Passive Mobile & Wearable Sensing Framework

Overview

The latest smartphones have advanced sensors that enable context recognition, but Android and iOS follow different policies, requiring careful consideration during research planning and data collection. AWARE is an open-source sensing framework that passively collects sensor data from multiple hardware, software, and human sensors in smartphones. It has been used in over 200 academic papers worldwide. I am responsible for iOS, macOS, and watchOS development.

Approach

• AWARE-iOS (HCII 2020): Designed, implemented, and evaluated a mobile sensing framework for iOS that addresses strict background data collection and application distribution regulations
• Multi-platform support: iOS, macOS, watchOS, and Android with a plugin architecture for custom sensor modules
• Sustainable sensing guidelines: Performance evaluations and case studies over 288 hours on four device types to identify optimal sensor settings for improved data collection

Results

• Identified risks of continuous background data collection on iOS and explored optimal practical sensor settings across four device types over 288 hours
• Developed guidelines for sustainable data collection on iOS, addressing battery consumption, data completeness, and background execution limitations
• The framework has been adopted in over 200 academic papers worldwide for mobile sensing research

Significance

AWARE-iOS enables sustainable, long-term mobile sensing research on the iOS platform, which was previously challenging due to strict background execution policies. The sensing guidelines and open-source framework lower the barrier for researchers across various fields to conduct large-scale, in-the-wild studies using smartphones.