Although these devices give greater independence to the users, they are expensive and not affordable in a developing country like India. We describe the development of an open-source, DIY webpage that will guide non-engineers to build their own low-cost head-controlled mouse using tools and materials that are available locally in India. We discuss the benefits of empowering individuals in society to make their own AT using rapid prototyping tools with the support of knowledge communities online.

Identity Recognition in Sanitary Facilities Using Invisible Electrocardiography.

This article proposes a new method of identity recognition in sanitary facilities based on electrocardiography (ECG) signals. Our team previously proposed a novel approach of invisible ECG at the thighs using polymeric electrodes, leading to the creation of a proof-of-concept system integrated into a toilet seat. In this work, a biometrics pipeline was devised, which tested four different classifiers, varying the population from 2 to 17 subjects and simulating a residential environment. However, for this approach to be industrially viable, further optimization is required, particularly regarding electrode materials that are compatible with industrial processes. As such, we also explore the use of a conductive silicone material as electrodes, aiming at the industrial-scale production of a toilet seat capable of recording ECG data, without the need for body-worn devices. A desirable aspect when using such a system is matching the recorded data with the monitored user, ideally using a minimal sensor set, further reinforcing the relevance of user identification through ECG signals collected at the thighs. Our approach was evaluated against a reference device for a population of 17 healthy and pathological individuals, covering a wide age range (24–70 years). With the silicone composite, we were able to acquire signals in 100% of the sessions, with a mean heart rate deviation between a reference system and our experimental device of 2.82 ± 1.99 beats per minute (BPM). In terms of ECG waveform morphology, the best cases showed a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.91 ± 0.06. For biometric detection, the best classifier was the Binary Convolutional Neural Network (BCNN), with an accuracy of 100% for a population of up to four individuals.

Mobility-related outcomes for periacetabular osteotomy in persons with acetabular dysplasia: setting the stage for measurement of real-world outcomes.

ABSTRACTPeriacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is a surgery for persons with symptomatic acetabular dysplasia (AD) that increases acetabular coverage of the femoral head for reducing hip pain and improving function. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are significantly improved following PAO, yet little is known regarding mobility-related outcomes. This narrative review provides a synthesis of evidence regarding PROs and mobility-related outcomes in persons with AD following PAO. We further identified important future research directions, chiefly the need for measurement of real-world outcomes. We searched PubMed using comprehensive predefined search terms. We included studies that (i) enrolled persons with AD undergoing PAO, (ii) included PROs and/or mobility-related outcomes and (iii) were written in English. We synthesized and summarized study characteristics and findings. Twenty-three studies were included in this review. Commonly evaluated PROs included pain (n = 14), hip function (n = 19) and quality of life (n = 9). Mobility-related outcomes included self-reported physical activity (PA; n = 11), walking speed and cadence (n = 4), device-measured PA (n = 2), and sit-to-stand, four-square-step and timed stair ascent tests (n = 1). Persons with AD had significant improvements in PROs following PAO, yet mobility-related outcomes (e.g. walking speed and device-measured PA levels) did not change over 1 year following PAO. Few studies have evaluated mobility-related outcomes following PAO, and these studies were of a low methodological quality. Future research might include experience sampling data collection approaches and body-worn devices as free-living, technology-driven methodologies to evaluate mobility and other outcomes in persons with AD undergoing PAO.

Invisible ECG for High Throughput Screening in eSports.

eSports is a rapidly growing industry with increasing investment and large-scale international tournaments offering significant prizes. This has led to an increased focus on individual and team performance with factors such as communication, concentration, and team intelligence identified as important to success. Over a similar period of time, personal physiological monitoring technologies have become commonplace with clinical grade assessment available across a range of parameters that have evidenced utility. The use of physiological data to assess concentration is an area of growing interest in eSports. However, body-worn devices, typically used for physiological data collection, may constitute a distraction and/or discomfort for the subjects. To this end, in this work we devise a novel “invisible” sensing approach, exploring new materials, and proposing a proof-of-concept data collection system in the form of a keyboard armrest and mouse. These enable measurements as an extension of the interaction with the computer. In order to evaluate the proposed approach, measurements were performed using our system and a gold standard device, involving 7 healthy subjects. A particularly advantageous characteristic of our setup is the use of conductive nappa leather, as it preserves the standard look and feel of the keyboard and mouse. According to the results obtained, this approach shows 3–15% signal loss, with a mean difference in heart rate between the reference and experimental device of −1.778 ± 4.654 beats per minute (BPM); in terms of ECG waveform morphology, the best cases show a Pearson correlation coefficient above 0.99.

Multi-user interactive systems for immersive virtual environments

Human-scale immersive spaces are increasingly prevalent in real-world contexts as viable applications for large-scale displays, speaker arrays, and reactive platforms continue to be discovered. One of the primary challenges hindering adoption of these modalities is the integration of intuitive interaction frameworks, allowing individuals in the space to engage naturally with the environment. In the Collaborative Research-Augmented Immersive Virtual Environment, or CRAIVE-Lab, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, we have integrated a variety of technologies to foster natural engagement with the space. We developed a dynamic display environment to enable user-specific contribution to and control of the virtual space. In addition, we installed a sensor network consisting of both video and audio sensor arrays to provide fused location data and voice activity detection for each user in the space without body-worn devices. Integration of these technologies into the environment facilitates an immersive experience by fostering natural interaction between an individual and the lab system.

