Scent is looking for enthusiastic developers to take part in the Scent Appathon and to compete in the rapid development of a new smartphone application. Participants will be tasked to build an app that can train citizen scientists how to better use the Scent Explore app. Scent Explore is a fun, new mobile gaming app developed by the Scent project, to incentivise citizens to explore nature and report changes in their local environment. Citizens use Scent Explore to capture hidden Scent creatures and collect valuable information about water velocity by taking short videos of objects floating down rivers. You can download Scent Explore here.
Participants are requested to develop an app that can teach citizens the best technique for capturing these videos. The app should allow users to practice their technique and provide feedback, tips and corrections on how to improve their skills. By improving citizens’ video technique, the winning app will support the collection of higher-quality data that is used by the Scent researchers to create models for the management and prevention of flooding!
You can view the presentation from our webinars here.
If you have any questions, you can also email appathon@scent-project.eu.
How to Participate
To enter, send a short description of your idea (1000 words plus any pictures, graphs etc) and a short biography (200 words) to appathon@scent-project.eu by 29 March 2019. If you are applying as a team, a representative should apply on behalf of your team, and include the names of all team members.
All entrants will receive feedback on the relevance of their submissions by 11 April 2019.
Selected participants will then enter the ‘rapid development’ phase where they will develop their proposed app in a one-month period. The deadline for submitting the final developed app is by 17 May 2019 at 00:00 CET. The apps should be submitted to https://isense-cloud.iccs.gr/s/Scent_Appathon.
The winner of the Appathon will be announced on 24 May 2019.
Participation in the Scent Appathon is subject to the attached terms and conditions.
The Prize
The winner of the Scent Appathon will be awarded the following prizes:
– The app will be included and promoted as part of the Scent Toolbox, making it available to an estimated 1500 currently registered users;
– The exhibition of the app at the Scent Showcase, 20 June 2019 in Athens, Greece (travel and participation costs will be covered by the Scent project);
– The demonstration and testing of the app in the final pilot campaign of the Scent project, 21 June in Athens, Greece;
– The usage of the app during the remaining Scent pilot campaigns to be organised in Athens, Greece, and the Danube Delta, Romania;
– Promotion of the app through the project website, social media and other communication activities, including a live broadcast of the app during the Scent Showcase and the featuring of the app on the WeObserve Website.
Instructions
Developers are asked to create a mobile application that can train users to improve their technique in capturing videos using the Scent Explore app. The new app should provide a test suite where users can practice their video technique and check if they are following the guidelines provided to them for using Scent Explore. The app should correct them when they are not following the guidelines, and provide feedback and tips on how to improve their technique.
The training material in the app can be based on augmented reality and graphics, or else use videos collected by volunteers using the Scent Explore app in previous Scent campaigns.
The guidelines that should be evaluated by the app are:
– Videos should not be taken from up-close, the floating object should be a small percentage of the total frame;
– The camera frame should include some stationary features located at the riverbank;
– The camera should be steady;
– The camera should be perpendicular to the riverbank;
– The device should not be titled – phones should be held perpendicular to the ground and not angled backward or forward;
– The user should keep the camera stable, fixed in position and not follow the floating object;
– The video may include frames without the floating object, by only at the beginning and end.
You can download the full instructions given to Scent Explore users here. Some example of videos (successful and unsuccessful) are located here.
Criteria
The apps will be evaluated and scored according to the following criteria:
1. The app should be compliant with the video capture guidelines, available here. Each of the seven guidelines will be tested, following the instructions inside the app. Each guideline will be evaluated as either succeeded (Score 1) or failed (Score 0). The sum of these seven scores will be input into the following formula (4*score_sum)/7.
-Score 0-4: Computed based on the formula, according to the identified invalid user actions
2. The messages should be informative and support the user to provide high quality data:
– Score 0 (failed): No messages provided
– Score 1 (good): Messages describing only the user invalid actions
– Score 2 (excellent): Messages describing the user invalid actions and suggestions for improvement
3. The app should include graphic-design and augmented reality elements:
– Score O (failed): No or limited graphic elements
– Score 1 (good): Detailed graphic elements
– Score 2 (excellent): Detailed graphic elements enriched with augmented reality elements
4. The app should be available for at least Android 6. IOS compatibility and will be considered an asset:
– Score O (failed): Compatible only with Android version 6
– Score 1 (good): Compatible with Android version 7+
– Score 2 (excellent): Compatible with both Android version 7+ and IOS
5. The app should provide a way for Scent Toolbox users to collect data (user experience):
– Score 0 (failed): The app shows significant bugs which do not allow normal use
– Score 1 (good): The app provides sufficient interfaces to guide the user towards appropriate data collection
– Score 2 (excellent): The app supports the user based on his level/needs and provides additional tips and helpful information