Showing papers on "Mobile technology published in 2001"

Dealing with mobility: understanding access anytime, anywhere

Abstract: The rapid and accelerating move towards use of mobile technologies has increasingly provided people and organizations with the ability to work away from the office and on the move. The new ways of working afforded by these technologies are often characterized in terms of access to information and people anytime, anywhere. This article presents a study of mobile workers that highlights different facets of access to remote people and information, and different facets of anytime, anywhere. Four key factors in mobile work are identified: the role of planning, working in "dead time," accessing remote technological and informational resources, and monitoring the activities of remote colleagues. By reflecting on these issues, we can better understand the role of technology and artifacts in mobile work and identify the opportunities for the development of appropriate technological solutions to support mobile workers.

Wireless World: Social and Interactional Aspects of the Mobile Age

Abstract: Mobile phones are the most successful computer-based consumer product of the age yet very little is known about how mobile technology is changing the way people interact and cooperate with each other, and how this change can be analysed.

Method and system for a wireless universal mobile product interface

Abstract: The present invention provides a solution to the needs described above through a system and method for a wireless universal mobile product interface (WUMPI): Generally, products/objects have their own interface, or man-machine-interface (MMI). Technically, the wireless universal mobile product interface of the present invention (WUMPI) innovates this space by replacing the product's MMI by implementing reverse software control via wireless transmission channel and or Bluetooth wireless technologies to control the mobile device's screen - replacing the local software component on the mobile device which controls what is shown on the screen in terms of a man-machine-interface (MMI). This enables a product/object whithin the area of the mobile device to take over control via the wireless transmission channel or other wireless capability of the mobile device and to 'extend' the product interface to the mobile device that came withinn it's control range, or the product/object's personal area network (PAN).

System and method for providing wireless device access to e-mail applications

Abstract: A system and method for enabling users to send and receive messages and other information from mobile devices and enabling users to access server-based information using mobile devices over wireless data networks are disclosed. The system and method provide wireless device access where users may have access to an electronic mail application from the user's mobile device, such as a mobile phone, interactive pager, PDA or other wireless device, via a wireless service provider. The e-mail application may enable users to view messages in various presentation views. Sorting functions and access to address books may be available. Other functionality may include compose, fax, forward, reply, keep private and other functions.

Discovery and Integration of Mobile Communications in Everyday Life

Abstract: We report on the results of a study in which 19 new mobile telephone users were closely tracked for the first six weeks after service acquisition. Results show that novices tend to rapidly modify their perceptions of social appropriateness around mobile phone use, that actual nature of use frequently differs from initial predictions, and that comprehension of service-based technologies can be problematic. We also describe instances and features of mobile telephony practice. When in use, mobile phones occupy multiple social spaces simultaneously, spaces with norms that sometimes conflict: the physical space of the mobile phone user and the virtual space of the conversation.

Mobile agent middleware for mobile computing

Abstract: Mobile computing requires an advanced infrastructure that integrates suitable support protocols, mechanisms, and tools. This mobility middleware should dynamically reallocate and trace mobile users and terminals and permit communication and coordination of mobile entities. In addition, open and untrusted environments must overcome system heterogeneity and grant the appropriate security level. Solutions to these issues require compliance with standards to interoperate with different systems and legacy components and a reliable security infrastructure based on standard cryptographic mechanisms and tools. Many proposals suggest using mobile agent technology middleware to address these issues. A mobile agent moves entities in execution together with code and achieved state, making it possible to upgrade distributed computing environments without suspending service. We propose three mobile computing services: user virtual environment (UVE), mobile virtual terminal (MVT), and virtual resource management (VRM). UVE provides users with a uniform view of their working environments independent of current locations and specific terminals. MVT extends traditional terminal mobility by preserving the terminal execution state for restoration at new locations, including active processes and subscribed services. VRM permits mobile users and terminals to maintain access to resources and services by automatically requalifying the bindings and moving specific resources or services to permit load balancing and replication.

