Perceptual Components for Context Aware Computing

In this paper we propose a software architecture for observing and modeling human activity. This architecture is derived from an ontology for context awareness. We propose a model in which a user’s context is described by a set of roles and relations. Different configurations of roles and relations correspond to situations within the context. The components of a context model are used to specify processes for observing activity. The ontology for context modeling is derived from both a bottom up system’s perspective and a top-down users’ perspective. As we define each element, we describe the corresponding components of a process-based software architecture. Using these components, a context is translated into a federation of observational processes. This model leads to an architecture in which reflexive elements are dynamically composed to form federations of processes for observing and predicting the situations that make up a context.