Dynamic Adaptability for Smart Environments

Software reuse and hardware integration are key factors to offer flexible, low-cost smart environments. Until now, we have been using a static process called the SCD-process to allow a tool-supported realization of such smart environments. The SCD-process is comprised of three different phases: specification, configuration, and deployment. As an initially specified environment is expected to change during runtime and the user may wish to influence certain aspects of the configuration, the static process had to be adapted. This paper describes a new process that supports continuous specification activities and allows for an automated adaptation of the smart home’s configuration based on a model-driven approach. We enriched the specification of services with binding policies and constraints to allow for a flexible reconfiguration and a servicespecific adaptation. The new configuration mechanism facilitates dynamic reconfiguration based on context information and the extended service specification. In addition, we present a visual tool, which is used to assist the developer and the end-user.