skip to main content
research-article

A survey of context data distribution for mobile ubiquitous systems

Published:07 September 2012Publication History
Skip Abstract Section

Abstract

The capacity to gather and timely deliver to the service level any relevant information that can characterize the service-provisioning environment, such as computing resources/capabilities, physical device location, user preferences, and time constraints, usually defined as context-awareness, is widely recognized as a core function for the development of modern ubiquitous and mobile systems. Much work has been done to enable context-awareness and to ease the diffusion of context-aware services; at the same time, several middleware solutions have been designed to transparently implement context management and provisioning in the mobile system. However, to the best of our knowledge, an in-depth analysis of the context data distribution, namely, the function in charge of distributing context data to interested entities, is still missing. Starting from the core assumption that only effective and efficient context data distribution can pave the way to the deployment of truly context-aware services, this article aims at putting together current research efforts to derive an original and holistic view of the existing literature. We present a unified architectural model and a new taxonomy for context data distribution by considering and comparing a large number of solutions. Finally, based on our analysis, we draw some of the research challenges still unsolved and identify some possible directions for future work.

References

  1. Adams, B., Phung, D., and Venkatesh, S. 2008. Sensing and using social context. ACM Trans. Multimedia Comput. Commun. Appl. 5, 2, 1--27. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  2. Arora, S. and Barak, B. 2009. Computational Complexity: A Modern Approach. Cambridge University Press, 38--61. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  3. Baldauf, M., Dustdar, S., and Rosenberg, F. 2007. A survey on context-aware systems. Int. J. Ad Hoc Ubiquitous Comput. 2, 4, 263--277. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  4. Baldoni, R., Beraldi, R., Cugola, G., Migliavacca, M., and Querzoni, L. 2005. Structure-less content-based routing in mobile ad hoc networks. In Proceeeding of the IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Services (ICPS'05). 37--46.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  5. Baldoni, R., Querzoni, L., Tarkoma, S., and Virgillito, A. 2009. Distributed event routing in publish/subsribe systems. In Middleware for Network Eccentric and Mobile Applications, B. Garbinato, H. Miranda, and L. Rodrigues, Eds. Springer Press, Berlin, Chapter 10, 219--244.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  6. Bartolini, A., Ruggiero, M., and Benini, L. 2009. Visual quality analysis for dynamic backlight scaling in LCD systems. In Proceedings of the Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE'09). 1428--1433. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  7. Bellavista, P., Corradi, A., Montanari, R., and Stefanelli, C. 2003. Context-aware middleware for resource management in the wireless Internet. IEEE Trans. Softw. Eng. 29, 12, 1086--1099. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  8. Bellavista, P., Corradi, A., and Magistretti, E. 2005. REDMAN: An optimistic replication middleware for read-only resources in dense MANETs. Elsevier Pervasive Mob. Comput. 1, 3, 279--310. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  9. Bettini, C., Brdiczka, O., Henricksen, K., Indulska, J., Nicklas, D., Ranganathan, A., and Riboni, D. 2010. A survey of context modelling and reasoning techniques. Elsevier Perv. Mob. Comput. 6, 2, 161--180. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  10. Bloom, B. H. 1970. Space/time trade-offs in hash coding with allowable errors. Commun. ACM, 13, 7, 422--426. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  11. Bolchini, C., Curino, C. A., Quintarelli, E., Schreiber, F. A., and Tanca, L. 2007. A data-oriented survey of context models. SIGMOD Record. 36, 4, 19--26. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  12. Bolchini, C., Curino, C. A., Orsi, G., Quintarelli, E., Rossato, R., Schreiber, F. A., and Tanca, L. 2009. And what can context do for data?. Commun. ACM, 52, 11, 136--140. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  13. Boldrini, C., Conti, M., and Passarella, A. 2008. Exploiting users' social relations to forward data in opportunistic networks: The HiBOp solution. Elsevier Pervasive Mob. Comput. 4, 5, 633--657. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  14. Broder, A. and Mitzenmacher, M. 2005. Network applications of Bloom filters: A survey. Internet Math. 1, 4, 485--509.