Open data kit sensors: mobile data collection with wired and wireless sensors

Abstract

Sensing data is important to a variety of data collection and monitoring applications. This paper presents the ODK Sensors framework designed to simplify the process of integrating sensors into mobile data collection tasks for both programmers and data collectors. Current mobile platforms (e.g., smartphones, tablets) can connect to a variety of external sensors over wired (USB) and wireless (Bluetooth) channels. However, the proper implementation can be burdensome, especially when a single application needs to support a variety of sensors with different communication channels and data formats. Our goal is to provide a high level framework that allows for customization and flexibility of applications that interface with external sensors, and thus support a variety of information services that rely on sensordata. We use four application examples to highlight the range of usage models and the ease with which the applications can be developed.