UEF: Ubiquity Evaluation Framework

Abstract

Abstract. Ubiquitous computing (UbiComp) systems rely on heterogeneous technologies to enable the anytime-anywhere communication paradigm. Despite the momentum that UbiComp systems have, most new proposals are typically evaluated through varying sets of criteria, making direct comparisons that are far from straightforward. In this paper, we introduce the Ubiquity Evaluation Framework (UEF) aiming to overcome the limitations of hitherto evaluation mechanisms. UEF is unique, as particular protocols of a UbiComp system can be evaluated without requiring a functional system or involving questionnaries to a group of experts in the field. UEF enables the comparison of protocols intended for the same task in the design phase, by employing objective metrics. The generic applicability of UEF is demonstrated in this paper through a case study comparing UbiComp support in two well-established mobility management protocols, namely Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) and Host Identity Protocol (HIP).