© MIR Labs, www.mirlabs.net/ijcisim/index.html
Dynamic Publishers, Inc., USA
Towards A Semantic World:
Smart Objects In A Virtual World
Akihiro Eguchi and Craig Thompson
Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA 72701
{aeguchi, cwt}@uark.edu
Abstract
:
The
coming
Internet
of
Things
will
usher
in
a
semantic world (analogous to the semantic web) where physical
objects
will
be
networked
so
that
they
can
communicate
with
each
other
and
with
humans.
This
paper
identifies
protocols
that smart objects will need to follow and how to use today’s 3D
virtual
worlds
to
better
simulate
and
better
understand
protocols for tomorrow’s smart world.
Keywords
:
pervasive
computing,
semantic
Web,
Internet
of
Things, virtual world, smart objects, semantic world
I.
Introduction
Pervasive
computing
is
a
megatrend
–
computing
has
migrated from mainframes to desktops, laptops to cell phones,
and
embedded
computing
is
increasingly
integrated
into
objects like cars and washing machines. Similar to the way
we
develop
a
semantic
web
[1]
by
adding
metadata
to
web
objects, we can see a coming Internet of Things where every
individual physical object has a unique identity provided by
technologies like RFID. We talk about smart worlds full of
smart objects [2]. But what makes a smart object smart?
The objective of our project (http://vw.ddns.uark.edu) is to
gain
an
understanding
of
and
learn
how
to
design
“smart
objects”
. Our long term aim is to help to create a collection of
interoperability
standards
that
provide
a
migration
path
to
convert
a
world
of
ordinary
objects
into
a
semantic
world
containing smart objects, incrementally, one smart object and
one protocol at a time.
Many
technologies
are
contributing
toward
a
smart,
semantic world. The term “Internet of Things” seems to have
had
its
origin
with
the
original
Auto-ID
Center
founded
at
MIT
in
1999
which
later
became
EPCglobal,
focuses
on
a
suite
of
radio
frequency
identification
(RFID)
technologies.
Sensor
networks
generalize
this
concept.
The
pervasive
computing,
embedded
computing,
and
smart
home
communities have contributed. Recent papers have begun to
generalize this work to explore frameworks for smart objects
[3,4] that identify some of the attributes that make an object
smart.
Meanwhile,
rather
separately,
the
3D
virtual
world
community has developed Second Life, OpenSimulator, Open
Wonderland,
Open
Cobalt,
and
many
other
virtual
worlds.
Our
Everything is Alive
project at University of Arkansas [5]
initially
focused
on
RFID
middleware
[6]
but
realized
we
could
use
3D
virtual
worlds
to
model
the
future
Internet
of
Things [7]. Our work differs in that we believe a smart object
is more or less smart depending on the standard protocols it
supports (which can change over time). It also differs in that
we
use
3D
virtual
world
technology
to
construct
and
demonstrate the protocols in an understandable manner. Two
potential advantages of using 3D virtual worlds to understand
a future smart semantic world are: modeling is low cost when
compared to developing a deploying real world technologies,
and
it
may
be
that
modular
services
that
we
develop
for
interoperating
with
virtual
worlds
will transfer
more or less
directly to the real world.
II.
Protocols for Smart Objects
In
the
1990s,
a
puzzle
for
the
AI
agent
community
was
to
distinguish what made an agent into an intelligent or mobile
agent. Since 3D virtual worlds can be viewed as composed of
objects (agents), the same puzzle occurs. Our resolution is to
identify a family of protocols that, if followed, enable us to
classify objects as more or less smart objects. Therefore, we
believe that what makes a smart object smart is the protocols it
obeys.
Today’s ordinary objects (a chair, a lamp, a can of corn, a
pet, …) have interfaces. For example, a lamp has a physic
al
interface
consisting
of
size,
shape,
flexibility,
weight,
and
composition;
a
visual
appearance
interface
with
aesthetic
properties
including
color,
brightness,
and
texture;
a
functional
interface
with
an
application
program
interface
(API) that humans use for turning the lamp on or off; a power
interface
for
connection
to
the
electric
grid;
an
implicit
identity so people can tell two lamps apart even if they look
the
same;
an
implicit
ownership
(the
new
car
I
saw
at
the
dealer;
I
just
bought
it
so
now
its
mine
and
used);
and
a
compositional
interface
typically
used
for
repairs.
Objects
may also have a corresponding repair manual (typically kept
at home in a drawer), associated images that appear in retail
catalogs or in photographs, and a history and/or schedule of
use. This list is not complete.
Conventional objects are typically not be very smart
–
they
do not have explicit identity, are not self aware, and cannot
interoperably communicate with other smart objects or with
humans. We need to begin to develop an initial framework for
making objects smarter.
What additional interfaces would make an ordinary object
into a smart object?
Explicit
identity
–
Explicit
identity
can
be
implemented
using RFID tags or by other means [8]. Identity provides a