[pt] A exponencial perspectiva de aumento do número de idosos saudáveis pode representar um novo mercado para muitas indústrias, tornando cada vez mais relevante compreender as necessidades do idoso na busca pelo envelhecimento ativo, que compreende a otimização das oportunidades de saúde, participação e segurança, acarretando melhorias na qualidade de vida e participação contínua em questões sociais, econômicas e culturais na terceira idade. Pautado no conceito de exclusão digital do idoso, este estudo de natureza qualitativa centrou-se no smartphone para investigar não apenas o seu aspecto utilitário, mas sim compreendê-lo a partir do seu conteúdo simbólico, carregado de significados. A coleta de dados baseou-se em grupo de foco e entrevistas em profundidade com sujeitos a partir de 65 anos e posse de smartphone. Métodos projetivos foram utilizados para atingir temas sensíveis, tendo os dados sido tratados por meio de técnicas de análise de conteúdo. Revelaram-se duas camadas analíticas no estudo: em primeiro lugar, precedentes individuais e sociais da compreensão do smartphone; a seguir, o entendimento dos significados positivos e negativos atribuídos ao objeto. A divisão digital foi reconhecida através do apontamento da rejeição ao smartphone como escudo para camuflar limitações e problemas característicos dos idosos. Por um lado, se valorizou a praticidade oferecida, por outro, foram denunciados rituais prejudiciais às relações sociais e ao senso de coletividade. Essa relação análoga de aproximação e de exclusão social revelou vulnerabilidades de consumo que devem ser mais profundamente investigadas por estudos qualitativos que evitem reducionismos e generalizações. / [en] The exponential prospect of increasing the number of healthy elderly people may represent a new market to many industries, becoming increasingly relevant understanding needs in the search of an active aging, which includes the optimization of opportunities in health, participation and security, resulting in improvements in quality of life and continuous participation in social, economic and cultural issues in the elderly. Lined in the concept of digital exclusion of the elderly, this qualitative research focused on the smartphone, not only for its practical aspect, but also to comprehend it starting from its symbolic content full of meanings. The data collection was based in a focus group and in-depth interviews with subjects from 65 years old who own a smartphone. Projective methods were used to reach sensitive issues, and the data were treated using content analysis techniques. Two analytics layers have emerged in this study: in first place, individual and social precedents of smartphone understanding; then the acknowledge of both positive and negative meanings assigned to the object. The digital divide was recognized by pointing the rejection to the smartphone as a shield to mask the limitations and problems characteristic of the elderly. On one hand, the practicality offered was appreciated, but on the other hand, there were denounced rituals detrimental to social relations and the sense of collectivity. This analogous relation of approximation and social exclusion revealed consumption vulnerabilities that should be deeply analyzed by qualitative researches that avoid reductions and generalizations.

Around one percent of the Swedish population is defined as visually impaired and ten percent of them are classified as blind (Funka, n.d.; SRF, 2017a). A study shows that the prevalence of nearsightedness will increase to around half the population in the world in 2050 (Holden et. al., 2016). This suggests an increased need for solutions that work for people with reduced vision, not only for visually impaired but for a large group of the population. The aim of the project is to conceptualize a technological mainstream solution that supports people when shopping for groceries. The focus is on making this solution accessible for people with low vision. The project was planned based on the human-centered design process described by IDEO.org (2015), with an overall process divided into three phases: inspiration, ideation, and implementation. In the first phase, inspiration, a literature review was done, different field studies and other research methods were carried out. The outcome of the phase was three personas, two scenarios, and a design specification. During the second phase, ideation, the project scope was narrowed down – focusing on physical grocery stores (excluding online stores) and on conceptualizing a smartphone application. An ideation workshop was conducted, followed by concept creation, paper prototyping, scenario writing, user evaluations and a final concept selection. In the last phase, implementation, follow up feedback sessions were held and a simulation test of the final concept was held. Visualizations and presentation of