Sixth UK Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Systems Research Symposium

8th-9th July 2024, Southampton University

Introduction

Introduction

Mobile, wearable and ubiquitous systems have a pivotal role in today’s society and daily life. Research and innovation in these domains has the potential to unlock important new applications and open the door to a better understanding of their use.

Building on the success of the previous symposiums, the venue this year supports discussion and presentation of research within the UK mobile, wearable and ubiquitous systems community.

We solicit the submission of one page presentation abstracts. The work described can range from mature published recent ideas to more preliminary contributions on the following general topics:

  • Mobile, wearable, sensing and ubiquitous systems
  • Applications and implications of mobile, wearable, sensing and ubiquitous systems
  • Emerging mobile technologies: augmented reality, self-driving cars, drones, etc.
  • Privacy and security of mobile, wearable, sensing and ubiquitous systems
  • Resource-efficient machine learning for embedded and mobile platforms
  • Biosensing and health monitoring
  • Personalised machine learning solutions for on device inference
  • Experiences and evaluation of mobile, wearable, sensing and ubiquitous systems
  • Innovations in learning algorithms and models for sensor perception and understanding
  • Mobile and wireless networking
  • Holistic design of mobile systems for performance and energy optimisation

Submissions of one page presentation abstracts will be reviewed and selected for oral presentation based on scope as indicated above. Preference for presentation will be given to early career researchers in case of over-submission. All presented submissions will be published on the programme website (MobiUK.org).

Further details on how to submit can be found below.

Invited Speakers

Noa Zilberman (University of Oxford)

Title: Edge-Powered Dynamic and Secure Swarm Networking

Abstract: Smart environments managing dynamic swarms of mobile nodes often face strong requirements on latency, resilience, security and scalability. In this talk, I will present our work on SmartEdge, enabling decentralized edge intelligence for smart IoT applications in near real-time, and utilizing hardware-accelerated in-network operations for context-aware swarm networking. The talk will focus on the provision of ultra-low latency, ML driven in-network defence against emerging threats in dynamic swarm environments. It will introduce Planter, an open source framework for in-network ML, and the provision of distributed, federated and hybrid deployment of attack detection and mitigation within resource constrained network devices. Using examples from smart transportation and smart manufacturing, the talk will discuss some of the challenges and solutions to future development of smart mobile environments.

Bio: Noa Zilberman is an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford, where she leads the Computing Infrastructure group. Her research focuses on the integration of micro-level architectures and macro level, large scale systems.

Aiden Doherty (University of Oxford)

Title: Using wearables in large-scale biobanks to transform our understanding of health

Abstract: I will discuss the story behind the collection of wrist-worn accelerometer data in over 150,000 research participants across the UK and China, while also describing efforts to collect complementary open human activity recognition validation datasets to further enhance these resources. I will share the development of machine learning methods for sleep, sedentary behaviour, physical activity behaviours and steps, referring to open software tools and data resources of relevance to others in the field.

Bio: Aiden is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow and Professor of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Oxford.

Stylianos I. Venieris (Samsung AI Center, Cambridge, UK)

Title: A Call to Rethink AI Computing at the Consumer Edge: New Challenges and Systems Considerations

Abstract: In the last few years, the rapid progress of deep learning and deep neural networks (DNNs) has enabled the embedding of intelligence across consumer devices, be it voice assistants, smart cameras, or home robots. Nonetheless, recent trends strongly indicate that the next decade of consumer intelligence will require unprecedented levels of computational resources in order to cope with the demands of the new AI use-cases. In this talk, we argue for a paradigm shift towards the next generation of Consumer Edge-AI Computing. We'll start by discussing the new computational challenges of next-generation AI systems. Next, we'll introduce the notion of among-device intelligence, where multiple devices collaborate with each other through the fluid sharing of both context information and computational resources. Finally, we'll discuss how novel components, such as adaptive neural models, multi-DNN accelerators and fluid batching schemes, can be the key towards bringing performant and efficient intelligence to the consumer edge.

Bio: Stylianos Venieris is a Senior Research Scientist at Samsung AI and leads the Distributed AI group, focusing on on-device and distributed forms of machine learning.

Steve Beeby (University of Southampton)

Title: E-Textiles – a New Platform for Wearable Technology

Abstract: This talk will introduce electronic textiles (e-textiles or smart fabrics) and describe the progression of the technology towards becoming a viable platform for wearables. The ultimate vision of the technology is to enable user to engage with their wearable technologies by simply getting dress with the electronic functionality being imperceptible to the wearer. However, combining electronics with textiles is not straightforward due to the particular mechanical characteristics that enable fabrics to drape and flex as well as being very strong and soft and able to survive very harsh conditions. The talk will discuss the fabrication of E-textiles through the Steve Beeby holds a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies on e-textile engineering. He completed his PhD studies in MEMS Resonant Sensors at the University of Southampton, in 1996 and he is a Professor at the University of Southampton since 2011. His research interests include the application of flexible electronics, smart printable materials, and energy-harvesting technologies to electronic textiles (e-textiles). He leads the E-Textiles Network and has established the E-Textiles International Conference series. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, IET and IoP. use of printed smart materials or the integration of flexible electronics and discuss the challenges of suppling power, scaling up towards mass manufacture and surviving the rigours of use.

