University, Diss., 2005--Saarbrücken.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis deals with the problem of interaction with context-aware mobile applications in digitally augmented physical spaces. The term "mobile application" is used as an umbrella term for any piece of software that can run on a mobile device in order to support a human task. “Context-aware” refers to the ability of such applications to use information about the environment or the user to adapt their behaviour accordingly. A "physical hyperlink" is a mechanism that associates a physical object or point in space with digital information/service(s). The term “digitally augmented physical space” refers here to a physical space where digital information relevant to points or artefacts can be accessed (e.g. by means of physical hyperlinks). In the last two decades mobile devices and applications have developed tremendously. With them, on one hand new ways appeared to support human tasks and on the other hand new research challenges emerged. A key factor is the continuous change of environment and context of use. This is very different to a classic desktop computer application, in which the external environment is hardly changing, as the user and the computer do not change location during interaction. In the world of mobile computing the environment and the context of use are changing, at a faster rate. One of the most widely spread mobile devices, the mobile phone, evolved into a powerful mobile computing device. These advanced devices are now ubiquitously spread and already billions of people carry and use them daily. New services and uses are emerging with every step of evolution of this technology. However these rapidly emerging and evolving technologies and services result in a generally heterogeneous environment that affects user experience. The advances in mobile technology permitted devices to be equipped with sensors and hardware that allow on one hand the acquisition of information from the environment and on the other hand interaction with objects like physical hyperlinks, that permit direct access to information related to physical artefacts. In the frame of this thesis a conceptual framework (MobiAct framework) and a service oriented architecture (MobiAct architecture) have been defined. The MobiAct framework deals with the interaction with context-aware mobile applications in a digitally augmented physical space. The MobiAct framework has as a goal to identify the main concepts that come into play while interacting with context-aware applications in digitally augmented physical spaces. MobiAct architecture is an innovative solution for delivering context-aware mobile services in digitally augmented physical spaces. The MobiAct architecture has MobiAct framework as the underlying base. The architecture aims at enabling a uniform and consistent user experience across spaces and contexts and at facilitating the design and development of context-aware mobile services by providing ready functionality for common tasks. Finally a set of software architectural patterns relevant to designing mobile context-aware applications have been identified. These patterns provide a set of building blocks to facilitate the design and development of similar systems. The road towards designing MobiAct conceptual architecture and framework for interacting with context-aware mobile applications included the development and evaluation of several prototypes mainly targeted at public and semi-public environments. These prototypes contributed in a great degree towards exploring and studying context-aware mobile applications and interaction with digitally augmented physical spaces using physical hyperlinks and subsequently defining the requirements for the architecture. To avoid binding the architecture to capabilities of a certain platform, the prototypes involved different devices and platforms. The prototypes and applications developed included educational games and a guide for a museum, an application to support users of a library and a shopping assistant aimed at a supermarket environment. The findings of these efforts contributed in the definition of the MobiAct architecture that has been evaluated through a software architecture analysis method based on scenarios and discussions involving representative stakeholders as well as an evaluation team / Αυτή η διατριβή πραγματεύεται το πρόβλημα της αλληλεπίδρασης μεταξύ χρηστών και εφαρμογών φορητών συσκευών με επίγνωση του πλαισίου, σε ψηφιακά επαυξημένους φυσικούς χώρους. Ο όρος "εφαρμογή φορητής συσκευής", ή “φορητή εφαρμογή”, χρησιμοποιείται ως όρος που περικλείει κάθε λογισμικό που μπορεί να εκτελεστεί σε μια φορητή συσκευή έτσι ώστε να υποστηρίξει μια ανθρώπινη εργασία (task). Ο όρος "πλαισιογνωστικός" αναφέρεται στη δυνατότητα τέτοιων εφαρμογών να χρησιμοποιήσουν πληροφορίες σχετικές με το άμεσο περιβάλλον ή με το χρήστη ώστε να προσαρμόσουν τη συμπεριφορά τους κατάλληλα. Ένας "φυσικός υπερσύνδεσμος" είναι ένας μηχανισμός που συσχετίζει ένα φυσικό αντικείμενο ή σημείο στο χώρο με ψηφιακή πληροφορία ή ψηφιακή υπηρεσία. Ο όρος "ψηφιακά επαυξημένος χώρος" αναφέρεται σε ένα φυσικό χώρο από όπου είναι προσβάσιμη ψηφιακή πληροφορία που σχετίζεται με σημεία ή αντικείμενα του χώρου (π.