This tool was developed as part of the TrustLens project, which is a collaboration between the University of Aberdeen, Nottingham University and City University, London. The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The goals of the project were to understand and enable trusted IoT ecosystems.
The Internet of Things is a phrase used to refer to physical objects that collect data about their environment, have the ability to transmit this data elsewhere, and can potentially react and carry out certain actions depending on what the sensors record. Many organisations are interested in the way that this technology can be used in public spaces to solve problems or provide opportunities for new benefits to society. For example, smart street lights which only turn on when they are needed, or a network of sensors that provide data on air quality.
Examples of organisations that might be deploying devices like these include public sector bodies such as local councils who are interested in developing so-called smart cities, citizen groups who wish to use technology to understand the areas in which they live, or companies that see opportunities for collecting and using public space data as part of their business model.
There are many questions that need to be considered in such deployments to make sure that the technology is being used to everyone’s benefit. This tool will help those involved in the deployments anticipate potential problems such as privacy risks, and expose information which should be available to those who might wish to understand the system, such as members of the public.
The digital tool presents questions to those creating or assessing deployments. It can be used by a variety of types of organisation, and different representatives within these organisations. By going through this process you can discover what information is available about the deployment, have the answers handy in one place, discover areas where you might not know the answers right now, and consider where you might need to seek additional information.
The questions were developed through research which was carried out by the TrustLens project between 2017 and 2019 using a variety of methods. This included reviews of literature about transparency in IoT, interviews with organisations developing IoT projects, working closely with communities to explore what members of the public might want to know about IoT projects that affect them, and a number of interactive workshops.