MIOS

IoT data collection has found a home in many devices from our phones to our thermostats.  Somewhat surprisingly, IoT data collection is extremely rare in biological research labs.  Much data is still logged manually,  and even computer-generated data is often stored locally and transferred to other researchers by email or local data transfers.  MIOS is an experimental concept to explore using IoT to streamline the collection and visualization of research data.  Cloud-based research data collection has the inherent benefits of:

1. Data is automatically archived and saved
2. Data can be collected from multiple sites simultaneously, making multi-site studies as easy to run as single-site studies
3. Problems in data collection can be visualized immediately, instead of being discovered at the conclusion of a study
4. As data is in the cloud, data can be shared among researchers as soon as it is collected
5. Cloud analytics can be used to process and visualize data much more quickly

Our team worked with Blynk to develop app widgets that are suitable for visualizing and saving research data.  We will continue to work with them to improve these tools, and generate new tools specifically aimed at research data collection.  

We also generated hardware devices that are useful for collecting research data.  These include an environmental monitor, a running wheel, and a feeding device.

We developed MÍOS with the broad goal of addressing research reproducibility in research endeavors.  Our approach was to leverage low-cost sensors and microcontrollers to drastically lower the barriers to collecting large scale data from rodent home cages.  

What is reproducibility?  Often, researchers in one location perform a study and publish it.  Over subsequent months or years, other researchers attempt to replicate the study, and unfortunately are often not successful.  Scientific disagreements are not a new phenomenon, in fact they are the basis for most scientific progress.  That said, we believe that cloud-based technologies can be used to: 

1. Generate strongly powered data sets
2. Allowing for more rapid understanding of trends in that data 
3. Saving both time and money

We believe that cloud based systems contain several unique advantages for research data collection.  MÍOS is an experimental concept for enabling cloud-based research studies on colony-housed rodents.