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Slide 1: Free and Open Mobile Technologies for Crisis Response Ralph Morelli Trinity College, Hartford, CT ralph.morelli@trincoll.edu
Slide 4: http://www.hfoss.org
Slide 5: The H-FOSS Summer Institute Slide: 5 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 6: Motivation • David Patterson (ACM) Nov. 2005, (post Katrina): Let’s help our neighbors! • David Patterson (ACM) Mar. 2006: Join the open-source movement! • Our Question: Will students building software for the community help revitalize computing education? Slide: 6 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 7: NSF/CPATH Grant • CPATH: Revitalizing Undergraduate Computing Education. • Trinity, Connecticut College, Wesleyan. • Getting students involved in building open source software to help society through: – Video conference courses. – Summer internship program 2008/9. – National and regional workshops for faculty. – HFOSS Chapter program. – HFOSS Certificate program. Slide: 7 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 8: Portable/Sustainable Partnership Computing Departments • Teach computing • Build FOSS • Gain skills and opportunities IT Corporations The Humanitarian FOSS Project • Host interns • Fund and advertise • Volunteer expertise • Recruit students Humanitarian Community • Acquire software. • Host interns • Teach volunteerism Slide: 8 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 9: Sahana Volunteer Mgmt Module Slide: 9 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 10: Medical Record System • OpenMRS: Electronic medical record system for developing countries. • Deployments: Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, … • Initiated by Paul Farmer of Partners in Health and the Regenstrief Institute. • Supported by WHO, CDC, Clinton Foundation,… • Our contributions – – – Touchscreen module and toolkit (Summer 07) Image Manipulation Module (Summer 08) Remarks (post-it notes) module (Summer 09) Slide: 10 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 11: POSIT/ Android Portable Open Search and Identification Tool Slide: 11 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 12: Outline Part I: Free and open source software FOSS history and principles. Why is FOSS important for humanitarian response. Part II: Mobile technologies for Crisis Response Mobile phones, SMS, smartphones. Examples of professional and citizen uses Part III: Case studies RapidSMS POSIT/Android (hands-on demo) Part IV: Programming the Android phone? (after class) Hello World Exercise
Slide 13: Free and Open Source Software !"#$%&’()*+#.,#,-*#/%0)*&#+10** 21(+*’#,-.,# (3 #(4*#. ,#+ #" 0 # 5+ %/+.6#"# 1’,#’-.+*#(,#7 (,- #%,- + 6 * #5*% *#7-%#0(4*#(,8 50 #" # $.&&% ,#(&#/%%)#$%&’$(*&$*# ’ (/&#.#&%&)(’$0%’1+*#./+**6*&, # %+#.#’%3,7.+*#0($*&’*#./+**6*&,8 88"9 %%4 %+#5*%50 #7-%6#4& &/#,- *:# .+* #-*05(&/ 8 6#0 (&/#3 *#3%+ %7( # - 16. &(,:#(’#.’#(6 5%+,.& ,#.’#6%&*: ;8## $-.+ ) #>,.0 <#=( 06.&? # @ABC Slide: 13 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 14: FOSS is freedom to … • … run the program. • … study how the program works. • … share copies with your neighbor. • … improve the program to benefit the community. "Free software" is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of "free" as in "free speech," not as in "free beer." (Richard Stallman, The Free Software Definition) www.fsf.org Slide: 14 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 15: Linux ... • … is the kernel of GNU/Linux. • … started as a hobby project in 1991. • … a community of 1000s of developers. • … 370 Mb of code under GNU/GPL license. • … distributed by projects (Debian) and companies (Fedora RedHat) Hello everybody out there using minix - I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) ... (Linus Torvald, Usenet post, 1991) Slide: 15 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 16: FOSS development is ... • … based on the community (bazaar) model. • … open and transparent. • … a meritocracy based on peer review. • … closely tied to the user community. • … release early and often philosophy. Every good work of software starts by scratching a developer's personal itch. (Eric Steven Raymond, The Cathedral and the Bazaar) Slide: 16 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 17: FOSS products are protected... • … by free and open licenses. • … First: GPL (GNU General Public License) • … 60+ licenses on Open Source Institute. • … 80+ licenses listed by FSF. • … creative commons license. www.opensource.org The strategic marketing paradigm of open source is a massively parallel drunkard's walk filtered by a Darwinistic process. (Bruce Perens, The Emerging