Abstract: Improved descriptive query techniques are provided. More particularly, techniques are provided for specifying and processing descriptive queries for data providers grouped into provider kinds with hierarchical containment relationships. The query may include arbitrary boolean combinations of arbitrary tests on the values of attributes of the data providers.

Abstract: Techniques for managing entities identified by presence information in a communications network are provided. A condition expressing one or more predicates over one or more presence attributes in the communications network is received. A dynamic entity is generated, wherein the dynamic entity allows at least one user to subscribe thereto. The dynamic entity comprises at least one entity identified by presence information when it is determined that the at least one entity satisfies the condition. The generated dynamic entity is managed by either or both of: (i) adding to the dynamic entity at least another entity identified by presence information that satisfies the condition; and (ii) removing from the dynamic entity an entity identified by presence information that no longer satisfies the condition.

Abstract: Techniques for deriving a provenance of one or more of a plurality of output data elements generated from a given output port of a PC are provided. At least one dependency function is created that relates the one or more output data elements to a set of one or more input ports of the PC and a corresponding plurality of input data elements. The dependency function comprises an encoding of at least one of one or more temporal filters and one or more sequence filters relating to the plurality of input data elements. The at least one dependency function is stored. A history of stream-level bindings of one or more input streams to one or more input ports of the processing component and one or more output streams from one or more output ports of the processing component is stored. The plurality of input data elements belonging to the one or more input streams and the plurality of output data elements belonging to the one or more output streams are stored.

Abstract: Techniques for selecting a new compression technique or altering the currently instantiated compression technique employed over a data stream in data collection system are provided. At least one change to at least one external contextual condition is detected. One or more modifications to a defined compression technique is generated, either independently or in conjunction with one or more modifications to the event processing operators that operate on the data stream and whose output provides the values that are compressed by the defined compression technique, in response to the at least one change to the at least one external contextual condition. The defined compression technique of the at least one client device is altered in accordance with the one or more modifications to form a modified compression technique through which the unmodified or processed data stream will be compressed before being sent to the server.

Abstract: Improved discovery techniques are provided. For example, in one aspect of the invention, a technique for making providers of a particular kind of data available to an application program includes the following steps/operations. The technique discovers whether one or more data providers are capable of providing the particular kind of data, wherein a discovered data provider is either a connected data provider or a virtual data provider. When a data provider capable of providing the particular kind of data is discovered and the discovered data provider is a virtual data provider, the technique instantiates the virtual data provider. When a data provider capable of providing the particular kind of data is discovered, the technique makes a data-provider handle for the discovered data provider available to the application program, with a common interface.

Abstract: A system and method for providing energy-efficient support of continuous aggregate queries in a sensor network by efficiently orchestrating the collection and transmission of data gathered by a collective set of sensors to ensure conformance to a specified QoI bound. To ensure this, the sink communicates a potentially different value of precision range or interval to each individual sensor, the sensor is adapted to only report its samples back to the sink if the sample values fall outside this specified range. An additional way to specify temporally varying precision ranges to an individual sensor or groups of sensors is provided without having to explicitly communicate the precision bounds for these different time instants. Using temporally varying precision ranges permits the exploitation of temporal correlation among the sample values recorded by an individual sensor to further reduce the need for reports from the sensors.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus of adaptively transmitting data are provided. Data for transmission from one or more incoming data streams is determined in accordance with at least one characteristic of a respective one of the one or more data streams and at least one context external of the data stream. A compression technique for the data and a transmission strategy for the data are modified in accordance with the data determined for transmission.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program for dynamically setting up collaborative associations between a group of users, computing resources, and/or communication devices, where the constituents of the collaborative association are chosen based on a variety of contextual criteria. The dynamic collaboration enabler component determines the explicit identities of the parties that should be a part of the collaboration. The group of individual entities involved in the collaboration can change dynamically during the lifetime of the collaboration, based on appropriate changes in the contextual data. Such contextual data refers to both state variables associated with the collaboration software or infrastructure itself, or to the state of entities external to the collaboration. The duration of the collaborative association is specified either explicitly or through a set of context related conditions.

Abstract: A method for dynamically setting up collaborative associations between a group of users, computing resources, and/or communication devices, where the constituents of the collaborative association are chosen based on a variety of contextual criteria. The dynamic collaboration enabler component determines the explicit identities of the parties that should be a part of the collaboration. The group of individual entities involved in the collaboration can change dynamically during the lifetime of the collaboration, based on appropriate changes in the contextual data. Such contextual data refers to both state variables associated with the collaboration software or infrastructure itself, or to the state of entities external to the collaboration. The duration of the collaborative association is specified either explicitly or through a set of context related conditions.

Abstract: Improved descriptive query techniques are provided. More particularly, techniques are provided for specifying and processing descriptive queries for data providers grouped into provider kinds with hierarchical containment relationships. The query may include arbitrary boolean combinations of arbitrary tests on the values of attributes of the data providers.