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  15. Buchholz, T., Küpper, A., and Schiffers, M. 2003. Quality of context: What it is and why we need it. In Proceedings of the Workshop HP OpenView. 1--14.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  16. Capra, L., Emmerich, W., and Mascolo, C. 2003. CARISMA: Context-aware reflective middleware system for mobile applications. IEEE Trans. Softw. Engin. 29, 10, 929--945. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  17. Cartigny, A. and Simplot, D. 2003. Borden node retransmission based probabilistic broadcast protocols in ad hoc networks. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Telecommunication System, 189--204. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  18. Caveney, D. 2010. Cooperative vehicular safety applications. In VANET Vehicular Applications and Inter-Networking Technologies, H. Hartenstein, and K. Laberteaux, Eds. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, Chapter 2, 21--48.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  19. Ceri, S., Daniel, F., Matera, M., and Facca, M. 2007. Model-driven development of context-aware Web applications. ACM Trans. Internet Technol. 7, 1, 1--33. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  20. Chan, A. T. S. and Chuang, S. N. 2003. Mobipads: A reflective middleware for context-aware mobile computing. IEEE Trans. Softw. Eng. 29, 12, 1072--1085. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  21. Chang, H., Shin, S., and Chung, C. 2007. Context life cycle management scheme in ubiquitous Computing environments. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Mobile Data Management (MDM'07), 315--319. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  22. Chappell, D. A. And Monson-Haefel, R. 2000. Java Message Service. O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  23. Chen, G. and Kotz, D. 2000. A survey of context-aware mobile computing research. Techn. rep. TR2000-381, Dept. of Computer Science, Dartmouth College. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  24. Chen, G., Li, M., and Kotz, D. 2008. Data-centric middleware for context-aware pervasive computing. Elsevier Pervasive Mob. Comput. 4, 2, 216--253. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  25. Chen, H., Finin, T., and Joshi, A. 2003. An intelligent broker for context-aware systems. In Adjunct Proceedings of the International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (Ubicomp'03), 183--184.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  26. Chetan, S., Al-Muhtadi, J., Campbell, R., and Mickunas, M. D. 2005. Mobile Gaia: A middleware for ad-hoc pervasive computing. In Proceedings of the IEEE Consumer Communications and Networking Conference (CCNC'05). 223--228.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  27. Cho, K., Hwang, I., Kang, S., Kim, B., Lee, J., Lee, S., Park, S., Song, J., and Rhee, Y. 2008. HiCon: A hierarchical context monitoring and composition framework for next-generation context-aware services. IEEE Netw. 22, 4, 34--42. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  28. Chow, C.-Y., Va Leong, H., and Chan, A. T. S. 2007. GroCoca: Group-based peer-to-peer cooperative caching in mobile environment. IEEE J. Select. Areas Commun. 25, 1, 179--191. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  29. Conan, D., Rouvoy, R., and Seinturier., L. 2007. Scalable processing of context information with COSMOS. In Proceedings of the 7th IFIP WG 6.1 International Conference on Distributed Applications and Interoperable Systems (DAIS'07). 210--224. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  30. Conti, M. and Giordano, S. 2007a. Multihop ad hoc networking: The theory. IEEE Commun. Mag. 45, 4, 78--86. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  31. Conti, M. and Giordano, S. 2007b. Multihop ad hoc networking: The reality. IEEE Commun. Mag. 45, 4, 88--95. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  32. Corradi, A., Fanelli, M., and Foschini, L. 2010a. Towards adaptive and scalable context-aware middleware. Invited paper in IGI Int. J. Adapt. Resilient Auton. Syst. 1, 1, 58--74.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  33. Corradi, A., Fanelli, M., and Foschini, L. 2010b. Adaptive context data distribution with guaranteed quality for mobile environments. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Wireless Pervasive Computing (ISWPC'10). 373--380. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  34. Costa, P., Mottola, L., Murphy, A. L., and Picco, G. P. 2009. Tuple space middleware for wireless networks. In Middleware for Network Eccentric and Mobile Applications, B. Garbinato, H. Miranda, and L. Rodrigues, Eds., Springer Press, Berlin, Chapter 11, 245--264.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  35. Cugola, G. and Di Nitto, E. 2001.Using a publish/subscribe middleware to support mobile computing. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Middleware for Mobile Computing (MMC'01) within Middleware'01. 