Context-aware web search in ubiquitous sensor environments

• Published in: ACM transactions on Internet technology 2012-01, Vol.11 (3), p.1-23
• Main Authors: Maekawa, Takuya, Yanagisawa, Yutaka, Sakurai, Yasushi, Kishino, Yasue, Kamei, Koji, Okadome, Takeshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Displays
• ISSN: 1533-5399; 1557-6051
• DOI: 10.1145/2078316.2078320

This article proposes a new concept for a context-aware Web search method that automatically retrieves a webpage related to the daily activity that a user currently is engaged in and displays the page on nearby Internet-connected home appliances such as televisions. For example, when a user is washing a coffeemaker, a webpage is retrieved that includes tips such as “cleaning a coffee maker with vinegar removes stains well,” and the page is displayed on a nearby appliance. In this article, we design and implement a Web search method that employs ubiquitous sensors to monitor a user's daily life. Our proposed method automatically searches for a webpage related to a daily activity by using a query constructed from the use of daily objects employed in the activity that is detected with object-attached sensors. We evaluate the search method with real datasets collected from vast numbers of sensors and achieve very accurate webpage retrieval. We then investigate the usefulness and effectiveness of a daily life Web search with Wizard-of-Oz (WOz)-like experiments. We confirm that the presentation of webpages related to daily activities improves participants' future daily lives and triggers communication among the participants in the experiment.