Expanding the 'mobility' concept

Abstract: During the last two decades of the twentieth century we have seen various transformations in our society as a whole. In particular, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have played a critical role in this transformation process. Because of their pervasiveness and our intensive use of them, ICTs have changed our ways of living in virtually all realms of our social lives. ICT is of course not the sole factor of this transformation; various "old" technologies have also played a significant part. Modern transportation technologies, for example, have become dramatically sophisticated in terms of effectiveness and usefulness since the early twentieth century. The train and airline infrastructures are highly integrated with ICTs such as electronic reservation systems and traffic control systems. It is therefore important to recognize that the fundamental nature of technological revolution in the late twentieth century is the dynamic and complex interplay between old and new technologies and between the reconfiguration of the technological fabric and its domestication [6, 27, 32, 40].This paper concerns the concept of mobility, which manifests such a transformation of our social lives combining new and old technologies. It is now widely argued that our life styles have become increasingly mobile in the sense that the speed of transportation and hence geographical reach within a given time span is dramatically augmented by modern technological developments and sophistication such as train and airplane systems. However, in spite of the upsurge of concern with mobility in our social lives, current research perspectives define the notion of mobility quite narrowly, exclusively in terms of humans' independency from geographical constraints. For example, Makimoto and Manners [28] argue that within the next decade or so, a large part of the facilities and tools at home and in the office will be reduced enough in size to be carried, making people "geographically independent" (p. 2) and that people who use such mobile technologies, it is claimed, will be "free to live where they want and travel as much as they want" (p. 6). Their arguments for the significance of mobility, or nomadicity, are clearly confined to the corporeal characteristic of human movement freed from geographical constraints thanks to mobile computing technologies and services such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Likewise, most of research on mobility in the Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) field has been showing the same tendency [e.g. 5, 11].Considering such a confined situation of the debates on mobility looking only at human geographical movement, we reconsider in this paper the notion of mobility and try to expand our perspective towards it. To do so, we argue that "being mobile" is not just a matter of people traveling but, far more importantly, related to the interaction they perform --- the way in which they interact with each other in their social lives. New configurations of social-technical relationships resulting from the diffusion of ICTs afford various dimensions of mobility to humans' interactivity with others in their social lives. We here suggest expanding the concept of mobility by looking at three distinct dimensions of human interaction; namely, spatial, temporal and contextual mobility. These three dimensions of human interaction have been dramatically mobilized by intensive use of ICTs, especially mobile technologies, in our social lives in general and work environments in particular. In the following, we will discuss each of these three dimensions in detail and implications for future debates on mobility will be drawn.

Dual platform location-relevant service

Abstract: A location-relevant service system provides location-relevant information to, or performs location-relevant service for, a first mobile unit based on the location of a second mobile unit. In one instance, the first mobile unit is fixed on a vehicle, while the second mobile unit can be provided as a cellular phone. In another instance, the first mobile unit is provided with a display panel, so that authentication can be achieved through providing the displayed location information to a location-relevant service server using the second mobile unit.

Wireless Past and Future--Evolving Mobile Communications Systems--

Abstract: SUMMARY Nowadays, when people colloquially use the word “wireless,” they almost always mean a portable telephone. Over the last 10 years, there has been tremendous growth in the mobile communications markets not only in Japan but also worldwide. For these 10 years, the most popular service has been dominated by voice communication. However, modern mobile communications systems are shifting their focus from solely voice communication to electronic mailing and Internet access. From now, we will evolve into a wireless multimedia society, where a combination of mobile communications and the Internet will play an important role. Wireless technology is the core of mobile communications systems. This article, which focuses on wireless technology, looks at how mobile communications systems have evolved over the last 10 years and looks to the future of advanced wireless technologies that will be necessary to realize a true wireless multimedia society in the coming decade.

A framework for the emerging mobile commerce applications

Abstract: We envision many new e-commerce applications will be possible and significantly benefit from emerging wireless and mobile networks. These applications can collectively be termed wireless e-commerce or mobile commerce. To allow designers, developers, and researchers to strategize and effectively implement mobile commerce applications, we propose a 4-level integrated framework for mobile commerce. Since there are potentially an unlimited number of mobile commerce applications we only identify a few important classes of applications such as mobile financial applications, mobile advertising, mobile inventory management, proactive service management, product location and search, and wireless re-engineering. We also address the networking requirements of these applications and discuss how these requirements can be supported by existing and emerging wireless networks. It is our hope that this work will become the framework for further research in mobile commerce.

