Simulation of a Context Aware Cellphone System

Abstract

As the number of mobile devices we carry increase, the job of managing those devices throughout the day becomes cumbersome. This is especially true for cell phones. Despite the many benefits they provide, cell phones create problems that arise from a mismatch between the user’s context and the cell phone’s behavior. In large part, the mismatch occurs because owners do not remember to frequently update their cell phone configurations according to the current context. It is desirable for mobile devices to automatically configure themselves based on the context of the environment and user preferences.

While automatic configuration of cell phones may prove too tedious as different sensors are involved, it still serves as an effective means of managing cell phones in different contextual environments. In this work, a context-aware cell phone was simulated and its response was tested in different environments to see if it would react accordingly.

The sensor, media and audio manager framework of the android operating system were used in capturing data from the cellphone’s inbuilt sensor, and contextual information were derived from the data captured. A combination of these contextual information was used to deduce the likely activity the user is carrying out at a particular moment, and appropriate cellphone configuration.

Keywords: Context, Context-Awareness, Cellphone, Android, Sensors, Platform