Novel architectures for exploiting heterogeneity in pervasive computing environments

In mission-oriented applications of pervasive computing, there is a need to create and utilize fundamental services such as QoS provisioning, auto-configuration, and node authentication. In the past, researchers have developed techniques for providing basic services to applications based on software middleware frameworks through interoperability among devices. However, the issue of node heterogeneity in terms of capability and mobility has not been investigated.; The thesis aims to provide fundamental services through exploitation of node heterogeneity such that relatively stable and capable devices cooperate and assist resource-poor devices in order to provide the basic services in the system. The main contributions of the thesis are as follows: (1) Development of Configuration and Registration S&barbelow;cheme (CoReS) to provide auto-configuration and service location in local environments; (2) Design of Network of Volunteers (NeVo) architecture to provide general services to applications and users; and (3) Development of trust management and authentication protocols to facilitate secure collaboration among entities.; CoReS supports automatic network formation and node collaboration without any prior infrastructure. CoReS exhibits high efficiency and cross-layer optimization, compared to existing schemes. The NeVo architecture achieves high flexibility and scalability in dynamic pervasive environments. The utility of NeVo as a flexible and adaptable architecture for creating and provisioning fundamental services is validated through extensive simulation studies. By exploiting NeVo and CoReS, applications and users can benefit from node heterogeneity, one of the most difficult challenges in pervasive environments. We integrate service discovery protocols and trust management schemes into the NeVo architecture. In addition, efficient user-transparent authentication protocols are proposed to aid the trust management process. Finally, we investigate integration of the NeVo architecture into the Pervasive Information Community Organization (PICO) middleware framework. PICO creates mission-oriented communities of autonomous software entities. Through the integration, trust based community formation can be achieved by utilizing trust management.; The architectures and algorithms developed in this thesis are not limited to any specific routing protocol or physical network media, but can be applied to a variety of network environments. CoReS and NeVo can be complementary to any pervasive computing middleware framework, providing greater flexibility in the presence of node unevenness.