computer science

Participatory sensing

Participatory sensing is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Participatory sensing rather than just read about it. In short: Participatory sensing is the concept of communities (or other groups of people) contributing sensory information to form a body of knowledge. Description A growth in mobile devices, for example smartphones, tablet computers or activity trackers, which have multiple sensors, has made participatory sensing viable in the large-scale.

Key takeaways

Participatory sensing belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Participatory sensing to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Participatory sensing from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Participatory sensing is the concept of communities (or other groups of people) contributing sensory information to form a body of knowledge.

Description A growth in mobile devices, for example smartphones, tablet computers or activity trackers, which have multiple sensors, has made participatory sensing viable in the large-scale. Participatory sensing can be used to retrieve information about the environment, weather, noise pollution, urban mobility, congestion as well as any other sensory information that collectively forms knowledge. Such open communication systems could pose challenges to the veracity of transmitted information. Individual sensors may require a trusted platform or hierarchical trust structures. Additional challenges include, but are not limited to, effective incentives for participation, security, reputation and privacy.

See also Crowdsensing Crowdsourcing Crowdmapping Public participation

References

External links Participatory sensing for community building PEPSI: Privacy-Enhanced Participatory Sensing Infrastructure

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Participatory sensing

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Participatory sensing claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Participatory sensing before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Participatory sensing ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Participatory sensing

In research: Participatory sensing appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Participatory sensing in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Participatory sensing is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Crowdsourcing, Human-based computation, Sensory systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Participatory sensing outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Participatory sensing in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Participatory sensing means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Participatory sensing out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Participatory sensing in simple terms?

Participatory sensing is the concept of communities (or other groups of people) contributing sensory information to form a body of knowledge. Description A growth in mobile devices, for example smartphones, tablet computers or activity trackers, which have multiple sensors, has made participatory s…

Why does Participatory sensing matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Participatory sensing?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Participatory sensing.