the final concept were done. A list of summarized design principles was created, as support for further work on designing the application for low vision users. The final concept is based on a smartphone application that supports the customer through shopping list management, aisle navigation, item selection and item scanning, for a seamless customer experience for both people with full and low vision. The technology that will be utilized is Pricer AB's electronic shelf labels (ESL) with item positioning, customer navigation, and individual flashing light, combined with the grocery store online database with item descriptions and images. Here follows an example of how the interaction could look like for someone with low vision: He always prepares his shopping list before heading to the store, this way he knows the shopping will be easier for him. In the store, he gets all items on the list presented in the correct order of the store, in that way he knows what to search for. When looking for soy sauce from his shopping list he has trouble remembering where the section is, so he checks it up with the navigation. He realizes that it was just around the corner of where he just passed by. Once at the section he is presented with a list of different soy sauces in the application, matching his location, previous purchases and the soy sauce on his shopping list. He can now select the one that he prefers, and a picture of it appears on the screen, simultaneously a flashing green light appears by the item on the shelf, and he can easily and independently find the way right up to the soy sauce he wants. / Ungefär en procent av Sveriges befolkning är synskadade, och tio procent av dem är så pass gravt synskadade att de kan definieras som blinda (Funka, n.d.; SRF, 2017a). Enligt en studie förväntas närsynthet världen över att öka, och under 2050 vara uppe i hälften av jordens befolkning (Holden et. al., 2016). Detta tyder på ett ökat behov av lösningar som fungerar för personer med nedsatt syn, inte bara för synskadade utan för en stor del av befolkningen. Målet med projektet är att undersöka nuläget och behoven för synsvaga personer när de handlar mat, för att sedan kunna utveckla universell teknisk ­lösning som ska fungera som ett stöd när man handlar mat. Projektet planerades utifrån en människocentrerad designprocess beskriven av IDEO.org (2015), som är indelad i tre faser: inspiration, idégenereringen och genomförande. I den första fasen, inspiration, gjordes en litteraturstudie, flera fältstudier genomfördes, samt andra research metoder. Resultatet här var tre personas, två scenarion och en designspecifikation. Under den andra fasen, idégenereringen, ställdes nya avgränsningar upp för projektet – fokuset riktades nu mot den fysiska butiker (avgränsning från e-handeln) och att målet skulle vara att ta fram en smartphone-applikation. En idéworkshop genomfördes, konceptgenerering, skapande av pappersprototyper, scenarion, utvärdering med användare och ett slutligt konceptval. I sista fasen, genomförande, följdes det slutliga konceptet upp med tidigare deltagare och det slutliga konceptet testades i en simulerad studie. Visualisering och presentation av slutkonceptet gjordes. Designprinciper för utveckling av applikationer för synsvaga sammanfattades, för att fungera som stöd för vidare arbete med utveckling av konceptet. Slutkonceptet bygger på en smartphone-applikation som ska fungera som stöd för kunden, från skapandet av inköpslista, navigering i butiken, val och identifiering av varor och slutligen att scanna varan. I sin helhet skapar detta en komplett lösning i mataffären för både seende och synsvaga kunder. Tekniken som ska utnyttjas för konceptet är Pricer AB's elektroniska hyllkantsetikett-system (ESL-system) med positionering, kundnavigering samt en lysdiod på varje enskild etikett, i kombination med butikens online-databas med produktbeskrivningar och bilder på varorna. Här kommer en beskrivning av hur interaktionen med systemet kan gå till för någon som är synsvag: Han förbereder alltid sin inköpslista innan han går till affärer, eftersom han vet att det underlättar för honom. Väl i butiken får han varorna från inköpslistan presenterade i den ordningen de kommer, vilket förenklar letandeprocessen. När han letar efter sojasås som han har på listan har han svårt att komma ihåg var i butiken han hittar den, så han kollar upp det med navigeringsfunktionen. Han inser då att han missade den just bakom hörnet som han gick förbi. Väl framme vid sektionen får han en lista med olika sojasåser presenterade i applikationen, de baseras på hans position i butiken, tidigare köp och vad han har på inköpslistan. Han kan nu välja den han gillar och får då en bild på varan på sin skärm, samtidigt som en grön lampa blinkar precis där varan är placerad på hyllan. Han kan nu enkelt och självständigt plocka varan han vill ha från hyllan.