Economic Paradigm of Open Source, 2006) Slide: 17 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 18: FOSS Licenses Permissive – software can become proprietary. Strongly protective – software cannot become proprietary. Weakly protective – software component cannot become proprietary but can be part of a proprietary system. Source: David Wheeler, The F/LOSS Slide, 2007. Slide: 18 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 19: Many Large Successful Projects GNU/Linux Mozilla Firefox MySQL Apache Companies Supporting FOSS Slide: 19 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 20: Market Share - Million Busiest Sites Source: http://news.netcraft.com (March, 2009) Slide: 20 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 21: Humanitarian FOSS • Free and open source software for the general public good. • Software that promotes human welfare and human rights. • Recognized by Free Software Foundation (“help thy neighbor”) • Advantages of FOSS: • No discrimination on access. • Transparency of the code and the project. • Shared use and development. • Adaptability and local control. Slide: 21 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 22: H-FOSS Example: DataDyne EpiSurveyor Project UN + Vodaphone collaboration. Form-based, data gathering FOSS for mobile phones. Originally PDA-based; now web-based (beta). Prior to the use of EpiSurveyor, handheld data collection was gathered using commercial software that required expensive consultant programmers every time a new form was needed, or an old form needed to be modified. Now, with support from the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Group Foundation, and in partnership with the UN World Health Organization and national governments, EpiSurveyor is putting effective health datagathering tools in the hands of country health officials.-- Joel Selanikio, MD, co-founder of DataDyne.org, July 2007 Video: DataDyne Wireless EpiSurveyor http://www.youtube.com/v/rI3ED6-jU0Q (1:30)
Slide 23: Example: H-FOSS as a Development Tool Report from the a UN official: Designed to facilitate the supervision of health data in public clinics using handheld computers, the initiative broke ground when country officials modified the open source EpiSurveyor data-gathering software to meet other public health needs as they arose. In Kenya health officials modified EpiSurveyor to investigate and contain a polio outbreak, and in Zambia health officials modified the software to conduct a postmeasles-immunization campaign coverage survey to identify which children had not been vaccinated. Because the EpiSurveyor application is open source, its application was owned and controlled entirely by WHO and country health officials without depending on outside consultants.
Slide 24: Why H-FOSS Matters for Developing Countries Richard Stallman, United Nations, World Summit on the Information Society Conference, Tunisia, November 2005 See 7:15 –9:30 minutes http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/051118-WSIS.2005Richard.Stallman.ogg
Slide 25: 1940: Motorola SCR536 Mobile Technologies Satellite telephony A pager for emergency services. Sabrina, 1954 St. Louis, MO: June 17, 1946 Mexico City Earthquake 1985
Slide 26: Mobile Phones and Smartphones + =
Slide 27: Wireless Technology: Cellular Service 1946: Hexagonal cells proposed at Bell labs. No technology or frequencies. 1960s: Cellular electronics developed. 1970: Cell handoff algorithm.
Slide 28: Wireless Technology: AMPS
Slide 29: Wireless Technology: Mobile Phone Coverage
Slide 30: Wireless Technology: Mobile Telephony in the South Hemisphere “Leap frog technology” – more mobile than land lines. By 2012, 1 billion more. SMS is everywhere. Web is spreading to phones.
Slide 31: Wireless Technology: Short Message Service (SMS) Defined as a GSM standard in 1985 First messages in 1992. 160 7-bit characters / message. Supported by other mobile technologies as well as satellites, landlines. World's most widely used data application. 2005: 1 trillion messages (2/p/d) 2006: $35 billion industry $0.11/msg for practically 0 cost
Slide 32: Mobile FOSS Examples
Slide 33: Example: Mobile phones in disaster management MobileActive.org – Global network of people using mobile phones for social impact. Goal: Increase the effectiveness of NGOs in communication, organizing, service, and information. Interactive database on world wide mobile date – usage, rates, adoption: http://mobileactive.org/mobiledata Mobileactive08: Mobiles & Disaster Relief http://www.youtube.com/v/UADazvwM4-8
Slide 34: Crisis Mapping Then: GDACS Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System provides near real-time alerts about disasters.
