The role of spatial contextual factors in mobile personalization at large sports events

This paper presents three field studies undertaken at large sports events in the UK and China, with aim of improving the user experience at these types of events through the design of personally-relevant mobile services. These field studies investigated: which aspects of spatial context were relevant within the confines of a large sporting event, how their relevance differed according to sports event and language/culture, and how they could be used to prescribe the behaviour of a personalizable/adaptive mobile device. Spatial aspects of context were found to be highly significant within the large sports arena. They can be used to maximize the relevance of information and communication services delivered to a spectator over a mobile device. A range of design implications are discussed.