L’objectif de cette thèse CIFRE est d’étudier et de tirer parti des derniers appareils mobiles du marché pour générer des 3D des pièces observées. De nous jours, ces appareils intègrent un grand nombre de capteurs, tel que des capteurs inertiels, des cameras RGB, et depuis peu, des capteurs de profondeur. Sans compter la présence de l’écran tactile qui offre une interface pour interagir avec l’utilisateur. Un cas d’usage typique de ces modèles 3D est la génération de plans d’intérieur, ou de fichiers CAO 3D (conception assistée par ordinateur) appliques a l’industrie du bâtiment. Le modèle permet d’esquisser les travaux de rénovation d’un appartement, ou d’évaluer la fidélité d’un chantier en cours avec le modèle initial. Pour le secteur de l’immobilier, la génération automatique de plans et modèles 3D peut faciliter le calcul de la surface habitable et permet de proposer des visites virtuelles a d’éventuels acquéreurs. Concernant le grand public, ces modèles 3D peuvent être intégrés a des jeux en réalité mixte afin d’offrir une expérience encore plus immersive, ou pour des applications de réalité augmentée, telles que la décoration d’intérieur. La thèse a trois contributions principales. Nous commençons par montrer comment le problème classique de détection des points de fuite dans une image, peut être revisite pour tirer parti de l’utilisation de données inertielles. Nous proposons un algorithme simple et efficace de détection de points de fuite reposant sur l’utilisation du vecteur gravite obtenu via ces données. Un nouveau jeu de données contenant des photos avec des données inertielles est présenté pour l’évaluation d’algorithmes d’estimation de points de fuite et encourager les travaux ultérieurs dans cette direction. Dans une deuxième contribution, nous explorons les approches d’odométrie visuelle de l’état de l’art qui exploitent des capteurs de profondeur. Localiser l’appareil mobile en temps réel est fondamental pour envisager des applications reposant sur la réalité augmentée. Nous proposons une comparaison d’algorithmes existants développés en grande partie pour ordinateur de bureau, afin d’étudier si leur utilisation sur un appareil mobile est envisageable. Pour chaque approche considérée, nous évaluons la précision de la localisation et les performances en temps de calcul sur mobile. Enfin, nous présentons une preuve de concept d’application permettant de générer le plan d’une pièce, en utilisant une tablette du projet Tango, équipée d’un capteur RGB-D. Notre algorithme effectue un traitement incrémental des données 3D acquises au cours de l’observation de la pièce considérée. Nous montrons comment notre approche utilise les indications de l’utilisateur pour corriger pendant la capture le modèle de la pièce. / Room layout generation is the problem of generating a drawing or a digital model of an existing room from a set of measurements such as laser data or images. The generation of floor plans can find application in the building industry to assess the quality and the correctness of an ongoing construction w.r.t. the initial model, or to quickly sketch the renovation of an apartment. Real estate industry can rely on automatic generation of floor plans to ease the process of checking the livable surface and to propose virtual visits to prospective customers. As for the general public, the room layout can be integrated into mixed reality games to provide a better immersiveness experience, or used in other related augmented reality applications such room redecoration. The goal of this industrial thesis (CIFRE) is to investigate and take advantage of the state-of-the art mobile devices in order to automate the process of generating room layouts. Nowadays, modern mobile devices usually come a wide range of sensors, such as inertial motion unit (IMU), RGB cameras and, more recently, depth cameras. Moreover, tactile touchscreens offer a natural and simple way to interact with the user, thus favoring the development of interactive applications, in which the user can be part of the processing loop. This work aims at exploiting the richness of such devices to address the room layout generation problem. The thesis has three major contributions. We first show how the classic problem of detecting vanishing points in an image can benefit from an a-priori given by the IMU sensor. We propose a simple and effective algorithm for detecting vanishing points relying on the gravity vector estimated by the IMU. A new public dataset containing images and the relevant IMU data is introduced to help assessing vanishing point algorithms and foster further studies in the field. As a second contribution, we explored the state of-the-art of real-time localization and map optimization algorithms for RGB-D sensors. Real-time localization is a fundamental task to enable augmented reality applications, and thus it is a critical component when designing interactive applications. We propose an evaluation of existing algorithms for the common desktop set-up in order to be employed on a mobile device. For each considered method, we assess the accuracy of the localization as well as the computational performances when ported on a mobile device. Finally, we present a proof of concept of application able to generate the room layout relying on a Project Tango tablet equipped with an RGB-D sensor. In particular, we propose an algorithm that incrementally processes and fuses the 3D data provided by the sensor in order to obtain the layout of the room. We show how our algorithm can rely on the user interactions in order to correct the generated 3D model during the acquisition process.

