Design of Home Network Architecture using ACE/TAO Real Time Event Service

This paper proposes a home network design based on publisher/subscriber architecture which is developed using ACE/TAO Real-time Event Service (RTES) as the middleware platform. This design addresses a feature to support a real-time implementation for home network application such as home automation. Home network participants have been classified into several components based on consumer and supplier implementation in the ACE/TAO RTES in order to simplify the design. To optimize the network utilization, events are filtered based on their type and source for each publisher and subscriber. To deal with heterogeneous type of home appliances, event header information has been extended to wrap more information. Each of events can be configured with a specific scheduling and priority setting to meet its quality of service (QoS) according to the requirement. Network performance in handling an increasing number of consumer or supplier has been evaluated and show an acceptable result. Keywords: Home Network, ACE/TAO, RTES, QoS

Context Aware Computing for The Internet of Things: A Survey

As we are moving towards the Internet of Things (IoT), the number of sensors deployed around the world is growing at a rapid pace. Market research has shown a significant growth of sensor deployments over the past decade and has predicted a significant increment of the growth rate in the future. These sensors continuously generate enormous amounts of data. However, in order to add value to raw sensor data we need to understand it. Collection, modelling, reasoning, and distribution of context in relation to sensor data plays critical role in this challenge. Context-aware computing has proven to be successful in understanding sensor data. In this paper, we survey context awareness from an IoT perspective. We present the necessary background by introducing the IoT paradigm and context-aware fundamentals at the beginning. Then we provide an in-depth analysis of context life cycle. We evaluate a subset of projects (50) which represent the majority of research and commercial solutions proposed in the field of context-aware computing conducted over the last decade (2001-2011) based on our own taxonomy. Finally, based on our evaluation, we highlight the lessons to be learnt from the past and some possible directions for future research. The survey addresses a broad range of techniques, methods, models, functionalities, systems, applications, and middleware solutions related to context awareness and IoT. Our goal is not only to analyse, compare and consolidate past research work but also to appreciate their findings and discuss their applicability towards the IoT.Comment: IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials Journal, 201

Context-aware Dynamic Discovery and Configuration of 'Things' in Smart Environments

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a dynamic global information network consisting of Internet-connected objects, such as RFIDs, sensors, actuators, as well as other instruments and smart appliances that are becoming an integral component of the future Internet. Currently, such Internet-connected objects or `things' outnumber both people and computers connected to the Internet and their population is expected to grow to 50 billion in the next 5 to 10 years. To be able to develop IoT applications, such `things' must become dynamically integrated into emerging information networks supported by architecturally scalable and economically feasible Internet service delivery models, such as cloud computing. Achieving such integration through discovery and configuration of `things' is a challenging task. Towards this end, we propose a Context-Aware Dynamic Discovery of {Things} (CADDOT) model. We have developed a tool SmartLink, that is capable of discovering sensors deployed in a particular location despite their heterogeneity. SmartLink helps to establish the direct communication between sensor hardware and cloud-based IoT middleware platforms. We address the challenge of heterogeneity using a plug in architecture. Our prototype tool is developed on an Android platform. Further, we employ the Global Sensor Network (GSN) as the IoT middleware for the proof of concept validation. The significance of the proposed solution is validated using a test-bed that comprises 52 Arduino-based Libelium sensors.Comment: Big Data and Internet of Things: A Roadmap for Smart Environments, Studies in Computational Intelligence book series, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 201

A QoS Aware Approach to Service-Oriented Communication in Future Automotive Networks

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is about to enter automotive networks based on the SOME/IP middleware and an Ethernet high-bandwidth communication layer. It promises to meet the growing demands on connectivity and flexibility for software components in modern cars. Largely heterogeneous service requirements and time-sensitive network functions make Quality-of-Service (QoS) agreements a vital building block within future automobiles. Existing middleware solutions, however, do not allow for a dynamic selection of QoS. This paper presents a service-oriented middleware for QoS aware communication in future cars. We contribute a protocol for dynamic QoS negotiation along with a multi-protocol stack, which supports the different communication classes as derived from a thorough requirements analysis. We validate the feasibility of our approach in a case study and evaluate its performance in a simulation model of a realistic in-car network. Our findings indicate that QoS aware communication can indeed meet the requirements, while the impact of the service negotiations and setup times of the network remain acceptable provided the cross-traffic during negotiations stays below 70% of the available bandwidth

Fine Grained Component Engineering of Adaptive Overlays: Experiences and Perspectives

Recent years have seen significant research being carried out into peer-to-peer (P2P) systems. This work has focused on the styles and applications of P2P computing, from grid computation to content distribution; however, little investigation has been performed into how these systems are built. Component based engineering is an approach that has seen successful deployment in the field of middleware development; functionality is encapsulated in ‘building blocks’ that can be dynamically plugged together to form complete systems. This allows efficient, flexible and adaptable systems to be built with lower overhead and development complexity. This paper presents an investigation into the potential of using component based engineering in the design and construction of peer-to-peer overlays. It is highlighted that the quality of these properties is dictated by the component architecture used to implement the system. Three reusable decomposition architectures are designed and evaluated using Chord and Pastry case studies. These demonstrate that significant improvements can be made over traditional design approaches resulting in much more reusable, (re)configurable and extensible systems