Combining System Introspection with User-Provided Description to Support Configuration and Understanding of Pervasive systems

Abstract

Pervasive computing systems such as smart spaces typically combine multiple embedded and/or mobile sensing, computing and interaction devices. A variety of distributed computing approaches are used to integrate these devices to support coordinated applications. This paper describes how simple user descriptions of (primarily) physical aspects of such a system can be combined with information from system introspection to make the system and its log recordings more understandable to potential users, as well as supporting easier configuration and monitoring, and allowing the expression of certain kinds of system behaviour that are otherwise hard to achieve.