Pervasive authentication domains for automatic pervasive device authorization

Abstract

In a pervasive computing environment, users have many devices that are used to initiate or answer remote service requests, such as obtaining real-time stock quotes, handling corporate e-mail, or accepting telephone calls. We envision that in the future, many applications will be distributed, running across many of a user's specialized pervasive devices rather than on a single system. In this case, a user needs the ability to "log into" the personal pervasive domain which spans each of the pervasive devices representing this user. In addition, the pervasive devices belonging to the user's pervasive domain must be able to represent this user to external services. We solve the problem of managing the authorization for pervasive devices belonging to a user's personal pervasive domain by introducing a central personal authorization gateway that accompanies the user and allows pervasive devices in the user's pervasive domain to be automatically configured and authorized.