Advancements in Context Recognition for Edge Devices and Smart Eyewear: Sensors and Applications

Edge devices have garnered significant attention for their ability to process data locally, providing low-latency, context-aware services without the need for extensive reliance on cloud computing. This capability is particularly crucial in context recognition, which enables dynamic adaptation to a user’s real-time environment. Applications range from health monitoring and augmented reality to smart assistance and social interaction analysis. Among edge devices, smart eyewear has emerged as a promising platform for context recognition due to its ability to unobtrusively capture rich, multi-modal sensor data. However, the deployment of context-aware systems on such devices presents unique challenges, including real-time processing, energy efficiency, sensor fusion, and noise management. This manuscript provides a comprehensive survey of context recognition in edge devices, with a specific emphasis on smart eyewear. It reviews the state-of-the-art sensors and applications for context inference. Furthermore, the paper discusses key challenges in achieving reliable, low-latency context recognition while addressing energy and computational constraints. By synthesizing advancements and identifying gaps, this work aims to guide the development of more robust and efficient solutions for context recognition in edge computing.