Overview

Your overview is the first part of the introduction of your FYP reports. It explains the immediate context of the problem you want to solve, tells the reader why the project area is important and identifies your motivation for solving the problem.

For your proposal, the overview will probably be less than one A4 page long, but you will probably add to it for your progress report and/or final report.

For further information, you can read Writing a Research Paper by Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL).

When you get to your final report, OWL suggests that you add the following regarding the scope you chose:

How did you work on the research problem?
Why did you work on the problem the way you did?
Were there other obvious approaches you could have taken to this problem?
What were the limitations you faced that prevented your trying other approaches?
What factors contributed to the way you worked on this problem?
What factor was most important in deciding how to approach the problem?

Sample Overviews From Previous Final Reports

Room-Level Indoor Localization

According to Wikipedia, ubiquitous computing (also called ubicomp or pervasive computing) is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. As opposed to the desktop paradigm, in which a single user consciously engages a single device for a specialized purpose, someone "using" ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems simultaneously, in the course of ordinary activities, and may not necessarily even be aware that they are doing so.

Ubiquitous computing is a long way from being implemented in every home, every office and every urban area. Nevertheless, the concept is gaining momentum as wireless communication and location estimation become more and more common (and even free) in many cities and buildings. These two technologies are essential for it to work.

Wireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of electrical conductors or "wires". The distances involved may be short (a few meters as in television remote control) or long (thousands or millions of kilometers for radio communications). When the context is clear, the term is often shortened to "wireless". Wireless communication is generally considered to be a branch of telecommunications.

Location estimation is a scientific approach to finding the location of a person or object using approximate location information provided through wireless networks and probabilistic techniques. It is also called localization or positioning. The purpose is either to allow systems to monitor the movement and location of users and/or allow users to find their own location and/or access information based on his or her location.

In recent years, technology for outdoor localization has advanced to a precise science and allowed ubiquitous computing to spread rapidly. Examples of outdoor localization are GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, Place Lab, etc. These technologies rely on algorithms like Centroid positioning, Centroid Weighted positioning and Fingerprinting to enhance their accuracy. However, indoor localization technology is still not as accurate, since the indoor environment tends to include a greater number of hindrances, like noise.

Noise is an unwanted disturbance in a wireless signal. It is caused by uneven signal strength from one or more access points at a location at different times. This phenomenon is due to signal strength being absorbed by human bodies or physical obstacles, such as walls, tables, chairs and boxes. The result is that signal paths can change throughout the day.

Room-level localization is indoor localization taken to a higher level of precision: specific areas within a particular room in a building. This poses even further problems for the development of wireless technology. Nevertheless, it is crucial for the advancement of ubiquitous computing.

In our project, we propose a new methodology for room-level localization. We are going to achieve our target by studying others’ work on this subject and trying to make improvements.

Intelligent Location-Based Friend Finding Services

Social networking services are a growing industry on the internet, and people all around the world are socializing with the latest technology. Famous for its popularity, Facebook has over 100 million active users [7] world wide. Another well-known social networking site, MySpace, has attracted 117.6 million visitors [8]. While finding friends online just requires clicking on a search button, looking for random people with the same interests in the real world is much harder.

Try to picture this. You have a day off, and all your friends are busy. Out of boredom, you go to a bar and wonder, “Who could I talk to? I hardly know anyone here.” The same situation applies to university students. A student is having his mid-term next week. He is at the library, but he can’t find anyone to study with him. How can he instantly find someone studying the same subject near him? A possible solution would be a new application that matches people’s interests and instantly shows the shortest path for them to find each other. Today, with wireless Internet technology, it’s possible!

The most popular wireless Internet technology has to be Wi-fi [8]. This is a popular wireless technology used in home networks, mobile phones, video games and more. In particular, it covers the popular IEEE 802.11 technologies [5] .Wi-Fi technologies are supported by nearly every modern personal computer operating system and most advanced game consoles, printers, and other peripherals.

Wireless technology and coverage is growing rapidly in Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s “Government Wi-Fi Programme [9] is scheduled from early 2008 to mid 2009. Through this programme about 350 government premises in different districts will have Wi-Fi facilities installed, so any PC or mobile device with a wireless Internet modem can connect to the Internet for free! The commercial “PCCW Wi-Fi Service” [5] claims to have over 4000 hotspots, which are access points for their subscribers to connect to the Internet all around Hong Kong. In addition, Hong Kong has an enormous amount of wireless access points in houses and offices. These can be used freely by members of FON. (See Appendix D) Location estimation is a scientific approach to finding the location of a person or object using approximate location information and probabilistic techniques. (See Appendix C)

According to Wikipedia, a location-based service (LBS) is an information and entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device. LBS services include services to identify a location of a person or object, such as discovering the nearest banking cash machine or the whereabouts of a friend or employee.

Our goal in this project is to develop intelligent LBS called “Ice Breaker”, using wireless signals. This is a software application that can run on Microsoft Windows-based computers. It will provide instant contact information to find people who want to discuss shared interests or hobbies, or just want to make new acquaintances.

Flood Prediction by Using Optimized Flood Accumulation Algorithms

During seasons of typhoons or hurricanes, it is very important to predict which parts of a city or country will most probably be flooded. If authorities can accurately predict serious floods well enough in advance, they can have adequate time to evacuate people and avoid loss of life.

There is an algorithm for flood prediction based on terrain analysis, called Terra Flow. However, it is inefficient and for regions over 100 square kilometers requires more than 20 days for processing. For this project, we will design a more efficient algorithm to simulate how water flows and accumulates when heavy rain falls. This algorithm will use a terrain model based on real terrain data sets of less than 100 square kilometers that were acquired by satellites and airplanes. We will also design a graphical user interface (GUI) to show how affected areas change according to different amounts of rain.

A HKUST Adventure Game for a Personal Digital Assistant

In recent years, the mobile electronic device game market has been growing rapidly due to technological progress and market competition. These mobile game devices, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), SONY Play Station Portables (PSPs), Nintendo Diesus (NDSs) and iPods are now quite small, convenient to carry and the priced low enough to become popular not only among teenagers but also among adults.

A PDA is a handheld computer which is small in size and convenient to bring almost everywhere. PDAs have color screens, audio capabilities and touch screen technology. They are widely used as mobile phones, web browsers, media players and gaming devices. PDA application software is available for the development of various consumer applications.

A role-playing game (RPG) is a game in which the players assume the roles of fictional characters. Players control the actions and movements of their characters with control buttons and predefined character definitions. RPGs have a formal system of rules and guidelines that determine if players’ actions will succeed or fail. RPGs usually have different outcomes. Some outcomes depend heavily on the game system, and some depend more on player actions or responses.

With the increasing of number of PDA games, many have similar features and style and no longer attract players. In our final year project, we are going to create a PDA RPG game using HKUST as the background. By allowing the player to become a character in the game and use touch screen technology to control the actions and movement of his character, we will provide a game style that has never been experienced before!