χ. μέσω φυσικών υπερσυνδέσμων). Τις τελευταίες δύο δεκαετίες οι φορητές συσκευές και εφαρμογές έχουν εξελιχθεί εντυπωσιακά. Μαζί τους εμφανίστηκαν νέοι τρόποι υποστήριξης ανθρώπινων εργασιών και παράλληλα παρουσιάστηκαν και νέα ερευνητικά προβλήματα. Ένας σημαντικός παράγοντας είναι η συνεχής αλλαγή του περιβάλλοντος στο οποίο γίνεται η χρήση και του πλαισίου επίγνωσης της χρήσης. Αυτό διαφέρει πολύ από τις κλασικές εφαρμογές υπολογιστών, όπου το εξωτερικό περιβάλλον αλλάζει ελάχιστα καθώς ο χρήστης και ο υπολογιστής δεν μεταβάλλουν τη θέση τους στη διάρκεια της αλληλεπίδρασης. Στον κόσμο των φορητών υπολογιστών το περιβάλλον και το πλαίσιο επίγνωσης αλλάζουν με γρηγορότερο ρυθμό. Μια από τις πιο ευρέως διαδεδομένες φορητές συσκευές, το κινητό τηλέφωνο, εξελίχθηκε σε μια ισχυρή φορητή υπολογιστική συσκευή. Αυτές οι εξελιγμένες συσκευές είναι σήμερα διάχυτες και δισεκατομμύρια ανθρώπων τις κουβαλούν και χρησιμοποιούν καθημερινά. Νέες υπηρεσίες και χρήσεις εμφανίζονται με κάθε βήμα εξέλιξης αυτής της τεχνολογίας. Ωστόσο αυτές οι ταχέως εμφανιζόμενες και εξελισσόμενες τεχνολογίες και υπηρεσίες καταλήγουν να δημιουργήσουν ένα γενικώς ετερογενές περιβάλλον, πράγμα το οποίο επηρεάζει την εμπειρία της χρήσης τους. Οι εξελίξεις στη φορητή τεχνολογία επέτρεψαν στις συσκευές αυτές να εξοπλισθούν με αισθητήρες και υλικό το οποίο επιτρέπει τη συλλογή πληροφοριών από το περιβάλλον και επίσης την αλληλεπίδραση με αντικείμενα όπως είναι οι φυσικοί υπερσύνδεσμοι, οι οποίοι επιτρέπουν την άμεση πρόσβαση σε πληροφορία που σχετίζεται με τα φυσικά αντικείμενα. Στο πλαίσιο αυτής της εργασίας ορίστηκε ένα εννοιολογικό πλαίσιο (πλαίσιο εργασίας MobiAct) και μια υπηρεσιοκεντρική αρχιτεκτονική (service oriented architecture) (αρχιτεκτονική MobiAct). Το πλαίσιο εργασίας MobiAct αφορά την αλληλεπίδραση με πλαισιογνωστικές φορητές εφαρμογές σε ψυφιακά επαυξημένους φυσικούς χώρους. Η αρχιτεκτονική MobiAct έχει ως στόχο τον εντοπισμό των βασικών σημείων της αλληλεπίδρασης με πλαισιογνωστικές εφαρμογές σε ψηφιακά επαυξημένους φυσικούς χώρους. Η αρχιτεκτονική MobiAct είναι μια πρωτοποριακή λύση για την παροχή πλαισιογνωστικών υπηρεσιών σε ψηφιακά επαυξημένους φυσικούς χώρους. Η βάση της αρχιτεκονικής MobiAct είναι το πλαίσιο εργασίας MobiAct. Η αρχιτεκτονική στοχεύει στην πραγμάτωση μιας ομοιόμορφης και συνεπούς εμπειρίας χρήστη διαμπάξ σε διάφορους φυσικούς χώρους και πλαίσια επίγνωσης και στη διευκόλυνση της ανάπτυξης πλαισιογνωστικών φορητών υπηρεσιών (μέσω της παροχής λειτουργικότητας για εργασίες που επαναλαμβάνονται συχνά). Τέλος έχει εντοπιστεί ένα σύνολο αρχιτεκτονικών προτύπων για το σχεδιασμό φορητών πλαισιογνωστικών εφαρμογών. Αυτά τα πρότυπα συγκροτούν μια ομάδα καλουπιών που διευκολύνουν το σχεδιασμό και την ανάπτυξη παρεμφερών συστημάτων. Η πορεία προς το σχεδιασμό του πλαισίου και της αρχιτεκτονικής MobiAct για την αλληλεπίδραση με φορητές πλαισιογνωστικές εφαρμογές συμπεριέλαβε το σχεδιασμό και την ανάπτυξη αρκετών πρωτοτύπων τα οποία στόχευαν κυρίως σε δημόσια ή ημι-δημόσια περιβάλλοντα. Αυτά τα πρωτότυπα συνέβαλαν σε μεγάλο βαθμό στην εξερεύνηση και στη μελέτη των πλαισιογνωστικών φορητών εφαρμογών και της αλληλεπίδρασης με ψηφιακά επαυξημένους φυσικούς χώρους μέσω φυσικών υπερσυνδέσμων και τελικά στον ορισμό των απαιτήσεων για την αρχιτεκτονική. Για την αποφυγή της υπερβολικής συσχέτισης της αρχιτεκτονικής με τις δυνατότητες μιας συγκεκριμένης πλατφόρμας, τα πρωτότυπα συμπεριέλαβαν διάφορες συσκευές και πλατφόρμες. Τα πρωτότυπα και οι εφαρμογές που αναπτύχθηκαν περιλαμβάνουν εκπαιδευτικές εφαρμογές και έναν πλοηγό για ένα μουσείο, μια εφαρμογή για την υποστήριξη των επισκεπτών μιας βιβλιοθήκης καθώς και έναν βοηθό αγορών σε περιβάλλον σούπερ μάρκετ. Τα ευρήματα αυτών των προσπαθειών συνέβαλλαν στον ορισμό της αρχιτεκτονικής MobiAct η οποία αξιολογήθηκε χρησιμοποιώντας μια μεθοδολογία ανάλυσης αρχιτεκτονικών λογισμικού που βασίζεται σε σενάρια και συζητήσεις με αντιπροσωπευτικούς συμμετόχους καθώς και με μια ομάδα αξιολόγησης.