Abstract: Techniques for deriving a provenance of one or more of a plurality of output data elements generated from a given output port of a PC are provided. At least one dependency function is created that relates the one or more output data elements to a set of one or more input ports of the PC and a corresponding plurality of input data elements. The dependency function comprises an encoding of at least one of one or more temporal filters and one or more sequence filters relating to the plurality of input data elements. The at least one dependency function is stored. A history of stream-level bindings of one or more input streams to one or more input ports of the processing component and one or more output streams from one or more output ports of the processing component is stored. The plurality of input data elements belonging to the one or more input streams and the plurality of output data elements belonging to the one or more output streams are stored.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for associating contextual data with communication sessions, in particular in technical help desk scenarios. A context logger service running on a central server or on an individual computing device is used to create a log of application specific, often ephemeral, contextual data for a plurality of applications running one or more systems that are in communication with the context logger service across one or more networks. When a communication session between an initiating entity and a receiving entity to request assistance regarding a subject application running on one of the systems is initiated, and if the communication session is deemed to be a candidate for the automatic association of such context data, at least a portion of the application specific contextual data contained in the log is associated with the communication session and delivered to the receiving entity.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for localized adaptation of client devices based on correlation or learning at a remote server. For example, a method for modifying a behavior of a client device in a data collection system, wherein the client device collects data and transmits data to a server, includes the following steps. The client device transmits data to the server. The server uses at least a portion of the data received from the client device to generate information that represents a modification to a behavior of the client device. The server device transmits the generated information to the client device. The client device subsequently alters the behavior of the client device based on the information received from the server.

Abstract: A method for continually controlling the collective behavior of a set of computing devices in a distributed data processing system. A gateway node disseminates a specification request comprising a set of parameters to a set of computing devices. The gateway node may be unaware of the number and identity of individual computing devices. Each computing node receiving the request determines whether its attributes satisfy the predicates expressed in the specification request. If so, the node processes the parameters in the specification request and modifies its own behavior based on the values in the parameters of the specification request. Subsequently, the gateway node may also observe the quality of information (QoI) values communicated from the set of computing devices. The gateway node iteratively modifies the parameters disseminated in subsequent specification requests based on a divergence between a computed quality of information value and a desired quality of information value.

Abstract: A method and system for reliable multicasting on a communication network includes sending Request-to-Send (RTS) signals from a sender node of the network to the receiver nodes, the RTS signals include a set of identifiers corresponding to the receiver nodes. The Clear-to-Send (CTS) signals and Acknowledgment (ACK) signals are sent from the receiver nodes according to an ordering function of the set of identifiers.

Abstract: A method and system for reliable multicasting on a communication network includes sending Request-to-Send (RTS) signals from a sender node of the network to the receiver nodes, the RTS signals include a set of identifiers corresponding to the receiver nodes. The Clear-to-Send (CTS) signals and Acknowledgment (ACK) signals are sent from the receiver nodes according to an ordering function of the set of identifiers.

Abstract: A system and method for providing energy-efficient support of continuous aggregate queries in a sensor network by efficiently orchestrating the collection and transmission of data gathered by a collective set of sensors to ensure conformance to a specified QoI bound. To ensure this, the sink communicates a potentially different value of precision range or interval to each individual sensor, the sensor is adapted to only report its samples back to the sink if the sample values fall outside this specified range. An additional way to specify temporally varying precision ranges to an individual sensor or groups of sensors is provided without having to explicitly communicate the precision bounds for these different time instants. Using temporally varying precision ranges permits the exploitation of temporal correlation among the sample values recorded by an individual sensor to further reduce the need for reports from the sensors.

Abstract: Users and vendors are matched. A request from a mobile wireless device of a user is received that relates to a business service. The request is matched against vendors providing the business service to yield one or more vendors currently locationally near the user and that are currently accepting service calls for the business service. A response is sent to the mobile wireless device of the user, with identities of the vendors that are locationally near the user and that are currently accepting service calls for the business service. The current location of the user may be determined based on the user's mobile wireless device. The current location of each vendor may be determined based on that provider's mobile wireless device. Whether each vendor providing the business service requested is currently accepting service calls is determined based on previously provided information by the provider.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for localized adaptation of client devices based on correlation or learning at a remote server. For example, a method for modifying a behavior of a client device in a data collection system, wherein the client device collects data and transmits data to a server, includes the following steps. The client device transmits data to the server. The server uses at least a portion of the data received from the client device to generate information that represents a modification to a behavior of the client device. The server device transmits the generated information to the client device. The client device subsequently alters the behavior of the client device based on the information received from the server.

Abstract: A system and method for providing energy-efficient support of continuous aggregate queries in a sensor network by efficiently orchestrating the collection and transmission of data gathered by a collective set of sensors to ensure conformance to a specified QoI bound. To ensure this, the sink communicates a potentially different value of precision range or interval to each individual sensor; the sensor is adapted to only report its samples back to the sink if the sample values fall outside this specified range. An additional way to specify temporally varying precision ranges to an individual sensor or groups of sensors is provided without having to explicitly communicate the precision bounds for these different time instants. Using temporally varying precision ranges permits the exploitation of temporal correlation among the sample values recorded by an individual sensor to further reduce the need for reports from the sensors.