Les espèces végétales, et en particulier les espèces d'arbres, forment un cadre de choix pour un processus de reconnaissance automatique basé sur l'analyse d'images. Les critères permettant de les identifier sont en effet le plus souvent des éléments morphologiques visuels, bien décrits et référencés par la botanique, qui laissent à penser qu'une reconnaissance par la forme est envisageable. Les feuilles constituent dans ce contexte les organes végétaux discriminants les plus faciles à appréhender, et sont de ce fait les plus communément employés pour ce problème qui connaît actuellement un véritable engouement. L'identification automatique pose toutefois un certain nombre de problèmes complexes, que ce soit dans le traitement des images ou dans la difficulté même de la classification en espèces, qui en font une application de pointe en reconnaissance de formes.Cette thèse place le problème de l'identification des espèces d'arbres à partir d'images de leurs feuilles dans le contexte d'une application pour smartphones destinée au grand public. Les images sur lesquelles nous travaillons sont donc potentiellement complexes et leur acquisition peu supervisée. Nous proposons alors des méthodes d'analyse d'images dédiées, permettant la segmentation et l'interprétation des feuilles d'arbres, en se basant sur une modélisation originale de leurs formes, et sur des approches basées modèles déformables. L'introduction de connaissances a priori sur la forme des objets améliore ainsi de façon significative la qualité et la robustesse de l'information extraite de l'image. Le traitement se déroulant sur l'appareil, nous avons développé ces algorithmes en prenant en compte les contraintes matérielles liées à leur utilisation.Nous introduisons également une description spécifique des formes des feuilles, inspirée par les caractéristiques déterminantes recensées dans les ouvrages botaniques. Ces différents descripteurs fournissent des informations de haut niveau qui sont fusionnées en fin de processus pour identifier les espèces, tout en permettant une interprétation sémantique intéressante dans le cadre de l'interaction avec un utilisateur néophyte. Les performances obtenues en termes de classification, sur près de 100 espèces d'arbres, se situent par ailleurs au niveau de l'état de l'art dans le domaine, et démontrent une robustesse particulière sur les images prises en environnement naturel. Enfin, nous avons intégré l'implémentation de notre système de reconnaissance dans l'application Folia pour iPhone, qui constitue une validation de nos approches et méthodes dans un cadre réel. / Plant species, and especially tree species, constitute a well adapted target for an automatic recognition process based on image analysis. The criteria that make their identification possible are indeed often morphological visual elements, which are well described and referenced by botany. This leads to think that a recognition through shape is worth considering. Leaves stand out in this context as the most accessible discriminative plant organs, and are subsequently the most often used for this problem recently receiving a particular attention. Automatic identification however gives rise to a fair amount of complex problems, linked with the processing of images, or in the difficult nature of the species classification itself, which make it an advanced application for pattern recognition.This thesis considers the problem of tree species identification from leaf images within the framework of a smartphone application intended for a non-specialist audience. The images on which we expect to work are then potentially very complex scenes and their acquisition rather unsupervised. We consequently propose dedicated methods for image analysis, in order to segment and interpret tree leaves, using an original shape modelling and deformable templates. The introduction on prior knowledge on the shape of objects enhances significatively the quality and the robustness of the information we extract from the image. All processing being carried out on the mobile device, we developed those algorithms with concern towards the material constraints of their exploitation. We also introduce a very specific description of leaf shapes, inspired by the determining characteristics listed in botanical references. These different descriptors constitute independent sources of high-level information that are fused at the end of the process to identify species, while providing the user with a possible semantic interpretation. The classification performance demonstrated over approximately 100 tree species are competitive with state-of-the-art methods of the domain, and show a particular robustness to difficult natural background images. Finally, we integrated the implementation of our recognition system into the \textbf{Folia} application for iPhone, which constitutes a validation of our approaches and methods in a real-world use.

