Portolio of David Elkan-Gonzalez

The task of checking the integrity of sewer lines requires a worker to block a street, climb down a manhole, take some simple sensor data, then climb back up and repeat in several locations. Placing a BLE sensor in the sewer instead could dramatically reduce the work needed to check these lines. BLE sensors also enable monitoring stations, such as atmospheric monitoring stations, without the need for significant infrastructure. The problem however, is that somehow this data needs to get from these BLE sensors to the databases that need it. The broadcast range of BLE is limited, and placing longer ranged broadcaster would use too much energy. For this project our challange was to find a way to convince people pass within range of these sensors, then to collect and upload the data with their mobile phones.

The project began with a focus on User Oriented Design. We went through many rounds of research, ideation, user codesigns, and persona constructing. Throughout this process we got the most traction when we brought up ideas focusing on gamification, but there was one problem we got from our potential users. At first we thought the data management aspect, the downloading and uploading of BLE sensor data, would be a background activity done behind the scenes. Unfortunately the idea of their devices being used to piggy back data without their knowledge often made our potential users feel a bit uncomfortable. As a result we decided to make data collection the focus of our app, and the idea of WhisperSpot began to form.

Whisperspot is a spy alliance themed Android game designed to collect data from Bluetooth Low Energy sensors. Players using WhisperSpot travel to key control points, known as WhisperSpots, in the real world to gather intel and gain influence for their alliance. In doing so, they also collect sensor data from any BLE devices that are within range of a given WhisperSpot. This data would be stored on the phone until the player next connects to wifi, at which point it automatically uploads. Gathering and uploading intelligence provides influence to a player's alliance. Areas with a high level of influence grant the dominant alliance advantages, encouraging players to collect intel and gain the upper hand for their alliance. Not all WhisperSpots would represent BLE Sensor locations, but to encourage collecting of data locations with BLE Sensors can have more value associated with their intel. As this was an Android Development project, we worked in Android Studio and wrote in Java. We developed this project to a prototype stage which demonstrated the feasibility of the idea and the basic structure of the game. The sponsor for this project was very enthusiastic about the results.