Section: Research Program

Situation Models for Context Aware Systems and Services

Context Awareness, Smart Spaces

Summary

Over the last few years, the PRIMA group has pioneered the use of context aware observation of human activity in order to provide non-disruptive services. In particular, we have developed a conceptual framework for observing and modeling human activity, including human-to-human interaction, in terms of situations.

Encoding activity in situation models provides a formal representation for building systems that observe and understand human activity. Such models provide scripts of activities that tell a system what actions to expect from each individual and the appropriate behavior for the system. A situation model acts as a non-linear script for interpreting the current actions of humans, and predicting the corresponding appropriate and inappropriate actions for services. This framework organizes the observation of interaction using a hierarchy of concepts: scenario, situation, role, action and entity. Situations are organized into networks, with transition probabilities, so that possible next situations may be predicted from the current situation.

Current technology allows us to handcraft real-time systems for a specific services. The current hard challenge is to create a technology to automatically learn and adapt situation models with minimal or no disruption of human activity. An important current problem for the PRIMA group is the adaptation of Machine Learning techniques for learning situation models for describing the context of human activity.

Detailed Description

Context Aware Systems and Services require a model for how humans think and interact with each other and their environment. Relevant theories may be found in the field of cognitive science. Since the 1980's, Philippe Johnson-Laird and his colleagues have developed an extensive theoretical framework for human mental models  [39] , [40] . Johnson Laird's "situation models", provide a simple and elegant framework for predicting and explaining human abilities for spatial reasoning, game playing strategies, understanding spoken narration, understanding text and literature, social interaction and controlling behavior. While these theories are primarily used to provide models of human cognitive abilities, they are easily implemented in programmable systems [31] , [30] .

In Johnson-Laird's Situation Models, a situation is defined as a configuration of relations over entities. Relations are formalized as N-ary predicates such as beside or above. Entities are objects, actors, or phenomena that can be reliably observed by a perceptual system. Situation models provide a structure for organizing assemblies of entities and relations into a network of situations. For cognitive scientists, such models provide a tool to explain and predict the abilities and limitations of human perception. For machine perception systems, situation models provide the foundation for assimilation, prediction and control of perception. A situation model identifies the entities and relations that are relevant to a context, allowing the perception system to focus limited computing and sensing resources. The situation model can provide default information about the identities of entities and the configuration of relations, allowing a system to continue to operate when perception systems fail or become unreliable. The network of situations provides a mechanism to predict possible changes in entities or their relations. Finally, the situation model provides an interface between perception and human centered systems and services. On the one hand, changes in situations can provide events that drive service behavior. At the same time, the situation model can provide a default description of the environment that allows human-centered services to operate asynchronously from perceptual systems.

We have developed situation models based on the notion of a script. A theatrical script provides more than dialog for actors. A script establishes abstract characters that provide actors with a space of activity for expression of emotion. It establishes a scene within which directors can layout a stage and place characters. Situation models are based on the same principle.

A script describes an activity in terms of a scene occupied by a set of actors and props. Each actor plays a role, thus defining a set of actions, including dialog, movement and emotional expressions. An audience understands the theatrical play by recognizing the roles played by characters. In a similar manner, a user service uses the situation model to understand the actions of users. However, a theatrical script is organised as a linear sequence of scenes, while human activity involves alternatives. In our approach, the situation model is not a linear sequence, but a network of possible situations, modeled as a directed graph.

Situation models are defined using roles and relations. A role is an abstract agent or object that enables an action or activity. Entities are bound to roles based on an acceptance test. This acceptance test can be seen as a form of discriminative recognition.

There is no generic algorithm capable of robustly recognizing situations from perceptual events coming from sensors. Various approaches have been explored and evaluated. Their performance is very problem and environment dependent. In order to be able to use several approaches inside the same application, it is necessary to clearly separate the specification of scenario and the implementation of the program that recognizes it, using a Model Driven Engineering approach. The transformation between a specification and its implementation must be as automatic as possible. We have explored three implementation models :

• Synchronized petri net. The Petri Net structure implements the temporal constraints of the initial context model (Allen operators). The synchronisation controls the Petri Net evolution based on roles and relations perception. This approach has been used for the Context Aware Video Acquisition application.

• Fuzzy Petri Nets. The Fuzzy Petri Net naturally expresses the smooth changes of activity states (situations) from one state to another with gradual and continuous membership function. Each fuzzy situation recognition is interpreted as a new proof of the recognition of the corresponding context. Proofs are then combined using fuzzy integrals. This approach has been used to label videos with a set of predefined scenarios (context).

• Hidden Markov Model. This probabilistic implementation of the situation model integrates uncertainty values that can both refer to confidence values for events and to a less rigid representation of situations and situations transitions. This approach has been used to detect interaction groups and to determinate who is interacting with whom and thus which interaction groups are formed.

Currently situation models are constructed by hand. Our challenge is to provide a technology by which situation models may be adapted and extended by explicit and implicit interaction with the user. An important aspect of taking services to the real world is an ability to adapt and extend service behaviour to accommodate individual preferences and interaction styles. Our approach is to adapt and extend an explicit model of user activity. While such adaptation requires feedback from users, it must avoid or at least minimize disruption. We are currently exploring reinforcement learning approaches to solve this problem.

With a reinforcement learning approach, the system is rewarded and punished by user reactions to system behaviours. A simplified stereotypic interaction model assures a initial behaviour. This prototypical model is adapted to each particular user in a way that maximizes its satisfaction. To minimize distraction, we are using an indirect reinforcement learning approach, in which user actions and consequences are logged, and this log is periodically used for off-line reinforcement learning to adapt and refine the context model.

Adaptations to the context model can result in changes in system behaviour. If unexpected, such changes may be disturbing for the end users. To keep user's confidence, the learned system must be able to explain its actions. We are currently exploring methods that would allow a system to explain its model of interaction. Such explanation is made possible by explicit describing context using situation models.

The PRIMA group has refined its approach to context aware observation in the development of a process for real time production of a synchronized audio-visual stream based using multiple cameras, microphones and other information sources to observe meetings and lectures. This "context aware video acquisition system" is an automatic recording system that encompasses the roles of both the cameraman and the director. The system determines the target for each camera, and selects the most appropriate camera and microphone to record the current activity at each instant of time. Determining the most appropriate camera and microphone requires a model of activities of the actors, and an understanding of the video composition rules. The model of the activities of the actors is provided by a "situation model" as described above.

In collaboration with France Telecom, we have adapted this technology to observing social activity in domestic environments. Our goal is to demonstrate new forms of services for assisted living to provide non-intrusive access to care as well to enhance informal contact with friends and family.