A Self-Configuring Middleware for Managing Context Awareness

This paper introduces a self-configuring middleware that manages the context information acquisition and representation processes targeting the development of context aware applications. The context information is represented using three sets: context resources, actors and policies. The context model management infrastructure is constructed using BDI (Believe Desire Intentions) agents that generate and administrate the context model artefacts at run time. The self – configuring property is enforced by monitoring the real world context in order to detect context variations or conditions for which the context artefacts must be updated. The advantage of our approach is the transparency of the context management processes for the pervasive application developers, allowing them to focus on the application desired functionality. The middleware was tested and validated within the premises of our Distributed Systems Research Laboratory.