Model-Driven Approach for Body Area Network Application Development

• Main Authors: Algimantas Venčkauskas, Vytautas Štuikys, Nerijus Jusas, Renata Burbaitė
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-05-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: Internet of Things; security and privacy; body area network; WNS; quality-of-service; BAN software design; model-driven approach
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/5/670

This paper introduces the sensor-networked IoT model as a prototype to support the design of Body Area Network (BAN) applications for healthcare. Using the model, we analyze the synergistic effect of the functional requirements (data collection from the human body and transferring it to the top level) and non-functional requirements (trade-offs between energy-security-environmental factors, treated as Quality-of-Service (QoS)). We use feature models to represent the requirements at the earliest stage for the analysis and describe a model-driven methodology to design the possible BAN applications. Firstly, we specify the requirements as the problem domain (PD) variability model for the BAN applications. Next, we introduce the generative technology (meta-programming as the solution domain (SD)) and the mapping procedure to map the PD feature-based variability model onto the SD feature model. Finally, we create an executable meta-specification that represents the BAN functionality to describe the variability of the problem domain though transformations. The meta-specification (along with the meta-language processor) is a software generator for multiple BAN-oriented applications. We validate the methodology with experiments and a case study to generate a family of programs for the BAN sensor controllers. This enables to obtain the adequate measure of QoS efficiently through the interactive adjustment of the meta-parameter values and re-generation process for the concrete BAN application.