Google donates Android phones to Ashesi

Google has donated five Android based Nexus One mobile phones to Ashesi University's Computer Science (CS) department to facilitate mobile research and tool development. The CS department has already started using the phones for research and final year projects and next semester the phones will also be used in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Mobile Web Development courses.

One ongoing research project led by CS faculty Dr. Korsah, Dr. Larssen and faculty intern Kobla Setriakor Nyomi, uses accelerometer data from the donated phones for two experiments. First, accelerometer data collected while traveling in a car or bus is used to track road quality.  Bumpy, bad roads create a lot of movement which can be detected by the accelerometer, while smooth roads produce less.  Information about the quality of roads can be added to Google maps to better predict travel times on set routes. Second, the extracted data will be used for experimentation with different response visualizations for input and interaction with the phones.

Students in Ashesi's Mobile Web Development course will also be able to use the phones to deploy and test features for Android based devices using hardware rather than emulators (as was done previously). In the Human Computer Interaction course, taught by Dr. Larssen, the Android devices will be used to help test usability and user experience issues on touch screen devices.

The Ashesi Computer Science Department is grateful for the opportunities extended to the students through this donation, and hopes for a continued relationship with Google.