Abstract

Wireless communication will integrate seamlessly into our lives during the next decade. Device manufacturers will offer powerful portable multimedia communication devices with versatile features to single purpose sensors that have short-range communication capabilities. These very different devices will have the ability to form communication connections with each other either at the end user’s request or in an ad-hoc manner. This will enable a nomadic end user to modify his/her personal service environment based on content he/she requests and on logical adaptation. The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the dynamic adaptability of a nomadic end user’s Personal Service Environment by focusing on the adaptability requirements imposed by ubiquitous financial services and ubiquitous production administration service. This dissertation utilizes a constructive research method, in which results are validated by technical experimentation.

The main results of this dissertation are prototype implementations of the Active Service Environment Management (ASEMA) platform, which acts as an enabler for a dynamically adaptive personal service environment, and two use cases, one involving ubiquitous financial services and other involving ubiquitous production administration services, both of which utilize the platform. The Personal Service Environment (PSE) that is enabled by the ASEMA platform has the ability to adapt itself based on hardware and software capabilities available for a nomadic end user. The PSE is sensitive to the changes in quality of service it receives from the wireless network it is roaming to. The Personal Service Environment can combine two or more services together in order to offer a tailored service experience for a nomadic end user. Finally, the ASEMA platform enables an end user service to adjust its service offering to the existing capabilities of the Personal Service Environment at any particular moment.