Service-based access to distributed embedded devices through the open service gateway

Abstract

In search of a common digital infrastructure increasing convergence trends require to intemperate devices and services in heterogeneous network environments throughout various application domains, e.g. home domain. Home networks usually feature embedded devices with sparse resources and low processing power as e.g. in home automation devices. As a consequence, traditional and emerging solutions for the seamless interoperability of these devices like Web services or network coprocessing prove to be unsatisfactory as they put high demands on the embedded devices. Low-level gateway solutions that are mainly responsible for protocol translation have been discussed for a long time. We propose to use the open service gateway as specified by the open service gateway initiative (OSGi). Rather than performing protocol translation, the OSGi framework provides means to offer device capabilities as well-defined services to any other service registered with the framework. Even further, OSGi likewise allows to easily interoperate heterogeneous (plug and play) networks. This paper introduces OSGi as a promising service framework for the seamless operation of heterogeneous networks. Furthermore, it will present a new OSGi control services class that allow to propagate native signaling events and error messages to the framework, and hence build the foundation for the seamless operation of complementary middleware solutions