Mobile and Semantic Web-Based Delivery of Context-Aware Information and Services in Construction - Mobile and Pervasive Computing in Construction - page 24

access video feeds of IP-based surveillance cameras. Once a security alert was
generated, the closest station staff and security officer were immediately warned
based on their proximity to the person or object generating the alert.
The deployment was highly effective in making real-time information available
to the appropriate station personnel. There was clear evidence of the potential
benefits of the proposed approach in delivering context-specific information to
both operations management and facility management staff. The potential to
extend the services to station users on a subscription basis was also identified as an
added benefit of this deployment.
2.8 Summary and conclusions
This chapter has described the context and methods for deployment of mobile and
Semantic Web-based context-aware services in the construction sector. The use of
such technologies facilitates better access to project data, as demonstrated by the
OntoWise system which helps manage project data efficiently and effectively. The
tool helps users to populate the database with documents and drawings, and
subsequently to enrich the documents with annotations. The application uses
ontologies to structure document/knowledge domains, which capture project/
domain data in a generic way and provide a commonly agreed understanding of a
domain, such that they can be reused and shared across groups. Development of
these ontologies forms a core element in the development of OntoWise and the
sharing of data based on user context.
Context awareness makes human-computer interaction more intuitive, thereby
reducing the need for training. Also, new application scenarios are becoming more
viable by the continuing miniaturization of devices, developments in wireless
sensor networking, increasing computational power and the fact that broadband is
now well established. The deployment scenarios/case studies presented in this
chapter have demonstrated that context-aware services delivery in the AEC/FM
sector needs to satisfy the constraints introduced by technological complexity,
cost, user needs and interoperability. Taking into account the fact that for most
construction organizations, the use of Web services and mobile technologies is
relatively new, there is the need for more extensive industrial case studies that
demonstrate the effectiveness of these technologies within the construction
context.
The effectiveness of the Semantic Web relies on the development of shared
ontologies and semantic standards to ensure increased interoperability across
devices, platforms and applications. At present, construction enterprises perform
their processes in different ways, using different terminologies and modes of
operation. The full realization of the vision of mobile and Semantic Web-based
delivery of context-aware services and information is possible only when the
construction industry agrees on common standards and ontologies for process
and product description. These ontologies are being developed and will be more
readily available in the years to come (Anumba et al ., 2008a, 2008b).