Slide 35: Crisis Mapping Then: ReliefWeb • • • • Documents and Maps on humanitarian emergencies and disasters. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 3 million hits / day following Asian Tsunami 300,000 maps and documents
Slide 36: Crowdsourcing Now: Ushahidi (Swahili for testimony): Started mapping reports of violence following the 2008 Kenya election. Premise: Gathering and mapping crisis information from citizens can provide real time insights. Citizen journalism. Ushahidi Engine: Allows citizens to gather and map reports by mobile phone, email and the web. Free and open source. Pluggable, extensible web architecture. Volunteer effort: Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Malawi,Ghana, the Netherlands, U.S. Partners: FrontlineSMS, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Peace
Slide 37: Example: Ushahidi Erik's TED talk on Ushahidi (Crowdsourced Filtering to avoid Info Overload) http://blog.ushahidi.com/index.php/2009/05/01/eriks-ted-talk-on-ushahidi/
Slide 38: Software: Frontline SMS FOSS that turns a laptop into an SMS communication hub. Works with GSM phones and existing plans. Attach a phone and SIM card and pay per message. Source: http://www.frontlinesms.com/
Slide 39: Software: Slingshot SMS Lightweight SMS gateway. Runs on laptop or USB stick. Mac, Windows, Linux. Interfaces with applications. Source: http://developmentseed.org/
Slide 40: Case Study: RapidResponse in Malawi • • Health platform based on RapidSMS The Earth Institute and UNICEF Innovation Group for the Millenium Villages Project. Use SMS to facilitate and coordinate field-based health providers. UNICEF Malawi and UNICEF Innovations, Using Mobile Phones to Improve Child Nutrition Surveillance in Malawi, June 2009. • Cellphone coverage: Small (4.6%) but growing rapidly (51% growth,2006-7) (Source: Kinkade and Verclas. Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGOs. Washington, DC: United Nations Foundation, 2008.) • • Slide: 40 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 41: RapidResponse: Information Flow Slide: 41 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 42: RapidResponse: Paper to SMS Slide: 42 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 43: RapidResponse: Data Entry & Aggregation Slide: 43 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 44: RapidResponse: Analysis Slide: 44 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 45: RapidResponse: Findings • • • • • Reduced delays in data transmission. Improved data quality. Reduced manpower needs for data entry and analysis. Reduced patient dropout rates. Improved reporting rates. Slide: 45 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 46: RapidResponse: Challenges • • • • RapidSMS technical issues User interface and reporting upgrades. Better mechanism for data representation. System for sending free form messages. • • • • • Networks and electricity. Cost of sending messages (toll-free??) Delays and coverage. Need for uninterrupted power supply (UPS). Need for national internet access. • • Social/political issues. Government buy-in, training, education. Slide: 46 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 47: Random Walk Gossip (RWG) Vector in message keeps track of informed nodes: 0100101 A REQF Randomly choose a neighbor. ACK B 100001001001 C D ACK ACK OKTF REQF Slide: 47 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 48: Research Questions • How can this work for emergency management? – – Pilot: Somalia emergency response monitoring (July 09). Using RapidSMS to submit emergency monitoring checklist data. • Can smartphones be used to improve the amount and type of information transmitted? Slide: 48 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 49: Case Study and Demo: POSIT/ Android Slide: 49 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 50: What is Android? • Linux-based mobile operating system. • Java-based SDK • • • • Free & open source (Apache 2.0) Allows proprietary extensions Complaint: SDK not completely FOSS Complaint: Specialized Java • Supported by the Open Handset Alliance • Released in November 2007 • HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1), Oct 2008 • Today: 3 HTC models, Samsung 17500, Qigi i6 (China) • Forthcoming: 18 new models by 12/09. Slide: 50 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 51: Open Handset Alliance Slide: 51 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 52: Android Features Slide: 52 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 53: Mobile & Smartphone Market Share Gartner: In 2Q-09 worldwide sales of mobile phones declined by 6% over 2Q-08 but sales of smartphones increased by 27%. Slide: 53 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 54: Android Market June 2009 AdMob, June 2009 Android Market (10/2008): March 2009: 2300 Apps, 2/3 free. July 2009: 5000 Apps. iPhone Market (6/2007): Apps, 1/5 free Slide: 54 Sep 2008, 100m downloads, 3000 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 55: Android Architecture
