Towards Citizen Science for Smart Cities: A Framework for a Collaborative Game of Bird Call Recognition Based on Internet of Sound Practices

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel framework combining citizen science, smart city infrastructure, and game-based audio recognition to engage participants in bird monitoring through augmented soundscape maps.

Contribution

It introduces an interdisciplinary framework for a collaborative bird call recognition game leveraging IoT and augmented audio to enhance citizen engagement in smart city environments.

Findings

Framework design based on Playful Learning and IoT principles

Potential for large-scale citizen participation in bird monitoring

Augmented soundscape maps to visualize collected data

Abstract

Citizen Science aims to engage people in research activities on important issues related to their well-being. Smart Cities aim to provide them with services that improve the quality of their life. Both concepts have seen significant growth in the last years, and can be further enhanced by combining their purposes with IoT technologies that allow for dynamic and large-scale communication and interaction. However, exciting and retaining the interest of participants is a key factor for such initiatives. In this paper we suggest that engagement in Citizen Science projects applied on Smart Cities infrastructure can be enhanced through contextual and structural game elements realized through augmented audio interactive mechanisms. Our inter-disciplinary framework is described through the paradigm of a collaborative bird call recognition game, in which users collect and submit audio data, which are then classified and used for augmenting physical space with virtual soundscape maps. We discuss the Playful Learning, Internet of Audio Things, and Bird Monitoring principles that shaped the design of our paradigm, and analyze its potential technical implementation.