Can mobile communication be handled the same way as communication in fixed networks? A discussion of the differences and the dangers of transparency together with a short review of Jochen Schillers book on mobile communication - which I can only recommend. (Ad-hoc networks, mobile IP, wireless access methods, GSM infrastructure etc.)
Trends and new Developments
On new developments in mobile computing
- Free your phone - Iphone, OpenMoko etc, more..
An apple video, a thesis on OpenMoko and some thoughts on openness and smartphones with almost desktop power.
- Standard based integration of mobile devices with production environments
Ralf Tischer's thesis work is now online. He designed an implemented a framework to attach mobile devices to production environments. This means e.g. that one can control a semiconductor production machine remotely through a smartphone etc. - without having to dress and get cleaned up. He used the new cocoon release to create the user interfaces and it was amazing how clean the architecture became using cocoons pipeline mechanism. This is data-driven, document centric behavior at its best!
Untethered: Bluetooth and Symbian everywhere
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Mobile technology is one of the fastest growing areas in computer science and will very likely dominate software development in the future. But the way software is developed in this area is quite different to e.g. PC based product engineering. Students need to learn many different technologies if they want to participate in mobile products. E.g. the group which developed a mobile data acquisition system for DaimlerChrysler e-class vehicles had to learn embedded Java, C, serial communication protocols, bluetooth stacks and profiles, Symbian operating system and development in an embedded control environment.
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An additional problem in mobile development is the heterogenity of devices which need to be supported. This is an interesting challenge for computer scientists and I am currently working on a research proposal to develop a mobile media development environment based on generative technologies, meta-data descriptions etc. This will be conducted together with industry and research partner (which will be members of the steering committee). If your company would like to participate, please send me a note.
Interesting Bluetooth software and hardware
BeeCon GmbH offers a range of very interesting bluetooth based hardware and software products which our students frequently use for their projects. The sidebar shows a couple of those e.g. a bluetooth stack for embedded control, 3-d locators, mp3 transmission via bluetooth and the micro blue target.
The company also offers a manual to the bluetooth stack and hardware which I can only recommend as a very good introduction to Bluetooth, USB and other interfaces. Micro Blue Manual (110 pg.)
Can a group of bikers equipped with smartphones form an ad-hoc network through bluetooth? Some design ideas (including a generic UI box for the steering bar) and a discussion of problems.
Projects
- Highlights from the term projects: bluetooth security hacks and Strutsbox
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Just two of our student projects that turned out to be real fun. Turn off your bluetooth enabled PDA or handy while reading the stuff (;-). Take a look and then browse the list of all projects: e-bay killer, wireless ticket sales, the soundmap of Stuttgart and so on.
Telematik project with Alcatel, DaimlerChrysler and HDM
Blue MP3 module
BlueWand 3-d locator
Bluetooth access point
