Understanding the Influence of the Users' Context in AmI

This article explores the use of ethnographies to understand the contextual influence on the user experience of ambient intelligent (AmI) systems in public environments. To do this, consolidated and experimental field studies to explore how users interact in real contexts with pervasive systems are discussed. The scope is to analyze, in a holistic way, how the system integrates into the users' physical and social environment and can be responsive to their emotions and feelings. These studies, as part of a participatory design approach can potentially contribute to enhance the reliability and relevance of the results.