1--5.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  36. Cugola, G., Di Nitto, E., and Fuggetta, A. 2001. The JEDI event-based infrastructure and its application to the development of the OPSS WFMS. IEEE Trans. Softw. Eng. 27, 9, 827--850. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  37. Debaty, P., Goddi, P., and Vorbau, A. 2005. Integrating the physical world with the Web to enable context-enhanced services. Springer Mob. Netw. Appl. 10, 4 , 385--394. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  38. Derhab, A. and Badache, N. 2009. Data replication protocols for mobile ad-hoc networks: A survey and taxonomy. IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutorials. 11, 2, 35--51. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  39. Dey, A. K. and Abowd, G. D. 2000a. Towards a better understanding of context and context-awareness. In Proceedings of the Workshop on The What, Who, Where, When, and How of Context-Awareness within CHI'00. 1--12. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  40. Dey, A. K. and Abowd, G. D. 2000b. The context toolkit: Aiding the development of context-aware applications, In Proceedings of the Workshop on Software Engineering for Wearable and Pervasive Computing. 1--3.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  41. Drabkin, V., Friedman, R., Kliot, G., and Segal, M. 2007. RAPID: Reliable probabilistic dissemination in wireless ad-hoc networks. In Proceedings of the 26th IEEE Symposium on Reliable Distributed Systems. 13--22. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  42. Duran-Limon, H. A., Blair, G. S., Friday, A., Grace, P., Samartzidis, G., Sivaharan, T., and Wu, M. 2003. Context-aware middleware for pervasive and ad-hoc environments. Tech. rep. Computing Department, Lancaster University.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  43. Endler, M. and Da Rocha, R. C. A. 2006. Supporting context-aware applications: Scenarios, models and architecture. Tech. rep. 12/06, Computer Science, University of Rio de Janeiro.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  44. Eugster, P. T., Felber, P. A., Guerraoui, R., and Kermarrec, A.-M. 2003. The many facets of publish/subscribe. ACM Comput. Surv. 35, 2, 114--131. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  45. Eugster, P., Garbinato, B., and Holzer, A. 2008. Design and implementation of the Pervaho middleware for mobile context-aware applications. In Proceedings of the International MCETECH Conference on e-Technologies. 125--135. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  46. Eugster, P., Garbinato, B., and Holzer, A. 2009. Middleware support for context-aware applications. In Middleware for Network Eccentric and Mobile Applications, B. Garbinato, H. Miranda, and L. Rodrigues, Eds. Springer Press, Berlin, Chapter 14, 305--322.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  47. Fahy, P. and Clarke, S. 2004. CASS -- Middleware for mobile context-aware applications. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Context Awareness within MobiSys'04. 1--6.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  48. Fall, K. 2003. A delay-tolerant network architecture for challenged internets. In Proceedings of the Conference on Applications, Technologies, Architectures, and Protocols for Computer Communications (SIGCOMM'03). 27--34. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  49. Friedman, R., Kermarrec, A.-M., Miranda, H., and Rodrigues, L. 2009. Gossip-based dissemination. In Middleware for Network Eccentric and Mobile Applications, B. Garbinato, H. Miranda, and L. Rodrigues, Eds. Springer Press, Berlin, Chapter 8, 169--190.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  50. Friedman, R., Gavidia, D., Rodrigues, L., Viana, A. C., and Voulgaris, S. 2007. Gossiping on MANETs: the beauty and the beast. SIGOPS Oper. Syst. Rev. 41, 5, 67--74. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  51. Gaddah, A. and Kunz, T. 2003. A survey of middleware paradigms for mobile computing. Tech. rep. SCE-03-16, Dept. of Systems and Computing Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  52. Gershenfeld, N., Krikorian, R., and Cohen, D. 2004. The Internet of things. Sci. Am. Mag. 10, 6, 76--81.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  53. Gorgorin, C., Gradinescu, V., Diaconescu, R., Cristea, V., and Iftode, L. 2007. Adaptive traffic lights using car-to-car communication. In Proceedings of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC'07), 21--25.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  54. Gu, T., Pung, H. K., and Zhang, D. Q. 2005. A service-oriented middleware for building context-aware services. J. Netw. Comput. Appl. 28, 1, 1--18. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  55. Gupta, A., Paul, S., Jones, Q., and Borcea, C. 2007. Automatic identification of informal social groups and places for geo-social recommendations. Int. J. Mob. Net. Design Innovation, 2, 3/4, 159--171. