Section: New Software and Platforms

Platforms

Platform Pervasive_RFID

Keywords: Composite objects - RFID

• Participants: Paul Couderc and Nebil Ben Mabrouck

• Partner: Université de Rennes 1 (IETR)

• Contact: Paul Couderc

Scientific Description

In 2015 we completed the RFID experiment testbed realized in 2014 in collaboration with IETR (see Figure 1 ).

This system allows both interactive testing as well as long running experiments of RFID reading protocols. It comprises a software platform (see Figure 2 ) allowing fine control over all dynamic aspects influencing RFID readings: movements for target and antenna, RFID reader configuration, and smart antenna configuration (diversity and power control). This testbed supports the reproduction of most situations found in real applications. We achieved the following improvements on the testbed in 2015:

• The implementation of a software controllable smart antenna, with dynamic radiating pattern, was completed along with its the hardware interface. This is an important feature when experimenting pervasive application, in particular to determine the radio performance improvements expectable from antenna diversity.

• A particular effort was put on improving the operational performance and robustness of the system: the initial implementation was completed in 2014 in a context tightly coupled with our on-going RFID research, and with an important dependency on the technical expertise of short term positions staff-member. In order to widen the testbed?s perspectives as a research tool, two aspects were improved:

  1. a high-level scripting interface was added to offer easy automatized experimentation campaign. Iterative RFID experiments with fine-tuning parameters can be specified using a variety of script languages, and further executed in a remote fashion via the added interface.

  2. A virtualization of RFID readers and motion drives was also developed to simulate the behavior of critical experiments or new software updates before executing them on the real testbed.

  3. Functional tests were developed to ascertain that crucial functions of the testbed would work correctly after future software updates, thus ensuring the maintainability and sustainability of the system.

On-demand room

Keywords: Smart Home - Metamorphic House

• Partner: Université de Rennes 1

• Partner: Université de Rennes 1 (Fondation Rennes 1)

• Contact: Michele Dominici and Frédéric Weis

Description

As part of the demonstration activities, we realized a prototype of the on-demand room as an immersive interactive virtual-reality application, leveraging the Immersia platform. Two iterations were achieved so far.

For the first iteration of the demonstrator, we realized a three-dimensional model of the on-demand room and two adjacent apartments, using the software SketchUp. This model was then imported in Unity3D and MiddleVR, which allow to display and navigate inside the model using the virtual reality platform Immersia (http://www.irisa.fr/immersia/ ). We then implemented the application logic of the on-demand room using Unity scripting facilities. By wearing 3D glasses and a marker on their hand, users can literally walk inside the apartments, open doors and observe how the configuration of the room changes to become a part of one dwelling or another, as shown in Figure 3 .

The second (and current) iteration of the demonstrator introduced a major feature: the real/virtual integration. Actual domestic appliances can now be connected to Immersia and participate to the on-demand room demonstration. In this phase we showed that a real light switch, located in the virtual on-demand room, can change its behavior and alternatively control one of the two real lamps, each located in one of the aparments, as shown in Figure 4 .

To develop the real/virtual integration feature, we used home automation controllers and devices implementing the KNX standard. After wiring and programming the domotic network, we developed an application that leverages the Falcon library, provided by the KNX association, to dynamically change the behavior of the real light switch.