ICT4D/HCI

Futuristic intelligent transportation system architecture for sustainable road transportation in developing countries

Sustainable road transportation has become a challenge particularly in the developing countries. Literature suggests that the ability of the transport system to respond to the mobility needs of people and goods is hampered by a continuous increase in traffic demand as a result of higher levels of urbanization, population growth, changes in population density and motorization. These factors result in traffic crashes, traffic congestion and consequent increase in travel times, fuel consumption and carbon emissions, which reduce the efficiency of mobility systems and make it unsustainable. Certain measures such as traffic control and management, congestion warning, road conditions warning, route guidance and use of eco- friendly and green vehicles are being considered to meet the challenges. Arguments have emerged that Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are important to meet these challenges of achieving virtually traffic crash-free, clean and efficient mobility.  This requires the development of an integrated communication architecture that provides a common frame for the road and traffic infrastructure, environment and vehicle systems to work together through Information Communication Technology (ICT) system. Therefore, this investigation explored the various ITS that are relevant to road transportation in the context of developing countries; examined the perception of road users on the use of ITS and its impacts on travel behavior; and developed a conceptual futuristic communication ITS architecture by integrating land use, road, traffic, human and environmental parameters with ICT for sustainable road transportation in developing countries. The study was conducted based on critical review of relevant literature and industrial innovations to examine the ITS system(s) applicable to developing countries. A survey was conducted in two cities of a developing country, India, to observe the perception of people, particularly road users on the use of ITS and its impacts on their travel. This was followed by development of a conceptual ITS architecture by integrating land use, activity, traffic, road infrastructure, vehicle, ICT, road user variable and indicators related to sustainable road transportation. Findings suggest that appropriate ITS with the use of ICT, can provide acceptable effective real time information regarding the road and traffic conditions, which will enable the road users in their journey planning, to avoid unwarranted incidents and moreover enhance safe and efficient mobility in the roads of developing countries.  

Research outputs

Conference proceedings

Tom, S., Das, D., & Honiball, J. (2016). Futuristic intelligent transportation system architecture for sustainable road transportation in developing countries. Proceedings of the 35th Southern African Transport Conference (SATC 2016 Southern African Transport Conference (SATC 2016) (pp. 207-224)

Factors for the Adoption of Immersive Technologies in Higher Education in South Africa

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that could influence the adoption of immersive technologies in higher education institutions in South Africa. Due to the eruption of global crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic has forced everyone to work remotely and digitally. The higher institutes of learning are also not spared. Therefore, it is of paramount significance for institutions of higher learning to adopt learning systems that enhance teaching and learning remotely without too many interruptions. Immersive technologies could be the solution to this problem as it facilitates easy interactive learning and engagement between students and the learning material.

Role: Supervisor

Master's study in the department of Information Technology at Cape Peninsula University of Technology

A foolproof point of sale system for the City of Cape Town

The purpose of this study was to investigate and determine the reason for the recent revenue loss endured by the Citi of Cape Towns’ automated fare collection system (AFCS), which forms part of the larger MyCiti Rapid Bus Transit System (BRT). To begin the investigation, the researcher targeted the point-of-sale system used as the transit card top-up terminals, as this is the main port for revenue into the system. The researcher set out to gather the technical data by means of open-ended questionnaire sent directly to the cashiers working with the payment system on a daily basis, in order to obtain the necessary information needed to reach a conclusion.

By combining the investigations into system log files, standard operation procedures and system manuals, together with field observations, it was determined that the monetary losses were not caused by incorrect use of the point of sale system by the cashiers, but rather directly related to a more fundamental system integration and security issue.

Role: Supervisor

BTech research in the department of Information Technology at Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Research outputs

• Top ranked study in the in-house electronic publication of the top 10 research articles for BTech at Cape Peninsula University of Technology(2021)

• Tom, S., Abrahams, S. (2024). The Root Cause of Revenue Loss by Rapid Bus Transit Systems in South Africa. In 2024 Conference on Information Communications Technology and Society (ICTAS). IEEE

Interaction Design’s Role in Safeguarding Against Digital Deception

Cyberattacks have emerged as problems caused not only by technological issues but also by human factors that are often overlooked when designing interactive systems. Social engineering is an extremely effective type of cybercrime, where the attackers use human psychology to achieve their target which are in the form of data, account details, or IT devices for example. Phishing is one of the first methods that social engineers use to target victims and it accounts for the highest percentage of data breaches at 25% compared to the other types. Phishing is a deception technique that attackers use to steal sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and online banking details from their victims. Despite phishing attacks being known for more than two decades, and the ongoing research for developing effective techniques against these attacks, the increasing trend of attacks confirms the lack of robust solutions and techniques against these attacks. There is a need for comprehensive research in the area of anti-phishing to improve the overall cybersecurity landscape. Hence this study aims to design and propose a User Experience (UX) Framework to safeguard against digital deception, that focuses on cybersecurity training applications. The study conducted an in-depth literature review on phishing and major phishing attacks. Next, the study explored interactive design by linking phishing with user experience design.  Lastly, the improved S-UX framework is proposed for cybersecurity training applications in safeguarding users against digital deception. The proposed framework offers six high-level constructs which include security, experience, interactiveness, accessibility, robustness, and transparency.

Research outputs

Conference proceedings

• Mpekoa, N., Shozi, N., Gcaza, N., Tom, S. L. (submitted-2024). Interaction Design's Role in Safeguarding Against Digital Deception. In 2024 Conference on Interaction Design for International Development.