Acceleration Profiles

Accelerometers within portable devices have the potential to provide a rich data source specific to an individual and their day-to-day activities. Acceleration profiles can be seen as a specific form of personal information of relevance to a wide range of Horizon activities. For instance, within the transport theme, smartphones may be able to provide critical information regarding crash scenarios of relevance to emergency services and crash investigation teams. Our transport partners have already expressed an interest in personal black box recorders that could be used to reduce response time to a crash scenario and to aid research concerning how and why crashes have occurred (for cars, planes, trains, etc.). In addition, for the creative visiting theme, accelerometers could be utilised in theme park attractions to offer novel data concerning a user’s specific experience of a ride. They may also be exploited in a wide range of other leisure areas where personal acceleration profiles will be valued, e.g. stock car racing, gliding, parachuting, and so on.

This project aimed to understand the technical feasibility of smartphones for providing accurate and relevant data regarding personal acceleration profiles. The work is now complete (April 2011) and proposals are being developed within specific digital economy application areas to exploit results.