ISCRAM Summer School lecture Prof. Ralph Morelli

Free and Open
Mobile Technologies
for
Crisis Response

Ralph Morelli
Trinity College, Hartford, CT
ralph.morelli@trincoll.edu

The H-FOSS Summer Institute

Slide: 5 ISCRAM—Summer Seminar Tilburg University, August 24, 2009

Motivation

• David Patterson (ACM) Nov. 2005, (post Katrina):
Let’s help our neighbors!

• David Patterson (ACM) Mar. 2006:
Join the open-source movement!

• Our Question:
Will students building software for the
community help revitalize computing
education?


NSF/CPATH Grant
• CPATH: Revitalizing Undergraduate Computing
Education.
• Trinity, Connecticut College, Wesleyan.
• Getting students involved in building open
source software to help society through:
– Video conference courses.
– Summer internship program 2008/9.
– National and regional workshops for faculty.
– HFOSS Chapter program.
– HFOSS Certificate program.


Portable/Sustainable Partnership
Computing IT Corporations
Departments • Host interns
• Fund and advertise
• Teach computing The Humanitarian
• Volunteer expertise
• Build FOSS FOSS
• Recruit students
• Gain skills and Project
opportunities

Humanitarian
Community
• Acquire software.
• Host interns
• Teach volunteerism


Sahana Volunteer Mgmt Module


Medical Record System
• OpenMRS: Electronic medical record system for
developing countries.
• Deployments: Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, …
• Initiated by Paul Farmer of Partners in Health and the
Regenstrief Institute.
• Supported by WHO, CDC, Clinton Foundation,…
• Our contributions
– Touchscreen module and toolkit (Summer 07)
– Image Manipulation Module (Summer 08)
– Remarks (post-it notes) module (Summer 09)


POSIT/ Android
Portable Open Search and Identification Tool


Outline

Part I: Free and open source software
FOSS history and principles.
Why is FOSS important for humanitarian response.
Part II: Mobile technologies for Crisis Response
Mobile phones, SMS, smartphones.
Examples of professional and citizen uses
Part III: Case studies
RapidSMS
POSIT/Android (hands-on demo)
Part IV: Programming the Android phone? (after
class)
Hello World Exercise

Free and Open Source Software

!"#$%&’()*+#.,#,-*#/%0)*&#+10** 21(+*’#,-.,# (3 #(4*#.
,- #+ #" 0 #
5+%/+.6#"# 1’,#’-.+*#(,#7 (,- #%,- +
6 * #5*% *#7-%#0(4*#(,8
50 #"#
$.&&%,#(&#/%%)#$%&’$(*&$*# ’ (/&#.#&%&)(’$0%’1+*#./+**6*&,
#
%+#.#’%3,7.+*#0($*&’*#./+**6*&,8

88"9 %%4 %+#5*%50 #7-%6#4& &/#,- *:# .+* #-*05(&/
8 6#0 (&/#3 *#3%+ %7( #
- 16. &(,:#(’#.’#(6 5%+,.&
,#.’#6%&*: ;8## $-.+ ) #>,.0
<#=( 06.&?
#
@ABC


FOSS is freedom to …

• … run the program.
• … study how the program works.
• … share copies with your neighbor.
• … improve the program to benefit the community.

"Free software" is a matter of liberty, not price. To
understand the concept, you should think of "free"
as in "free speech," not as in "free beer."

(Richard Stallman, The Free Software Definition)

www.fsf.org


Linux ...
• … is the kernel of GNU/Linux.
• … started as a hobby project in 1991.
• … a community of 1000s of developers.
• … 370 Mb of code under GNU/GPL license.
• … distributed by projects (Debian) and companies (Fedora
RedHat)

Hello everybody out there using minix - I'm
doing a (free) operating system (just a
hobby, won't be big and professional like
gnu) ...

(Linus Torvald, Usenet post, 1991)


FOSS development is ...
• … based on the community (bazaar) model.
• … open and transparent.
• … a meritocracy based on peer review.
• … closely tied to the user community.
• … release early and often philosophy.

Every good work of software starts by
scratching a developer's personal itch.

