Business from technology

Distributed Ad Hoc systems

Competence

VTT is developing advanced technologies for Distributed Ad Hoc Software Systems, which refers to distributed software systems and services, service architectures, middleware, autonomic computing, and communication technologies. Our expertise covers advanced computing technologies for distributed systems, service architectures, middleware, service networks, and communication protocols applied in distributed, heterogeneous, and embedded systems. In addition, the expertise covers self-configuring and overlay networks such as e.g. P2P, M2M, Ad hoc, and Mesh networks. One or more communication channels, such as e.g. 3GPP, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and DVB-H, are applied in an intelligent way to reach the needs of the distributed service networks in heterogeneous application domains such as e.g. digital home, content delivery, mobile access, health and wellness, security, and automation. Example solutions include a middleware platform for digital home services interoperability, a service architecture and platform for digital content-delivery systems, secure sensor actuator service networks for M2M-based home automation, opportunistic service network solutions for biologically inspired networks, and secure middleware solutions for embedded peer-to-peer systems.

Challenges

The interoperability challenge is related to all distributed, heterogeneous, and embedded systems that need to communicate and provide services to other computers in the local environment or in the cyber world. It is a challenge to develop flexible, interoperable, and adaptable services for heterogeneous application domains such as e.g. digital home, content delivery, mobile access, and automation. Also, this development is very costly when all of the distributed systems solutions are developed separately for each domain. The number of embedded products communicating via service networks has increased so much in recent years that the complexity of the systems will soon be beyond human competence. This challenge, known as the complexity explosion, requires novel approaches for computing, such as e.g. autonomic computing and situated communication.

Solutions

• middleware platforms for digital home services interoperability (e.g., interoperability of security, multimedia, automation, and communication services)
  
• distributed software components for heterogeneous and embedded systems
  
• scalable peer-to-peer (P2P) multimedia content discovery and delivery
  
• service architectures and platforms for digital content and service provisioning
  
• ambient intelligence solutions for old people
  
• security-surveillance solutions
  
• machine-to-machine (M2M) service networks
  
• secure sensor actuator service networks for M2M-based home automation
  
• opportunistic service networks solutions for biologically inspired networks
  
• secure middleware solutions for embedded peer-to-peer systems.
  

Benefits

• interoperability of distributed, heterogeneous, and embedded systems
  
• rapid application and service development for different application domains such as digital home, content delivery, mobile access, health and wellness, and automation
  
• smooth application of distributed, heterogeneous, and embedded systems services and networks for both humans and artificial entities
  
• autonomic application of distributed, heterogeneous, and embedded systems services and networks for machines
  

References and merits

• successfully executed around ten Eureka ITEA, Celtic, EU, and National Tekes projects, which have produced over 110 international scientific publications and several international patent applications. The ITEA-ANSO project made a successful appearance with demonstrations at ITEA Symposium 2007 in Berlin, Germany, winning the ITEA2 Symposium 2007 Silver Exhibition Award, and later won the ITEA Appreciation Award 2008 at ITEA Symposium 2008 due to convincing results in the area of “Web of Objects”.
  
• several generic solutions for distributed ad hoc systems such as e.g. middleware platforms and services, distributed software components, and communication solutions that can be applied in various application domains such as digital home, content delivery, mobile access, health and wellness, security, and automation.
  
• participation in various international research forums, workgroups, and industrial and standardization forums such as e.g. WWRF, eMobility, NEM, IETF, OSGi, W3C, ETSI, and IEEE.