RDF: Stores - A lightweight approach on managing shared knowledge

Abstract

One of the central ideas of ubiquitous computing research is to create smart real-world artifacts and environments that can spontaneously cooperate in order to enable novel applications that no single device could provide. A critical factor in such applications is the availability of relevant context knowledge, which may be provided by a variety of different sensors, domain models, and applications. Locating, accessing, and preserving such knowledge is not a trivial task, especially in dynamic environments where new knowledge sources and applications may unexpectedly appear while existing ones may vanish. In this paper we present a pragmatic yet powerful approach to manage shared knowledge by introducing a novel concept called RDF:Stores. We will present the general properties of RDF:Stores and describe how they can be implemented using off-the-shelf software components. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.