A personal context-aware multi-device coaching service that supports a healthy lifestyle

This paper describes work in progress in the European Artemis project Smarcos. Smarcos focuses on interusability of multi-device embedded and networked services. The work presented here is devoted to the development of context-aware personal coaching service systems that give users personalized feedback to empower them to make healthy lifestyle choices. Our target group consists of diabetes type II patients and the lifestyle intervention concerns situated coaching with respect to physical activity and medicine compliance. We describe the stages in the process, starting with user studies.We describe the ontology that supports the interoperability and the knowledge design to support the coaching strategy, the architecture of the prototype system and the interactions that users have with the system through various (mobile) devices in various contexts. The ultimate aim of the system is to increase the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions by means of interusable coaching interactions. We conclude with an outlook and discussion on the effectiveness of a human-like (autonomous) character as a relational agent representing a virtual coach across devices and situations.