La perte d'autonomie pour une personne accroît son isolement, son anxiété et peut mener jusqu’à la dépression. Ce travail doctoral a été initié et motivé par la volonté de maintenir, voir d'améliorer, l'autonomie des personnes. La diminution de la mobilité est directement liée à la diminution de l'autonomie. En intervenant sur la mobilité, avec l'aide des nouvelles technologies, nous sommes capables de proposer des solutions innovantes à ce problème. Nous avons constaté que le Smartphone est un outil disposant d'un ensemble de capteurs et actuateurs nous permettant d'intervenir sur l'évaluation et la rééducation de capacités liées à la mobilité.L'objectif principal de ce travail doctoral est ainsi de concevoir et d'évaluer un système ubiquitaire, basé sur Smartphone et dédié à l'amélioration de l'autonomie de la personne via la rééducation, en dehors du cadre soignant, et l’aide aux déplacements. Afin d'atteindre cet objectif général, nous avons d'abord cherché à savoir si le Smartphone et ses capteurs embarqués apportaient la fiabilité nécessaire à la conception d'un tel système. Puis, nous avons dû répondre à des objectifs secondaires qui sont de pouvoir, à partir d'un Smartphone, réaliser l'évaluation, la surveillance et l'amélioration 1) des capacités proprioceptives de la personne et 2) des déplacements et mouvements de la personne à mobilité réduite, toutes deux essentielles au maintien de l'autonomie.Dans leur ensemble, les résultats présentés dans ce travail doctoral démontrent que :• Le Smartphone est fiable dans le cadre de la mesure clinique angulaire• Le Smartphone est un outil capable de mesurer, suivre, contrôler et corriger un mouvement ou une posture.• Le Smartphone est capable de collecter des données cinématiques pour relever l'accessibilité de la voirieCes résultats ouvrent la perspective de l'utilisation d'un outil ubiquitaire, le Smartphone, dans le cadre de la mesure, le suivi, le contrôle et la correction d'un mouvement, d'une posture ou encore d'un déplacement, et cela de manière autonome. Ainsi, afin de passer le stade de preuve de concept, des études cliniques peuvent dès à présent être menées afin de déterminer l'impact de notre système sur la santé et le bien-être de la personne. / Loss of mobility and independence for a person increase his isolation, anxiety and can lead to depression. This doctoral work was introduced and motivated by the goal to maintain, even to improve, the autonomy of the people. The decrease of the mobility is directly connected to the decrease of the autonomy. By occurring on mobility, with the help of new technologies, we are capable of proposing innovative solutions to this problem. We noticed that the Smartphone is a tool composed of a set of sensors allowing us to intervene on the evaluation and the rehabilitation of capacities connected to the mobility.The main objective of this doctoral work is to conceive and to estimate an ubiquitous system, based on Smartphone and dedicated to the improvement of the autonomy of the person by rehabilitation at home and the mobility aid. To reach this general goal, we tried at first to know if the Smartphone and its embedded sensors brought the reliability necessary for the conception of such a system. So, to improve the autonomy, we had to answer secondary objectives which are, from a Smartphone, to be able to realize assessment, monitoring and improvement of the 1) proprioceptive capacities of the person and of 2) travels and movements of the person with reduced mobility, which are both of them essential in the preservation of the autonomy.As a whole, the results presented in this doctoral work demonstrate that:• The Smartphone is reliable within the domain of the clinical measurement• The Smartphone is a tool for assessment, monitoring, improving and training a movement or a posture.• The Smartphone is capable of collecting kinematic data to raise the accessibility of the public road network.These results opens the prospect of the use of an ubiquitous tool, the Smartphone, within the framework of the assessment, monitoring, improving and training of a movement, a posture or a displacement, in an autonomous way. To cross the stage of proof of concept, clinical trials can be right now led to determine the impact of our system on the health and the well-being of the person.