Denna uppsats redovisar en studie i hur en söktjänst på Internet kan kompletteras, antingen via en mobilapplikation eller genom en responsiv webbplats, för att underlätta användning via en smartphone. Fokus för undersökningen ligger på Riksarkivets söktjänst Nationell ArkivDatabas (NAD) som för tillfället inte är anpassad till mobila enheter. Vårt mål är även att undersöka hur inställningen ser ut för applikationer och responsiva webbplatser bland användare samt hur dessa åsikter skiljer sig mellan olika användarmålgrupper. Tillsammans med information från tidigare forskning har en studie utförs för att undersöka för- och nackdelar mellan appar respektive responsiva webbplatser. I våra undersökningar har vi valt att använda oss av två datainsamlingsmetoder: en kvantitativ webbenkät och semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer, som komplement till varandra. Totalt nio intervjuer har gjorts med tre personer ur varje Riksarkivets huvudmålgrupper. En webbenkät har även publicerats på Riksarkivets och Stockholms stadsarkivs webbplatser. / This paper reports a study in how a search service on the Internet can be completed either through a mobile application or through a responsive website, to facilitate use on a smartphone. The focus of the study is on the National Archives' search service National Archives Database (NAD), which is not currently adapted to mobile devices. Our aim is also to investigate how the attitude looks for applications and responsive websites among users and how these views differ between user groups. Together with data from previous research, a study was conducted to examine the pros and cons between apps and responsive websites. In our investigations we have chosen to use two methods of data collection: a quantitative web survey and semi-structured qualitative interviews, to complement each other. A total of nine interviews were conducted with three members from each of National Archives' main target groups. An online survey has also been published on the National Archives and Stockholm stadsarkivs websites.

Digital technology is used today to help consumers in everyday life for example, webpage design and appearance for different devices such as computers, smartphones and tablets. Homepages for all devices can be based on a specific coding called "Responsive Web Design" (RWD).From a social and literary point of view, it appears that RWD in its current form has some problems while transitioning from computer displays to tablets and smartphones. Using the common base that RWD allows for equivalent design expression to different screen sizes should be created by all devices. Although this possibility exists today, there are often differences in navigation that can confuse the user. A consistent design expression facilitates the recognition of the navigation. Additionally, the user experience (UX) through the visual expression can enhance the experience of a webpage or medium used and thus create a whole.This study describes how users look at how the implementation of RWD affects two webpages main menu for computer and smartphone devices. The focus has been on studying the user experience in relation to visual expression. The problem is that RWD in different contexts means that visual expression may be less important and thus changing the user experience. With qualitative interviews, four informants have studied two webpages on both computer and smartphone and expressed their own thoughts. The result of the study shows that the differences between webpages on the computer and smartphone devices do not cause difficulties in the use, but if the similarities between the devices are the same, it creates a more positive user experience. / Digital teknik används idag för att hjälpa konsumenter i vardagen t.ex. hemsidors utformning och utseende för olika enheter så som dator, smartphone och läsplattor. Hemsidor för olika typer av enheter kan göras utifrån en specifik kodning som benämns “responsiv webbdesign” (RWD). Utifrån ett samhälls- och litteraturperspektiv framgår det att RWD i sin nuvarande utformning har en del problematik i övergången från dator till läsplattor och smartphones. Med hjälp av den gemensamma