Wireless Internet and Location Management Architecture

WILMA DIT-PRJ-02-027

Homepage http://www.wilmaproject.org/
Status NOT active project
DISI role Partner
Project type Research Project
Dimension Trentino
Acquisition date 2002-04-30
Start date 2002-04-30
End date 2005-12-31
SAP code 40100458

Project details

Project astract Sentient computers, that take the current context (e.g. location, time, activity, previous history) into account when interacting with the user, hold significant promises for a seamless use of tomorrow's wireless networks in which mobile computing and Internet connectivity will be provided for professional and recreational activities through PDAs, smart phones, laptops, and other mobile appliances. A world of ubiquitous computing based on calm technology is on the horizon but significant challenges lie ahead to develop protocols and supporting network architectures, to properly use sensors to derive and model the context and user preferences, and to facilitate the final user. The project aims at investigating crucial research issues that arise in the design and management of a sentient computing system to support mobile users through a wireless Internet infrastructure.<br/>We intend to propose methods for building models of the working environment and of the user, and to develop optimal or near-optimal algorithms for allocating resources of the network. The location information will be derived from network-based systems integrated with Geographical Information System (GIS) databases. A priori information, sub-symbolic machine learning (neural networks) and Markov Models will be considered to permit location and context-aware adaptation of services to user requests and history. Appropriate middleware architectures will be designed to support the seamless and efficient management of information distributed to the users. The research will develop demand and Quality of Service models for applications in the areas of interaction between citizens and public services and of computer supported cooperative work, by designing innovative protocols tailored to the applications. <br/>To guarantee practical relevance and dissemination of the research results, the project includes the creation of an research laboratory in Trento formed by several wireless areas interconnected with the ITC and University networking facilities. This "Open Lab" will support different contexts (work environment, research and university, public services) and it will be implemented with the involvement of a local telecommunication company, and in collaboration with the Municipality of Trento.<br/>Expected results are the advancement of the state of the art in the area of sentient computing systems based on wireless Internet, the training of new human resources for research, with the involvement of the Ph.D. program in Information and Communication Technologies at the University of Trento, the dissemination and exploitation of the research also through an experimental wireless infrastructure in Trento available to experiment innovative ideas for personal and public communication services.<br/>
Keywords Wireless Internet, Context and Location-Aware computing, GIS, Ambient Intelligence
Fundings 888951 €
Partners
  • DIT - UniTN
  • ITC-IRST
  • Infostrutture del Trentino S.p.A., Alpikom
  • Infostrutture del Trentino S.p.A.

DISI Sub-project details

Project astract We intend to study solutions for integrating different protocols and wireless access means to support sentient computing. Recent research aims at reducing the complexity of dealing with different systems experienced by the final user. This effort is often termed ubiquitous computing ("the calm technology that recedes into the background of our lives" [Weiser, 1991]), pervasive computing, or sentient computing [Addlesee et al., 2001]. This seamless environment of computing and advanced technology that is aware of human presence and needs is also termed Ambient Intelligence [Ducatel et al., 2001]. Research problems that we intend to study include finding the optimal wireless access means for specific contexts, migrating information between different environments, deriving and using the user location, anticipating user requests based on previous history, and optimally adapting to the user needs without direct user intervention. The specific focus of the research is on the integration of modeling techniques for sentient computing with the recently proposed wireless protocols. In addition we plan to evaluate the results in an "Open Laboratory" composed by several wireless area networks connected through a fixed broadband infrastructure.
Keywords accesso wireless,Context and Location-Aware computing, GIS, Ambient Intelligence
Fundings 495837 €
Manager Roberto Battiti