Widget-based simulator for testing smart space

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a widget-based simulator for testing smart space by using virtual space. It is especially useful within this simulation field, because virtual space alleviates limited constraints such as time, space, technique, and cost. Researchers within this ubiquitous computing field use virtual space to simulate entities such as sensors, actuators, and services. Previous works focus more on systematic functions rather than simulation space configurations, and they consider only single service unit simulations. However, our proposed simulator focuses on the easy configuration of simulation space, which users want, and the simulation of entities such as detailed units (e.g., actuators, sensors, and context-awareness). Our simulator supports the set up of a variety of services by using dynamic links. For the design of our simulator, we consider widget-based virtual entities and plug-in techniques. We configure a virtual smart home in order to test our proposed simulation. We also evaluate the robustness of our proposed simulation. Finally, the proposed simulator is expected to provide a simulation environment in which simulation space and testing are made more effective for users. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.