Fuzzy Modelling for Human Dynamics Based on Online Social Networks

Sensors (Basel). 2017 Aug 24;17(9):1949. doi: 10.3390/s17091949.

Abstract

Human mobility mining has attracted a lot of attention in the research community due to its multiple implications in the provisioning of innovative services for large metropolises. In this scope, Online Social Networks (OSN) have arisen as a promising source of location data to come up with new mobility models. However, the human nature of this data makes it rather noisy and inaccurate. In order to deal with such limitations, the present work introduces a framework for human mobility mining based on fuzzy logic. Firstly, a fuzzy clustering algorithm extracts the most active OSN areas at different time periods. Next, such clusters are the building blocks to compose mobility patterns. Furthermore, a location prediction service based on a fuzzy rule classifier has been developed on top of the framework. Finally, both the framework and the predictor has been tested with a Twitter and Flickr dataset in two large cities.

Keywords: fuzzy clustering; online social networks; urban mobility.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Fuzzy Logic
  • Humans
  • Neural Networks, Computer
  • Social Networking*
  • Social Support