Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 2

Mobile computing is pervasive in our society; every aspect of our daily lives has been touched by the*ubiquitous nature of mobile devices. We have experienced an exponential growth of mobile computing - a*trend that seems to have no limit. More than half of the world's population owns a mobile phone, and there are*close to seven billion mobile subscribers worldwide. Canada's potential for strengthening its mobile*applications and network technology markets lies in its technological innovations, supportive infrastructure and*human resources.*The proposed research to be carried out will focus on creating innovative mobile apps that draw contextual*information from nearby locations via iBeacons (an Internet of Things device) to provide powerful and*personalized user experiences (e.g., personalized messages when a patron browses products in a shoe store).*Leaders in the mobile computing field from both academia and industry have identified these research topics as*areas of tremendous growth where innovative solutions are both needed and likely to have the biggest impact.*Furthermore, the proposed research builds on the strong relationship established between SOTI and Sheridan to*continue previous successful (NSERC Engage 1) funded research and development endeavours.*The benefits of this project to the partner include securing competitive advancement, as well as gaining*insight and knowledge on best practices in developing leading-edge mobile apps. The collaborative research*team aims to be amongst the first to provide these kinds of rich experiences by exploring wearable devices*(e.g., Apple Watch) to provide personalized contextual experiences to SOTI's clients. The benefit to Sheridan is*increased student engagement in applied research and real-world challenging problems. The benefits to the*research discipline include new knowledge and expertise that will be disseminated and transferred to Canadian*companies locally, provincially, and nationally.