1. A system, comprising: a hardware platform, wherein the hardware platform is adapted to be communicably connected to an active object, wherein the active object is selected from the group consisting of a device comprising a sensor, a device comprising an actuator, and a device comprising both a sensor and an actuator; a middleware module, wherein at least a portion of the middleware module resides in and/or is executed on the hardware platform; and at least one software service generated by the middleware module, wherein each of the at least one software service represents the active object.