A Context Middleware Based on Sensor and RFID Information

Pervasive computing environments have traditionally used distributed sensors to gather user context. EPC (electronic product code) information extracted from RFID tags could additionally provide identification information associated with that context. However, the process of matching sensor and RFID information around the same context is not a trivial task. In our previous work, we proposed to move the sensors to the same objects that carry the RFID tags. By providing association capabilities among those objects using their EPCs, we can effectively build user and object context information while maintaining a global context identity. In this paper we analyze how the use of the EPC network could greatly benefit our framework by providing the means for extracting, organizing and querying the context data. Additionally, we outline how services can be offered to the context data producers and how they can be built in a pervasive manner by linking them directly to the EPC network infrastructure.