Section-based Digital Habitat Ecosystem Architecture for the built-up environments

Digital Ecosystem (DE) is the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) system, which includes both an open and loosely coupled network of self-organising ICT nodes and links. A DE is also a scalable distributed network of nodes where data can move freely between its nodes and trusted interpreters can access, edit or use these data for a range of purposes, e.g. to control the utilisation of available resources. The advancement of the DE technology, an emerging research area, promises new approaches for controlling, monitoring, and managing the use and reuse of resources in built-up environments. However, the use of the DE technology is currently most widely utilised in business enterprise networks, and many research and development challenges exist and must be addressed before this technology can be scaled to and applied in built up environments. The main objective in this research is therefore to investigate and build a Digital Habitat Ecosystem Architecture (DHEA) that can integrate all the existing smart devices available in the home environment. Furthermore, it will monitor and control the use of the vital resources (water, electricity) in built up environments. The specific objective of this proposed research is to address the shortcomings of the wireless communication networks and to standardize the devices into the common standards. This paper aims to outline the significance of DHEA, the core DHEA devices, and the Element and Section-based model of a DHEA research project.