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  56. Gupta, A., Kalra, A., Boston, D., and Borcea, C. 2009. MobiSoC: A middleware for mobile social computing applications. Mob. Net. Appl. 14, 1, 35--52. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  57. Haas, Z., Halpern, J., and Li, L. 2002. Gossip-based ad hoc routing. In Proceedings of the 21st Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communication Societies (INFOCOM'02). 1707--1716.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  58. Hara, T. 2001. Effective replica allocation in ad hoc networks for improving data accessibility'', In Proceedings of the 20th Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communication Societies (INFOCOM'01). 1568--1576.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  59. Hengartner, U., and Steenkiste, P. 2005. Access control to people location information. ACM Trans. Inf. Sys. Sec. 8, 4, 424--456. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  60. Henricksen, K., Indulska, J., McFadden, T., and Balasubramaniam, S. 2005. Middleware for distributed context-aware systems. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Distributed Objects and Applications (DOA'05). 846--863. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  61. Hightower, J. and Boriello, G. 2001. A survey and taxonomy of location systems for ubiquitous computing. IEEE Comput. 34, 8, 57--66. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  62. Hofer, T., Schwinger, W., Pichler, M., Leonhartsberger, G., Altmann, J., and Retschitzegger, W. 2003. Context-awareness on mobile devices—the hydrogen approach. In Proceedings of the 36th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 10--19. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  63. Iftode, L., Smaldone, S., Gerla, M., and Misener, J. 2008. Active highways. In Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC'08). 1--5.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  64. Jain, S., Fall, K., and Patra, R. 2004. Routing in a delay tolerant network. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Applications, Technologies, Architectures, and Protocols for Computer Communications (SIGCOMM'04). 145--158. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  65. Jones, Q. and Grandhi, S. A. 2005. P3 Systems: Putting the place back into social networks. IEEE Internet Comput. 9, 5, 38--46. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  66. Julien, C., and Roman, G.-C. 2006. EgoSpaces: Facilitating rapid development of context-aware mobile applications. IEEE Trans. Softw. Eng. 32, 5, 281--298. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  67. Juszczyk, L., Psaier, H., Manzoor, A., and Dustdar, S. 2009. Adaptive query routing on distributed context—The COSINE framework. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Mobile Data Management: Systems, Services and Middleware (MDM‘09). 588--593. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  68. Kermarrec, A.-M. and van Steen, M. 2007. Gossiping in distributed systems. ACM SIGOPS Oper. Sys. Rev. 41, 5, 2--7. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  69. Kim, J.-M., Son, C.-H., Lee, C.-H., and Ha, Y.-H. 2006. Illuminant adaptive color reproduction based on lightness adaptation and flare for mobile phone. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Image Processing 1513--1516.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  70. Knappmeyer, M., Baker, N., Liaquat, S., and Tönjes, R. 2009. A context provisioning framework to support pervasive and ubiquitous applications. In Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on Smart Sensing and Context (EuroSSC’09). 93--106. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  71. Krause, M. and Hochstatter, I. 2005. Challenges in modelling and using quality of context (QoC). In Proceedings of the International Conference on Mobility Aware Technologies and Applications (MATA'05). 324--333. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  72. Kjær, K. E. 2007. A survey of context-aware middleware. In Proceedings of the 25th Conference on IASTED International Multi-Conference: Software Engineering. 148--155. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  73. Lee, U., Magistretti, E., Gerla, M., Bellavista, P., Lió, P., and Lee, K.-W. 2009. Bio-inspired multi-agent data harvesting in a proactive urban monitoring environment. Elsevier Ad Hoc Netw. 7, 4, 725--741. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  74. Li, F., Sanjin, S., and Schahram, S. 2010. COPAL: An adaptive approach to context provisioning. In Proceedings of the IEEE 6th International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking, and Communications (WiMob'10). 286--293.