The Future of Data Collection
Using Smart Devices
George Yu, PhD
CEO / Variable, Inc
Why do we measure?
Town X
Town Y
So that we can all talk about the same thing
What is measurement accuracy and precision?
The Digital Revolution
Temperature Sensor
Analog
Analog to Digital
Converter
~100C
Accuracy: +/- 5C
100.12567C
The World of Sensors is Changing
Sensors
+
Digital Sensors
Digitizers
Computers
Embedded Systems
w/ Wifi
Internet of Things (IoT)
• Connected collecting
• Infinite data points
• Centralized data in the cloud
IoT for the masses
First came the government and
enterprise based IoT
IoT devices are now widely
available for consumers
NODE
Nest thermostat
Netatmo Weather
Station
Mobile Centric Sensing
+
Sensor
s
1.5 Billion smartphones in the world by end of 2013
Smartphone Sensors
Trend of putting sensors in smartphones
Accelerometer
Cameras
Gyroscope
GPS
Magnetometer
Light sensor
Barometer
Proximity
Temperature
Microphone
Humidity
Samsung Galaxy S4
Smartphone as a sensor hub
Activity tracker
• Mobility
• Low power consumption
• Low cost
• Allow user interface with
data and device
Blood pressure
9 DOF motion
Temperature
Humidity
Pressure
Ambient Light
Surface Color
Chemical Gases
Radiation
Barcode
RFID
Soil moisture
NODE
Body weight
Sensors are everywhere
Data Cloud
Date
Time
Temp
100.25687C
05/09/2013 09:48:20.19 100.25687
Cheap
sensor system
Accuracy of
+/- 5C sensor
05/09/2013 09:49:21:87 99.881234
We assume data is
accurate at
05/09/2013 09:50:21.55
98.77421
100.25687C
/10/2013
Improper use of sensors
Inaccurate sensor
prone to bias from
temperature, humidity,
and other gases
On/Off Logic
High resolution
digitizer
Metal Oxide
Carbon Monoxide
sensor
Many poor sensors ≠ good data
• Garbage in garbage out
• A lot of garbage in is still just a lot of garbage out
• A lot of poor sensors means it is harder to extract
information
How to get good sensor data?
• Many sensors are not independentGet sensor
data in multiple dimensions in context of sensor
attributes
Temperature
Humidity
Metal Oxide
Carbon Monoxide
sensor
Pressure
H2
Know your sensor - know your data
• Your data are just as good as the sensor that
measured themBig Data - Small Data - care
about good data!
Future of Data Collection
• Rise of mobile sensing data
• Multi-dimensional sensor data
• Sensor accuracy matters