Este trabalho apresenta uma proposta de infra-estrutura de software sensível ao contexto para a computação ubíqua (ubicomp) denominada Continuum. A área de ubicomp, também chamada de computação pervasiva, pressupõe uma forte integração com o mundo real, com foco no usuário e na manutenção de alta transparência. Para o desenvolvimento de aplicativos nesse cenário, é necessária uma infra-estrutura de software adequada. A infra-estrutura projetada é baseada no padrão da arquitetura orientada a serviços (service-oriented architecture ou SOA), fazendo uso de framework e middleware, e empregando uma redefinição da semântica siga-me. Nessa visão redefinida, os usuários podem ir para qualquer lugar carregando os dados e os aplicativos que desejam, os quais podem ser usados de forma imperceptível e integrada com o mundo real (seamless integration). O foco particular desse trabalho é sensibilidade ao contexto: a percepção de características relacionadas aos usuários e ao entorno. No trabalho são considerados os recursos disponíveis no ambiente e é mantida a história dos dados de contexto. Além disso, é proposta a representação do contexto para promover raciocínio e compartilhamento de conhecimento, empregando uma ontologia. Dessa forma, contexto é representado de uma maneira formal e bastante expressiva, diferente de muitas soluções existentes hoje em dia que ainda usam modelos de representação ad hoc. Esta tese está então na interseção destas três áreas principais: infra-estrutura de software para ubicomp, sensibilidade ao contexto e ontologias. No desenvolvimento desta tese, também examina-se o campo da computação ubíqua, e sugere-se um modelo de arquitetura geral que enfrente esses desafios fundamentais. Baseado nos requisitos estabelecidos para esse modelo, propõe-se um conjunto de serviços para o Continuum. Os serviços são projetados considerando o trabalho previamente desenvolvido pelo nosso grupo de pesquisa, mais especificamente o projeto ISAM, e particularmente o middleware EXEHDA. A proposta estende esses projetos, adicionando aspectos que não haviam sido considerados no momento do seu desenvolvimento. Particularmente, o suporte a sensibilidade de contexto é melhorado com a proposta de uma ontologia para a formalização da informação de contexto. Algumas análises, usando a metodologia de estudo de caso, foram conduzidas para apreciar as principais proposições da tese. Baseado nessas avaliações, foram apresentadas algumas lições aprendidas e traçada a conclusão do trabalho. Como resultado, Continuum é uma infra-estrutura de software que endereça muitos aspectos da computação ubíqua, integrando imperceptivelmente diferentes desafios. / The present work is a proposal of a context-aware software infrastructure for ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) named Continuum. The ubicomp area, also called pervasive computing, presupposes a strong integration with the real world, with focus on the user and on keeping high transparency. For the development of applications in this scenario, we need an adequate software infrastructure. The infrastructure designed in this work is based on service-oriented architecture (SOA), making use of framework and middleware, and employing a redefinition of follow-me semantics. In this redefined vision, users can go anywhere carrying the data and application they want, which they can use in a seamlessly integrated fashion with the real world. The specific focus of our work is context awareness: the perception of characteristics related to users and surroundings. We consider the resources available in the environment and keep a history of context data. Furthermore, we propose the representation of context to promote reasoning and knowledge sharing, using ontology. In this way, context is represented in a considerably expressive, formal approach, different from many solutions that exist today, which still use ad hoc representations models. Our work is then at the intersection of these three main areas: software infrastructures for ubicomp, context awareness, and ontologies. In the development of this thesis, we also survey the field of ubiquitous computing, suggesting a general architectural model to deal with its fundamental challenges. Based on the established requirements for this model, we propose a set of services for Continuum. The services are designed considering the previous works developed by our research group, namely ISAM (Infra-estrutura de Suporte às Aplicações Móveis – Mobile Applications Support Infrastructure), and particularly the middleware EXEHDA (Execution Environment for Highly Distributed Applications). We further extend these projects, by adding aspects to them that had not been considered at the time of their development. Particularly, we improve context awareness support, proposing an ontology for the formalization of context information. We have conducted some analysis, using case study methodology, to evaluate the main propositions of our work. Based on these assessments, we present lessons learned and draw the conclusion of our work. As a result, Continuum is a software infrastructure that addresses many aspects of ubiquitous computing, seamlessly integrating many different challenges.