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  75. Lochert, C., Scheuermann, B., and Mauve, M. 2010. Information dissemination in VANETs. In VANET Vehicular Applications and Inter-Networking Technologies, H. Hartenstein, and K. Laberteaux, Eds. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, Chapter 3, 49--80.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  76. Macedo, D. F., dos Santos, A. L., Nogueira, J. M. S., and Pujolle, G. 2009. A distributed information repository for autonomic context-aware MANETs. IEEE Trans. Net. Serv. Manag. 6, 1. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  77. Mahambre, S. P., Kumar, M., and Bellur, U. 2007. A taxonomy of QoS-aware, adaptive event-dissemination middleware. IEEE Internet Comput. 11, 4, 35--44. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  78. Manzoor, A., Truong, H.-L., and Dustdar, S. 2008. On the evaluation of quality of context. In Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Smart Sensing and Context. 140--153. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  79. Manzoor, A., Truong, H.-L., and Dustdar, S. 2009a. Using quality of context to resolve conflicts in context-aware systems. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Quality of Context (QuaCon'09). 144--155. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  80. Manzoor, A., Truong, H.-L., and Dustdar, S. 2009b. Quality aware context information aggregation system for pervasive environments. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications Workshops. 266--271 Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  81. Mashhadi, A. J., Ben Mokhtar, S., and Capra, L. 2009. Habit: Leveraging human mobility and social network for efficient content dissemination in MANETs. In Proceedings of the 10th IEEE International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks (WoWMoM'09). 1--6.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  82. Miranda, H., Leggio, S., Rodriguez, L., and Raatikainen, K. 2009. An algorithm for dissemination and retrieval of information in wireless ad hoc networks. In Concurrency and Computation: Practice & Experience. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 21, 7, 889--904. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  83. Mottola, L., Cugola, G., and Picco, G. P. 2008. A self-repairing tree topology enabling content-based routing in mobile ad hoc networks. IEEE Trans. Mob. Comput. 7, 8, 946--960. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  84. Muhl, G., Ulbrich, A., and Herrman, K. 2004. Disseminating information to mobile clients using publish-subscribe. IEEE Internet Comput. 8, 3, 46--53. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  85. Musolesi, M. and Mascolo, C. 2009. CAR: Context-aware adaptive routing for delay tolerant mobile networks. IEEE Trans. Mob. Comput. 8, 2, 246--260. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  86. Neisse, R., Wegdam, M., and van Sinderen, M. 2008. Trustworthiness and quality of context information. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference for Young Computer Scientists (ICYCS'08). 1925--1931. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  87. Padmanabhan, P., Gruenwald, L., Vallur, A., and Atiquzzaman, M. 2008. A survey of data replication techniques for mobile ad hoc network databases. VLDB J. 17, 5, 1143--1164. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  88. Pelusi, L., Passarella, A., and Conti, M. 2006. Opportunistic networking: Data forwarding in disconnected mobile ad hoc networks. IEEE Commun. Mag. 44, 11, 134--141. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  89. Powers, S. 2003. Practical RDF. O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  90. Ranganathan, A. and Campbell, R. H. 2003. A middleware for context-aware agents in ubiquitous computing environments. In Proceedings of the ACM/IFIP/USENIX International Conference on Middleware (Middleware'03). 143--161. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  91. Ranganathan, A., Muhtadi, J. A., Chetan, S., Campbell, R., and Mickunas, M. D. 2004. MiddleWhere: A middleware for location awareness in ubiquitous computing applications. In Proceedings of the 5th ACM/IFIP/USENIX International Conference on Middleware (Middleware'05). 397--416. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  92. Rezende, C., Boukerche, A., Rocha, B., and Loureiro, A. 2008. Understanding and using mobility on publish/subscribe based architectures for MANETs. In Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN'08). 813--820.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  93. Riva, O., Nadeem, T., Borcea, C., and Iftode, L. 2007. Context-aware migratory services in ad hoc networks. IEEE Trans. Mob. Comput. 6, 12, 1313--1328. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  94. Sacramento, V., Endlef, M., Rubinsztejn, H. K., Lima, L. S., Goncalves, K., Nasciemento, F. N., and Bneno, G. A. 2004. MoCA: A middleware for developing collaborative applications for mobile users. IEEE Distributed Systems Online. 