Slide 56: Rapid Android – RapidSMS for the Android • • • A port for RapidSMS for the Android platform. Unicef and Dimagi. Proof-of-concept search and rescue implementation. Distribution and followup of bed nets to combat malaria. • Slide: 56 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 57: Moca – Portable medical diagnostics platform • • • • Remote medical diagnostics platform. Interfaces with OpenMRS. MIT project. Connects remote healthcare workers with hospitals and medical professionals. Slide: 57 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 58: POSIT – Portable Open Search and Identification Tool Customizable data gathering and communication tool. Proof-of-concept search and rescue implementation. Data: GPS, clock, text, audio, video, images, bar codes. Communication channels: WiFi, 802.11, GSM telephony, ad-hoc networking. On-phone storage: SQLite Db. Slide: 58 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 59: POSIT – Communication System Architecture • GPRS, SMS over GSM • WiFi over 802.11 b/g • AdHoc / RWG over 802.11 • AdHoc - RWG over 802.11 • GPS enabled phones running POSIT Slide: 59 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 60: POSIT – Communication channels Data-rich finds can be transmitted between phones and Server. Telephony: 2G or 3G depending on provider and infrastructure. WiFi: Depending on situation and infrastructure. Ad-hoc: Experimental ad-hoc network can transmit limited data among phones and server. Slide: 60 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 61: POSIT – System Architecture Slide: 61 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 62: POSIT – Walkthrough • Download POSIT by reading a QR code using the phone's bar code reader. Slide: 62 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 63: POSIT – Walkthrough • Register the phone with a “mission” by scanning a QR code. Slide: 63 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 64: POSIT – Walkthrough • Customizable forms interface can be used to input data about the find. Slide: 64 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 65: POSIT – Walkthrough • Finds can be displayed as a list or on a map. Slide: 65 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 66: POSIT – Walkthrough • The server provides a command and control interface where finds can be listed, mapped, analyzed. Slide: 66 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 67: POSIT – Coverage Tracking • The phones report their search paths to the sever to help guide search coverage. Slide: 67 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 68: POSIT – Walkthrough • Phones can communicate in ad-hoc, manycast mode when infrastructure is missing. Slide: 68 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 69: Ad-hoc networking Disaster areas: cell towers, infrastructure destroyed Phones talk to each other directly Slide: 69 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 70: Random Walk Gossip (RWG) • • A low-power, partition-tolerant, manycast protocol for disaster area networks. Collaborative project with Real-time Systems Laboratory, Linköping University, Sweden – – PI: Simin Nadjm-Tehrani Students: Mikael Asplund, Gustav Niqvist E A B C D F Slide: 70 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 71: Random Walk Gossip (RWG) • • • • • • • Reach at least N nodes. Be energy-efficient. Be partition tolerant. Require little or no knowledge of system. Have reasonable latency. Active phase: messages spread using random walk, ensuring progress but avoiding flooding. Inactive phase: messages wait in nodes for uninformed neighbors to appear. Slide: 71 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 72: POSIT Demo Script Part I: Basic functionality • • Download POSIT App (w/ RWG) http://posit.hfoss.org/?= • • • • Start POSIT Register with Server (@Trinity College) Server: http://posit.hfoss.org/demo/web/settings Username: demo@hfoss.org, Password: iscramdemo • • • Register with 'Unexploded Ordinance' Project Use POSIT to identify Finds Photo, Text, GPS, Timestamp • • • Slide: 72 Synchronize w/ Server Point: All phones have a common set of finds Display finds on the Map ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 73: POSIT Demo Script Part II: Ad-hoc networking mode • • • • Start RWG Activity Ad-hoc Mode Record new find Should send to other phones w/o Server Turn off the server Slide: 73 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009
Slide 74: POSIT Strengths and Limitations • Limitations – Not (yet) many Android platforms. – Doesn't use SMS. – Lacks a use case client. Strengths – Free and open source. – Accessible to Android-supported devices. – Customizable and extensible. Research questions/projects. – Develop and field test for a specific application. • EG: Sahana, OpenMRS – Rich data vs. SMS. Slide: 74 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009 • •
Slide 75: What are the research questions?? What are the development issues? Slide: 75 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009