A Middleware for Enabling Personal Ubiquitous Spaces

Ubiquitous computing enables an environment that assimilates digital and physical devices seamlessly and presents a unified programming interface to the user. Users can program the environment similar to programming a computer. With the widespread availability of personal devices and personal area networks, there is a growing need for personal devices to share resources and services among themselves to support complex applications. Middleware support is required for enabling interactions among services and for sharing resources. We introduce Mobile Gaia, a middleware framework to enable the construction of personal ubiquitous computing environments, or personal spaces, which are formed ad hoc using personal devices carried or worn by a person as well as devices that are physically nearby. We discuss the architecture and services of Mobile Gaia and some of the challenges that need to be addressed in this endeavor.