Modular platform enabling heterogeneous devices, sensors and actuators to integrate automatically into heterogeneous networks

• US 7,895,257 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2007
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rokiot USA LLC
• Original Assignee: University of Florida Research Foundation, Incorporated (State University System of Florida)
• Inventors: Helal, Abdelsalam, King, Jeffrey Craig, Bose, Raja, Pickles, Steven Lee, Russo, James A., Vander Ploeg, Steve, El Zabadani, Hicham Mahmoud, El Kouche, Ahmad Hassan
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THANH T
• Application Number:
  US11/677,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20070236346A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,462 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709/201, 718/100, 700/245
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2823 Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2843 Mains power line
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes

Abstract

A system includes a hardware platform, at least one driver, a plurality of devices connected to the hardware platform, a middleware interface, and a plurality of software services. Each of the plurality of devices is selected from the group consisting of sensors and actuators. The plurality of software services is generated by the at least one driver, wherein a software service associates with a device, and wherein each of the software services complies with the middleware interface. A method for interfacing a plurality of devices to a hardware platform includes communicably connecting each of the plurality of devices to the hardware platform, converting each of the plurality of devices into a programmable software service using a driver, and programming each of the software services to comply with a middleware interface.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a hardware platform, wherein the hardware platform is adapted to be communicably connected to an active object;

a middleware module, wherein at least a portion of the middleware module resides in and/or is executed on the hardware platform; and

at least one software service generated by the middleware module, wherein each of the at least one software service represents the active object,

wherein the active object is a device comprising a sensor and wherein the hardware platform is configured to receive raw data from the active object and pass the raw data to the middleware module, and the middleware module is configured to convert the raw data into useable data and pass the usable data to the at least one software service,

further comprising one or more applications written in a higher level language, wherein at least one of the one or more applications is configured to receive the useable data from one or more of the at least one software service,

wherein the hardware platform is adapted to be communicably connected to at least one additional active object,

wherein the middleware module generates at least one additional software service,

wherein each of the at least one additional software service represents one or more of the at least one additional active object and wherein each of the at least one additional active object is represented by one or more of the at least one additional software service,

wherein the at least one additional active object comprises one or more devices comprising an actuator,

wherein the middleware module is configured to;

receive commands from one or more applications written in a high level language via each of the at least one additional software service representing the one or more devices comprising an actuator;

convert the commands into low-level commands that can be understood by at least one of the one or more devices comprising an actuator; and

transmit the low-level commands to the at least one of the one or more devices comprising an actuator via the hardware platform, wherein the low-level commands are capable of controlling the at least one of the one or more devices comprising an actuator,

wherein the middleware module is configured to generate each of the at least one software service based on a driver, wherein the driver comprises information and behavioral components required to interact with the active object, and wherein the middleware module is configured to generate each additional software service of the at least one additional software service based on an additional driver, wherein the additional driver comprises information and behavioral components required to interact with one of the one or more of the at least one additional active object represented by the additional software service.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the active object is a device comprising an actuator and wherein the middleware module is configured to:

receive commands from one or more applications written in a high level language via each of the at least one software service;

convert the commands into low-level commands that can be understood by the active object, and

transmit the low-level commands to the active object via the hardware platform, wherein the low-level commands are capable of controlling the active object.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional active object comprises one or more devices comprising a sensor,

wherein the hardware platform is configured to receive raw data from each object of the one or more devices comprising a sensor and pass the raw data to the middleware module, and the middleware module is configured to convert the raw data into useable data and pass the usable data to the one or more of the at least one additional software service that represents the object, wherein the useable data can be used by one or more applications written in a higher level language.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the middleware module is configured to generate each of the at least one software service after the active object is communicably connected to the hardware platform.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein all of the at least one software service and the at least one additional software service comply with a standard, uniform interface.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the active object and each of the at least one additional active object are located in a pervasive space.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising the active object and each of the at least one additional active object.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware platform comprises a plurality of layered boards.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of layered boards comprises a stack of layered boards, and a board may be added to or removed from the stack of layered boards.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware platform comprises an interface module, wherein the interface module is configured to communicably connect the active object and each of the at least one additional active object to the hardware platform.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the interface module is configured to communicably connect one or more of the at least one additional active object to the hardware platform via a wireless connection.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the interface module is configured to communicably connect one or more of the at least one additional active object to the hardware platform via a passively powered wireless connection.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the middleware module resides in and/or is executed on a server connected to the hardware platform via a network.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the hardware platform comprises a communication module, wherein the communication module is configured to communicably connect the hardware platform with the server via the network.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the communication module is configured to communicably connect the hardware platform with the server via the network via a wireless connection.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the communication module supports an Internet Protocol (IP), an ad-hoc networking protocol, a mesh networking protocol, or a combination of said protocols.

