An open-source infrastructure for pervasive computing

New software for gathering and disseminating information makes it easier to develop services for sensor-rich environments. Pervasive computing provides a means of broadening and deepening the reach of information technology (IT) in society. It can be used to simplify interactions with Web sites, provide advanced location-specific services for people on the move, and support all aspects of citizens’ life in the community. Integrating IT services into everyday life requires that we can sense the environment where services are offered, and tailor them as the environment changes. People are not automata, however, and will often perform the same activity in slightly different ways. Moreover, the methods used to sense a person’s actions are inherently error-prone and imprecise, and the same events may be observed from different sensors or information sources. Users’ support needs also evolve over time. These triple problems of situation identification, context fusion, and behavioural evolution constitute the major challenges to building robust pervasive applications or services