ExCiteS Data Collection Suite

Michalis Vitos

Julia Altenbuchner

ExCiteS Research Group

ExCiteS is UCL’s interdisciplinary group that develops … • Theories

• Tools

• Methodologies

… to enable any community anywhere to engage and participate in Citizen Science.

Our challenge is to provide non-literate indigenous people with tools that empower them to take action, and protect their local environment and way of life.

Challenges

• Illiteracy & education

– Language

– Cultural differences

– Technology

– Maps

• Lack of network connectivity

• Lack of electricity

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Component Architecture

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Project Definition

User Interface

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User Interface

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Data Transmission via SMS and/or Wi-Fi/GPRS/3G

• Efficient use of limited space

(1 SMS = 160 7-bit characters = 140 Bytes)

• Chaining of multiple SMS messages (“transmissions”)

• Compression (GZIP, LZMA) & Encryption (AES)

• (Optional) flight-mode cycling to preserve power

• Dropbox upload for media files

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Challenge: device interface

ExCiteS Launcher

ExCiteS Launcher Settings

Future work

• Allow the creation of traditional forms: – Text inputs – Checkboxes – Radio buttons

• Build web-based design tool – decision tree – forms

• Data visualisation tools for illiterate users – maps – charts

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References

Thank you for your attention. Any questions?

Lewis et al. (2007). “Logging in the Congo Basin: What hope for indigenous peoples’ resources and their environments?”. In: Indigenous Affairs 4/06, pp. 8–15.

Lewis et al. (2012). “Accessible technologies and FPIC: independent monitoring with forest communities in Cameroon”. In: Biodiversity and culture: exploring community protocols, rights and consent (PLA 65), pp. 151–165.

Vitos, Stevens, Lewis & Haklay (2013). “Making local knowledge matter. Supporting non-literate people to monitor poaching in Congo”. 3rd Annual ACM Symposium on Computing for Development (ACM DEV 2013; Jan. 11-12, 2013, Bangalore, India).

Stevens, Vitos, Lewis & Haklay (2013). “Participatory monitoring of poaching in the Congo basin”. 21st GIS Research UK conference (GISRUK 2013, April 2-5, 2013, Liverpool, UK).

Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/excites

Blog: http://uclexcites.wordpress.com

Contact:

Michalis.vitos.11@ucl.ac.uk

Julia.altenbuchner.11@ucl.ac.uk