basen som RWD möjliggör för anpassning av samma designuttryck till olika skärmstorlekar ska ett konsekvent uttryck skapas genom alla enheter. Även om denna möjlighet finns idag är det ofta skillnader i navigeringen som kan förvirra användaren. Ett konsekvent designuttryck underlättar igenkänningen av navigationen. Till detta kan användarupplevelsen (UX) genom det visuella uttrycket förbättra upplevelsen av en hemsida eller det mediet som används och därmed skapa en helhet. Denna studie beskriver hur användare ser på hur implementeringen av RWD påverkar två hemsidors huvudmenyer för enheterna dator och smartphone. Fokuset har varit att studera användarupplevelsen i förhållande till det visuella uttrycket. Problemet är att RWD i olika kontext, medför att det visuella uttrycket kan få mindre betydelse, och då ändra användarupplevelsen. Med kvalitativa intervjuer har fyra informanter med sina egna tankar studerat två hemsidor på dator och smartphone. Resultatet i studien visar på att olikheter av hemsidor på enheterna dator och smartphone inte skapar svårigheter i användningen, men om likheten mellan enheterna är densamma skapar det en desto mer positiv användarupplevelse.

O sistema de TV digital interativa está em fase de implantação no Brasil. O middleware Ginga, responsável por permitir a apresentação de programas interativos, prevê que usuários possam interagir com aplicações apresentadas na TV ao pressionar de teclas em um controle remoto. Considerando que controles remotos tradicionais apresentam limitações de usabilidade, este trabalho teve o objetivo investigar a aplicação de conceitos de computação ubíqua, em particular interfaces naturais e multimodais, como alternativas para prover interatividade entre usuários e programas de TV digital. Como resultado, um dispositivo móvel alternativo ao controle remoto tradicional foi utilizado no projeto de novos mecanismos de interação que incluem interfaces baseadas em telas sensíveis ao toque, interfaces sensíveis a gestos capturados por dispositivos que contêm acelerômetros, e interfaces que contêm microfones que permitem entrada de dados por voz. A construção de protótipos correspondentes foi beneficiada pela (assim como beneficiou) implementação prévia de um componente que oferece funcionalidades para envio de dados multimodais para um receptor de TV digital contendo o middleware Ginga, e de um componente que, instalado no receptor, permite a comunicação peer-to-peer entre dispositivos sem fio / The tradicional Brazilian TV system is being replaced by an interactive digital platform. The Ginga middleware, responsible for allowing the presentation of interactive programs, is able to support user interactions with TV applications by means of key presses on a remote control. Since traditional remotes have usability limitations, this work aimed at investigating the application of ubiquitous computing concepts, such as natural and multimodal interfaces, to provide alternatives for the interaction among users and TV applications. Considering the availability of mobile devices such as smartphones, prototype interfaces based on touch screens, as well as gesture-based, accelerometer-based, and voice-based interfaces have been designed and implemented to allow the interaction usually provided by remote controls. The implementation of those interfaces was supported by the previous development of components providing multimodal interaction and peer-to-peer communication in the context of the Brazilian interactive digital TV system middleware

I detta examensarbete har det undersökts vilken teknik för trådlös kommunikation som passar bäst att användas då en ljudsignal ska strömmas trådlöst till multipla mottagare. De tekniker som jämfördes var Wi-Fi och Bluetooth. Andra tekniker för trådlös kommunikation, ZigBee, ANT+ och NFC, valdes bort för att deras maximala datahastighet eller räckvidd inte var tillräcklig. 