Extending VHE with the device unifying service

The virtual home environment is a powerful concept that enables personal service environment (PSE) portability across network boundaries and between terminals. The device unifying service (DUS) presented in this paper extends the VHE concept by allowing the usage of multiple devices simultaneously and the possibility of adding, removing or changing devices both on the fly or according to predefined profiles.. The user will be able to specify several different personal service environments, professional office environments, private home environments, travelling environments etc., and to select the most appropriate environment for a given time and according to his changing roles. This paper presents the concept of the device unifying service, which will take care of the management, coordination and configuration of all the devices that the user has at his disposal. A discussion regarding the system architecture is given, suggesting the best solution for where to locate this function. In addition, this paper discusses the technologies, emerging and existing, that are required for implementing the device unifying service.