Smart-M3 and OSGi: The interoperability platform

The design of applications that may benefit from the data gathered from the surrounding physical environment represents a challenging and promising research field. Because of the heterogeneity of such systems interoperability is becoming more difficult to achieve at the service, information and device levels. In this paper, we report on the first attempt to design an interoperability platform by integrating a “Semantic Web” information sharing infrastructure, namely Smart-M3 (Multi-part, Multi-device and Multi-vendor), within the OSGi (Open Service Gateway initiative) framework, enhancing the information level interoperability of the former with the service level interoperability of the latter. Such an interoperability platform can grant the unanticipated evolution of existing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems by providing a generic and simple solution to develop what are generally called “Smart Space Applications”. As proof of concept a maintenance scenario will be discussed and detailed.