Abstract: In this work we discuss Kafebook, a system combining popular social networking platforms
with activity input from the physical domain inside public spaces. The system is envisioned as
a means for users to augment and communicate their activities to other people in their physical
proximity through a public display, while catering for anonymity issues. We developed a
client for Android smartphones that is used as the user interface and the enabling platform,
with which users connect to the system infrastructure and interact with it. Apart from
providing access to input from social networking sites, the Android client allows for chat
between the users and music selection polls. Wireless networking is based on Bluetooth, a
widespread technology in smartphones, which enables a more pervasive mode of operation,
while utilizing it also as a proximity sensor. We deployed our system in a two-day public
event as part of an undergraduate theses showcase, receiving positive feedback from visitors.
Abstract: Recent activity in the field of Internet-of-Things experimentation has focused on the federation of discrete testbeds, thus placing less effort in the integration of other related technologies, such as smartphones; also, while it is gradually moving to more application-oriented paths, such as urban settings, it has not dealt in large with applications having social networking features. We argue here that current IoT infrastructure, testbeds and related software technologies should be used in such a context, capturing real-world human mobility and social networking interactions, for use in evaluating and fine-tuning realistic mobility models and designing human-centric applications. We discuss a system for producing traces for a new generation of human-centric applications, utilizing technologies such as Bluetooth and focusing on human interactions. We describe the architecture for this system and the respective implementation details presenting two distinct deployments; one in an office environment and another in an exhibition/conference event (FET'11, The European Future Technologies Conference and Exhibition) with 103 active participants combined, thus covering two popular scenarios for human centric applications. Our system provides online, almost real-time, feedback and statistics and its implementation allows for rapid and robust deployment, utilizing mainstream technologies and components.
