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Proceedings ArticleDOI

The context toolkit: aiding the development of context-enabled applications

01 May 1999-pp 434-441
TL;DR: This work introduces the concept of context widgets that mediate betweent the environment and the application in the same way graphicalwidgets mediate between the user and the applications.
Abstract: Context-enabled applications are just emerging and promise richer interaction by taking environmental context into account. However, they are difficult to build due to their distributed nature and the use of unconventional sensors. The concepts of toolkits and widget libraries in graphical user interfaces has been tremendously successtil, allowing programmers to leverage off existing building blocks to build interactive systems more easily. We introduce the concept of context widgets that mediate between the environment and the application in the same way graphical widgets mediate between the user and the application. We illustrate the concept of context widgets with the beginnings of a widget library we have developed for sensing presence, identity and activity of people and things. We assess the success of our approach with two example context-enabled applications we have built and an existing application to which we have added context-sensing capabilities.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
02 Jan 2001
TL;DR: An operational definition of context is provided and the different ways in which context can be used by context-aware applications are discussed, including the features and abstractions in the toolkit that make the task of building applications easier.
Abstract: Context is a poorly used source of information in our computing environments. As a result, we have an impoverished understanding of what context is and how it can be used. In this paper, we provide an operational definition of context and discuss the different ways in which context can be used by context-aware applications. We also present the Context Toolkit, an architecture that supports the building of these context-aware applications. We discuss the features and abstractions in the toolkit that make the task of building applications easier. Finally, we introduce a new abstraction, a situation which we believe will provide additional support to application designers.

5,083 citations


Cites background from "The context toolkit: aiding the dev..."

  • ...referring to context as the environment or situation [1,4, 8 ]....

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Proceedings ArticleDOI
27 Sep 1999
TL;DR: Some of the research challenges in understanding context and in developing context-aware applications are discussed, which are increasingly important in the fields of handheld and ubiquitous computing, where the user?s context is changing rapidly.
Abstract: When humans talk with humans, they are able to use implicit situational information, or context, to increase the conversational bandwidth. Unfortunately, this ability to convey ideas does not transfer well to humans interacting with computers. In traditional interactive computing, users have an impoverished mechanism for providing input to computers. By improving the computer’s access to context, we increase the richness of communication in human-computer interaction and make it possible to produce more useful computational services. The use of context is increasingly important in the fields of handheld and ubiquitous computing, where the user?s context is changing rapidly. In this panel, we want to discuss some of the research challenges in understanding context and in developing context-aware applications.

4,842 citations


Cites methods from "The context toolkit: aiding the dev..."

  • ...In previous work, we presented the context widget [ 24 ], an abstraction that implements this concept....

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  • ...In an effort to substantiate this claim, we have begun work on a framework [ 24 ] to support the building of context-aware applications....

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  • ...Reactive Room [6] Intelligent control of audiovisuals XXX X GUIDE [7] Tour guide XX CyberDesk [8,9,10] Automatic integration of user services XX X Conference Assistant [11] Conference capture and tour guide XXXX X X Responsive Office [12] Office environment control XX X NETMAN [13,16] Network maintenance XX Fieldwork [17,18,22] Fieldwork data collection XX X X Augment-able Reality [19] Virtual post-it notes XX X Context Toolkit [ 24 ] In/Out ......

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A conceptual framework is presented that separates the acquisition and representation of context from the delivery and reaction to context by a context-aware application, and a toolkit is built that instantiates this conceptual framework and supports the rapid development of a rich space of context- aware applications.
Abstract: Computing devices and applications are now used beyond the desktop, in diverse environments, and this trend toward ubiquitous computing is accelerating. One challenge that remains in this emerging research field is the ability to enhance the behavior of any application by informing it of the context of its use. By context, we refer to any information that characterizes a situation related to the interaction between humans, applications, and the surrounding environment. Context-aware applications promise richer and easier interaction, but the current state of research in this field is still far removed from that vision. This is due to 3 main problems: (a) the notion of context is still ill defined, (b) there is a lack of conceptual models and methods to help drive the design of context-aware applications, and (c) no tools are available to jump-start the development of context-aware applications. In this anchor article, we address these 3 problems in turn. We first define context, identify categories of contextual information, and characterize context-aware application behavior. Though the full impact of context-aware computing requires understanding very subtle and high-level notions of context, we are focusing our efforts on the pieces of context that can be inferred automatically from sensors in a physical environment. We then present a conceptual framework that separates the acquisition and representation of context from the delivery and reaction to context by a context-aware application. We have built a toolkit, the Context Toolkit, that instantiates this conceptual framework and supports the rapid development of a rich space of context-aware applications. We illustrate the usefulness of the conceptual framework by describing a number of context-aware applications that have been prototyped using the Context Toolkit. We also demonstrate how such a framework can support the investigation of important research challenges in the area of context-aware computing.

3,095 citations


Cites background from "The context toolkit: aiding the dev..."

  • ...... and in commercially available systems: showing the user’s or her vehicle's location on a map and possibly indicating nearby sites of interest (Abowd et al., 1997, Bederson, 1995, Davies et al., 1998, Feiner et al., 1997, Fels et al., 1998, McCarthy & Meidel, 1999, McCarthy & Anagost, 2000); presenting a choice of printers close to the user (Schilit, Adams & Want, 1994); sensing and presenting in/out information for a group of ......