Body-worn cameras ‘on the move’: exploring the contextual, technical and ethical challenges in policing practice

ABSTRACT The body-worn camera (BWC), an audio and video recording device, has been increasingly adopted by law enforcement across the globe. Drawing on a qualitative study, this paper will explore the use of these mobile devices in the UK and examine the challenges that have been faced during its implementation in two British police forces. In particular, we will discuss how these cameras move with the police officer’s bodily movements (both intentionally and unintentionally) and are used for policing purposes in different settings (such as urban and rural contexts or different operational units). Based on a set of semi-structured interviews with 26 police officers, this article will explore the contextual, technical and ethical challenges that hinder the use of BWCs in such settings. This study concludes that these practical and techno-social challenges are often interlinked. The context of use of these cameras and how they operate technically are connected, often raising significant ethical issues particularly for data management and storage. Ultimately it is argued that the operational perspective of the frontline officer is invaluable when designing and implementing technologies so they are policeman-proof.

Design and evaluation of a novel approach to invisible electrocardiography (ECG) in sanitary facilities using polymeric electrodes

Multiple wearable devices for cardiovascular self-monitoring have been proposed over the years, with growing evidence showing their effectiveness in the detection of pathologies that would otherwise be unnoticed through standard routine exams. In particular, Electrocardiography (ECG) has been an important tool for such purpose. However, wearables have known limitations, chief among which are the need for a voluntary action so that the ECG trace can be taken, battery lifetime, and abandonment. To effectively address these, novel solutions are needed, which has recently paved the way for “invisible” (aka “off-the-person”) sensing approaches. In this article we describe the design and experimental evaluation of a system for invisible ECG monitoring at home. For this purpose, a new sensor design was proposed, novel materials have been explored, and a proof-of-concept data collection system was created in the form of a toilet seat, enabling ECG measurements as an extension of the regular use of sanitary facilities, without requiring body-worn devices. In order to evaluate the proposed approach, measurements were performed using our system and a gold standard equipment, involving 10 healthy subjects. For the acquisition of the ECG signals on the toilet seat, polymeric electrodes with different textures were produced and tested. According to the results obtained, some of the textures did not allow the acquisition of signals in all users. However, a pyramidal texture showed the best results in relation to heart rate and ECG waveform morphology. For a texture that has shown 0% signal loss, the mean heart rate difference between the reference and experimental device was − 1.778 ± 4.654 Beats per minute (BPM); in terms of ECG waveform, the best cases present a Pearson correlation coefficient above 0.99.

Determining the core vocabulary used by Sepedi-speaking children during regular preschool activities

Purpose In order to provide equitable communication intervention and support services to clients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the development of language-specific resources for assessment and intervention is needed. The purpose of the study was to develop a core vocabulary list based on language samples from Sepedi-speaking children, in order to make it available as a resource to inform vocabulary selection for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for children in need of AAC from a Sepedi language background. Method The speech of six typically developing Sepedi-speaking children aged 5–6 years was recorded using small body-worn audio recording devices. Children were recorded during their regular pre-school day. The recordings were transcribed, coded and analysed. Result The composite transcript consisted of 17 579 words, of which 1023 were different words. The core vocabulary was determined by identifying all words that were used with a minimal frequency of 0.05%, and were used by at least half of the participants. The Sepedi core vocabulary consisted of 226 words that accounted for 88.1% of the composite sample. Conclusion The core vocabulary determined in this study represents a small pool of reusable linguistic elements that form the grammatical framework of the Sepedi language. As such, is a valuable resource that can be used to assist with vocabulary selection for children who require AAC and who come from a Sepedi language background.

Micraspis: A Computer-Aided Proposal Toward Programming and Architecting Smart IoT Wearables

A wearable is a lightweight body-worn device that relies on data-driven communications to keep people connected purposefully, for instance, for fire-fighting, prompting fast-food clients, and medical treatment. With rise of wearable computing in the era of IoT-driven smart applications, programmers now expect the time to market for these devices to be shortened. While support for IoT programming in general has gathered traction, tool proposals that automate the development of smart solutions based on the Internet of Wearable Things, though of paramount importance, still stay on the sidelines. We propose a code generation tool called Micraspis that allows a wearable to be described both functionally and architecturally – as if they are two sides of the same coin. The tool has an underlying model-to-code transformation mechanism to generates source code that is executable on a specific IoT programming platform such as Arduino. Our experiments demonstrate that programming code generated by Micraspis amounts to at least 60% of the source code needed to fulfill the business logic of ordinary wearable devices. We conduct an interview to meticulously collect programmers’ assessment on how Micraspis assists them in programming and architecting smart IoT wearables. A total of 161 programmers responded to a Likert scale questionnaire, with which at least 65% of them either agree or strongly agree. Overall, the results show that Micraspis has promising applicability in supporting IoWT-enabled smart solutions.