• ETRI Journal
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.169-178
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• 2007

With the advent of ubiquitous computing environments, it has become increasingly important for applications to take full advantage of contextual information, such as the user's location, to offer greater services to the user without any explicit requests. In this paper, we propose context-aware active services based on context-aware middleware for URC systems (CAMUS). The CAMUS is a middleware that provides context-aware applications with a development and execution methodology. Accordingly, the applications based on CAMUS respond in a timely fashion to contextual information. This paper presents the system architecture of CAMUS and illustrates the content recommendation and control service agents with the properties, operations, and tasks for context-aware active services. To evaluate CAMUS, we apply the proposed active services to a TV application domain. We implement and experiment with a TV content recommendation service agent, a control service agent, and TV tasks based on CAMUS. The implemented content recommendation service agent divides the user's preferences into common and specific models to apply other recommendations and applications easily, including the TV content recommendations.

• KIPS Transactions on Computer and Communication Systems
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.211-218
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• 2017

Recent robot software platform research focuses on providing intelligent service via abstraction of robot devices. Context-aware techniques are necessary for intelligent robot services, which are based on the perception of environmental information obtained from heterogeneous sensors in IoT environment. Robot Operating System (ROS) provides protocols to operate robot devices. ROS includes functions for abstracting heterogeneous sensors themselves in order to control the robot, however, it lacks the ability to provide context information that the robot can perceive based on environmental information through consistent collection methods. In this paper, we propose a relay system for ROS to provide context-aware robot service. The proposed system makes it possible for ROS to control and provide context-aware robot services with relay of an external context-aware system and ROS. In experiments, we demonstrate procedures that robot services abstracted from ROS and an external context-aware system works together based on the proposed system.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.309-316
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• 2013

There are many actively researched works on context-aware workflows for developing intelligent robot services. It is possible to describe not only the definition of robot services but also the contextual information of user's surroundings which can be used as the transition conditions for executing those robot services. Therefore it is required to prepare a context-aware workflow document to support the intelligent robot services. In this paper, we propose a development tool which enables robot service developers to describe context-aware workflow documents and execute them. The tool users can write robot service workflows easily by using intuitive GUI of the tool. In the experiment, we showed processes of writing robot service workflows in scenario format, then automatically documenting and executing them.

• Journal of Service Research and Studies
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2014

Context-aware computing is an emerging paradigm to achieve ubiquitous computing environments by enabling computer systems to understand their situational contexts. A context-aware system uses context to provide relevant information and services to the user depending on the user's task. In this paper, we propose an ontology-based context-aware modeling methodology that transmits low-level contexts acquired by directly accessing various sensors in the physical environments to high-level contexts. With these high-level contexts, context-aware application can provides proactive and intelligent services using ECA (Event-Condition-Action) rules. We implemented a home robot service in smart office environment.

• Journal of KIISE:Software and Applications
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.676-686
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• 2010

An URC (Ubiquitous Robot Companion) is aimed for providing the best service according to situational information that it recognizes. In order to offer human-friendly and intelligent services, a robot middleware requires the technique to automate and control URC service processes, which are based on context-awareness. In this paper, we propose a context-aware workflow system to provide web services based URC services according to situational information. The proposed system offers a platform-independent command object model to control heterogeneous URCs, and supports web services based context-aware URC services. Therefore, the proposed system can increase the reliability of URC services in ubiquitous network environment, on which the diverse URC robots and platforms exist. And it can enhance the flexibility and adaptability of the functional and structural changes of URC systems.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.240-250
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• 2010

A URC, which is a Ubiquitous Robot Companion, provides services to users in ubiquitous computing environments and has advantage of simplifying robot's hardware and software by distributing the complicated functionality of robots to other system. In this paper, we propose SOWL, which is a software architecture for URC robots and a mixed word of SOMAR and CAWL. SOWL keeps the advantages of URC and it also has the loosely-coupled characteristics. Moreover it makes it easy to develop of URC robot software. The proposed architecture is composed of 4 layers: device software, robot software, robot application, and end user layer. Developers of the each layer is able to build software suitable for their requirements by combining software modules in the lower layer. SOWL consists of SOMAR and CAWL engine. SOMAR, which is a middleware for the execution of device software and robot software, is based on service-oriented architecture(SOA) for robot software. CAWL engine is a system to process CAWL which is a context-aware workflow language. SOWL is able to provide a layered architecture for the execution of a robot software. It also makes it possible for developers of the each layer to build module-based robot software.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.353-364
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• 2011

