Software Infrastructure for Ubiquitous Computing: A Context-aware Service-based Approach

The ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) area, sometimes called pervasive computing, presupposes a strong integration with the real world, with focus on the user and on keeping high transparency. For the development of applications in this scenario, we need an adequate software infrastructure. This book, therefore, presents an infrastructure based on Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), making use of framework and middleware. The specific focus is context awareness: the perception of characteristics related to users and surroundings. We keep a history of context using ontology. In this way, context is represented in a considerably expressive, formal approach, different from many solutions that exist today. Our work is then at the intersection of these three main areas: software infrastructures for ubicomp, context awareness, and ontologies. In the book, we also survey the field of ubiquitous computing, suggesting a general architectural model to deal with its fundamental challenges. This book is intended for professionals in the computer science area, particularly developers, designers, and researchers that want to know more about the novel and innovative field of ubicomp.

Cristiano André da Costa is an associate professor and coordinator of the Institute of Informatics at the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos) in Brazil. He received his PhD in Computer Science from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), also in Brazil. He is a member of the IEEE, the ACM, and the Brazilian Computer Society.