Case study of human computer interaction based on RFID and context-awareness in ubiquitous computing environments

Abstract

Context-awareness becomes the key technology in the human computer interaction of ubiquitous computing. The paper discusses the characteristic, significance as well as function of the context, and the properties of the human computer interaction in the ubiquitous environments where the physical space fuses with the information space. These characteristics bring new requirements, that is, mobility, tractability, predictably and personality. To satisfy the demands, we present a method to realize context-awareness and the wireless interaction by using the pervasive RFID tags to track the context and using Bluetooth as the contact-less communication measure. We also construct a prototype system composed of RFID tags, BTEnableReaders and Bluetooth-enable mobile terminals. One case of application scenario is given and the experimental results show that the performance and robustness of the device are suitable for ubiquitous applications and the interaction is experienced more positively by users than the conventional method. The devices we design also can be extended to other application areas such as wearable computing, health care, disable help, and road navigation. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.