Platform for Opportunistic Behaviour in Incompletely Specified, Heterogeneous Object Communities (POBICOS)

Seventh Framework Programme Project

Project summary:
Project type: Seventh Framework Programme Project
Project start: May 2008
Project duration: 36 months
Project budget: 3,2M EUR

Main objectives

The POBICOS project targets computing environments which feature collections of objects, equipped with sense-compute-actuate embedded nodes, which differ in their sensor, actuator and computing resources. Moreover, the actual mix of objects, and the resources provided by those objects, which will be available during execution is partly unknown when programming the application(s).

POBICOS aims to design, implement and test a platform that simplifies both the development and the deployment of applications for such heterogeneous and incompletely specified systems. The key challenge is to enable applications to take the best advantage of what-ever "resource opportunities" exist at runtime, provided by the objects that happen to be available. The platform shall make such "opportunistic" behaviour largely transparent to the programmer.

Towards this goal, the main objectives of POBICOS are:

• The design of a programming model and supporting mechanisms for opportunistic pervasive computing;
• An ontology-driven approach for modelling and flexibly accessing resources for a given application domain;
• The implementation of a corresponding middleware on top of embedded wireless sensor/actuator nodes;
• The provision of suitable resource abstraction and domain-based customisation tools as well as application development, simulation and deployment tools;
• The experimental validation of the middleware and tools for a selected application domain in the area of home automation.

The domain of energy efficiency at home will be used as the source of scenarios and requirements. Proof-of-concept applications will be tested in a real setting.

Vision

The POBICOS project aims to produce technology that will simplify the development and deployment of opportunistic computing applications to a considerable degree. On the one hand, the programmer will write applications with reference to a formal domain model that will make it possible to flexibly access resources at the desired level of abstraction without restricting the application to a specific (custom) device/appliance configuration. On the other hand, users will acquire and deploy applications in a natural way, with little or no explicit administrative overhead and zero technical knowhow; ideally, adding an application to one's home should be as simple as putting a sticker on a door.

Technical Approach

The envisioned middleware and development support will be achieved by combining three main technical dimensions in a tightly coupled fashion.

(a) Ontology-driven multi-resolution representations of sensor and actuator resources

Objects and their resources will be represented at multiple levels of abstractions, using a formal domain model. Such representations will give the programmer flexibility in specifying the resources of interest. Using a more abstract level allows freedom in choosing actual resources at runtime. Using a less abstract level makes the behaviour of the application more predictable - but also more dependent on the existence of specific resources. Based on the specifications, the middleware can locate nodes that offer compatible resources and engage them as needed on behalf of the application.

(b) Abstractions and mechanisms for physical node transparency

To simplify application programming, the existence of physical nodes and underlying networking topologies should remain hidden from the programmer as much as possible. This will be achieved by adopting an abstract programming model based on logically separate components, also referred to as micro-agents, and by letting the middleware place them onto concrete physical objects at runtime while trying to meet their sensor, actuator, computing and communication requirements as best as possible subject to the current load.

(c) Concepts, mechanisms and tools for security, privacy and deployment

Straightforward application deployment with special care for ensuring security and privacy is of major importance if pervasive computing is to become popular in the home automation domain where the users are ordinary people, rather than experienced administrators. Special care will be paid as to capture such requirements in the early stages of the project, and corresponding mechanisms will be built into the middleware. Moreover, the envisioned application model will enable a simple and intuitive deployment of applications.

POBICOS Consortium

• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland)
• Warsaw University of Technology (Poland)
• Center for Research and Technology Thessaly (Greece)
• Accenture Technology Labs (France)
• SAE Automation, s.r.o. (Slovakia)
• Center for Renewable Energy Sources (Greece)