Energy aware simulation and testing of smart-spaces

Abstract

Abstract Context A smart-space SS typically consists of many rooms, with temperature and humidity environment attributes, devices, and software components that communicate with each other to satisfy certain test purposes that need to be checked over various realistic exterior environment weather conditions. Objective We present a novel energy-aware approach for the validation of smart-spaces while minimizing the energy consumption encountered during testing. Method A framework for deriving minimal (energy) cost tests is provided. It includes SS, a controlled environment Env that depicts the exterior conditions, and a Tester that can control SS and Env , derive and runs tests, and observe relevant SS attributes in order to release a success verdict whenever a test purpose is met. A simulator is proposed for deriving tests by appropriately exploring part of the SS behavior employing several cost functions for computing the estimated cost and duration of test events. Results The framework is deployed in a real SS environment which is used to assess the actual energy consumption of derived tests in practice. Experiments show that the actual power consumption of the derived tests is close to the ones estimated by the simulator. A case study that assesses the gains in using energy aware tests in comparison to non energy-aware alternatives is also provided. Conclusions The obtained results highlight the importance of considering power consumption in the development and testing of smart-spaces.