Lab-on-Phone: a participatory sensing system Jorge Mario Garzo ´n Rey 1 • Juan Manuel Soto Valencia 2 • Antonio Garcia-Rozo 2 • Fredy Segura-Quijano 2 Received: 3 October 2014 / Revised: 19 March 2015 / Accepted: 13 June 2015 / Published online: 21 June 2015 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015 Abstract This paper presents a novel approach defined as laboratory on phone ‘‘Lab-on-Phone’’ which include the main features of ‘‘Human Centric Sensing’’, ‘‘Participatory Sensing’’ and ‘‘Ubiquitous Computing’’ paradigms in a multiuser and multipurpose acquisition, processing, storage and analysis chain infrastructure. Lab-on-Phone includes a generic sensing module which shares data with a Smart- phone via near field communication. The sensor measure- ments are processed and displayed by an Android application running in the same Smartphone, a web server stores the measured information sent by multiple Smart- phones, considering privacy and security. Lab-on-Phone also uses a set of web applications which allow accessing data from many different places and in any platform with Internet access. Keywords Human centric sensing Á Participatory sensing Á Ubiquitous sensing 1 Introduction One of the main motivations for developing new tech- nologies is to increase humanity’s quality of life. The Microelectronics Center at Universidad de Los Andes (CMUA) has broad experience in developing micro and nano sensors, and wireless sensor networks based on management information systems including data bases and web servers [1–7]. Sensors allow us to measure environ- mental variables and keep an historical record via sensor network infrastructure [8]. In fact, this is the first step in understanding the environment condition and therefore improving life quality. 1.1 Sensing paradigms Nowadays, it is not enough to measure the environment around us. There is a new tendency known as Human Centric Sensing which focuses on measuring the internal variables of human body [9], which means people are paying more attention and using more resources to know the status and behavior of their own body. For example, people suffering from respiratory diseases can be interested in the air quality around them in order to avoid unwanted conditions. Diabetic patients for example use devices to monitor their blood glucose level in order to control critical levels and to help their doctors improving treatments. Another common example are heart rate monitors used by athletes. These devices are a key for measuring perfor- mance and evaluate their health. These examples have a common infrastructure, which is a measurement device with possible storage system. The Participatory Sensing System is a new paradigm of sensor networks in which common people carry small devices with sensors and a communication platform [10, & Jorge Mario Garzo ´n Rey jorgemario.garzon@uab.cat Fredy Segura-Quijano fsegura@uniandes.edu.co 1 Departament de Microelectro `nica i Sistemes Electro `nics, Escola d’Enginyeria (Edifici Q) - Universitat Auto `noma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Valle `s, 08193 Barcelona, Spain 2 Departamento de Ingenierı ´a Ele ´ctrica y Electro ´nica, Centro de Microelectro ´nica (CMUA) - Universidad de los Andes, Bogota ´, DC, Colombia 123 Analog Integr Circ Sig Process (2015) 85:159–165 DOI 10.1007/s10470-015-0583-2