This paper describes a framework that serves as a reference for classifying user interfaces supporting multiple targets, or multiple contexts of use in the field of context-aware computing. In this framework, a context of use is decomposed in three facets: the end users of the interactive system, the hardware and software computing platform with which the user have to carry out their interactive tasks and the physical environment where they are working. Therefore, a context-sensitive user interface is a user interface that exhibits some capability to be aware of the context (context awareness) and to react to changes of this context. This paper attempts to provide a unified understanding of context-sensitive user interfaces rather than a prescription of various ways or methods of tackling different steps of development. Rather, the framework structures the development life cycle into four levels of abstraction: task and concepts, abstract user interface, concrete user interface and final user interface. These levels are structured with a relationship of reification going from an abstract level to a concrete one and a relationship of abstraction going from a concrete level to an abstract one. Most methods and tools can be more clearly understood and compared relative to each other against the levels of this framework. In addition, the framework expresses when, where and how a change of context is considered and supported in the context-sensitive user interface thanks to a relationship of translation. In the field of multi-target user interfaces is also introduced, defined, and exemplified the notion of plastic user interfaces. These user interfaces support some adaptation to changes of the context of use while preserving a predefined set of usability properties.

Context is not simply the state of a predefined environment with a fixed set of interaction resources. It's part of a process of interacting with an ever-changing environment composed of reconfigurable, migratory, distributed, and multiscale resources.

ABSTRACT:We propose the CARE properties as a simple way of characterising and assessing aspects of multimodal interaction: the Complementarity, Assignment, Redundancy, and Equivalence that may occur between the interaction techniques available in a multimodal user interface. We provide a formal definition of these properties and use the notion of compatibility to show how the system CARE properties interact with user CARE-like properties in the design of a system. The discussion is illustrated with MATIS, a Multimodal Air Travel Information System.

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Multimodal interactive systems support multiple interaction techniques such as the synergistic use of speech and direct manipulation. The flexibility they offer results in an increased complexity that current software tools do not address appropriately. One of the emerging technical problems in multimodal interaction is concerned with the fusion of information produced through distinct interaction techniques. In this article, we present a generic fusion engine that can be embedded in a multi-agent architecture modelling technique. We demonstrate the fruitful symbiosis of our fusion mechanism with PAC-Amodeus, our agentbased conceptual model, and illustrate the applicability of the approach with the implementation of an effective interactive system: MATIS, a Multimodal Airline Travel Information System.

Abstract. This paper defines the problem space of distributed, migratable and plastic user interfaces, and presents CAMELEON-RT 1 , a technical answer to the problem. CAMELEON-RT 1 is an architecture reference model that can be used for comparing and reasoning about existing tools as well as for developing future run time infrastructures for distributed, migratable, and plastic user interfaces. We have developed an early implementation of a run time infrastructure based on the precepts of CAMELEON-RT 1 .

The increasing proliferation of computational devices has introduced the need for applications to run on multiple platforms in different physical environments. Providing a user interface specially crafted for each context of use is extremely costly and may result in inconsistent behavior. User interfaces must now be capable of adapting to multiple sources of variation. This paper presents a unifying framework that structures the development process of plastic user interfaces. A plastic user interface is capable of adapting to variations of the context of use while preserving usability. The reference framework has guided the design of ARTStudio, a model-based tool that supports the plastic development of user interfaces. The framework as well as ARTStudio are illustrated with a common running example: a home heating control system.