There is more to context than location

Context is a key issue in interaction between human and computer, describing the surrounding facts that add meaning. In mobile computing research published the parameter location is most often used to approximate context and to implement context-aware applications. We propose that ultra-mobile computing, characterized by devices that are operational and operated while on the move (e.g. PDAs, mobile phones, wearable computers), can significantly benefit from a wider notion of context. To structure the field we introduce a working model for context, discuss mechanisms to acquire context beyond location, and application of context-awareness in ultra-mobile computing. We investigate the utility of sensors for context-awareness and present two prototypical implementations-a light sensitive display and an orientation aware PDA interface. The concept is then extended to a model for sensor fusion to enable more sophisticated context recognition. Based on an implementation of the model an experiment is described and the feasibility of the approach is demonstrated. Further we explore fusion of sensors for acquisition of information on more sophisticated contexts. 1 Introduction Context is " that which surrounds, and gives meaning to something else " =. Various areas of computer science have been investigating this concept over the last 40 years, to relate information processing and communication to aspects of the situations in which such processing occurs. Most notably, context is a key concept in Natural Language Processing and more generally in Human-Computer Interaction. For instance, state of the art graphical user interfaces use context to adapt menus to contexts such as user preference and dialogue status. A new domain, in which context currently receives growing attention, is mobile computing. While a first wave of mobile computing was based on portable general-purpose computers and primarily focussed on location transparency, a second wave is now based on ultra-mobile devices and an interest in relating these to their surrounding situation of usage. Ultra-mobile devices are a new class of small mobile computer, defined as computing devices that are operational and operated while on the move, and characterized by a shift from general-purpose computing to task-specific support. Ultra-mobile devices comprise for instance Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, and wearable computers. A primary concern of context-awareness in mobile computing is awareness of the physical environment surrounding a user and their ultra-mobile device. In recent work, this concern has been addressed by implementation of location-awareness, for instance based on global positioning, or the use of beacons. Location …