Development tools for context aware and secure pervasive computing in embedded systems middleware

Abstract

The increasing number of devices that are invisibly embedded into our surrounding environment as well as the proliferation of wireless communication and sensing technologies are the basis for visions like ambient intelligence, ubiquitous and pervasive computing. The PErvasive Computing in Embedded Systems (PECES) project developed the technological basis to enable the global cooperation of embedded devices residing in different smart spaces in a context-dependent, secure and trustworthy manner. The PECES development tools aim to help the application developer to build applications using the PECES middleware and simulate the smart space dynamics such as device connections and context changes, etc. To ease the middleware development process, the development tools are implemented as Eclipse plugins and integrated into the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The development tools provide graphical user interface (GUI) to configure, model and test the PECES middleware based smart space applications. This thesis presents the design, implementation and devaluation of three groups of tools namely Configuration Tool (Peces Project, Peces Device Definition, Peces Ontology Instantiation, Peces Security Configuration, Peces Service Definition, Peces Role Specification Definition, Peces Hierarchical Role Specification Definition), Modelling Tool (Peces Event Editor, Peces Event Diagram) and Testing Tool which enalble application developer to build, model and test the PECES middleware based smart space application using the novel concepts such as role assignment, context ontologies and security.