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The iPhone's Untapped Potential
MIT Technology Review ^ | 6/29/07 | Kate Greene

Posted on 06/29/2007 11:19:51 AM PDT by LibWhacker

Apple could do a lot more with all the sensors in the iPhone.

Apple is known for its innovative gadget design, and with the release of the iPhone today, it continues to live up to its hype. But while people are fawning over features like the smart, multitouch screen and the advanced Web browser, there is important technology under the hood that will likely go underappreciated. The iPhone has tiny, powerful sensors--an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, and an infrared sensor--that are able to pick up cues from the environment and adjust the phone's functions accordingly. Apple has decided to use these sensors for detecting when to convert the screen view from portrait to landscape, for adjusting the brightness of the screen based on the brightness of the environment, and for disabling the touch screen when a person holds the phone to her ear.

Of course, Apple isn't the first to put sensors such as accelerometers in phones. Nokia, for example, has a sports phone (called the 5500) that uses an accelerometer as a pedometer. When a person takes the phone jogging, the accelerometer logs the rate of vibrations and sends that data to software that determines speed and distance. The 5500 also offers an accelerometer-based game in which a user tilts the device to navigate a ball through a maze. In addition, Nokia offers a developers' kit so that people can make their own accelerometer-based games, potentially mimicking the style of those played with Nintendo's popular Wii controller. (See "Hack: The Nintendo Wii.")

These functions, while useful and entertaining, are still pretty mundane, says Nathan Eagle, a research scientist at MIT. "These are trivial uses for what has the potential to provide a whole slew of new features and functionality," he says. Separate research taking place at MIT, Intel, and other companies suggests that, with the right software, built-in hardware such as accelerometers, light sensors, a GPS, and the phone's own microphone could provide contextual clues about people's activities and behaviors. A sensor-enabled phone could feasibly help monitor your exercise habits, keep track of an elderly relative's activities, and let your friends and family know if you're available for a call or instant-messaging conversation. It could even provide insight into social networks.

"If you get access to [a phone's] accelerometer data, you can get a variety of contextual clues about how the user is living their life," Eagle says--for instance, whether or not a user is riding a bike, taking the subway, walking up stairs, or sitting for a long period of time. The data can be used to let workers know if they need to take a break or if a person is meeting exercise goals, he says. Eagle and Sandy Pentland, professor of media arts and sciences at MIT, have used Nokia phones equipped with sensors to study the behavior of people in groups and even predict their actions to a certain extent. (See "Gadgets That Know Your Next Move.")

To explore other possibilities, researchers at Intel use a small gadget, about the size of a pager, that amasses data from seven sensors: an accelerometer, a barometer, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a light sensor, a digital compass, and a microphone, says Tanzeem Choudhury, a researcher at Intel Labs Seattle. Most of the sensors are used to determine location and activity, but the microphone can provide interesting insight into social networks, she says, such as whether a person is having a business conversation or a social chat. Aware of privacy concerns, the researchers designed the microphone data to be immediately processed so that all words are removed, and only information about tone, pitch, and volume is recorded. Recently, Intel researchers equipped a first-year class of University of Washington graduate students with these sorts of sensors and, based on their interactions, were able to watch social networks develop over time.

To churn through all the data the Intel sensors collect, the researchers designed software to process it in stages, explains Choudhury. "You can do some simple processing on the mobile device," she says, such as averaging similar data points over time and throwing out data from a sensor that's below a threshold. Most mobile phones have the processing capabilities to do this and extract actions such as walking and sitting.

In the next stage of processing, researchers plug these actions into machine-learning models that infer more-complex behaviors. For instance, making a meal will require short walking bursts, standing, and picking things up. The Intel researchers developed models that look for certain actions occurring in succession. These models can also adjust to the basic quirks of the user, accounting for variation in cooking behavior; some meals may require more walking than others, and some people may sit more during meal preparation than others. This sort of information could be useful, Choudhury says, in determining if an elderly person is eating regularly. She notes that currently, some of the modeling is too computationally intensive to do entirely on a cell phone, and some of the data must be uploaded to a computer or a server. However, she says, the algorithms are becoming more efficient, and the processing power in phones continues to increase.

