Exposing Contact Patterns
Wed Jul 23, 2008 – 04:44
Original Post:
Exposing Contact Patterns / visual complexity
SocioPatterns.org aims to shed light on patterns in social dynamics
and
coordinated human activity. A case in point is the study of
contact
patterns, which deals with such patterns in contacts among people. To
date,
little is known about these patterns. Although models can help in
learning
more, measuring real-world dynamics is indispensable for obtaining
a
complete picture. Fortunately, emerging technologies such as active
RFID
devices offer previously unfeasible means for collecting this much
needed
data.
The following images are part of a video that gives an impression
of
a first contact patterns experiment and visualization being developed
by
researchers at SocioPatterns.org. The authors did a medium-sized
test
deployment of this experiment during the workshop "Sociophysics: status
and
perspectives" in Villa Gualino, in Turin, Italy, in May 2008. They
asked
volunteers to wear small tags with integrated active RFID
technology,
henceforth called the beacons. These beacons continuously broadcast
small
data packets while the participants lingered in the Bar during breaks,
had
lunch in the Cafeteria or attended presentations at the main workshop
room.
These packets were received by a number of stations and relayed through
a
local network to a server for further processing.
The main visualization
represents the beacons, the stations, and their relations of proximity
as
measured by the system. The beacons are shown as simple discs, which
are
optionally labeled. Two beacons are connected by a link if the
system
detected that they are close to each other. The length, thickness
and
transparency of a link are a function of the strength of the link:
short,
thick and more opaque links represent strong proximity; thin,
transparent
links indicate weak proximity. The size of the discs representing
the
beacons depends on the number and proximity of other beacons, and
specifically is a function of the sum of link weights to other beacons.
The
stations are shown as labeled shapes and laid out in a circle that
spans the main view. The size of these shapes varies according to the
number of
beacons that are close to them.
The visualization client is an Adobe Air application developed in
Flex. The
visualization and physics system use (a mildly modified version of)
the
flare visualization toolkit.