The volume of information in the Internet is growing exponentially. The ability to find intelligible information among vast amounts of data is transforming the human vision of the universe and everything within it. The underlying question then becomes which methods or techniques can be applied to transform the raw data into something intelligible, active and personal? This question is explored in this document by investigating techniques that improve intelligence for systems in order to make them perceptive/active to the recent information shared by each individual. Consequently, the main objective of this thesis is to enhance the experience of the user (individual) by providing a broad perspective about an event, which could result in improved ideas and better decisions. Therefore, three different data sources (individual data, sensor data, web data) have been investigated. This thesis includes research into techniques that process, interpret and reduce these data. By aggregating these techniques into a platform it is possible to deliver personalised information to applications and services. The contribution of this thesis is twofold. First, it presents a novel process that has shifted its focus from IoT technology to the user (or smart citizen). Second, this research shows that huge volumes of data can be reduced if the underlying sensor signal has adequate spectral properties to be filtered and good results can be obtained when employing a filtered sensor signal in applications. By investigating these areas it is possible to contribute to this new interconnected society by offering socially aware applications and services. / Sem resumo

The volume of information in the Internet is growing exponentially. The ability to find intelligible information among vast amounts of data is transforming the human vision of the universe and everything within it. The underlying question then becomes which methods or techniques can be applied to transform the raw data into something intelligible, active and personal? This question is explored in this document by investigating techniques that improve intelligence for systems in order to make them perceptive/active to the recent information shared by each individual. Consequently, the main objective of this thesis is to enhance the experience of the user (individual) by providing a broad perspective about an event, which could result in improved ideas and better decisions. Therefore, three different data sources (individual data, sensor data, web data) have been investigated. This thesis includes research into techniques that process, interpret and reduce these data. By aggregating these techniques into a platform it is possible to deliver personalised information to applications and services. The contribution of this thesis is twofold. First, it presents a novel process that has shifted its focus from IoT technology to the user (or smart citizen). Second, this research shows that huge volumes of data can be reduced if the underlying sensor signal has adequate spectral properties to be filtered and good results can be obtained when employing a filtered sensor signal in applications. By investigating these areas it is possible to contribute to this new interconnected society by offering socially aware applications and services. / Sem resumo