Publication
Spatial Modeling of Activity and User Assistance in Instrumented Environments
Christoph Stahl
PhD-Thesis, Saarland University, Dept. of Computer Science, SciDok, Saarbrücken, 2009.
Abstract
This dissertation presents a design method for proactive user assistance systems in instrumented environments. The method addresses typical design issues, such as the modeling of users’ needs and the choice and placement of sensors and actuators for human-environment interaction. The design process is supported through the combination of a geometric environment model and a situational semantic activity model. The geometric model is used to visualize the spatial context, in which the activities that are to be supported take place. The activity model is derived from Activity Theory and hierarchically represents tasks and activities in their situational context. Both models are linked by an ontology and form a hybrid location model. To support the method, we implemented a map modeling toolkit that allows to geometrically represent built environments in 3-D, and to model their furnishing and instrumentation with sensors and actuators. Of particular importance was the development and integration of an ontology-based activity editor. Furthermore, the toolkit facilitates the development of navigational aid through a route finding algorithm. The work concludes with five use cases that describe how the method and modeling toolkit have been applied for the design and development of intelligent environments and navigational aid for indoor and outdoor spaces. It also highlights how Dual Reality settings have contributed to the simulation of the developed assistance systems.