Tangible Context Modelling for Rapid Adaptive System Testing

With the rise of adaptive interactive systems came a growing demand for tools to test the envisioned adaptivity. This article presents a tactile interface allowing direct manipulation of a context model for adaptive behavior in intelligent environments. The presented tool starts with an abstract context model, which is transformed to an easy-to-use interface supporting tangible interaction. Different context parameters can directly be manipulated. Diverse context-relevant items can be integrated using tangible objects to emulate and use their real world location parameters. The article gives an insight in the technical implementation and the usage as substitute for a sensor topology from an existing intelligent environment to support evaluations and tests.