Design of the middleware enabling context awareness and energy optimizing for smart environment

Abstract

Context-aware computing is a class of new conceptual pervasive computing system, which spring up and develop rapidly recently. In order to screen heterogeneity of ubiquitous networks and support rapid development of applications in context-awareness, the idea of middleware is widely adopted. In this paper, the middleware is proposed to support the application development of context-awareness under the wireless sensor networks environment. It applies the updated service-oriented and light-weight structure with excellent expansibility and efficiency in the running process. The runtime structure of the middleware is presented. During the process of context-awareness, the new method of awareness synchronization is designed to ensure the sensitivity to context switch. The algorithm of the energy efficiency during the context-awareness process is designed and evaluated. At the end of the paper, a healthcare scenario is used to validate the design methodology and demonstrate the supporting function of middleware. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.