Context-aware systems for assisting users in their activities of daily living : from activity recognition to augmented reality assistance provision

智能城市和智能家居及其传感器和设备是伟大的技术环境，可以在其中部署情景感知系统，并在其中收集大量信息来支持活动识别和情景感知服务提供。我们的第一个目标(Obj.1)是设计策略和算法，以便使用混合分类和模式识别算法以及贝叶斯模型来识别和预测人类活动。此类算法必须管理数据的异构性，考虑硬件限制(例如电池寿命)，并考虑对移动设备上的数据进行准实时分析。在我们最近的工作中，我们开发了基于混合系统的上下文信息分析策略和算法，以识别城市环境中移动用户的活动。围绕Obj.1的研究活动将通过增加识别的活动范围来追求城市环境中移动用户的在线活动识别，并将更多的上下文信息纳入识别过程中，如周围用户或时间逻辑。 如果情景感知应用可以为一般用户提供增值服务，则此类软件可以为依赖用户(例如老年人)提供扩展帮助，例如通过帮助他们实现日常生活活动。我们的第二个目标(目标2)专注于普适计算和人机交互方面的跨学科工作，包括帮助用户实现ADL的上下文感知服务的概念和发展。更具体地说，我们正致力于两个子目标：(A)设计和评估增强现实认知矫形器，以支持人们实现ADL；(B)设计和评估AR中的多通道交互技术，以提高OBJ提供的认知矫形器内容的可用性。2.a并考虑到用户的限制(例如，与物理或任务相关的限制)。在AR中提供任务和认知辅助包括从人的因素和技术角度出发的几个挑战，如3D定位和交互、多通道交互、注意力和精神充电等。 我的研究成果将对情境感知、环境智能和用户辅助研究领域的最新水平做出重大贡献。我们的研究项目还将通过提供高质量的学术教育和充满活力的研究环境，帮助形成参与我们研究的高素质人才(HQP)。最后，我们还致力于通过将发达的理论、模型和技术转移到公共和私人组织，并通过提高有特殊需要的人的自主性和生活质量，对整个加拿大人口产生积极影响。

Smart cities and smart homes, with their sensors and devices, are great technological environments in which context-aware systems can be deployed and where a quantities of information can be collected to support activity recognition and context-aware service provision. Our first objective (Obj.1) is to design strategies and algorithms in order to recognize and predict human activities with hybrid-classification and pattern recognition algorithms as well as Bayesian models. Such algorithms must manage heterogeneity of data, take into account the hardware limits (e.g. battery life), and consider a quasi-real-time analysis of the data on mobile devices. In our recent work, we have developed strategies and algorithms to analyze contextual information to recognize activities of mobile users in urban environment based on hybrid systems. The research activities around the Obj.1 will be to pursue the online activity recognition of mobile users in urban environments by increasing the range of recognized activities and include more contextual information into the recognition process such as surrounding users or temporal logic. If context-aware applications can provide value-added services to general users, such software can provide extended assistance to dependent users (e.g. seniors), for instance, by helping them in the realization of activities of daily living. Our second objective (Obj. 2) focuses on interdisciplinary work in ubiquitous computing and human-computer interaction, which consists of the conception and development of context-aware services that assist users in the realization of ADLs. More specifically, we are working on two sub-objectives : (a) the design and evaluation of augmented reality cognitive orthoses to support people in the realization of ADLs; (b) design and evaluation of multimodal interactions techniques in AR in order to enhance usability of cognitive orthoses content provided in Obj. 2.a and take into account the limitation of users (e.g. physical or task related limitation). Providing tasks and cognitive assistance in AR includes several challenges from the human factors and technological perspective, such as 3D orientation and interaction, multimodal interactions, attention and mental charge, etc. The results of my research will contribute significantly to the state of the art of context-awareness, ambient intelligence and user assistance research fields. Our research program will also contribute to the formation of the highly qualified personnel (HQP) involved in our research by providing a high-quality academic education and a dynamic research environment. Finally, we are also working toward having a positive impact on the Canadian population in general by transferring the developed theories, models, and technologies to public and private organizations, but also toward people with special needs by increasing their autonomy and quality of life.