5, 10 (October 2004). Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  95. Sasson, Y., Cavin, D., and Schiper, A. 2003. Probabilistic broadcast for flooding in wireless mobile ad hoc networks. In Procedings of the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC'03). 1124--1130.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  96. Schilit, B. N., Adams, N., And Want, R. 1994. Context-aware computing applications. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (WMCSA'94). 85--90. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  97. Senart, A., Bouroche, M., Cahill, V., and Weber, S. 2009. Vehicular networks and applications. In Middleware for Network Eccentric and Mobile Applications, B. Garbinato, H. Miranda, and L. Rodrigues, Eds. Springer Press, Berlin, Chapter 17, 369--382.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  98. Shaheen, A. and Gruenwald, L. 2010. Group based replication for mobile ad hoc databases (GBRMAD), Tech. rep. University of Oklahoma. Available at http://www.cs.ou.edu/~database/documents/shaheen.pdf. (accessed Last 9/2010).Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  99. Sichitiu, M. I. and Kihl, M. 2008. Inter-vehicle communication systems: A survey. IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutorials. 10, 2, 88--105. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  100. Siegel, J. 2000. CORBA 3 Fundamentals and Programming. 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  101. Sousa, J. P. and Garlan, D. 2002. Aura: An architectural framework for user mobility in ubiquitous computing environments. In Proceedings of the IFIP 17th World Computer Congress. 29--43. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  102. Strang, T. and Popien, C. L. 2004. A context modeling survey. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Advanced Context Modelling, Reasoning and Management within UbiComp'04. 1--8.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  103. Sutton, P., Arkins, R., and Segall, B. 2001. Supporting disconnectedness-transparent information delivery for mobile and invisible computing. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Cluster Computing and the Grid (CCGrid'01). 277--285. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  104. Sweitzer, J. W., Thompson, P., Westerinen, A. R., Williams, R. C., and Bumpus, W. 1999. Common Information Model: Implementing the Object Model for Enterprise Management. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  105. Taherkordi, A., Rouvoy, R., Le-Trung, Q., and Eliassen, F. 2008. A self-adaptive context processing framework for wireless sensor networks. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Middleware for Sensor Networks (MidSens'08). 7--12. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  106. Tanenbaum, A. S. 2002. Computer Networks 4th Edition. Prentice Hall, upper Saddle River, NJ. 397--417. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  107. Tilak, S., Murphy, A., and Heinzelman, W. 2003. Non-uniform information dissemination for sensor networks. In Proceedings of the 11th IEEE Conference on Network Protocols (ICNP'03). 295--304. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  108. van Kranenburg, H., Bargh, M. S., Iacob, S., and Peddemors, A. 2006. A context management framework for supporting context-aware distributed applications. IEEE Commun. Mag. 44, 8, 67--74. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  109. van Sinderen, M. J., van Halteren, A. T, Wegdam, M., Meeuwissen, H. B., and Eertink, E. H. 2006. Supporting context-aware mobile applications: An infrastructure approach. IEEE Commun. Mag. 44, 9, 96--104. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  110. Yau, S. S., Huang, D., Gong, H., and Seth, S. 2004. Development and runtime support for situation-aware application software in ubiquitous computing environments. In Proceedings of the 28th Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC'04). 452--457. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  111. Yin, L. and Cao, G. 2006. Supporting cooperative caching in ad hoc networks. IEEE Trans. Mob. Comput. 5, 1, 77--89. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  112. Zhang, Z. 2006. Routing in intermittently connected mobile ad hoc networks and delay tolerant networks: Overview and challenges. IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutorials. 8, 1, 24--37. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  113. Zimmermann, A., Lorenz, A., and Oppermann, R. 2007. An operational definition of context. In Proceedings of the 6th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Modeling and using Context (CONTEXT07), 558--571. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library