Um dos principais desafios de pesquisa na UbiComp consiste em fornecer mecanismos para a ciência de contexto que promovam o desenvolvimento de aplicações que reajam de acordo com a dinâmica do ambiente de interesse do usuário. Para manter o conhecimento a respeito desse ambiente, a área da UbiComp pressupõe a utilização de informações produzidas e disponibilizadas em diferentes localizações, o tempo todo. Nesse sentido, os recentes avanços na área da Internet das Coisas (IoT) têm proporcionado uma crescente disponibilidade de sensores conectados em rede, os quais são potenciais produtores de informações contextuais do ambiente para aplicações ubíquas. Com essa motivação, nessa tese é apresentado o COIOT, um middleware para Internet das Coisas concebido com o objetivo de gerenciar a coleta e o processamento das informações contextuais do ambiente físico, bem como a atuação remota sobre o mesmo. O COIOT foi idealizado considerando os trabalhos previamente desenvolvidos pelo grupo de pesquisa GPPD (Grupo de Processamento Paralelo e Distribuído) da UFRGS, particularmente o middleware EXEHDA (Execution Environment for Highly Distributed Applications). Na concepção do COIOT foi adotada uma abordagem distribuída de processamento de contexto que contempla tanto as premissas da IoT quanto as demandas das aplicações da UbiComp. A arquitetura proposta também contempla o gerenciamento de eventos distribuídos através de regras e triggers para tratar as mudanças de estados dos contextos de interesse. Além disso, a arquitetura proposta gerencia outros aspectos importantes nos cenários da IoT, como o tratamento da interoperabilidade, da heterogeneidade, apoio ao controle da escalabilidade e descoberta de recursos. As principais contribuições desta tese são: (i) a concepção de uma arquitetura para IoT capaz de realizar de forma distribuída tanto a coleta e processamento das informações contextuais, como a atuação remota no meio a fim de atender as aplicações da UbiComp e, (ii) a proposição de um modelo de processamento de eventos distribuídos adequado aos cenários da IoT. Para avaliar a arquitetura do COIOT foram realizados dois estudos de caso na área da agricultura. O primeiro estudo de caso foi desenvolvido em ambiente de produção a partir de demandas de pesquisadores da área da agricultura, particularmente da análise de sementes. Já o segundo estudo de caso teve como cenário de testes ambientes da viticultura de precisão. / One of the main research challenges in UbiComp is to provide mechanisms for context-aware to promote the development of applications that react according to the dynamics of user interest environment. To keep the knowledge of this environment, the area of UbiComp presupposes the use of information produced and made available in different locations, all the time. In this sense, the recent advances in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) have provided an increasing availability of sensors and actuators networked. These sensors are potential producers of contextual information. With this motivation, this thesis is presented the CoIoT, a middleware for Internet of Things (IoT) designed in order to manage the collect and processing of contextual information of the physical environment as well as remote actuation on it. The CoIoT was designed considering the work previously developed by the research group GPPD (Parallel Processing Group and distributed) of UFRGS, particularly middleware EXEHDA (Execution Environment for Highly Distributed Applications). In designing the CoIoT it was adopted a distributed approach of context processing that includes both the principles of IoT as the demands of the applications of UbiComp. The proposed architecture also includes rules based and triggers mechanisms to deal with events that characterize the changes of states of the contexts of interest. In addition, the proposed architecture manages other important aspects of IoT scenarios such as the treatment of interoperability, heterogeneity, support the control of scalability and resource discovery. Until now, the central contributions of this thesis include: (i) the design of an architecture for IoT able to perform distributed way both the collect and processing of contextual information, such as remote actuation in the environment in order to meet UbiComp applications and, (ii) the proposition of a distributed event processing model appropriate to the IoT scenarios. In order to evaluate the CoIoT architecture, two case studies were carried out in the area of agriculture. The first case study was developed in a production environment based on the demands of agricultural researchers, particularly seed analysis. On the other hand, the second case study was based on precision testing of viticulture environments.

BARROS FILHO, Edgar Marçal de. UFC-Inventor: um ambiente para modelagem e geração de aplicações para Aulas de Campo Ubíquas. 2016. 165 f. Tese (Doutorado em Ciência da Computação)-Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2016. / Submitted by Jonatas Martins (jonatasmartins@lia.ufc.br) on 2017-06-23T11:19:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_tese_embarrosfilho.pdf: 4076483 bytes, checksum: 1805ad6ac0736770887581d8cfe284f2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rocilda Sales (rocilda@ufc.br) on 2017-06-23T13:05:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_tese_embarrosfilho.pdf: 4076483 bytes, checksum: 1805ad6ac0736770887581d8cfe284f2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-23T13:05:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_tese_embarrosfilho.pdf: 4076483 bytes, checksum: 1805ad6ac0736770887581d8cfe284f2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / Field trips (or field classes) promote the scientific spirit of the students by increasing the ability of observation and discovery in various areas of knowledge. By incorporating ubiquitous technologies, such as sensors and actuators, in the field classes (here called Ubiquitous Field Classes), they show benefits when compared to traditional classes. However, the development of ubiquitous systems has challenges, such as seamless treatment of the devices heterogeneity; absence of fixed communication infrastructure; dynamics of the computational elements of the environment; and support for user mobility. In the literature review, we have not found a tool that