17. A method for providing a software service to represent an active object, comprising:

receiving a driver, wherein the driver comprises information and behavioral components required to interact with an active object communicably connected to a hardware platform, wherein the active object is selected from the group consisting of a device comprising a sensor, a device comprising an actuator, and a device comprising both a sensor and an actuator; and

generating based on the driver a software service to represent the active object, wherein when raw data from the active object is received by the hardware platform the raw data is converted into usable data and passed to the software service, wherein the useable data can be used by an application written in a higher level language, wherein the application is configured to receive the useable data from the software service,

wherein the software service is generated by a middleware module, wherein at least a portion of the middleware module resides in and/or is executed on the hardware platform,

further comprising;

receiving an additional driver, wherein the additional driver comprises information and behavioral components required to interact with an additional active object communicably connected to the hardware platform; and

generating based on the additional driver an additional software service to represent the additional active object.

wherein the additional active object is a device comprising a sensor, and wherein when raw data from the additional active object is received by the hardware platform the raw data is converted into usable data and passed to the additional software service, wherein the useable data can be used by a second application written in a higher level language, wherein the second application is configured to receive the useable data from the additional software service.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein at least a portion of the middleware module resides in and/or is executed on a server connected to the hardware platform via a network.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising editing the software service.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the editing the software service is performed remotely.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the editing the software service comprises using an Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

decomposing a process into a first set of instructions to be performed by the hardware platform and a second set of instructions to be performed by the server; and

performing the process via the hardware platform and the server.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the driver comprises configuration information from the hardware platform, wherein the configuration information comprises indicia of the hardware platform and/or indicia of an interface of the hardware platform to which the active object is communicably connected.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the driver is stored on the hardware platform, the active object, the server, a local repository, or a remote repository.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the driver is downloaded from the local repository or the remote repository by the middleware module based on resource location information received from the hardware platform or the active object.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein the raw data is converted to usable data via the middleware module.

28. The method of claim 17, further comprising passing the useable data from the software service to the application.

29. The method of claim 17, further comprising filtering the raw data before converting the raw data into usable data;

and/or filtering the usable data before passing the usable data to the software service.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the filtering is performed by a processing agent on the hardware platform.

31. The method of claim 17, wherein the driver is received from the hardware platform.

32. The method of claim 17, further comprising generating a second software service, wherein the second software service represents the active object.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the second software service is generated based on the driver.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the active object is a device comprising both a sensor and an actuator,

wherein when one or more commands are received by the second software service the one or more commands are converted into one or more low-level commands capable of controlling the operation of the actuator and transmitted to the active object via the hardware platform.

35. The method of claim 17, wherein the additional active object is a device comprising an actuator, and wherein when one or more commands are received by the additional software service the one or more commands are converted into one or more low-level commands capable of controlling the operation of the actuator and transmitted to the additional active object via the hardware platform.

36. The method of claim 17, wherein the second application is the application.

37. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing information about the active object and the additional active object via a service registry.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the software service and the additional software service are registered and hosted in a service framework.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the service framework is based on either OSGi standard specifications or is a .net environment.

40. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

receiving an indication that the active object is no longer communicably connected to the hardware platform;

marking the software service as unavailable in the service registry; and

denying a request for data from the software service.

26. The method of 25, wherein the resource location information comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for locating the driver via the Internet.