vocabularies related to the various Amigo domains
in this scene are:
From positional information and/or gesture
recognition output Amigo User Interfaces detect that
John and Robert want to play. Upon activation of
the game, the system queries the capabilities for
PositionControlInput User Interface Services provided
by the Amigo User interface. When controlling the
ambience in a room the Amigo system queries
services providing the domotic domain
ControlLight
and LightDetectors capabilities available in the
context of that room. TV monitor, when plugged in,
provides CE domain capability of
DigitalMediaRenderer for AVStream.
To be able to support the continuation of the
gaming session, John's Amigo system checks the
DeviceContext of Roberts PDA to match a most
suitable mobile client technology provided by game
console and uses the PDA’s
ContentDownload
capability to load a game into it.
Other supporting services that are not that visible
in the example above are seamlessly involved. For
example, context management service will be used
to provide user location. The Amigo system may
ask the User modelling and profiling service for
relevant user context and preferences about favorite
adventure game to be automatically downloaded.
Different levels of ontologies (see Figure 1) can
be envisaged to model the entire Amigo home
environment appropriately in order to address the
service/application developer’s and user’s
requirements for efficient service discovery,
composition and invocation.
Middleware
Applications
Platforms
QoS
- Performance
- Security
- Privacy
Context
-User
- Physical
-Device
Non-Functional
PC
Capabilities
CE
Capabilities
CE / PC / Mobile Domotic Devices
Functional
Data /
Content
Mobile
Capabilities
Domotic
Capabilities
HW/ SW/ Communication Platforms
Abstract service Description
Context
Management
User Modeling
and Profiling
…
Figure 1: Different levels of services and ontologies.
To verify and validate this approach, the
following iterative steps have been used in order to
identify the required vocabularies and classifications
on which the ontologies will be based (Noy, 2001):
Step 1:
We gathered Amigo requirements for the
various domain ontologies. Some domain-specific
examples, based on user scenarios that can help to
determine what types of information are required
and what types of query support the ontology should
provide have been identified.
As an example, the mobile domain information
and services are useful in such cases as
communication (call, SMS), notification (alerts
about some events in the home), and entertainment
on the way. Examples of mobile platforms used in
home are a mobile phone, PDA, laptop, etc.
The PC domain is related to the “classical” view
that we have about computers. Personal computers,
Web cameras, peripherals such as printers, scanners,
etc, are included in this domain. The role of PC
domain is mainly related to storing, accessing and
processing information.
Analysis of the CE domain concerns audio,
video and other entertainment devices presented in
the home. The interaction of home individuals with
this domain mainly takes place during their leisure
time, thus making the CE domain a very attractive,
actively utilized and potentially profitable one.
Plenty of CE devices such as HiFi systems, TV
screens, video consoles, sound speakers, etc, can be
found in our homes. Especially the entertainment
content that is displayed and exchanged between
those CE devices is quite attractive and important
from the user’s point of view. This content includes
songs, films, still photos, etc, and can be seen as
indispensable attribute of the CE domain. In
addition, a many of the data linked to this content
(such as size, bit rate, and parental permissions) can
affect the user’s experience directly or indirectly.
The domotic domain is related to identifying the
requirements of home automation devices to Amigo
system. Some examples of such devices could be a
lighting system, a washing machine, a gas sensor,
etc. Energy cost savings, security of persons and
goods, comfort improvement are some of the
benefits of home automation. The role of domotic
domain is quite critical as it is also associated with
home care and safety. Safety and security of persons
and goods is increased with functions such as
detection of fire or gas leakage, tele-transmission of
alarm, or detection of intrusion.
Step 2
: The numerous available sources of
information that may provide classifications and
ontologies have been considered (FIPA, 2001,
FIPAAV, 2001, OMA, 2005, CCPP, 2004,
TvAnytime, MPEG7, 2004, MPEG21, 2002,
Shimizu, 2005, UPnP, 2003, DLNA, 2005). The
above enumerated sources provide suitable
information to model device capabilities to be useful
in adaptation of content information to particular
THE VOCABULARY ONTOLOGY ENGINEERING FOR THE SEMANTIC MODELLING OF HOME SERVICES
463