Integrating wireless actuation capabilities with the 3GPP IP Multimedia Subsystem for enhanced multimedia services

Wireless actuators are small scale devices that can receive/accept instructions and act on their environment. The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a key component for 3G networks. It aims at seamless provisioning of multimedia services. Combining actuation capabilities with IMS capabilities will certainly enable novel value added services. This paper proposes an architecture for the integration of wireless actuation with IMS. The cornerstone of the architecture is the actuation control function, a new functional entity that we introduce into the IMS architecture. A proof of concept prototype has also been developed along with an application to demonstrate the potential of such an integration.