Context-aware access to public shared devices

To allow for an efficient usage of an embedded device in pervasive computing environments, reliable and yet convenient user access is an important requirement. The problem becomes more complex when the accessed device is shared by the public with many different individuals. This paper first illustrates the common pitfalls and issues of establishing sessions to such devices. The paper then proposes a context-aware solution that uses different contexts to capture a usage session. The paper presents a general system design that supports a secure, selective, and identifiable user access of public shared devices with high usability. We have also implemented a prototype system to demonstrate the concept.