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Context-aware web search in ubiquitous sensor environments

Published:03 February 2012Publication History
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Abstract

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.

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      • Published in

        cover image ACM Transactions on Internet Technology
        ACM Transactions on Internet Technology  Volume 11, Issue 3
        January 2012
        130 pages
        ISSN:1533-5399
        EISSN:1557-6051
        DOI:10.1145/2078316
        Issue’s Table of Contents

        Copyright © 2012 ACM

        Publisher

        Association for Computing Machinery

        New York, NY, United States

        Publication History

        • Published: 3 February 2012
        • Accepted: 1 September 2011
        • Revised: 1 April 2011
        • Received: 1 December 2010
        Published in toit Volume 11, Issue 3

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