(Eric Steven Raymond, The Cathedral
and the Bazaar)


FOSS products are protected...
• … by free and open licenses.
• … First: GPL (GNU General Public License)
• … 60+ licenses on Open Source Institute.
• … 80+ licenses listed by FSF. www.opensource.org

• … creative commons license.

The strategic marketing paradigm of open source is
a massively parallel drunkard's walk filtered by a
Darwinistic process.

(Bruce Perens, The Emerging Economic Paradigm
of Open Source, 2006)


FOSS Licenses

Permissive – software can become proprietary.
Strongly protective – software cannot become proprietary.
Weakly protective – software component cannot become
proprietary but can be part of a proprietary system.

Source: David Wheeler, The F/LOSS Slide, 2007.

Many Large Successful Projects

GNU/Linux Mozilla Firefox

MySQL
Apache

Companies
Supporting
FOSS


Market Share - Million Busiest Sites

Source: http://news.netcraft.com (March, 2009)


Humanitarian FOSS
• Free and open source software for the general public good.

• Software that promotes human welfare and human rights.

• Recognized by Free Software Foundation (“help thy neighbor”)

• Advantages of FOSS:

• No discrimination on access.

• Transparency of the code and the project.

• Shared use and development.

• Adaptability and local control.


H-FOSS Example: DataDyne EpiSurveyor Project

UN + Vodaphone collaboration.
Form-based, data gathering FOSS for mobile phones.
Originally PDA-based; now web-based (beta).
Prior to the use of EpiSurveyor, handheld data collection was gathered using
commercial software that required expensive consultant programmers every time a
new form was needed, or an old form needed to be modified. Now, with support
from the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Group Foundation, and in
partnership with the UN World Health Organization and national governments,
EpiSurveyor is putting effective health data-
gathering tools in the hands of country health
officials.-- Joel Selanikio, MD, co-founder of DataDyne.org, July 2007

Video: DataDyne Wireless EpiSurveyor

http://www.youtube.com/v/rI3ED6-jU0Q (1:30)

Example: H-FOSS as a Development Tool

Report from the a UN official:
Designed to facilitate the supervision of health data in public clinics using handheld
computers, the initiative broke ground when country officials modified the open source
EpiSurveyor data-gathering software to meet other public health needs as they arose.
In Kenya health officials modified EpiSurveyor to investigate and contain a polio
outbreak, and in Zambia health officials modified the software to conduct a post-
measles-immunization campaign coverage survey to identify which children had not
been vaccinated. Because
the EpiSurveyor application is open
source, its application was owned and controlled entirely
by WHO and country health officials without depending on
outside consultants.

Why H-FOSS Matters for Developing Countries

Richard Stallman, United Nations, World Summit
on the Information Society Conference, Tunisia,
November 2005
See 7:15 –9:30 minutes

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/051118-WSIS.2005-
Richard.Stallman.ogg

1940: Motorola SCR536

Mobile Technologies

Satellite
telephony

A pager for emergency services.

Sabrina, 1954
St. Louis, MO:
June 17, 1946

Mexico City Earthquake 1985

Mobile Phones and Smartphones

+ =

Wireless Technology: Cellular Service

1946: Hexagonal cells proposed at Bell
labs.
No technology or frequencies.
1960s: Cellular electronics developed.
1970: Cell handoff algorithm.

Wireless Technology: Mobile Phone Coverage

Wireless Technology: Mobile Telephony in the South
Hemisphere

“Leap frog technology” –
more mobile than land lines.
By 2012, 1 billion more.
SMS is everywhere.
Web is spreading to phones.

Wireless Technology: Short Message Service (SMS)

Defined as a GSM standard in
1985
First messages in 1992.
160 7-bit characters / message.
Supported by other mobile
technologies as well as
satellites, landlines.
World's most widely used data
application.
2005: 1 trillion messages
(2/p/d)
2006: $35 billion industry
$0.11/msg for practically 0 cost

Example: Mobile phones in disaster management

MobileActive.org – Global network of people using mobile
phones for social impact.
Goal: Increase the effectiveness of NGOs in communication,
organizing, service, and information.
Interactive database on world wide mobile date – usage,
rates, adoption: http://mobileactive.org/mobiledata

Mobileactive08: Mobiles & Disaster Relief
http://www.youtube.com/v/UADazvwM4-8

Crisis Mapping Then: GDACS

Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System provides
near real-time alerts about disasters.

