The 5D approach to control and manage smart spaces

Our homes, offices, and other spaces are expected to evolve into smart spaces served by devices having varying requirements and capabilities. To efficiently control and manage these devices, their controllers needs to be designed using the correct abstraction for the devices. In this paper, we present an abstraction for the devices in smart spaces, and we use this abstraction to present a 5D-deploy, discovery, decision, dissemination, and data-approach to control and manage smart spaces. We also discuss three approaches to design controllers for smart spaces, and highlight how controllers can leverage recent research in distributed systems. We believe that our abstraction for devices, our 5D approach, and our approaches for designing controllers are building blocks for transforming our spaces to smart spaces.