Cristiano di Flora

Supporting smart space infrastructures: a dynamic context-model composition framework

Smart spaces are environments where intelligent devices can provide end-users with personalized and context-aware services. The biggest barriers against effective realization of smart spaces are the lack of interoperability between different ubiquitous computing infrastructures and standardized way of service operations. From this perspective, we present a framework for smart space interaction supporting interoperability and based on ongoing standardization efforts. The framework supports dynamic composition of context models based on multi-device and service interactions taking into account security and privacy issues. We show how we align ongoing W3C standardization efforts with key elements of the framework such as composition models and state-based mart space application development approaches. We conclude by providing our thoughts and plans about future extensions and interoperability needed between specifications for effective smart space realizations.

Indoor Positioning for Location-Aware Applications on Java-Based Mobile Devices

The Java Community Process (JCP) has recently finalized a Java Specification Request (JSR) to cope with location-awareness (JSR-179) in Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC). Implementations of this specification may rely on several location methods, including satellite based methods like GPS, as well as short-range positioning methods based on Received Signal Strength (RSS). Though RSS is a good location fingerprint for indoor positioning, no standard technique to tailor RSS-based approaches to the JSR-179 API has been proposed yet. In this paper we propose such a technique, and we evaluate its effectiveness through a Bluetooth-based prototype. Specifically, we show how to extend the Java APIs for Bluetooth (JSR-82) in order to provide the Location API with RSS-based position-information. Moreover, we show how to adapt RSS-based approaches to Location-API’s semantics. Our solution is based on the insertion of a specific component into the JSR-82 API. This is in charge of producing all the information needed to build Location objects as defined in the JSR-179. We evaluate the effectiveness of the approach by examining preliminary experimental results obtained from the first system prototype.

Leveraging GIS Technologies for Web-Based Smart Places Services

This paper describes our experiences and lessons learnt in building a Geographic Information System (GIS) specifically designed for indoor location-based services within our smart places infrastructure. The proposed system was built by mashing-up commodity Open Source software and novel research prototypes realized within our labs. The overall approach relies on intense usage of standard web technologies and REpresentational State Transfer (REST) APIs as a way of enabling easy mashup of off-the-shelf and proprietary components. The key design and implementation aspects of our solution are described in detail, including a discussion on how we represented and augmented the concept of indoor location within our services. Further, we show how we integrated them with commodity GIS services originally designed for outdoor scenarios.

Securing services in nomadic computing environments

This work addresses the existing research gap regarding the security of service oriented architectures and their integration in the context of nomadic computing. The state of the art of Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs) is thoroughly investigated to understand what secure service provision means for different SOAs and whether an established notion of secure SOA existed. Based on the analysis of existing SOAs, we define a set of requirements for securing services among different nomadic computing domains. Such requirements concern the security of service registration and that of the discovery and delivery phases. The surveyed SOAs are then evaluated in the light of the defined requirements, revealing interesting observations about how current SOAs address security issues. The second part of this work addresses the research issue of achieving secure service provision in a nomadic computing environment characterized by a number of heterogeneous service oriented architectures. A solution is presented in the form of an architectural model, named Secure Nomadic Computing Architecture. The model relies on a novel three-phase discovery-delivery protocol which allows the enforcement of a number of security requirements, identified as a result of the first part of the work. Finally, we present an exemplary implementation of the proposed architectural model developed within the context of a distributed management information system for the discovery of digital educational content.

Supporting location-aware distributed applications on mobile devices

This work proposes to extend the Java APIs for Bluetooth (JSR82) in order to provide the Location API (JSR179) with a source of indoor-location information. The proposed extension relies on a specific indoor positioning technique to track current location. The adopted technique uses the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) as a good room-fingerprint. We evaluate the effectiveness of the approach by examining preliminary experimental results obtained from our first system prototype.

Enhanced integration of Java to symbian OS using smart pointers

Porting software from one environment to another can be eased with virtual machines. Then, the virtual machine hides the particularities of one system, and allows running of the same applications in a set of environments. Unfortunately, there are also restrictions related to this approach. In particular, when a program running inside the virtual machine wishes to access the hosting system for e.g. improved performance or service that is readily available in the hosting system but not in the virtual machine, several complications exist. In this paper, we introduce an improved fashion to integrate mobile Java to Symbian OS environment using so-called smart pointers to ease the above problems. Towards the end of the paper, we also provide an evaluation on our prototype implementation to validate the approach.