Building Blocks for a Pervasive Computing Environment

Abstract

Pervasive Computing is a relatively new field which deals with making technology less invasive (with respect to human interaction), smarter and more productive. In the context of this thesis, Pervasive Computing is being used to create smart spaces that a computer system can monitor and control. Sensors and actuators, embedded in the surroundings, are used to provide the basic input and output for the system, and these communicate over arbitrary networking technologies to a central intelligence, which coordinates the functioning of the system. Currently, Microsoft, Carnegie Mellon University, IBM, and Berkeley all have research programs which are similar in aims and goals to this thesis project (see Chapter 2). Their approaches range from PC based (Microsoft [7]), to embedded controller based (MOTES [4]), through to highly futuristic solutions (CMU’s Project Aura [6]). Microsoft has managed to implement moderately accurate ‘people tracking and PC session following’ which is one of the secondary goals of this thesis; however they have achieved this at enormous costs and technology complexity. The approach being investigated by this thesis is to create an inexpensive and simple hardware sensor (and possibly actuator) network which will communicate via Elvin events (see Section 2.1) to a central server running event correlation software (being developed by Ryan Wishart). This thesis aims to look at the development of hardware devices and the communications framework that could be used in such a Pervasive Computing system, and the issues and concepts behind it. A description of and specifications for a system, and working prototype implementations will be created and demonstrated. The items being demonstrated will include sensors (light/sound levels, door beams, etc), networking technologies (RS232, Ethernet), and displays