Search

In this paper, techniques and related issues for the definition of a contextual knowledge in ambient-intelligence systems are explored. A logical structure for this kind of system, inspired by a neurobiological brain model, is proposed. Through these considerations, the role and the importance of context awareness in the definition of an artificial organism showing adaptability, pervasiveness, and scalability features are described. Techniques for the definition of a multilayer context representation are explained and practically demonstrated with a test-bed. In the proposed system, a complex event classification is obtained through the fusion of heterogeneous data coming from a set of sensors thanks to the design of a self-organizing map (SOM). The SOM represents the core of the system and testing proofs show good results in the classification of the events taking place in the monitored environment. Index Terms--Context awareness, data fusion, self-organizing maps (SOMs), smart spaces.

In this paper, a complete Smart Space architecture and related system prototype are presented. The system is able to analyze situations of interest in a given environment and to produce related contextual information. Experimental results show that video information plays a major role for what concerns both situation perception and personalized contex-aware communications. For this reason, the poropsed multisensor system automatically extracts information from multiple cameras as well as diverse sensors describing environment status. This information is then used to trigger personalized and context-aware video messages adaptively sent to users. A rule-based module is encharged to customize video messages in relation to the user profile, contextual situation and users's terminal. The systems outputs graphically generated video messages consisting of an animated avatar (i.e. Virtual Character) closing the loop on users. Proposed results validate the conceptual schema behind the architecture and the successful adaption to the analysis of different situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]