Bio: Steve Beeby holds a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies on e-textile engineering. He completed his PhD studies in MEMS Resonant Sensors at the University of Southampton, in 1996 and he is a Professor at the University of Southampton since 2011. His research interests include the application of flexible electronics, smart printable materials, and energy-harvesting technologies to electronic textiles (e-textiles). He leads the E-Textiles Network and has established the E-Textiles International Conference series. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, IET and IoP.

Javier Fernandez-Marques (Flower Labs)

Title: Federating everything with Flower

Abstract: Federated Learning has quickly become the preferred form of training AI models when the data cannot be moved to a centralised location due to privacy reasons, legal reasons, logistical reasons, or combinations of these. This talk will be divided into two parts: first, an overview of how a typical Federated Learning pipeline works, followed up by several real-world scenarios where FL has proven to be indispensable. We’ll close this first part of the talk by covering the current open research questions in FL with a special focus on those that arise in cross-device setups. The second part of the talk will be in the form of a tutorial where you will learn how to get started with FL using Flower. You will learn how to federate your existing ML projects and how to make the most out of Flower.

Bio: Javier is a research scientist at Flower Labs. He works on the core framework and develops the Flower Simulation Engine. Javier interests lie in the intersection of Machine Learning and Systems, and more concretely running on-device ML workloads efficiently, a key component in Federated Learning. Javier got his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Oxford in 2021. Before joining Flower Labs, he was a research scientist at Samsung AI (Cambridge, UK).

Organising Committee

  • Alastair Beresford (University of Cambridge)
  • Jagmohan Chahuan (University of Southampton)
  • Katayoun Farrahi (University of Southampton)
  • Shelly Vishwakarma (University of Southampton)
  • Chong Tang (University of Southampton)
  • Neelam Singh (University of Southampton)

Steering Committee

  • Alastair Beresford (University of Cambridge)
  • Sarah Clinch (University of Manchester)
  • Nigel Davies (University of Lancaster)
  • Christos Efstratiou (University of Kent)
  • Katayoun Farrahi (University of Southampton)
  • Fahim Kawsar (Nokia Bell Labs / University of Glasgow)
  • Nic Lane (University of Cambridge)
  • Mahesh Marina (University of Edinburgh)
  • Cecilia Mascolo (University of Cambridge)
  • Mirco Musolesi (University College London)
  • Paul Patras (University of Edinburgh)
  • Alex Rogers (University of Oxford)
  • George Roussos (Birkbeck College)

Register & Attend

Abstract submission: via EasyChair; deadline 18th April, extended until 2nd May 2024
Notification of presentation slot: 31st May 2024
Symposium dates: 8th-9th July 2024
Registration: via University of Southampton University store; deadline 20th June 2024
Programme: Detailed programme

 

Parking

Parking is available on the Avenue Campus (SO17 1BF) and permits are available on request from j.chauhan@soton.ac.uk. Delegates will need to print and display the permit in the windscreen of their vehicle. The walking route from the car park (SO17 1BF) to the location of the conference at the Centernary Building (building 100) is available on Google Maps (or cached picture).

Three-star hotels

  • IBIS Hotel: A budget-friendly option, approximately a 15-minute drive, a 30-minute bus ride, or a 1-hour walk from the campus.
  • Premier Inn Southampton City Centre hotel: About a 10-minute drive, a 25-minute bus ride, or a 50-minute walk from the campus.

Four-star hotels

Five-star hotels

Sponsors

The Symposium will take place at the University of Southampton, UK, specifically in the Centenary Building (100) on the Highfield Campus. Attendees should head to this building upon arrival to register. A Campus Map and interactive Maze Map are available for assistance.

Traveling by train, Southampton Central Station situated just a 10-minute walk from the city centre and provides connections to major UK cities. The Uni-link U1 bus service offers a 20-minute trip to the Highfield campus, with buses departing every 10-15 minutes. Alternatively, taxis are available outside Southampton Central Station, including services like West Quay Taxi (02380 999 999) and Radio Taxis Southampton (02380 666 666).

Traveling by car, the main University postcode is SO17 1BJ. For information about on-campus parking, please visit the university's website. Off-campus parking options include the University of Southampton pay & display carpark (SO17 1TW). It is advisable to pre-book a parking spot from private parking spaces such as JustPark or to use on-street parking around campus.

For air travelers, Southampton Airport (SOU) is 5 miles east of the city centre, serving major airlines with flights across Europe. Ground transportation options from the airport include taxis, the Uni-link bus service, and trains from Southampton Airport Parkway Station to Southampton Central.

The university's website offers additional travel details.

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