Crisis Mapping Then: ReliefWeb

• Documents and Maps on humanitarian emergencies and
disasters.
• UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
• 3 million hits / day following Asian Tsunami
• 300,000 maps and documents

Crowdsourcing Now:

Ushahidi (Swahili for testimony): Started mapping reports
of violence following the 2008 Kenya election.
Premise: Gathering and mapping crisis information from
citizens can provide real time insights.
Citizen journalism.
Ushahidi Engine: Allows citizens to gather and map reports
by mobile phone, email and the web.
Free and open source.
Pluggable, extensible web architecture.
Volunteer effort: Kenya, South Africa, Uganda,
Malawi,Ghana, the Netherlands, U.S.
Partners: FrontlineSMS, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative,
Peace

Example: Ushahidi

Erik's TED talk on Ushahidi
(Crowdsourced Filtering to avoid Info Overload)

http://blog.ushahidi.com/index.php/2009/05/01/eriks-ted-talk-on-ushahidi/

Software: Frontline SMS

FOSS that turns a laptop into
an SMS communication hub.
Works with GSM phones and
existing plans.
Attach a phone and SIM card
and pay per message.

Source: http://www.frontlinesms.com/

Software: Slingshot SMS

Lightweight SMS gateway.
Runs on laptop or USB stick.
Mac, Windows, Linux.
Interfaces with applications.

Source: http://developmentseed.org/

Case Study: RapidResponse in Malawi

• Health platform based on
RapidSMS
• The Earth Institute and
UNICEF Innovation Group for
the Millenium Villages Project.
• Use SMS to facilitate and
coordinate field-based health
providers.
• UNICEF Malawi and UNICEF • Cellphone coverage: Small (4.6%)
but growing rapidly (51%
Innovations, Using Mobile growth,2006-7) (Source: Kinkade
Phones to Improve Child and Verclas. Wireless Technology
Nutrition Surveillance in for Social Change: Trends in Mobile
Malawi, June 2009. Use by NGOs. Washington, DC:
United Nations Foundation, 2008.)


RapidResponse: Information Flow


RapidResponse: Paper to SMS


RapidResponse: Data Entry &
Aggregation


RapidResponse: Analysis


RapidResponse: Findings

• Reduced delays in data transmission.
• Improved data quality.
• Reduced manpower needs for data entry and
analysis.
• Reduced patient dropout rates.
• Improved reporting rates.


RapidResponse: Challenges

• RapidSMS technical issues
• User interface and reporting upgrades.
• Better mechanism for data representation.
• System for sending free form messages.
• Networks and electricity.
• Cost of sending messages (toll-free??)
• Delays and coverage.
• Need for uninterrupted power supply (UPS).
• Need for national internet access.
• Social/political issues.
• Government buy-in, training, education.


Random Walk Gossip (RWG)

Vector in message keeps track of informed nodes:
0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1

A B C D
REQF

Randomly
choose ACK
ACK
a ACK
neighbor.

OKTF

REQF


Research Questions

• How can this work for emergency management?
– Pilot: Somalia emergency response monitoring (July
09).
– Using RapidSMS to submit emergency monitoring
checklist data.
• Can smartphones be used to improve the
amount and type of information transmitted?


Case Study and Demo: POSIT/ Android


What is Android?
• Linux-based mobile operating system.
• Java-based SDK
• Free & open source (Apache 2.0)
• Allows proprietary extensions
• Complaint: SDK not completely FOSS
• Complaint: Specialized Java
• Supported by the Open Handset Alliance
• Released in November 2007
• HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1), Oct 2008
• Today: 3 HTC models, Samsung 17500,
Qigi i6 (China)
• Forthcoming: 18 new models by 12/09.


Open Handset Alliance


Android Features


Mobile & Smartphone Market Share

Gartner: In 2Q-09 worldwide sales of mobile phones declined by
6% over 2Q-08 but sales of smartphones increased by 27%.


