A Document Based Framework for Smart Object Systems

We present an architectural framework that provides the foundation for building smart object systems and uses a document centric approach utilizing a profile based artefact framework and a task based application framework. Our artefact framework represents an instrumented physical smart objects as a collection of service profiles and expresses these services in generic documents. Applications for smart objects are expressed as a collection of functional tasks (independent of the implementation) in a corresponding document. A runtime component provides the foundation for mapping these tasks to the corresponding service provider smart objects. This mapping is spontaneous and thus enables gradual addition of services. Primary advantages of our approach are twofold- firstly, it allows developers to write applications in a generic way regardless of the constraints of the target environment. Secondly, it allows extension of functionalities of smart objects and applications very easily. We describe an implemented prototype of FedNet, and show examples of its use in a real life scenario to illustrate its feasibility.