Reflective pervasive systems

Abstract

Pervasive adaptive systems are concerned with the construction of “smart” technologies capable of adapting to the needs of the individual in real time. In order to achieve this level of specificity, systems must be capable of monitoring the psychological status of the user and responding to these changes in real time and across multiple systems if necessary. This article describes a number of conceptual issues associated with this category of adaptive technology. The biocybernetic loop describes different approaches to monitoring the status of the user from physiological sensors to overt behavior. These data are used to drive real time system adaptation tailored to a specific user in a particular context. The rate at which the technology adapts to the individual user are described over three different phases of usage: awareness (short-term), adjustment (medium-term), and coevolution (long-term). An ontology is then proposed for the development of an adaptive software architecture that embodies this approach and may be extended to encompass several distinct loops working in parallel. The feasibility of the approach is assessed through implemented case studies of their performance and functionality.