People are today using their phones for virtually anything and everything. Even when doing ‘nothing much’, they use their phones to pass the time. Whether it is for the utility of finding their way to their destination, to have a relaxing time with a game, or to connect with friends, the phone is always at hand. All of these interactions with phones can sometimes be in the way of face-to-face interactions, and recently more and more people have started to suggest that people spend more time capturing and talking about moments, than being in the actual moments. At the same time it allows us to stay always connected with friends. Coordinating meet-ups with friends after school has changed its nature, as the phone allows for micro-coordination, and to virtually arrive while being physically late.
The research group SumGroup at the University of Glasgow has recently developed software that records what applications are being used, called AppTracker. By installing the software, a history of what applications are used is recorded, and statistics about how one’s phone or tablet or computer is used can be created. Trends emerge, sleeping patterns are spotted, and the amount of time wasted in Angry Birds every day is revealed.
For this challenge during the GU Tech Society Hackathon, we have created an software API for AppTracker. The API allows 3rd party developers to request access from a user’s AppTracker data, in order to develop new applications. The API will be made available to the participants.
This challenge is about exploring the use of this data to create novel applications based on people’s app use traces. Perhaps you are stuck on a level on Angry Birds, maybe you should contact the person who seem to spend most time in it? The message you sent to a friend remains unanswered, so what is he or she doing on their phone?
Anything that leverages the API and the data it exposes is valid for this challenge. It can be a novel mobile application giving you some instant stats about your own phone use, ora web visualization of some aggregate data from multiple users. We want to see new applications come out of this, and the more imaginative and provocative the idea, the better. The game is on. Good luck!