Rossana M. C. Andrade

XMobile: A MB-UID environment for semi-automatic generation of adaptive applications for mobile devices

Ubiquitous Computing promises seamless access to information anytime, anywhere with different and heterogeneous devices. This kind of environment imposes new challenges to software development. For example, information and user interface should be adapted according to contextual characteristics such as user, environment, and access device. In case of device adaptation, the development challenge is related to the heterogeneity of the devices, which requires software engineers to create different versions for each type of device and every platform. This paper proposes a MB-UID (model-based user interface development) approach for semi-automatic generation of adaptive applications for mobile devices. An environment, called XMobile, offers a device-independent user interface framework and a code generation tool for providing fast development of multi-platform and adaptive applications according to device and platform features. A case study is also presented to illustrate how the environment can be used for constructing an application for heterogeneous devices with different network connectivity modes.

Requirements and challenges for building service-oriented pervasive middleware

The dinamicy and uncertainness of resources in mobile networks ask for novel uncoupled, adaptable and autonomous programming abstractions. Although applications are built upon a middleware layer that encapsulates some of that complexity, there is a lot left to fully explore the potential of ubiquitous and pervasive systems. To provide an insight on the challenges to develop interoperable middleware systems, this paper highlights the requirements to build service-oriented ubiquitous and pervasive middleware. These requirements are divided into primary and cross-cutting requirements. Primary requirements are Message Exchange, Mobility Support, Service Description, Discovery and Coordination, and Security. While Cross-cutting requirements are Context-Awareness and Adaptability, Autonomy, and QoS Requirements.

Aprendizagem utilizando Dispositivos Móveis com Sistemas de Realidade Virtual

A computacao movel emerge como uma tecnologia inovadora para a area educacional. Neste trabalho e apresentado um framework para a construcao de aplicacoes educacionais em dispositivos moveis com recursos de realidade virtual. Este framework tem como objetivo principal fornecer ao desenvolvedor uma arquitetura consistente para implementacao de programas em dispositivos moveis, com foco na aprendizagem. Para validacao do framework foi desenvolvido um prototipo que demonstra sua interatividade, usabilidade e portabilidade, alem de permitir uma experimentacao da integracao das tecnologias de realidade virtual e computacao movel.

Testing requirements for mobile applications

Wireless networks have contributed to the technological advance that popularized the use of mobile devices, and fostered the development of applications targeted to these devices. However, issues such as mobility and communication intermittency, as well as processing, storage and battery constraints demand changes in the traditional software testing process. This paper aims to present testing requirements that are specific to applications developed for mobile devices. We also show that these requirements can improve productivity and efficacy in the testing process of an application.

MobiLine: A Nested Software Product Line for the domain of mobile and context-aware applications

Mobile devices are multipurpose and multi-sensor equipments supporting applications able to adapt their behavior according to changes in the users context (device, location, time, etc.). Meanwhile, the development of mobile and context-aware software is not a simple task, mostly due to the peculiar characteristics of these devices. Although several solutions have been proposed to facilitate their development, reuse is not systematically used throughout the software development life-cycle. In this paper, we discuss an approach for the development of mobile and context-aware software using the Software Product Line (SPL) paradigm. Furthermore, a Nested SPL for the domain of mobile and context-aware applications is presented, lessons learned in the SPL development are discussed and a product for a context-aware visit guide is shown.

A software product line for the mobile and context-aware applications domain

The mobile and context-aware application domain presents challenging requirements to software development. Although several solutions have been proposed for this type of application, reuse is not systematically used throughout the software development lifecycle. Then, in this paper we propose an approach for the development of a mobile and context-aware Software Product Line (SPL). A SPL for the mobile and context-ware mobile guide domain is presented in order to illustrate the steps of the proposed approach. Furthermore, the lessons learned in the SPL development are discussed. Both approach and SPL are the main contributions of this paper.

A Quality Model for Human-Computer Interaction Evaluation in Ubiquitous Systems

The improvement in computational device miniaturization and in wireless communication has moved forward relevant advances in ubiquitous systems development. Such systems are capable of monitoring environments and users in order to provide services as naturally as possible. These systems offer new types of interactions, such as more implicit and transparent exchanges with users. Thus, the ubiquitous systems present new challenges in quality evaluation of human-computer interaction, as any assessment of quality should take into account the peculiarities of these new types of interactions. This paper proposes a quality model composed of specific characteristics and measures to human-computer interaction quality evaluation in ubiquitous systems. It also reports results obtained from a case study conducted to evaluate an application based on this model.

LOCCAM - loosely coupled context acquisition middleware

Sensors of all kinds are being integrated with mobile and portable devices (tablets, smartphones). This opens up the possibility of context-aware applications to effectively be able to adapt their behavior, user interfaces and content according to the current users situation. Frequently, context-aware applications require an infrastructure for acquisition, aggregation and reasoning of contextual information. However, existing context management infrastructures are not always appropriated to the heterogeneous and particular environment of mobile devices. In this paper, we present a context management middleware called LoCCAM (Loosely Coupled Context Acquisition Middeware) to provide self-adaptive acquisition of contextual information. It can execute both locally, on a single device, or distributed among nearby devices. The middleware proposes a model for publication, and notification of contextual information based on tuple spaces. As consequence, it offers a lower coupling among applications and the context acquisition layer. In this paper, we also present a performance evaluation of the adaptation mechanism.

EPMOSt: An Energy-Efficient Passive Monitoring System for Wireless Sensor Networks

Monitoring systems are important for debugging and analyzing Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). In passive monitoring, a monitoring network needs to be deployed in addition to the network to be monitored, named the target network. The monitoring network captures and analyzes packets transmitted by the target network. An energy-efficient passive monitoring system is necessary when we need to monitor a WSN in a real scenario because the lifetime of the monitoring network is extended and, consequently, the target network benefits from the monitoring for a longer time. In this work, we have identified, analyzed and compared the main passive monitoring systems proposed for WSN. During our research, we did not identify any passive monitoring system for WSN that aims to reduce the energy consumption of the monitoring network. Therefore, we propose an Energy-efficient Passive MOnitoring SysTem for WSN named EPMOSt that provides monitoring information using a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent. Thus, any management tool that supports the SNMP protocol can be integrated with this monitoring system. Experiments with real sensors were performed in several scenarios. The results obtained show the energy efficiency of the proposed monitoring system and the viability of using it to monitor WSN in real scenarios.

A Decoupled and Interoperable Architecture for Coordination in Ubiquitous Systems

Com o avanço das tecnologias de hardware, como o surgimento de computadores menores com maior poder de processamento e armazenamento, e o progresso da comunicação de dados sem fio, a Computação Ubíqua se tornou uma realidade. Entretanto, o desenvolvimento de sistemas ubíquos ainda apresenta inúmeros desafios devido à grande diversidade e complexidade dos seus requisitos. Particularmente, em ambientes ubíquos onde a dinamicidade e a heterogeneidade de dispositivos e serviços são características comuns, a coordenação desacoplada e interoperável das atividades realizadas entre os agentes de software do sistema torna-se essencial. Assim, esse trabalho propõe uma arquitetura que proporciona meios de interação e coordenação desacoplados e interoperáveis para o desenvolvimento de sistemas ubíquos.