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Distributed Context-Aware Systems

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Computer Science ((BRIEFSCOMPUTER))

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Abstract

In this chapter we start with a motivation for distributed context-aware systems. This is mainly related to the growing need for people to efficiently communicate with each other independently of specific tasks and location. Current widely used tools such as instant messaging and e-mail lack several characteristics of face-to-face communication often found on colocated teams. A promising approach is context-aware applications; these are able to adapt their operations to current context without explicit user intervention. Such applications raise the issue of context propagation which clearly poses several challenges regarding scalability and privacy. In this chapter we clarify such challenges and conclude by emphasizing the distinctive features of the survey in this book: basically, we describe the possible options that an application developer has to consider regarding distributed context-aware applications, instead of just enumerating the requirements.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Communication which is explicitly initiated by someone and whose recipient is known, be it an individual or a group.

  2. 2.

    See http://bit.ly/zOiX8k.

  3. 3.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/30/arrested-over-facebook_n_942487.html.

  4. 4.

    Take for example the TOPS (take off pounds sensibly) organization which is based on weekly support meetings between its (more than 200 thousand) members.

  5. 5.

    http://www.foursquare.com.

  6. 6.

    http://blog.foursquare.com/post/607883149/foursquares-ups-and-downs.

  7. 7.

    http://www.waze.com.

  8. 8.

    http://highlig.ht/.

  9. 9.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/30/arrested-over-facebook_n_942487.html.

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  1. INESC ID, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Paulo Ferreira & Pedro Alves

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  1. Paulo Ferreira
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Ferreira, P., Alves, P. (2014). Introduction. In: Distributed Context-Aware Systems. SpringerBriefs in Computer Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04882-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04882-6_1

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