Kazunori Takashio

A mobile agent framework for follow-me applications in ubiquitous computing environment

The paper presents a new mobile agent framework, f-Desktop, which is designed for describing follow-me applications in a ubiquitous computing environment. It provides the migration mechanisms for agent software which are secure against illegal call-up transaction requests from computers which masquerade as the owner of the agent software. Moreover, a follow-me application built with the f-Desktop framework possesses a high adaptability to computing environment and a high connection continuity against changes of location. In the f-Deskrop framework, a user can define his desktop computing environment, desktop or desktop environment in short, as a set of follow-me applications. Then, the user can take the desktop computing environment along to other computers.

u-Texture: self-organizable universal panels for creating smart surroundings

This paper introduces a novel way to allow non-expert users to create smart surroundings. Non-smart everyday objects such as furniture and appliances found in homes and offices can be converted to smart ones by attaching computers, sensors, and devices. In this way, non-smart components that form non-smart objects are made smart in advance. For our first prototype, we have developed u-Texture, a self-organizable universal panel that works as a building block. The u-Texture can change its own behavior autonomously through recognition of its location, its inclination, and surrounding environment by assembling these factors physically. We have demonstrated several applications to confirm that u-Textures can create smart surroundings easily without expert users.

Smart furniture: improvising ubiquitous hot-spot environment

We developed Smart Furniture, which extemporaneously converts the legacy non-smart space into a Smart Hot-spot which consists of computational services. Since the Smart Furniture is equipped with networked computers, sensors and various I/O devices, it can provide various services by alone or by coordinating with other devices. In this paper, the physical structure and middlewares for the Smart Furniture are described. The prototype systems to realize Smart Hot-spot such as a Crossing Window System, an Active Authentication System for Library, a Mobile TV-phone System, and an Environmental Information Monitor System are also introduced.

SF2: smart furniture for creating ubiquitous applications

Many researchers introduced special rooms equipped with sensors, devices, networks, and computers to demonstrate ubiquitous computing environment. However, the cost and time for building such a room is a barrier to the deployment of various ubiquitous applications. We have developed smart furniture which instantaneously converts the legacy non-smart space into a smart hot-spot which can provide the accessibility to the Internet, location-based context-aware services, service roaming, and personalization services. Since the smart furniture is equipped with networked computers, sensors and various I/O devices, it can provide various services in public space as well as in private space. In this paper, the physical structure and middleware for the smart furniture are described. Applications of smart hot-spot such as a personalized message board system, a zero-stop check-out system, and a mobile TV-phone system is proposed.

Detection of Pedestrians Using Subtraction Stereo

In this paper, detection of pedestrians using ldquosubtraction stereordquo is discussed. Subtraction stereo is a stereo vision method that focuses on the movement of objects to make a stereo camera robust and produces range images for moving regions. Features of pedestrians such as 3D position, height and width are obtained from range images obtained by subtraction stereo. Then a simple method to remove shadows is proposed. The basic algorithm of the subtraction stereo is implemented on a commercially available stereo camera, and the effectiveness of the method to detect pedestrians with removal of shadows is verified by experiments using the stereo camera.

Improving security for ubiquitous campus applications

This paper identifies security issues posed by ubiquitous computing applications used in university campuses, and propose software architectures to address the issues. Applications in ubiquitous computing environment exploit interactions between personal and public devices, and adapt to user s context. Security issues posed by these applications are privacy, usability, and hybrid scheme. Privacy profile negotiation protocol (PPNP) allows users to change the granularity of their personal profile presented to profile-aware services, in order to preserve privacy, and zero-stop authentication system (ZSAS) provides real-time automatic authentication of users to leverage usability of user authentication in the physical space. We also present several applications to outline the usage of these systems.

EverCopter: continuous and adaptive over-the-air sensing with detachable wired flying objects

The paper proposes EverCopter, which provides continuous and adaptive over-the-air sensing with detachable wired flying objects. While a major advantage of sensing systems with battery-operated MAVs is a wide sensing coverage, sensing time is limited due to its limited amount of energy. We propose dynamically rechargeable flying objects, called EverCopter. EverCopter achieves both long sensing time and wide sensing coverage by the following two characteristics. First, multiple EverCopters can be tied in a row by power supply cables. Since the root EverCopter in a row is connected to DC power supply on the ground, each EverCopter can fly without battery. This makes their sensing time forever, unless the power supply on the ground fails. Second, the leaf EverCopter can detach itself from the row in order to enjoy wider sensing coverage. An EverCopter, while it is detached, runs with its own battery-supplied energy. When the remaining energy becomes low, it flies back to the row to recharge the battery.

uPackage: a package to enable do-it-yourself style ubiquitous services with daily objects

This paper explores a suitable service model for realizing domestic smart object applications and proposes a software and hardware package called uPackage to support this model. By attaching a tiny wireless sensor node to users belongings, users can augment the object digitally and take the object into various services such as status monitoring or preventing lost property. The system provided by uPackage supports users to install and manage such smart object services; it enables users to digitally associate sensor nodes with daily objects, manage the associated information and sensor data, and create various smart object applications without professional skills. Initial demonstration to children indicate that the service model provided by uPackage is easy understandable and increases users acceptance of the wireless sensor node technology.

m-P@gent: a framework of environment-aware mobile applications for small, networked appliances

This paper proposes a new framework, m-P@gent, for environment-aware mobile agents that can run even on resource-limited devices such as PDA, cellular telephones, embedded devices and networked appliances.

A sensor actuator network architecture with control rules

This paper presents a Spinning Sensors NW middleware which realizes a distributed sensor actuator network and a Sensor Actuator Network Markup Language (SANML) to write the controlling rules of networked sensors and actuators. In the realization of sensor actuator network architecture, the application developer needs to coordinate sensors and actuators in the network and set the control rules of them. We have stated these problems as collaboration of distributed sensors and actuators problem and collaboration description problem. The Spinning Sensors NW middleware provides the mechanism to coordinate multiple networked sensors and actuators. The SANML provides a format to express the control rules of sensors and actuators. We implemented an air-conditioning application and networked robot application to test the performance of the middleware and the expressive power of the markup language. This paper overcomes above-mentioned two problems and increase the flexibility and combinations of sensors and actuators.