enables modeling and generation of cross-platform applications for ubiquitous field classes aimed at teaching professionals with little or no knowledge of programming. This document presents a doctoral thesis that consists of a computational environment called the Ubiquitous Field Classes Inventor (UFC-Inventor), which comprises of a modeling language and integrated systems. Together, they enhance the use of ubiquitous technologies in field classes. Thus, teaching professionals can create graphical models of their field classes and, from it, generate cross-platform ubiquitous applications to be used by students. First, we conducted a systematic mapping study with articles on experiences on the use of ubiquitous technology in education. From this survey, we identified some important requirements for ubiquitous field classes. From them, we designed and implemented the UFC-Inventor and its components. The first component is the ML4UL (Modeling Language for Ubiquitous Learning), a domain specific language focused on representation of ubiquitous field classes through an open and reusable specification. The UFC-GLM module, indeed, allows graphic modeling of the field classes with ubiquitous computing resources. The third module is the UFC-Generator, which is responsible for generating the ubiquitous applications. We carried out an evaluation of UFC Inventor with five teachers aim at verifying the usability of the environment. Also, we implemented a case study in the field with seventeen students. The results of both evaluation experiments suggest the acceptance of the UFC-Inventor and indicate that its execution has occurred correctly. / As aulas de campo promovem o espírito científico dos alunos por meio do aumento da capacidade de observação e descoberta em diversas áreas do conhecimento. Ao incorporar tecnologias ubíquas, como sensores e atuadores, nas aulas de campo (aqui denominadas Aulas de Campo Ubíquas), estas apresentam benefícios quando comparadas às tradicionais. Entretanto, o desenvolvimento de sistemas ubíquos impõe desafios, tais como: tratamento de forma transparente da heterogeneidade dos dispositivos; ausência de infraestrutura de comunicação fixa; dinamicidade dos elementos computacionais do ambiente; e o suporte à mobilidade dos usuários. Em levantamento bibliográfico realizado, não foi encontrada uma ferramenta que possibilitasse a modelagem e a geração de aplicações multiplataforma para aulas de campo ubíquas voltadas aos profissionais de ensino com pouco ou nenhum conhecimento sobre programação. Sendo assim, esta tese propõe um ambiente computacional, composto por uma linguagem de modelagem e dois sistemas integrados, para favorecer a utilização das tecnologias ubíquas em aulas de campo: o Ubiquitous Field Classes Inventor (UFC-Inventor). Com este ambiente, profissionais de ensino podem criar modelos gráficos de suas aulas de campo e, a partir deles, gerar aplicações ubíquas multiplataforma para serem usadas pelos alunos em campo. A construção do ambiente foi iniciada a partir da realização de um mapeamento sistemático com artigos que relatavam experiências sobre o uso das tecnologias ubíquas na educação. De acordo com esse levantamento, foi identificado um conjunto de requisitos essenciais para as aulas de campo ubíquas. Considerando esses requisitos, esta tese apresenta o UFC-Inventor e seus componentes: a ML4UL (Modeling Language for Ubiquitous learning), uma linguagem específica de domínio, cuja especificação é aberta e reutilizável, voltada para representação das aulas de campo ubíquas; o módulo UFC-GLM, para modelagem gráfica das aulas de campo com recursos de computação ubíqua; e, o módulo UFC-Generator, que possibilita a geração das aplicações ubíquas para diferentes sistemas operacionais. Para validar o ambiente, foi realizada uma avaliação com cinco professores sobre a usabilidade do ambiente e um estudo de caso em uma aula de campo com dezessete alunos. Considerando a análise das respostas aos questionários aplicados com os usuários e o funcionamento do ambiente no estudo de caso, os resultados sugerem a aceitação do ambiente e indicam a execução adequada do UFC-Inventor.

Este trabalho apresenta uma proposta de infra-estrutura de software sensível ao contexto para a computação ubíqua (ubicomp) denominada Continuum. A área de ubicomp, também chamada de computação pervasiva, pressupõe uma forte integração com o mundo real, com foco no usuário e na manutenção de alta transparência. Para o desenvolvimento de aplicativos nesse cenário, é necessária uma infra-estrutura de software adequada. A infra-estrutura projetada é baseada no padrão da arquitetura orientada a serviços (service-oriented architecture ou SOA), fazendo uso de framework e middleware, e empregando uma redefinição da semântica siga-me. Nessa visão redefinida, os usuários podem ir para qualquer lugar carregando os dados e os aplicativos que desejam, os quais podem ser usados de forma imperceptível e integrada com o mundo real (seamless integration). O foco particular desse trabalho é sensibilidade ao contexto: a percepção de características relacionadas aos usuários e ao entorno. No trabalho são considerados os recursos disponíveis no ambiente e é mantida a história dos dados de contexto. Além disso, é proposta a representação do contexto para promover raciocínio e compartilhamento de conhecimento, empregando uma ontologia. Dessa forma, contexto é representado de uma maneira formal e bastante expressiva, diferente de muitas soluções existentes hoje em dia que ainda usam modelos de representação ad hoc. Esta tese está então na interseção destas três áreas principais: infra-estrutura de software para ubicomp, sensibilidade ao contexto e ontologias. No desenvolvimento desta tese, também examina-se o campo da computação ubíqua, e sugere-se um modelo de arquitetura geral que enfrente esses desafios fundamentais. Baseado nos requisitos estabelecidos para esse modelo, propõe-se um conjunto de serviços para o Continuum. Os serviços são projetados considerando o trabalho previamente desenvolvido pelo nosso grupo de pesquisa, mais especificamente o projeto ISAM, e particularmente o middleware EXEHDA. A proposta estende esses projetos, adicionando aspectos que não haviam sido considerados no momento do seu desenvolvimento. Particularmente, o suporte a sensibilidade de contexto é melhorado com a proposta de uma ontologia