Asymmetric and Adaptive Conference Systems for Enabling Computer-Supported Mobile Activities

Introduction Portable computers and wireless communication network increasingly play a significant role in basic infrastructures of working interactions. However, the technologies involved in this miniature and wireless world possess inherent constraints for application services with the standards of interactivity, media handling, and performance as offered by modern information services on wired-networked desktop platforms. The challenger is even greater in the case of groupware systems, when different end-user’ platforms would exist, and even though functional equivalence and an adequate Quality of Service should be pursuit. At the end, for the author, major challenges related to mobile computing and relevant applications are raised by the human factor and circumstances of use. From this perspective, effective solutions can be achieved only if a human-centred development approach is employed, taking highly into consideration users’ abilities, their task to be computer supported, and the real conditions of use. In the target application scenario of this work, a mobile worker is in movement or engaged in activities that are not bound to a desk, and he/she still needs to access relevant digital information and means to discuss and obtain assistance from a remote professional expert. Factually, technical solutions for application scenarios as previously described exist since relatively long time. However, requirements for granting user’s mobility and people expectations from IT support (e.g. real-time videoconference) grow in an astonishing pace as the technological evolutions in this area. Hence, a challenge remains to keep the respective application systems in the same course of continuous improvement and able to cope with diversity of possible basis infrastructure. Motivation and Objectives of this Work The motivation of this dissertation is to foster the development of more effective application systems to support mobile activities that should promote the satisfaction of both the cognitive and ergonomic needs of mobile users, and to accomplish an effective digital mediation to a human-to-human communication process despite technological absences and differences (for example, technological arrangements), which will certainly exist between the end-users. Based on these motivating challenges, the general aims of this research are: · To evaluate relevant appliances and communication network entities involved in Mobile Computing in terms of usability and appropriateness; · To analyse representative application cases with the aim to create a set of correlation between their operational circumstances and requisites, and the necessary supporting platform and system features; and · To exploit the former results in the design and implementation of an interpersonal communication tool. The emphasis and novelty of the design approach shall be the combined concern for the out-of-the-ordinary “mobile component”, the issues and effects of remote, collaborative computing between asymmetrical parts, and the way both call for adaptive systems features. Contribution of this Work The main relevant contributions of this work are: · Development of a “User and Task Analysis Framework”, which was later verified in two real application cases and continuously improved. The advancement with this Framework relies on the possibility to work on relations and dependencies between the diverse task, context, and user requirements; and the candidate technological entities; · Development of innovative tools for to modify information representation leading to optimal data distribution and service provision in the view of extreme network constraints; · Depiction of revealing issues and methods for an adaptive behaviour of an application system employing a human-centred approach; · Development of an adaptive conferencing system – “MASP” (Mobile Applications Supportive Pals). This system is able to cope with heterogeneous end-platforms and serves users with different abilities and roles, and in different conditions of usage; with this regards, the system offers flexible settings of individual interaction modes and media handling process that are nevertheless consistent for a collaborative work; · Development of an innovative “monitoring tool” – “RIN” (Resource Information Network); conceived to assist distributed application systems in their ability to adapt functionality according to the current state of selected local or remote resources and operating conditions; and · A successful integrated solution: the monitoring tool with the adaptive conference system