The words ‘context’ and ‘awareness’ are two very thick concepts. The idea is the kind of thing that designers are very good at describing in a hand-waving kind of way, but can never really specify clearly when it comes to communicating those rich design ideas to the people who actually build technology, beyond very simple examples like the one below.
“Context-aware computing is different from the simple sensor-based applications seen on smartphones today. For instance, consumers today go to an app like Yelp and search for restaurants nearby or by cuisine and price. A context-aware device would have a similar feature that would know what restaurants you have picked in the past, how you liked the food and then make suggestions for restaurants nearby based on those preferences. Additionally, it would be integrated into maps and other programs on the device.”
Link: How Context-Aware Computing Will Make Gadgets Smarter (wired.com)
Interesting post Gabriel. I think of awareness on a continuum.
Location Aware (or any other singular sensor based awareness ) – Using sensors to pull location specific information (yelp’s “nearby” function)
Context Aware – Using a combination of sensors to detect the environment, activity and behavior of the individual and use that information to present the right information (“yelp uses calendar, location & weather to recommend a place where you can grab a quick bite, avoid the rain and make your next meeting)
Knowledge Aware – Context awareness, over time leads to the identification of patterns of behavior, allowing the mobile device to anticipate what the user might want to do. (yelp notices you don’t eat out Monday-Wednesday (you are trying to be good by bringing food from home) but go out Thursday & Friday, usually around 12:30 and pre-picks a couple of recommendations which it places in the notification bar before 12:30 on those days).
The Slight difference from your description is that context aware does not have the component of time included in it.
The above was inspired from Russell Ackoff’s content of the human mind continuum which goes from..
Data -> Information -> Knowledge -> Understanding -> Wisdom.
http://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw.htm
BTW – Terence Mascarenhas turned me on to your blog. I’ll be in SF tomorrow for the Mobilize conference. If you are attending, I’d like to catch up in person.
Regards,
Sriram