Modeling of Context Information for Pervasive Computing Applications

In a dynamic heterogeneous environment, such as Pervasive Computing, context-aware adaptation is a key concept to meet the varying requirements of different clients. In order to enable context-aware adaptation, context information must be gathered and eventually presented to the application performing the adaptation. Therefore, a common representation format for the context information is required. In this paper we examine possible representation formats for context information. We discuss requirements for such a representation format and how those requirements are met by existing approaches. Based on our findings about the flaws of existing approaches we propose a novel representation format that is comprehensive and thoroughly structured to meet all the requirements: Comprehensive Structured Context Profiles (CSCP). CSCP is based on the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and overcomes the shortcomings of the Composite Capability/Preference Profiles language (CC/PP) regarding structuring. Furthermore it extends the mechanisms to express user preferences.