Android Market

June 2009 AdMob, June 2009

Android Market (10/2008): March 2009: 2300 Apps, 2/3 free.
July 2009: 5000 Apps.
iPhone Market (6/2007): Sep 2008, 100m downloads, 3000
Apps, 1/5 free

Rapid Android – RapidSMS for the
Android
• A port for RapidSMS for
the Android platform.
• Unicef and Dimagi.
• Proof-of-concept search
and rescue
implementation.
• Distribution and follow-
up of bed nets to combat
malaria.


Moca – Portable medical diagnostics
platform
• Remote medical
diagnostics platform.
• Interfaces with OpenMRS.
• MIT project.
• Connects remote health-
care workers with
hospitals and medical
professionals.


POSIT – Portable Open Search and
Identification Tool
Customizable data gathering and
communication tool.
Proof-of-concept search and
rescue implementation.
Data: GPS, clock, text, audio,
video, images, bar codes.
Communication channels: WiFi,
802.11, GSM telephony, ad-hoc
networking.
On-phone storage: SQLite Db.


POSIT – Communication System Architecture

• GPRS, SMS over GSM
• WiFi over 802.11 b/g
• AdHoc / RWG over 802.11
• GPS
• AdHoc - RWG over 802.11 enabled
phones
running
POSIT


POSIT – Communication channels

Data-rich finds can be
transmitted between phones
and Server.
Telephony: 2G or 3G
depending on provider and
infrastructure.
WiFi: Depending on situation
and infrastructure.
Ad-hoc: Experimental ad-hoc
network can transmit limited
data among phones and
server.

POSIT – System Architecture


POSIT – Walkthrough

• Download POSIT by reading a QR code using the
phone's bar code reader.



• Register the phone with a “mission” by scanning
a QR code.



• Customizable forms interface can be used to
input data about the find.



• Finds can be displayed as a list or on a map.



• The server provides a command and control interface
where finds can be listed, mapped, analyzed.


POSIT – Coverage Tracking

• The phones report their search paths to the sever to
help guide search coverage.



• Phones can communicate in ad-hoc, manycast
mode when infrastructure is missing.


Ad-hoc networking

Disaster areas: cell towers, infrastructure destroyed
Phones talk to each other directly



• A low-power, partition-tolerant, manycast
protocol for disaster area networks.
• Collaborative project with Real-time Systems
Laboratory, Linköping University, Sweden
– PI: Simin Nadjm-Tehrani
– Students: Mikael Asplund, Gustav Niqvist

E
A B
D

C F



• Reach at least N nodes.
• Be energy-efficient.
• Be partition tolerant.
• Require little or no knowledge of system.
• Have reasonable latency.

• Active phase: messages spread using random
walk, ensuring progress but avoiding flooding.
• Inactive phase: messages wait in nodes for
uninformed neighbors to appear.


POSIT Demo Script
Part I: Basic functionality
• Download POSIT App (w/ RWG)
• http://posit.hfoss.org/?=
• Start POSIT
• Register with Server (@Trinity College)
• Server: http://posit.hfoss.org/demo/web/settings
• Username: demo@hfoss.org, Password: iscramdemo
• Register with 'Unexploded Ordinance' Project
• Use POSIT to identify Finds
• Photo, Text, GPS, Timestamp
• Synchronize w/ Server
• Point: All phones have a common set of finds
• Display finds on the Map


POSIT Demo Script
Part II: Ad-hoc networking mode
• Start RWG Activity Ad-hoc Mode
• Record new find
• Should send to other phones w/o Server
• Turn off the server


POSIT Strengths and Limitations

• Limitations
– Not (yet) many Android platforms.
– Doesn't use SMS.
– Lacks a use case client.
• Strengths
– Free and open source.
– Accessible to Android-supported devices.
– Customizable and extensible.
• Research questions/projects.
– Develop and field test for a specific application.
• EG: Sahana, OpenMRS
– Rich data vs. SMS.


What are the research questions??

What are the development issues?


ISCRAM Summer School lecture Prof. Ralph Morelli

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