Hamlyn Centre researchers win best paper award at SensorComm

The Hamlyn team was presented with a best research paper award at the Fifth International Conference on Sensor Technologies and Applications in Nice, France earlier this year.

The paper describes a new operating system that simplifies the Body Sensor Network (BSN) application development and allows for wider use of the system.

The provision of “ubiquitous” and “pervasive” monitoring of physical, physiological, and biochemical parameters in any environment and without activity restriction and behaviour modification is the primary motivation of BSN research. The technology has the potential to improve healthcare and wellbeing monitoring as it can be utilised at any time and at any location. In particular, it can help with managing global challenges such as the ageing population, which are increasing across the world and chronic conditions, such as diabetes, which are also on the rise.

Current operating systems for the networks are often specialised and complicated to use. The team focused on providing a streamlined programming environment by using a simple Application Programming Interface (API) and a Java execution platform that does not suffer from high execution costs (by using run-time compilation techniques) – this avoids the implementation of complex networking strategies. This award-winning research, supported by the ESPRIT project, which is a five-year collaborative research consortium funded by EPSRC and led by Imperial, demonstrates a new operating system targeted specifically for BSN applications that is easier to use.

 Lead author, Joshua Ellul, comments on how his research contributes to improving healthcare:

“As a computer scientist, I am extremely excited that my work can improve the quality of life of others, particularly those who need it the most such as elderly patients who are often the most vulnerable. My research would not be possible without the contributions of multi-disciplinary team of clinicians and research scientists at the Hamlyn Centre.”

Professor Guang-Zhong Yang, co-author and director of the Hamlyn Centre said:

“Sensor technology is set to revolutionise the way we monitor our health and wellbeing. We face a number of challenges over the next decade including how to manage an ageing population. We are delighted that our research is internationally recognised by the Sensor Technology community. Next year we will release the subsequent framework of the BSNOS which will focus on allowing other scientists and people with no experience of programming to control body sensor networks to their needs. This will further enhance how our research can be applied to a wider community.”  

Watch Josh demonstrate how the BNOS platform works.

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