Read more: 鈥�Lifelogging: This is your life, on the record鈥�
IS THE idea of wearing a wristband or carrying another lifelogging device unappealing? If so, software that harvests data from gadgets you already own could be the way to get started.
Unlike most lifelogging devices, which collect one type of information 鈥� for example, video in the case of Microsoft鈥檚 SenseCam 鈥� the DigMem program gathers various types of data from smart, connected appliances such as TVs, fridges and phones. The system, developed at Liverpool John Moores University, UK, seeks out input from devices running special software and an open-source operating system like Android. This allows DigMem to store photos, details of TV viewing habits and readings from body sensors, for example. Users can simply log in via a web browser to access their personal archive.
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The developers used machine learning techniques to teach the system to classify captured data (Pervasive and Mobile Computing, ). Once the program learns to associate certain patterns with types of behaviour, moods or events, then it can categorise the data in sophisticated ways. 鈥淚f you knew the features of being happy, then you could ask the algorithms to classify data accordingly,鈥� says Chelsea Dobbins, who led the work. 鈥淚n the future you could simply ask, 鈥榃hen have I been happy?鈥� And the system would return all the information associated with that emotion.鈥�
Andrew Hoskins at the Adam Smith Research Foundation in Glasgow, UK, who researches technology鈥檚 impact on how we recall events, is concerned that such sophisticated logs are an easy target for hackers. 鈥淔or me it opens up a worrying vulnerability, the hacking of memories,鈥� he says.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淭ake it easy: make the fridge track all your snacking鈥�
