An RFID-Based Platform Supporting Context-Aware Computing in Complex Spaces

Ubiquitous computing promises to both assist us in everyday tasks and enhance our capabilities. Key elements towards fulfilling this goal are exploiting the physical and logical context in which computation occurs, in order to scope the interaction between users and applications. In this paper we describe an RFID-based platform allowing mobile entities to transparently associate with ubiquitous applications running within complex physical spaces. Entity- application associations occur only for applications within a physical space whose services are within predefined sets specified by an entity for that space type. Mobile entities in our platform are uniquely identified by a temporary ID, and further characterized by a set of attributes describing the above-mentioned set of services. Computation is mediated through the exchange of protocol messages guarded by such attributes. Furthermore, relevant application state is distributed on each mobile entity through a set of messaging boards, enabling a targeted form of communication and cooperation among ubiquitous applications. In this paper we report on our experience experimenting with this platform. Our initial results indicate that this platform is suitable for current RFID technology and exhibits low-cost, scalability and privacy.