Using context of a mobile user to prefetch relevant information

Abstract

Providing mobile users with relevant and up-to-date information on the move through wireless communication needs to take the current context of a user into account. In this paper, the context of a user with respect to his movement behaviour as well as device characteristics is under investigation. In outdoor areas, particularly in an urban area, obviously there is often sufficient communication bandwidth available. In some areas though, especially in rural areas, communication bandwidth coverage is often poor. Providing users in such areas with relevant information and making this information available in time is a major challenge. Prefetching tries to overcome these problems by using predefined user context settings. In situations where resource restrictions like limited bandwidth or insufficient memory apply, strategies come into place to optimize the process. Such strategies will be discussed. Evaluating the different types of users supports the approach of getting the relevant information to the user at the right time and the right place. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.