A recursive software architecture for location-aware services

Abstract

A GLObal Smart Space (GLOSS) provides support for interaction amongst people, artefacts and places while taking account of both context and movement on a global scale. Crucial to the definition of a GLOSS is the provision of a set of services, which we term location-aware services, that detect, convey, store and exploit location information. We first describe a framework (ontology), using a small set of concepts, for defining a GLOSS. This allows different services to be implemented without duplication of the basic mechanisms, and abstracts over specific details of the technologies used, thereby accommodating both heterogeneity and evolution. Secondly, we introduce a set of location-aware metaphors that are defined in terms of the GLOSS concepts. Thirdly, we propose a recursive software architecture to support the implementation of the metaphors within the framework. Finally we outline how the software architecture may be applied recursively to provide scalability for location-aware services in the global context.