3G och 4G valdes bort för att det krävs en licens för att få använda dessa. Som mottagare skulle i första hand Android- och iOS-mobiltelefoner användas. Dessutom har det undersökts vilka komponenter som behövs för att tillverka en prototyp som ska kunna strömma en ljudsignal trådlöst till multipla smartphones. Slutligen gjordes ett kopplingsschema för denna prototyp. Wi-Fi med WLAN-infrastruktur ansågs vara bäst lämpad för denna applikation. Prototypen som skulle strömma ljudsignalen behövde därför kunna fungera som en Wi-Fi-accesspunkt. Wi-Fi-chipet AR9271 från Qualcomm Atheros valdes att användas som Wi-Fi-sändare för att den har open-source firmware och var lättare att få tag på jämfört med andra liknande Wi-Fi-chip. För att kunna använda Wi-Fi-chipets Linuxbaserade open-source firmware valdes SAM9M10 MCU från Atmel att användas som kontrollenhet då denna kan användas med Linux Embedded. För att digitalisera den analoga ljudsignalen valdes VS1063 Mp3-kodare från VLSI Solution. / This thesis has examined which wireless technology that is best suited for use when an audio signal are to be streamed wirelessly to multiple recipients. The technologies that where compared was Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other wireless communication technologies, ZigBee, ANT+ and NFC, were excluded because their maximum data rate or range wasn’t sufficient enough. Since it’s required a license to be allowed to use 3G and 4G, these were excluded as well.  As receivers, primarily Android and iOS phones would be used. Furthermore, it has been examined which components that are required for manufacturing a prototype that will be able to stream an audio signal wireless to multiple smartphone’s. Lastly, a circuit diagram for this prototype has been made. Wi-Fi WLAN infrastructure was considered to be best suited for this application. The prototype that would stream an audio signal therefore needed to function as a Wi-Fi access point. AR9271, a Wi-Fi chip from Qualcomm Atheros, was selected to be used as Wi-Fi transmitter because it has an open-source firmware and were easier to come by compared to other similar Wi-Fi chip. To be able to use the Linux-based open-source firmware of the Wi-Fi chip, SAM9M10 MCU from Atmel was selected as control unit since it can be used with Linux Embedded. In order to digitize the analog audio signal, VS1063 MP3 encoder from VLSI Solution was selected.

Background: Overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns that are prevalent in younger age cohorts. Preventive or therapeutic interventions are difficult to implement and maintain over time. On the other hand, the majority of adolescents in the United States have a smartphone, representing a huge potential for innovative digitized interventions, such as weight loss programs delivered via smartphone applications. Although the number of available smartphone applications is increasing, evidence for their effectiveness in weight loss is insufficient. Therefore, the proposed study aims to assess the efficacy of a gamification-based smartphone application for weight loss in overweight and obese adolescents. The trial is designed to be a phase II, single-centre, two-arm, triple-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a duration of 6 months. Method: The intervention consists of a smartphone application that provides both tracking and gamification elements, while the control arm consists of an identically designed application solely with tracking features of health information. The proposed trial will be conducted in an urban primary care clinic of an academic centre in the United States of America, with expertise in the management of overweight and obese adolescents. Eligible adolescents will be followed for 6 months. Changes in body mass index z score from baseline to 6 months will be the primary outcome. Secondary objectives will explore the effects of the gamification-based application on adherence, as well as anthropometric, metabolic and behavioural changes. A required sample size of 108 participants (54 participants per group) was calculated. Discussion: The benefits of the proposed study include mid-term effects in weight reduction for overweight and obese adolescents. The current proposal will contribute to fill a gap in the literature on the mid-term effects of gamification-based interventions to control weight in adolescents. This trial is a well-designed RCT that is in line with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement.

