Federated Devices: Augmenting Mobility with Ambient Resources

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Federated Devices Augmenting Mobility with
Ambient Resources

• Frankie James, Ph.D.SAP Research, RC Palo Alto

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What are Federated Devices?

• Basic Idea Ad-hoc wireless federation of two or
  more computer components to enhance the
  capabilities of at least one of them
• Ad-hoc
• Wireless protocols allow federation, but pairing
  uses complicated set-up
• Wireless
• Many mobile devices and sensors can currently
  federate to other devices through physical
  connections
• Types of Federation
• Federating devices for enhanced input/output
  capability
• Federating devices for resource composition
• Federation of sensor network to nearby PDA with
  ability to process incoming data and display a
  chart
• Cf. OSGi

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Example Federation of mobile device and ambient
display

• Ambient displays to augment mobile device usage
• Mobile screen too small to show all important
  data
• Large screen easier for sharing, etc.

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Federation and the Reality-Based Framework

• Context-awareness and federation
• Resources in the environment serve the users
  needs
• Natural actions (e.g., walking towards something)
  should trigger federation (cf. MICA Fraunhofer
  FIT)
• Virtuosity and federation
• Users can develop virtuosity in expert interfaces
  tailored to their needs and use this to control
  other devices
• Can meet accessibility needs cf. Disability,
  Inability, and Cyberspace, John Perry et al.,
  1997 Total Access System