At this point, says MIT's Eagle, it wouldn't be too difficult to write consumer software that could infer a person's basic activities. These activities could then be used to update the status listed in an instant-messenger program or on a blog. Eagle notes, however, that manufacturers might be hesitant because it's likely that all the required data processing could cut battery life.

Apple has made no announcements about whether it might include such software in future versions of the iPhone. And it's unlikely that outside developers will be able to take advantage of the sensors at this point: Apple is limiting third-party development to applications that run within the Web browser--essentially, specialized Web pages. But as more phones become equipped with sensors, and phones' processing power continues to increase, Eagle suspects that sensor-based applications will become more popular.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Technical
KEYWORDS: apple; iphone; potential; sensors; untapped
Most of all, you've got to love that Big Brother potential.
1 posted on 06/29/2007 11:19:53 AM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

Geez...

I started reading this, hoping to discover what the iPod can do if its used right. It was interesting to learn how the iPhone has sensors to adjust the device to particular situations.

Then the guy from MIT discusses how he wants to use the iPhone to monitor my behavior.

Apple and MIT. Guess which one is making money and guess which one is located in the center of uber-liberal Boston.


2 posted on 06/29/2007 11:32:22 AM PDT by kidd
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To: LibWhacker

Dear citizen:
Our computer identified you as a jaywalker based upon your south to north movement (average speed of 2.739 mi/hr, average bearing of 5.917 degrees) across the east crosswalk at the intersection of Main Street and Third Avenue during the interval from 12:13:07.63 to 12:13:16.19. Our traffic department computer has indicated that the light was red during that whole interval.
Since you were in violation of the jaywalking ordinance, please send the invoice and $50 in the enclosed envelope within 10 days. We KNOW where you are.
Sincerely,
Your friends in safety


3 posted on 06/29/2007 11:35:48 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: LibWhacker

Sounds like the ideal piece of equipment to measure liberal kneejerks.


4 posted on 06/29/2007 11:38:42 AM PDT by TC Rider (The United States Constitution ? 1791. All Rights Reserved.)
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To: LibWhacker
Just open up the microphone and detect what sound is in the area. If the sound matches up with any right wing talk show, all phone calls made to the Senate, the House or any of their members offices will immediately be routed to the busy signal.
5 posted on 06/29/2007 11:54:02 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (A base looking for a party.)
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To: LibWhacker
The data can be used to let workers know if they need to take a break or if a person is meeting exercise goals

Ooooo, new business: take people's iPhones out for daily walks so they don't start nagging you about being lazy.

However, if Apple suddenly saw 30 or 40 all crammed into the same location they might not counted it as real exercise.

6 posted on 06/29/2007 11:56:41 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (A base looking for a party.)
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To: LibWhacker

iDontcare


7 posted on 06/29/2007 12:07:27 PM PDT by Pajama Blogger (Pajama Power)
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To: KarlInOhio
Ooooo, new business: take people's iPhones out for daily walks so they don't start nagging you about being lazy.

LOL

8 posted on 06/29/2007 12:09:26 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker
I decided the iPhone is The Mark of the Beast
9 posted on 06/29/2007 12:11:02 PM PDT by tophat9000 (My 2008 grassroots Republican platform: Build the fence, enforce the laws, and win the damm WAR!)
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To: LibWhacker

The most amazing thing is how the IPhone can quickly remove cash from your pocket!! LOL!


10 posted on 06/29/2007 12:12:53 PM PDT by TommyDale (Never forget the Republicans who voted for illegal immigrant amnesty in 2007!)
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To: TommyDale
Neal Boortz ran the numbers the other day.... 2 year contract. $50/month for voice. $40/month for data. $500 for the phone.

And that's before you download movies, games, etc etc ....which is the whole reason for buying a toy like that.

$3000 +++ for a phone. And people will still buy it. Amazing. Me, I like to watch my movies on something larger than a 4" screen.

11 posted on 06/29/2007 1:54:46 PM PDT by wbill
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To: wbill
Me, I like to watch my movies on something larger than a 4" screen.

The iPhone is not a replacement for a wide-screen T.V. The Apple T.V. plays iTunes downloaded movies on a wide-screen.

12 posted on 06/29/2007 10:50:22 PM PDT by backslacker (Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. --Luke 4:8b)
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