para a formalização da informação de contexto. Algumas análises, usando a metodologia de estudo de caso, foram conduzidas para apreciar as principais proposições da tese. Baseado nessas avaliações, foram apresentadas algumas lições aprendidas e traçada a conclusão do trabalho. Como resultado, Continuum é uma infra-estrutura de software que endereça muitos aspectos da computação ubíqua, integrando imperceptivelmente diferentes desafios. / The present work is a proposal of a context-aware software infrastructure for ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) named Continuum. The ubicomp area, also called pervasive computing, presupposes a strong integration with the real world, with focus on the user and on keeping high transparency. For the development of applications in this scenario, we need an adequate software infrastructure. The infrastructure designed in this work is based on service-oriented architecture (SOA), making use of framework and middleware, and employing a redefinition of follow-me semantics. In this redefined vision, users can go anywhere carrying the data and application they want, which they can use in a seamlessly integrated fashion with the real world. The specific focus of our work is context awareness: the perception of characteristics related to users and surroundings. We consider the resources available in the environment and keep a history of context data. Furthermore, we propose the representation of context to promote reasoning and knowledge sharing, using ontology. In this way, context is represented in a considerably expressive, formal approach, different from many solutions that exist today, which still use ad hoc representations models. Our work is then at the intersection of these three main areas: software infrastructures for ubicomp, context awareness, and ontologies. In the development of this thesis, we also survey the field of ubiquitous computing, suggesting a general architectural model to deal with its fundamental challenges. Based on the established requirements for this model, we propose a set of services for Continuum. The services are designed considering the previous works developed by our research group, namely ISAM (Infra-estrutura de Suporte às Aplicações Móveis – Mobile Applications Support Infrastructure), and particularly the middleware EXEHDA (Execution Environment for Highly Distributed Applications). We further extend these projects, by adding aspects to them that had not been considered at the time of their development. Particularly, we improve context awareness support, proposing an ontology for the formalization of context information. We have conducted some analysis, using case study methodology, to evaluate the main propositions of our work. Based on these assessments, we present lessons learned and draw the conclusion of our work. As a result, Continuum is a software infrastructure that addresses many aspects of ubiquitous computing, seamlessly integrating many different challenges.

A Tese constitui uma reflexão sobre emergentes comportamentos coletivos e individuais associados às TICs – Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação - e que a partir de abordagem de pesquisa baseada na Perspectiva Eco-Sistêmica (construtivista, interacionista, sociocultural, afetiva e transcendente), procura reproduzir um caminho de referencias e reflexões teóricas e pessoais, individuais e coletivas. Pode-se considerar como ponto de partida desta Tese, a visualização de comportamentos individuais e coletivos relacionados às TICs associados a uma crescente necessidade de expressão e compartilhamento. Embora a Tese não esteja limitada ao aspecto musical, a reflexão que resultou neste trabalho, teve como principio a observação de uma intensa e crescente atividade musical, que não se limitavam apenas a trocas e escuta de arquivos, mas também a comportamentos protagonistas, criativos, não hierárquicos, relacionados à intervenção sobre os arquivos, composições coletivas, manipulação de códigos abertos e comunidades open code, e que são investigados pela linha de pesquisa em Música Ubíqua, que constitui uma das referências da Tese.Todos esses comportamentos, de forma geral, associados aos jovens, mas cada vez mais generalizados na sociedade e ampliados a todas as áreas. Comportamentos tribais segundo Maffesoli, ligados a uma visão cíclica que manifesta a necessidade humana de expressão de seus anseios, que são caracterizados por um estar junto, um presenteísmo, e um reenraizamento como necessidades profundas humanas, em resposta a uma sociedade estagnada pela racionalidade excessiva. Comportamentos que frisam, segundo Heidegger, o aspecto relacional do ser-aí como essencialmente ser-com-o-outro, e do jogo como parte da existência e dessa relação. Jogo, que por sua vez, se associa diretamente às nossas formas de relação com às TICs. Comportamentos emergentes que, para Johnson, estão ligados a padrões observáveis em diversos sistemas na natureza e na sociedade. Todos esses aspectos são relacionados à visão complexa de Morin sobre homo, em todas suas faces de manifestação no mundo: sapiens,faber,demens, ludens,mythologicus, que por sua vez impregnam nossas próprias relações com o mundo que construímos, e com a tecnologia que retroage sobre o mundo e sobre nós. Comportamentos que trazem potencialmente consigo um profundo questionamento do que somos, de nossos determinismos e possibilidades, de nossas constituições física, cerebral, mental, espiritual. De nossos limites e possibilidades. De nossos avanços e recuos. Trazem a possibilidade de reflexão sobre a ciência, e as tecnociências, que produzimos e que nos produz. Todas relações que refletem na forma como vemos, refletimos e fazemos educação em todos os níveis. A ideia das Diásporas mentais e das Mentes diaspóricas, procura sintetizar este movimento complexo, que nos potencializa a possibilidade de ser ao mesmo tempo, em vários espaços, tempos, que nos desimpede de limitações físicas, locais, sociais, que reafirma nossa identidade complexa, física e não-física, cerebral e mental, espiritual, contraditória e consensual, coletiva e individual. / The thesis is a reflection on emerging collective behavior and individual associated with ICT - Information and Communication Technologies -, and that from a research approach based on the Eco-Systemic Perspective (constructivist, interactionist, socio-cultural, emotional