General adaptable services manager for pervasive computing environments

Abstract

We present a multilayer architecture for pervasive computing in heterogeneous environments: the General Adaptable Services Manager (GASM). This architecture allows a developer to build context-aware multi-platform applications by means of a set of core services such as device discovery and integration, flexible software component deployment, heterogeneous network communication broker and adaptable user interface presentations. We make use of the Open Services Gateway Interface platform (OSGi) as the underlying universal middleware that is available across many heterogeneous networks. Our architecture is defined in terms of OSGi components. A mobile agent manages the deployment and runtime of applications on top of the architecture.