Date of Graduation

5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Computer Science (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Computer Science & Computer Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Yan, Tingxin

Committee Member

Gashler, Michael S.

Second Committee Member

Gauch, John M.

Keywords

Applied sciences; Logical status inference; Mobile computing; Usage statistics

Abstract

Logical statuses of mobile users, such as isBusy and isAlone, are the key enabler for a plethora of context-aware mobile applications. While on-board hardware sensors (such as motion, proximity, and location sensors) have been extensively studied for logical status inference, continuous usage typically requires formidable energy consumption, which degrades the user experience. In this thesis, we argue that smartphone usage statistics can be used for logical status inference with negligible energy cost. To validate this argument, we present a continuous inference engine that (1) intercepts multiple operating system events, in particular foreground app, notifications, screen states, and connected networks; (2) extracts informative features from OS events; and (3) efficiently

infers the logical status of mobile users. The proposed inference engine is implemented

for unmodified Android phones, and an evaluation on a four-week trial has shown promising accuracy in identifying four logical statuses of mobile users with over 87% accuracy while the average energy impact on the battery life is less than 0.5%.

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