For our research we developed a number of different tools and methods:

• The helferlein-system is a middleware specifically tailored to build dynamic heterogeneous ensembles - designed for easy prototyping and usage in research and teaching. The helferlein system is not a single monolithic stand-alone application or middleware, but rather a set of complementary components covering different important aspects of a middleware for ubiquitous computing systems. The underlying idea is that of a distributed set of objects, deployed into some network. The helferlein system provides means to interact with those object using different channels. Therefore, it could be called multi-paradigm middleware. It features, a distributed look-up service, a publish-subscribe system, a tuple-space and several channels to interact with published objects (e.g., via raw socket, telnet and http).