Abstract

Abstract

Abstract
The use of 360 degrees videos has been increasing steadily in the 2010s, as content creators and users search for more immersive experiences. The freedom to choose where to look at during the video may hinder the overall experience instead of enhancing it, as there is no guarantee that the user will focus on relevant sections of the scene. Visual annotations superimposed on the video, such as text boxes or arrow icons, can help guide the user through the narrative of the video while maintaining freedom of movement. This paper presents a web-based immersive visualizer for 360. videos that contain dynamic media annotations, rendered in real-time. A set of annotations was created with the purpose of providing information or guiding the user to points of interest. The visualizer can be used with a computer, using a keyboard and mouse or HTC Vive, and in mobile devices with Cardboard VR headsets, to experience the video in virtual reality, which is made possible with the WebVR API. The visualizer was evaluated through usability tests, to analyze the impact of different annotation techniques on the users' experience. The obtained results demonstrate that annotations can assist in guiding the user during the video, and a careful design is imperative so that they are not intrusive and distracting for the viewers.

Abstract
The collection of health and fitness longitudinal data can be used to model disease progression and shape new algorithms to diagnose and predict health hazards. Continuously tracking vital signs, in particular heart rate and skin temperature, can be very informative by using models and algorithms to predict and notify the user about when he might be falling ill. With the current wearable devices and the proper algorithms, the individual can be permanently monitored, which might be much more interesting than a one-off reading comparison with the population average, made by a doctor. It would be possible to intervene earlier and to prevent somebody from becoming seriously ill. From a broader perspective, the knowledge about a user’s health can be considered as an element of that user’s context and be used by context aware applications to provide higher value to the user. After the trivialization of the data acquisition sensors, wearable devices, and raw data, the next logical step is the development of contained software components that can infer and produce knowledge from the raw data. These components and the knowledge they produce can be used by all sorts of applications in order to further customize their usage by a specific user. Customization and context awareness, in regard to health, is a wide field for research and there are a multitude of proposals for models and algorithms. In this review work we searched for software components (frameworks, software libraries, etc.), freely available and that can be used as building blocks for other computer systems by software developers. Copyright

Abstract
The peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is characterized by leg pain during walking, and a recommended treatment for this disease is to perform supervised physical activity. In this chapter, a system that monitories the physical activity containing one application for smartwatch, one application for smartphone, and a back-end webservice is presented. The applications collect heart rate, GPS locations, step count, and altitude data. The methodology used for the development of the system was based on the agile method with the production of prototypes. In this chapter, four development cycles, which cover the users' and researchers' needs, are presented. In this work, the main objective is to evaluate the current mobile technologies on the physical activity data collection and the development of a system that assists the users to maintain an active life. © 2018, IGI Global.

Abstract
Aging is a natural process inherent in being human. During the aging process a person's physical and mental condition will degrade, imposing limitations on their life, which can have a great impact on their well-being. Although they are common to all humans, the consequences of aging can be aggravated by the decline in social relations and contact with family and friends. It is therefore of the utmost importance to maintain these relationships throughout life. In this sense, we intend to develop a system to support these people, allowing them to overcome their limitations, promoting and reinforcing the bonds between the user and the elements of his family and group of friends, using the technology. In this article we discuss the prototyping of a support system for the elderly to combat the lack of interaction between these individuals and their social group. With the use of prototyping it s intended a previous validation of the concept and functionalities of this system. The user is placed within the development process and, in this way, it is possible to evaluate the Human-Machine Interaction component and to detect possible problems so that they can be solved in a timely manner. This is an iterative process in which the system is constantly evaluated and readjusted until it is validated.