Novel Pervasive Computing Services Experienced through Personal Smart Spaces

A major research challenge in the IT domain nowadays is to enable new experiences by building intelligent spaces around users, enhanced by pervasive computing services. The European FP7 Project PERSIST (personal self-improving smart spaces) is investigating a novel approach to meet this challenge. PERSIST aims to define an ecosystem on top of which novel pervasive services can be built. This paper explains the notion of a personal smart space (PSS), provides a reference case study and describes some aspects of how PSSs might operate. PERSIST is also researching on new paradigms for harmonizing P2P functionalities with network services. We present a case study and bring into focus the main challenges We are mastering for pursuing a middleware to support PSSs management and mutual interaction.