To Be or Not to Be Aware: Reducing Interruptions in Pervasive Awareness Systems

In this paper we look at awareness systems that use mobile and ambient devices for collecting or presenting awareness information and operate within an Ambient Intelligence Environment. Our focus is on Pervasive Awareness Systems (PAS) that mediate awareness with the aim to improve the feeling of being connected. In particular, we concentrate on the challenges that are connected to participation in multiple communities, requiring a continuous balancing between the need to "keep in touch" and to reduce interruptions. In the paper, we discuss software agents as a possible solution and identify the different roles that agents can play in reducing interruptions.