Prototype details of the smartphone-based researcher's companion software (RCS)

Abstract

Smartphones are handheld devices that include most or all the functionality of traditional personal digital assistants (PDAs) with the additional capability of serving as cell phones. One of the main issues with smartphones is a lack of software programs that meet the needs of certain tasks or application domains. The primary objective of the work presented in this paper has been to create a Researcher's Companion Software that uses the new smartphone technology and incorporates functions and features that meet the specific needs of researchers in various domains. The second objective of our work has been to place a strong emphasis on the software's ease of use and user interaction capabilities, such that researchers from various fields (e.g., engineering, environment studies, social sciences, medicine, arts, education, etc.) can use it almost immediately, without having to go through a lengthy learning process. The Researcher's Companion Software presented in this paper operates on Google's new smartphone platform Android. The RCS enables users to manage references, collaborators, notes, appointments, and checklists, and also provides some advanced capabilities. The key benefit of the RCS is its mobility, which allows researchers to keep track of their research-related information regardless of location, thus significantly improving their overall work productivity.