and transcendent), seeks to reproduce a path of references and theoretical personal, individual and collective reflections. The visualization of individual and collective behaviors related to ICTs associated with a growing need for expression and sharing may be considered as the starting point of this thesis. Although the thesis is not limited to the musical aspect, the reflection that resulted from this work had as a principal an intense and growing musical activity observation , which was not limited to file listening and exchanges, but also to the observation of protagonist, creative, not hierarchical behavior , related to the intervention on archives, collective composition, manipulation of open codes and open code communities, which are investigated by the line of research on Ubiquitous Music, which is one of the Thesis´ references. All these behaviors are generally associated with youth, but also are increasingly widespread in society and extended to all areas. Tribal behaviors according to Maffesoli, linked to a cyclical view that expresses the human need for their desires´ expression, which are characterized by a being together, a presenteeism, and a rerooting as a deep human need, in response to a stagnant society by an excessive rationality. Behaviors that, according to Heidegger, emphasize the relational aspect of being-there as essentially as being-with-the-other, and the game as part of the existence and this relationship. A game, which in his turn is directly associated to our way of relating to ICTs. Emergent behaviors that for Johnson are linked to the observable patterns in many systems in nature and in society. All these aspects are related to the complex view of Morin on homo in all its facets of manifestation in the world: sapiens, faber, demens, ludens, mythologicus, which in turn permeate our own relationship with the world we have built, and with the technology that retroacts on the world and on us. Behaviors that potentially bring with them a deep questioning of what we are, our possibilities and determinism, of our physical, brain, mental and spiritual constitution, of our limits and possibilities, our advances and retreats. Behaviors that bring the possibility of reflection on science, and technosciences, that we produce and that produce us, all relationships that reflect the way we see, reflect and make education at all levels. The idea of Mental Diasporas and Diasporic Minds, seeks to synthesize this complex movement, which enhances the possibility of us being at the same time in different spaces and times, which disengages us from physical, local and social limitations, which reaffirms our complex physical and non-physical, mental and cerebral, spiritual, contradictory and consensual, collective and individual identity.

Sensoriamento urbano e cidades inteligentes têm sido tópicos derivados da computação ubíqua em alta nos últimos anos, tanto para a academia como para a indústria, devido ao contínuo avanço tecnológico aliado à maior facilidade de acesso e aceitação pelos usuários. Na literatura pesquisada sobre plataformas que englobam tais tópicos foi constatado que diversas delas possuem algum processo autonômico utilizado para atender alguma necessidade de autoadaptação em tempo de execução. Apesar disso, nenhuma das plataformas pesquisadas focou especificamente em encontrar e propor uma solução para tratar exclusivamente a autoadaptação. Nesse contexto, esta dissertação tem por objetivo propor um mecanismo de autoadaptação para sistemas de sensoriamento urbano, além de avaliar seu comportamento. Como primeiro passo para realizar tal objetivo, foi conduzida uma pesquisa literária tendo em vistas identificar os principais casos de adaptação em sistemas de sensoriamento urbano, além de requisitos específicos da arquitetura de sensoriamento urbano UrboSenti, utilizada para implementação. Como segundo passo, a partir dos requisitos identificados, o modelo MAPE-K da computação autonômica foi escolhido como a base da construção do mecanismo de autoadaptação. A implementação deste modelo utilizou as técnicas de eventos passivos para monitoramento do ambiente, regras Evento-Condição-Ação, para tomada de decisão, planos estáticos para planejamento e adaptações por parâmetros e componentes para execução. Tanto o modelo como as técnicas escolhidas foram implementadas devido atenderem as necessidades dos cenários avaliados. Por fim, as avaliações aplicadas apontam resultados preliminares satisfatórios, dados os casos avaliados e os experimentos de tempo de resposta a eventos internos e interações; no entanto, tais avaliações revelarem diversos pontos que devem ser explorados em trabalhos futuros. / In the last years, urban sensing and smart cities have been popular topics derived from the ubiquitous computing, for both the academia and the industry, due to its continuous technological development combined with greater facilities of access and acceptance by the users. The reviewed literature about platforms that encompass such topics showed that many of them have some kind of autonomic process used to meet any need for self-adaptation at runtime. Despite this, none of the researched platforms focused in proposing a solution to exclusively meet the self-adaptation properties. In this way, this dissertation aims to propose a self-adaptive mechanism to urban sensing systems, as well as evaluating its behavior. As the first step to achieving such goal, a literature review was performed aiming to identify the main adaptation cases in urban sensing systems, as well to identify the specific requirements of the UrboSenti architecture for urban sensing. As the second step, the autonomic computing MAPE-K model was chosen to compose the foundation of the self-adaptive mechanism based on the identified requirements. The implementation of this model used the techniques of passive events for monitoring, rules Event-Condition-Action for decision making, static plans for planning and parameter and component adaptations for execution were used in the proposed implementation to meet the evaluated scenario needs. Lastly, the applied evaluations indicate satisfactory results, given the assessed cases and the experiments of scalability at the response of internal events and interactions. However, they have left many open points that should be explored in future works.