In general, research on Cooperating Objects is a very complex task that requires expertise in many different areas. Most of the time, researchers concentrate on only one aspect of research and fail to consider the bigger picture. We see the field and especially CONET as a unique opportunity to increase the level of interactions between researchers working on Cooperating Objects from different perspectives. For this reason, Ph.D. students working on Cooperating Objects are encouraged to get involved in interdisciplinary research. We expect this cross-fertilization to increase within the context of CONET and to improve the soundness of research, especially with the interaction with the industry.

The basis for further research topics in this field is given by the Embedded WiSeNts roadmap and will be refined by discussions with the industry, other research communities, etc. This has already lead to the establishment of a series of problems that researchers in the area of Cooperating Objects should tackle, but this will be extended and refined in the next years. The clear interaction with the roadmap and the industry in this regard ensures the applicability of results to real-world scenarios.

Within the context of CONET, we are aiming for speculative research topics (results applicable in 10-15 years, as defined by the roadmap) that require a good understanding of the different areas related to
Cooperating Objects. At the same time, we also aim for industry-relevant research that has to be proven to be applicable in practice.

Given the fact that the Embedded WiSeNts Research Roadmap is already available, there is already a series of research topics that will serve as the basis for the stimulation of collaborative research. More specifically, the gaps that have been identified in the roadmap are the following:

• Hardware: These are gaps that have to do with the development of the devices that physically constitute networks of Cooperating Objects. The gaps that fall into this category are:
  • Sensor Calibration
  • Power Efficiency
  • Energy Harvesting
  • New Sensor and Low-Cost Devices
  • Miniaturization
• Algorithms: These are gaps that deal with functional properties of Cooperating Objects, that is, specific protocols, types of procedures, etc. The gaps that fall into this category are:
  • Localization
  • Context-aware MAC and Routing
  • Clustering Techniques
  • Data Storage and Search
  • Motion Planning
• Non-functional Properties: These are gaps that deal with Quality-of-Service-type characteristics. Properties that do not affect the functionality of the network, but its quality. The gaps that fall into this category are:
  • Multiple Sinks
  • Scalability
  • Quality of Service
  • Robustness
  • Mobility
  • Security
  • Heterogeneity
  • Real-time
• Systems: These are gaps that have to do with the specific architecture or support for the rest of the system. Normally, systems work at the individual Cooperating Object level, but have to provide support for networking. The gaps that fall into this category are:
  • Adaptive Systems
  • Operating Systems
  • Programming Models
  • System Integration