Modular Software Architecture for Connected Devices The Development of a Model for Connecting a Device to the Android Platform

Abstract

The market is offering an increasing number of network connected devices and it is predicted that in the next decade a large number of electronic products will have network connectivity through which they will be monitored and maintained. Meanwhile the smartphone market is growing rapidly and the range of mobile applications provided is numerous. The challenge is to find a suitable modular way to connecting these products to PCs and mobile devices so that it is possible to access their information and to monitor/control them directly through these devices. Therefore the purpose of this research was to develop a software architectural model for connecting such devices, focusing on the modular characteristics of the architecture. An android application, Ship Detector, was developed with a connection to an AIS (Automatic Identification System) antenna that receives AIS signals from vessels and forwards them to the android application to be displayed to the mobile user. The study resulted in a model that could be used as a concept for developing similar applications. This model was demonstrated in a working prototype (Ship Detector) and presented with five diagram representations of the different perspectives of the application. Various challenges were encountered which are discussed further in the report.