Actuellement, l’asthme est la 1ère maladie professionnelle respiratoire. L’utilisation de produits de nettoyage et de désinfection est un facteur de risque émergent de l’asthme lié au travail, surtout dans le secteur de la santé. Cependant, les produits spécifiques en cause dans l’asthme restent à identifier. L’évaluation de l’exposition professionnelle aux produits de nettoyage et de désinfection est difficile dans les études épidémiologiques. De plus, le biais du travailleur sain (HWE) est important à considérer dans les études épidémiologiques sur l’asthme lié au travail.L’objectif de la thèse comportait deux aspects : 1) un aspect méthodologique visant à améliorer l’évaluation des expositions professionnelles aux produits de nettoyage et de désinfection en développant des méthodes novatrices ; 2) un aspect étiologique visant à estimer le rôle des expositions professionnelles dans le contrôle de l’asthme en prenant en compte un potentiel HWE.Tout d’abord, des matrices emplois-expositions (MEE) et emplois-tâches¬-expositions (METE) ont été développées via les données de femmes non-asthmatiques tirées au sort dans une cohorte prospective d’infirmières américaine (NHSII : Nurse’s Health Study II). Puis, une méthode d’évaluation des expositions professionnelles aux produits de nettoyage et de désinfection utilisant une application smartphone scannant les codes-barres de produits et une base de données (BDD) a été développée. L’étude du rôle des expositions professionnelles aux produits de nettoyage et de désinfection dans le contrôle de l’asthme a été réalisée dans l’étude Épidémiologique des facteurs Génétiques et Environnementaux de l'Asthme disposant de données longitudinales détaillées sur l’histoire professionnelle et les phénotypes d’asthme. Afin de prendre en compte un potentiel HWE, un modèle marginal structural (MMS) a été appliqué.Une hétérogénéité de l’estimation des expositions par les MEE et METE était observée dans la plupart des métiers infirmiers, sauf pour les infirmières exerçant aux urgences et dans l’administration/la formation. Nous avons montré que la METE était plus adaptée que la MEE pour estimer les expositions, en particulier pour les métiers infirmiers ayant des tâches hétérogènes. Via l’application, 126 produits ont été recueillis auprès de 14 personnels hospitaliers de l’étude pilote, et des informations sur les composés étaient disponibles pour tous les produits via la BDD associée. Cette étude a montré que ce nouvel outil était simple à mettre en place, facile et rapide à utiliser pour les participants, et permettait d’évaluer de façon précise les expositions aux différentes substances. Ces résultats confirment la faisabilité et l’intérêt de cette méthode et suggèrent son déploiement dans les études épidémiologiques. Dans la partie étiologique, nous avons observé la présence d’un HWE dans notre échantillon d’étude. Malgré la prise en compte de ce HWE en utilisant un MMS, les résultats des associations ne permettaient pas de conclure sur le rôle des expositions professionnelles dans le contrôle de l’asthme. / Currently, asthma is the first occupational respiratory disease. The use of disinfectants and cleaning products has been identified as an emerging risk factor for work-related asthma, especially in the healthcare industry. However, identifying the specific products at risk for asthma remains challenging, partly because assessment of occupational exposure to disinfectants/cleaning products is difficult in epidemiological studies and needs improvement. Moreover, taking into account possible healthy worker effect (HWE) is essential in work-related asthma study.The aims of the thesis were to improve the methods for assessment of occupational exposure to disinfectants/cleaning products by developing new methods; and to study the association between occupational exposure to disinfectants/cleaning products and asthma control taking into account a possible HWE.First, job-exposure (JEM) and job-task-exposure matrices (JTEM) have been created using data from a random sample of women without asthma from a large prospective cohort of US nurses (NHSII: Nurse’s Health Study II). Second a new assessment method using a smartphone application with a barcode scanner and a database was designed to evaluate occupational exposure to disinfectants and cleaning products. The study of the association between occupational exposure to disinfectants and cleaning products and asthma control has used data from the French Epidemiological study on the genetics and environment of asthma. Longitudinal data were available on occupational history and asthma phenotypes. To control for a possible HWE, a marginal structural model (MSM) was used.For the first part, JEM and JTEM exposure estimates were heterogeneous in most nursing jobs, except in emergency room and education/administration. The JTEM may provide more accurate estimates than the JEM, especially for nursing jobs with heterogeneous tasks. Through the smartphone application, 126 products were registered for 14 hospital workers of the pilot study. Information on components was available for all products in the database. The method developed is feasible and applicable to larger epidemiological studies. In the etiological part, a HWE was observed in the study sample. Even after controlling for a HWE, results did not allow concluding on the association between occupational exposures and control of asthma.