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01 Nov 2000
TL;DR: This survey of research on context-aware systems and applications looked in depth at the types of context used and models of context information, at systems that support collecting and disseminating context, and at applications that adapt to the changing context.
Abstract: Context-aware computing is a mobile computing paradigm in which applications can discover and take advantage of contextual information (such as user location, time of day, nearby people and devices, and user activity) Since it was proposed about a decade ago, many researchers have studied this topic and built several context-aware applications to demonstrate the usefulness of this new technology Context-aware applications (or the system infrastructure to support them), however, have never been widely available to everyday users In this survey of research on context-aware systems and applications, we looked in depth at the types of context used and models of context information, at systems that support collecting and disseminating context, and at applications that adapt to the changing context Through this survey, it is clear that context-aware research is an old but rich area for research The difficulties and possible solutions we outline serve as guidance for researchers hoping to make context-aware computing a reality

2,272 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 2007
TL;DR: Common architecture principles of context-aware systems are presented and a layered conceptual design framework is derived to explain the different elements common to mostcontext-aware architectures.
Abstract: Context-aware systems offer entirely new opportunities for application developers and for end users by gathering context data and adapting systems behaviour accordingly. Especially in combination with mobile devices, these mechanisms are of high value and are used to increase usability tremendously. In this paper, we present common architecture principles of context-aware systems and derive a layered conceptual design framework to explain the different elements common to most context-aware architectures. Based on these design principles, we introduce various existing context-aware systems focusing on context-aware middleware and frameworks, which ease the development of context-aware applications. We discuss various approaches and analyse important aspects in context-aware computing on the basis of the presented systems.

2,036 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Consider writing, perhaps the first information technology: The ability to capture a symbolic representation of spoken language for long-term storage freed information from the limits of individual memory.
Abstract: Specialized elements of hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves and infrared, will soon be so ubiquitous that no-one will notice their presence.

9,073 citations


"The context toolkit: aiding the dev..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Users will be increasingly mobile, using more handheld devices and interacting with computationally-enhanced environments, as we move towards Weiser’s vision of ubiquitous computing [ 8 ]....

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Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose that specialized elements of hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves and infrared, will soon be so ubiquitous that no-one will notice their presence.
Abstract: Specialized elements of hardware and software, connected by wires, radio waves and infrared, will soon be so ubiquitous that no-one will notice their presence

5,041 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A novel system for the location of people in an office environment is described, where members of staff wear badges that transmit signals providing information about their location to a centralized location service, through a network of sensors.
Abstract: A novel system for the location of people in an office environment is described. Members of staff wear badges that transmit signals providing information about their location to a centralized location service, through a network of sensors. The paper also examines alternative location techniques, system design issues and applications, particularly relating to telephone call routing. Location systems raise concerns about the privacy of an individual and these issues are also addressed.

4,315 citations


"The context toolkit: aiding the dev..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Likewise, office awareness systems sense users’ locations, but are also interested in their activities to help people locate each other, maintain awareness or forward phone calls [12, 17 , 18]....

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Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: The issues taken up here are: coordination of content, coordination of process, and how to update their common ground moment by moment.
Abstract: GROUNDING It takes two people working together to play a duet, shake hands, play chess, waltz, teach, or make love. To succeed, the two of them have to coordinate both the content and process of what they are doing. Alan and Barbara, on the piano, must come to play the same Mozart duet. This is coordination of content. They must also synchronize their entrances and exits, coordinate how loudly to play forte and pianissimo, and otherwise adjust to each other's tempo and dynamics. This is coordination of process. They cannot even begin to coordinate on content without assuming a vast amount of shared information or common ground-that is, mutual knowledge, mutual beliefs, and mutual assumptions And to coordinate on process, they need to update their common ground moment by moment. All collective actions are built on common ground and its accumulation. We thank many colleagues for discussion of the issues we take up here.

4,144 citations


"The context toolkit: aiding the dev..." refers background in this paper

  • ...These shared cues, or context, help to facilitate grounding between participants in an interaction [3]....

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Proceedings ArticleDOI
08 Dec 1994
TL;DR: This paper describes systems that examine and react to an individual's changing context, and describes four catagories of context-aware applications: proximate selection, automatic contextual reconfiguration, contextual information and commands, and contex-triggered actions.
Abstract: This paper describes systems that examine and react to an individual's changing context. Such systems can promote and mediate people's interactions with devices, computers, and other people, and they can help navigate unfamiliar places. We believe that a limited amount of information covering a person's proximate environment is most important for this form of computing since the interesting part of the world around us is what we can see, hear, and touch. In this paper we define context-aware computing, and describe four catagories of context-aware applications: proximate selection, automatic contextual reconfiguration, contextual information and commands, and contex-triggered actions. Instances of these application types have been prototyped on the PARCTAB, a wireless, palm-sized computer.

3,802 citations


"The context toolkit: aiding the dev..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...The use of context allows an application to b e tailored to a user’s specific situation [4, 7 ], providing increased b enefits to the user....

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