Index Terms

  1. A survey of context data distribution for mobile ubiquitous systems

          Recommendations

          Reviews

          Cathryn Peoples

          Effective context awareness is pertinent across networks today. The fact that a standardized solution has not yet been established is testament to the ongoing evolution and volatility of networks and the technologies involved. In this paper, the authors review context-aware management solutions to highlight gaps in the current understanding and research challenges of provisioning a suite of standardizable context awareness capabilities. There is scope for improved state-of-the-art examples: the authors do not discuss data centers or clouds, for example, important areas where context awareness plays a role in dynamic resource roll-out across networks communicating with mobile devices. They do discuss mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), and delay-tolerant networks (DTNs). While MANETs and VANETs are more commonly found across networks today, fewer people are exposed to the operational advantages of context awareness in DTNs. The authors advocate an approach that is interoperable across solutions, depending on the scenario being managed. A strategy of this nature is envisaged because "context" is "a vague concept." It is not vague as such, only variable due to the range of domains where it is applied. The paper concludes without a clear suggestion for the future of context collection and distribution. It is not an authority for the standardization of context awareness. The authors neither consider in detail the overhead of context awareness nor the accommodation of instances when context is unavailable. The paper is therefore effective in raising questions associated with provisioning a standardizable approach to context awareness, but it does not provide answers to overcoming the current ad hoc nature of its deployment. Online Computing Reviews Service

          Access critical reviews of Computing literature here

          Become a reviewer for Computing Reviews.

          Comments

          Login options

          Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

          Sign in

          Full Access

          • Published in

            cover image ACM Computing Surveys
            ACM Computing Surveys  Volume 44, Issue 4
            August 2012
            318 pages
            ISSN:0360-0300
            EISSN:1557-7341
            DOI:10.1145/2333112
            Issue’s Table of Contents

            Copyright © 2012 ACM

            Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

            Publisher

            Association for Computing Machinery

            New York, NY, United States

            Publication History

            • Published: 7 September 2012
            • Accepted: 1 April 2011
            • Revised: 1 December 2010
            • Received: 1 April 2010
            Published in csur Volume 44, Issue 4

            Permissions

            Request permissions about this article.

            Request Permissions

            Check for updates

            Qualifiers

            • research-article
            • Research
            • Refereed

          PDF Format

          View or Download as a PDF file.

          PDF

          eReader

          View online with eReader.

          eReader