Adaptive Middleware for Ubiquitous Computing Environments

Abstract

Rapid growth in inexpensive, short range, and low-power wireless communication hardware and network standards are now enabling the construction of ubiquitous computing and communication environments. Devices in ubicomp environments form short range and low power mobile ad hoc networks whose topologies are usually dynamic due to arbitrary node mobility. Typical applications in ubicomp environments are context-sensitive, adaptive, and often engage in impromptu, and volatile communication. These properties require both programming and runtime support in the application and system levels. A middleware approach can be very effective to provide these support to reduce the effort required to develop ubicomp software, in addition to providing the commonly known middleware services, such as interoperability, location transparency, naming service, etc. In contrast to middleware architectures for fixed networks, a middleware for ubicomp environments should be adaptive to various contexts, be reconfigurable, and should be of high-performance to facilitate ad hoc communication among objects. In this paper, an adaptive middleware, which is reconfigurable and context sensitive, is presented for applications in ubiquitous computing environments.