WP5: Middleware Aspects

Work Package 5

Terminal Middleware Aspects

A user requirement is to create the conditions for transparent access to services regardless of the equipment the end user has for this purpose, whether it is integrated or distributed. Technically speaking, this will consist in identifying and validating the required extensions to the existing standards applying at API levels such as MHP for DTV devices and MIDP for cellular devices.

The reason to focus on these APIs is because they have been generated as part of a consensual open standardization process. Extensions will be identified in light of representative INSTINCT scenarios, including the support for the inter-working of distributed devices and the adaptation of user interfaces for user-friendly user access in the distributed devices context in particular. The identified extensions (either genuine, or imported from other contexts) will potentially enter the standardization process.

It is a trend that terminal platforms will be generic in the sense that some services will be best provided when a piece of application is downloaded in the platform when needed. For this purpose, download mechanisms already supported by MHP and MIDP extensions have to be properly configured for the environments created in INSTINCT, having in mind the specific issue of how to distribute applications and content over locally interconnected devices.
End-user devices are also network elements, part of a networked system. As such, devices can play a role in the overall system management with the primary objective of optimising the usage of resources, and in particular transmission resources like spectrum, while maximizing the user perceived quality.

The technical approach is articulated along four activities:
1) Terminal profiling
2) MHP over DVB-T/H-related terminal aspects
3) MIDP-related terminal aspects
4) Value-added middleware for hybrid scenario.

First a diversity of terminal scenarios linking to user scenarios will have to be identified, based on current trends and technology capabilities for the coming years. A highlight of such scenarios, capturing current identified trends is depicted in Figure 1. Scenarios where terminal features will not be integrated within a single device will be particularly studied because they present clear market prospects but still raise a number of issues regarding how to distribute and design applications for such environments. The role of this task is to identify inter-working points at all levels of the protocol stack, and in particular aspects that do not ensure proper interoperability.

Focus is really on the exploring and enabling terminal alternatives that exploit the user surrounding environment and devices for bringing enhanced experience. Another role is to define device profiles based on their transmission capabilities, hardware and software capabilities, using possibly the Composite Capabilities/Preferences Profile (CC/PP) work of W3C as a starting point.



	Work Package 5 Terminal Middleware Aspects A user requirement is to create the conditions for transparent access to services regardless of the equipment the end user has for this purpose, whether it is integrated or distributed. Technically speaking, this will consist in identifying and validating the required extensions to the existing standards applying at API levels such as MHP for DTV devices and MIDP for cellular devices. The reason to focus on these APIs is because they have been generated as part of a consensual open standardization process. Extensions will be identified in light of representative INSTINCT scenarios, including the support for the inter-working of distributed devices and the adaptation of user interfaces for user-friendly user access in the distributed devices context in particular. The identified extensions (either genuine, or imported from other contexts) will potentially enter the standardization process. It is a trend that terminal platforms will be generic in the sense that some services will be best provided when a piece of application is downloaded in the platform when needed. For this purpose, download mechanisms already supported by MHP and MIDP extensions have to be properly configured for the environments created in INSTINCT, having in mind the specific issue of how to distribute applications and content over locally interconnected devices. End-user devices are also network elements, part of a networked system. As such, devices can play a role in the overall system management with the primary objective of optimising the usage of resources, and in particular transmission resources like spectrum, while maximizing the user perceived quality. The technical approach is articulated along four activities: 1) Terminal profiling 2) MHP over DVB-T/H-related terminal aspects 3) MIDP-related terminal aspects 4) Value-added middleware for hybrid scenario. First a diversity of terminal scenarios linking to user scenarios will have to be identified, based on current trends and technology capabilities for the coming years. A highlight of such scenarios, capturing current identified trends is depicted in Figure 1. Scenarios where terminal features will not be integrated within a single device will be particularly studied because they present clear market prospects but still raise a number of issues regarding how to distribute and design applications for such environments. The role of this task is to identify inter-working points at all levels of the protocol stack, and in particular aspects that do not ensure proper interoperability. Focus is really on the exploring and enabling terminal alternatives that exploit the user surrounding environment and devices for bringing enhanced experience. Another role is to define device profiles based on their transmission capabilities, hardware and software capabilities, using possibly the Composite Capabilities/Preferences Profile (CC/PP) work of W3C as a starting point.