In mobile computing, a fundamental problem is maintaining awareness of the environment and of information presented as messages on a mobile device. In mobile police patrols, officers need to pay attention to their direct environment and stay informed of incidents elsewhere. To prevent unwanted interruption, a context-aware notification system adapts the timing and appearance of incident messages, based on user activity (available, in transit, or busy) and message priority (high, normal, or low). The authors evaluated the benefits and costs of adaptive notification compared to three uniform notification styles (presenting full messages, postponing messages or presenting indicators). Thirty-two trained student participants used a prototype notification system in a controlled mobile patrol task. The results were validated in a follow-up study with twenty-four police officers.
Balancing Awareness and Interruption in Mobile Patrol using Context-Aware Notification
