Recently, due to the drastic increase in foreign tourists coming to Japan, there has been a demand to provide smart tourism services that enable inbound tourists to comfortably enjoy sightseeing. To provide satisfactory experiences for tourists, it is desirable to provide tourist information in a timely manner by considering dynamic information, which is information that changes over time, such as current congestion information in destination spots and travel route information, in addition to static information, such as the preferences and profiles of tourists. However, in many existing systems, serious problems occur, such as (1) a lack of support for on-site use, (2) a lack of consideration of dynamic information, and (3) heavy burden on tourists. In this paper, we propose a novel system that can provide tourism plans for tourism spots in a timely manner. The proposed system consists of the following two key mechanisms: (A) A mechanism for acquiring preference information from tourists (including preference on dynamic information); (B) a curation mechanism for realizing on-site tourism. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system, we carried out evaluation experiments utilizing real tourism spots and simulations. As a result, we obtained the following primary findings: (1) On-site tourism spot recommendation is effective for tourists who do not make detailed tourism plans before sightseeing; (2) preference information for participants can be reflected in the tourism spot recommendation while massively reducing the burden on participants; (3) it is possible to obtain a higher satisfaction level than is achieved with model courses, which are often used for sightseeing.

No abstract

In the tourism sector, user-generated information and communication among tourists are perceived to be more effective and reliable contents. In addition, the collection of dynamic tourism information with high spatio-temporal resolution is required to provide comfortable tourism in response to the changing tourism style with the advancement of information technology. Participatory sensing, which can collect various types of information is a useful method by which to collect these contents. However, continuous participation of users is essential in participatory sensing, and it is one of the most important points to stimulate participation motivation. In the tourism situation, we also need to pay attention to the total tourist satisfaction of participants. In this paper, we adopt gamification, i.e., the implementation of game design elements in real-world contexts for non-gaming purposes, for participatory sensing as an incentive mechanism to motivate participants with active participation and collect the necessary information efficiently. Within the framework, where points are given when completing the requested sensing task (=mission), two sensing missions with different burdens; Area Mission and Check-in Mission, and three different types of rewarding mechanisms; Fixed, Variable and Dynamic Variable, are designed as a gamification mechanism. We implemented these elements in the proposed participatory sensing platform application and conducted an experimental case study with 33 participants at an actual tourist spot: Kyoto, Japan. Then, we investigate the effects on tourist behavior and satisfaction by analyzing collected sensor data, mission logs, and post-survey answers. As a result, we can conclude the following: (1) the tourist behavior is changed due to the proposed gamification design and the necessary information was collected efficiently; (2) the participants tend to prioritize Check-in Mission over the sightseeing, which can induce a behavior change but might impact sightseeing enjoyment.

More than 60 percentage of fatal accidents while riding a bicycle is caused by elderly people over 65 years old. The main cause is the detection delay of approaching vehicle caused by the decrease of cognitive function due to aging. In this paper, we propose an approaching vehicle detection method using a smartphone aiming to support bicycle operation to prevent elderly people from fatal accidents while riding a bicycle vehicle. Among various sensors embedded in a smartphone, we focus on microphone as the most suitable sensor for detecting an approaching vehicle. We collected sound data in a real environment and created an approaching vehicle detection model by using machine learning. Finally, as a result of accuracy evaluation with 10-fold cross-validation, we confirmed that it can detect approaching vehicle with an average F-value of 97.4 [%].

No abstract

Rapid proliferation of mobile devices with various sensors have enabled Participatory Mobile Sensing (PMS). Several PMS platforms provide multiple functions for various sensing purposes, but they are suffering from the open issues: limited use of their functions for a specific scenario/case and requiring technical knowledge for organizers. In this paper, we propose a novel PMS platform named ParmoSense for easily and flexibly collecting urban environmental information. To reduce the burden on both organizers and participants, in ParmoSense, we employ two novel features: modularization of functions and scenario-based PMS system description. For modularization, we provide the essential PMS functions as modules which can be easily chosen and combined for sensing in different scenarios. The scenario-based description feature allows organizers to easily and quickly set up a new participatory sensing instance and participants to easily install the corresponding scenario and participate in the sensing. Moreover, ParmoSense provides GUI tools as well for creating and distributing PMS system easily, editing and visualizing collected data quickly. It also provides multiple functions for encouraging participants' motivation for sustainable operation of the system. Through performance comparison with existing PMS platforms, we confirmed ParmoSense shows the best cost-performance in the perspective of the workload for preparing PMS system and varieties of functions. In addition, to evaluate the availability and usability of ParmoSense, we conducted 19 case studies, which have different locations, scales, and purposes, over 4 years with cooperation from ordinary citizens. Through the case studies and the questionnaire survey for participants and organizers, we confirmed that ParmoSense can be easily operated and participated by ordinary citizens including non-technical persons.

The rapid proliferation of mobile devices with various sensors has enabled participatory mobile sensing (PMS). Several PMS platforms suffer from open issues including the limited use of their functions to a specific scenario/case and the necessity of technical knowledge for organizers. This paper proposes a novel PMS platform named ParmoSense for easy and flexible data collection. To reduce the burden on both organizers and participants, we employ two novel features. First, essential PMS functions implemented as modules can be easily chosen and combined for sensing in different scenarios. Second, the scenario-based description feature allows organizers to easily and quickly prepare a new instance of PMS and enable people to easily participate in the sensing. It also provides multiple functions to motivate participants for sustainable operation. Through a performance comparison with existing PMS platforms, we confirmed that ParmoSense shows the best cost performance in terms of the workload for preparation and the variety of functions. In addition, to evaluate the availability and usability of ParmoSense, we conducted 19 case studies over four years with ordinary citizens. As the result of a questionnaire survey carried out during the case studies, we confirmed that ParmoSense can be easily operated by ordinary citizens without technical skills.

<div class=""abs_img""><img src=""[disp_template_path]/JRM/abst-image/00270006/13.jpg"" width=""300"" /> Proposed walking training system</div>The number of accidental falls has been increasing among the elderly as society has aged. The main factor is a deteriorating center of balance due to declining physical performance. Another major factor is that the elderly tend to have bowlegged walking and their center of gravity position of the body tend to swing from side to side during walking. To find ways to counteract falls among the elderly, we developed walking training system to treat the gap in the center of balance. We also designed High-Performance Shoes that showed the status of a person’s balance while walking. We also produced walk assistance from the insole in which insole stiffness corresponding to human sole distribution could be changed to correct the person’s walking status. We constructed our High-Performances Shoes to detect pressure distribution during walking. Comparing normal sole distribution patterns and corrected ones, we confirmed that our assistance system helped change the user’s posture, thereby reducing falls among the elderly.