Balancing Awareness and Interruption in Mobile Patrol using Context-Aware Notification

  • Authors:
  • Jan Willem Streefkerk;D. Scott McCrickard;Myra P. van Esch-Bussemakers;Mark A. Neerincx

  • Affiliations:
  • Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, The Netherlands;Virginia Tech, USA;Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, The Netherlands;Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

  • Venue:
  • International Journal of Mobile Human Computer Interaction
  • Year:
  • 2012

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Abstract

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.