Supporting reconfiguration and re-use through self-describing component interfaces

Run-time reconfigurable component models have been highlighted as having particular potential in networked embedded systems. In these models, explicit interface definitions promote the re-use of generic units of functionality between application compositions, while run-time reconfiguration provides a mechanism to manage the dynamism of sensor network environments. Despite these advantages, in current systems, reliably re-using and reconfiguring distributed components is a complex undertaking. It requires a detailed understanding of the services offered by each component. The lack hereof effectively precludes run-time discovery and use of third-party components. This paper proposes the embedding of compact semantic descriptions in component interfaces and associated messages. These descriptions allow for efficient compatibility checking and therefore facilitate the run-time discovery and use of third-party component services. We demonstrate that this scheme is feasible in even the most resource-constrained sensor network environments.