ConFra:: A context aware Human Machine Interface framework for in-vehicle infotainment applications

The omnipresent integration of computer technology in infotainment applications introduces new opportunities to make applications aware of the context in which they are used. Unlike existing context aware systems which isolate one characteristic such as road or driver workload and concentrate on it in exclusion of the others, this paper proposes a context awareness framework, ConFra, which brings the knowledge of applicationis context to Human Machine Interface and considers the driver, vehicle and environment as a whole. The approach in ConFra places context-aware design within a wider scope that takes into account information related to the driver, environment and vehicle at HMI and offloads infotainment applications from context related concerns. Such an approach aids in the design of safe in-vehicle context-aware systems.