Corporate mobility initiatives and the anytime, anywhere information workers is on the rise. This is mostly fuelled by availability of affordable and more powerful mobile computing devices, especially laptops and tablets. One direct consequence of this is a sharp increase in laptop theft; this is partly driven by the fact that laptops are portable and easy to conceal and pocket away, they fetch a good second-hand price on the informal market and availability of easy online disposal platforms such as Gumtree, where they are sold cheaply and anonymously. Despite the fact that many solutions have been developed in an attempt to annihilate this growing calamity, their cost has left many small and medium organizations preferring to do without one. In an attempt to bridge this gap, the research reported in this paper aimed at designing a generic middleware architecture for use in a hardware-based (RFIDs, wireless sensor modes, fingerprint scanners and mobile phones) affordable laptop monitoring and tracking system. The resulting system prototype was evaluated using diverse experimental cases within a university in South Africa.
Keywords-Laptop monitoring and tracking system; CentralUniversity of Technology, Free State (CUT); Hardware based Model; Internet of Things(IoT); Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs); in-lining middleware
Asset tracking systems developed around the Internet of Things paradigm are composed of a collection of various objects interconnected by different communication technologies. Each of these devices function through local and/or remote interaction with the real world or other devices and systems. The problem of ensuring a dependable and responsive middleware that is capable of handling and servicing such devices, process voluminous data without compromising responsiveness is still eminent. In this paper, we present a solution that was designed using in-lining approach to deliver a middleware that acts as an insulator for hiding the internal workings of the asset tracking system prototype by providing homogenous and abstract environment to the highest layers. In order to evaluate the middleware, a laptop tracking and monitoring system that integrates various internet of things components (at least 4 components: RFIDs, wireless sensors, mobile phones and biometric readers) was implemented and tested within a university environment.
Keywords -in-lining middleware, internet of things (IoT), laptop monitoring and tracking system (LMTS), Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT), wireless sensor networks (WSNs)
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