In ubiquitous computing environments, users want to receive the robot services regardless of various physical status or devices such as time, place, various sensors, and high-performance servers. Thus, the ubiquitous service robots have to provide users with automated services according to situational information that they properly recognize. Beyond these problems, robot software has to establish a foundation to support the functions with the network infrastructure that are not able to be solved by a single independent resource. On the basis of a robot middleware that is capable of minimizing dependencies among hierarchy structures, the robot software also has to provide execution environment to control the flow of robot application services. In this paper, we propose a layered architecture to provide users with automated services through ubiquitous robots. The proposed architecture is based on CAWL (Context-Aware Workflow Language) and RSEL (Robot Services Execution Language). CAWL easily represents the flow of robot services from user application service levels, and RSEL is able to support the composition and reusability of robot services through abstraction of robot device services. In our experiments, we applied the proposed architecture to an example of "booth guide robot service".

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.7-14
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• 2004

In an upcoming ubiquitous era, humankind will live in a ubiquitous space, where everything is connected through communication network. In this ubiquitous space, a ubiquitous robot, which can be used by anyone for any service through any device and any network at anytime and anywhere in a u-space, is expected to be required to serve seamless and context-aware services to humankind. In this paper, we introduce the ubiquitous robot, and define three components of the ubiquitous robot. The first one is "SoBot" which can be connected through the network in anywhere with environment recognition function and communication ability with human. The second one is "EmBot" which is embedded into environments and mobile robots and has localization and certification function with sensor fusion. The last one is "Mobile Robot" which serves overall physical services. This paper also introduces KAIST ITRC-Intelligent Robot Research Center that pursues the implementation of the ubiquitous robot.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.216-224
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• 2023

Guide robots that provide services in public places have recently emerged as a non-face-to-face solution with the spread of COVID-19 and are growing. However, most guide robots provide only the same level of intelligence and the same interaction in different and changing environments. Therefore, its usefulness is limited and customers' interest is quickly lost. To solve this problem, it is necessary to develop social intelligence that can improve the robot's environment and situational awareness performance, and to continuously maintain customer interest by providing personalized and situational services. In this study, we developed guide robot services based on social HRI components that provides multi-modal context-aware. We evaluated service usefulness by measuring user satisfaction and frequency of use of the service through the survey. We analyzed the service quality attributes to identify the differentiating factors of guide robot based on social HRI components.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.1051-1061
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• 2005

This paper proposes a ubiquitous robot, Ubibot, as an integration of three forms of robots: Software robot (Sobot), Embedded robot (Embot) and Mobile robot (Mobot). A Sobot is a virtual robot, which has the ability to move to any place or connect to any device through a network in order to overcome spatial limitations. It has the capacity to interpret the context and thus interact with the user. An Embot is embedded within the environment or within physical robots. It can recognize the locations of and authenticate the user or robot, and synthesize sensing information. Also it has the ability to deliver essential information to the user or other components of Ubibot by using various types of output devices. A Mobot provides integrated mobile service. In addition, Middleware intervenes different protocols between Sobot, Embot, and Mobot in order to incorporate them reliably. The services provided by Ubibot will be seamless, calm and context-aware based on the combination of these components. This paper presents the basic concepts and structure of Ubibot. A Sobot, called Rity, is introduced in order to investigate the usability of the proposed concepts. Rity is a 3D synthetic character which exists in the virtual world, has a unique IP address and interacts with human beings through Vision Embot, Sound Embot, Position Embot and Voice Embot. Rity is capable of moving into a Mobot and controlling its mobility. In doing so, Rity can express its behavior in the virtual world, for example, wondering or moving about in the real world. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of implementing a Ubibot in a networked environment.