NCS testbed for ambient intelligence

Ambient intelligence (AmI) aims to make the environment of human beings more intelligent and sensitive in order to enhance the quality of life. In AmI systems a large number of sensors, actuators and controllers are distributed on low power and low performance nodes communicating via wireless ad-hoc networks. These systems build a special class of networked control systems (NCS), where many constraints exist such as limited bandwidth. In order to develop control algorithms under AmI constraints, a testbed is required which takes them into account. First, this paper presents a simulation environment that offers a library of NCS blocks. Thus, the constraints can be considered and integrated in the design process. Second, it describes a real process, an inverted pendulum, which is automated based on Mica nodes. These nodes were designed especially for AmI purposes. This real NCS serves as a challenging benchmark for proving the AmI suitability of the controllers.