Updating malware definition data for mobile data processing devices

Abstract: The malware definition data of mobile data processing devices is updated via a data channel associated with a wireless telephony link to that mobile data processing device. The data channel may be the same channel wed for SMS messaging and the transfer of control information. The mobile data processing device is typically a mobile telephone. The update data may be digitally signed to increase security.

Publish/Subscribe in a mobile enviroment

Abstract: A publish/subscribe system dynamically routes and delivers events from sources to interested users, and is an extremely useful communication service when it is not clear in advance who needs what information. In this paper we discuss how a publish/subscribe system can be extended to operate in a mobile environment, where events can be generated by moving sensors or users, and subscribers can request delivery at handheld and/or mobile devices. We describe how the publish/subscribe system itself can be distributed across multiple (possibly mobile) computers to distribute load, and how the system can be replicated to cope with failures, message loss, and disconnections.

Supporting disconnectedness - transparent information delivery for mobile and invisible computing

Abstract: As computing devices become ubiquitous and increasingly mobile, it is becoming apparent that the directed peer-to-peer communication model has shortcomings for many forms of distributed interprocess communication. Undirected communication, including content-based messaging, is becoming increasingly common. The paper examines the issues involved in supporting content based messaging to both mobile devices and users using a combination of connected and mobile (possibly disconnected) devices. These issues include persistence, multi-client shared subscriptions, non-destructive notification receipt, and notification expiry. The discussion is placed in the context of the development of a proxy-server to provide disconnectedness support for the Elvin content-based messaging service.

LEAP: A FIPA Platform for Handheld and Mobile Devices

Abstract: The ever-increasing importance of the market of portable devices is promoting the migration of technologies originally developed for the fixed network to the mobile network. This paper describes the general aim and the current results of a European-scale project intended to provide the enabling technology for deploying multi-agent systems across fixed and mobile networks. The LEAP project achieves its goal realising a FIPA platform that can be deployed seamlessly on any Java-enabled device with sufficient resources and with a wired or wireless connection. Such a platform is implemented as a new kernel for JADE to ease the migration of legacy agents to the mobile network and it exploits a modular design to scale its functionality with the capabilities of the device.

Wireless mobile communications at the start of the 21st century

Abstract: At the start of the 21st century, the wireless mobile markets are witnessing unprecedented growth fueled by an information explosion and a technology revolution. In the radio frequency arena, the trend is to move from narrowband to wideband with a family of standards tailored to a variety of application needs. Many enabling technologies including wideband code-division multiple access, software-defined radio, intelligent antennas, and digital processing devices are greatly improving the spectral efficiency of third-generation systems. In the mobile network area, the trend is to move from traditional circuit-switched systems to packet-switched programmable networks that integrate both voice and packet services, and eventually evolve toward an all-IP network. Furthermore, accompanied by wireless mobile location technology, wireless mobile Internet is expected to revolutionize the services that can be provided to consumers in the right place and at the right time. Wireless mobile communications may not only complement the well established wireline network; it may also become a serious competitor in years to come. We review the history of the wireless mobile communications, examine the current progress in standards and technologies, and discuss possible trends for wireless mobile solutions.

Mobile information systems

Abstract: This essay aims to analyze what significance mobility and mobile information systems have in respect to three aspects: work, communities and the individual. The aspect of work is discussed in two context: mobile action that information technology supports and mobile working in organizations. Working environment where the intensity of mobility is high sets special requirements to the technology. For example, mobile field or service work has characteristics not present in office work. The technology supporting mobile action can't be designed with the same principles than stationary technology. Need for new interaction styles and contextaware applications are a challenge to information systems development. Challenges are encountered also in organizations, as mobile technologies enables new ways of working. Mobility supports co-operation of members of organizations, helping to build up professional and social communities. Mobile workers may be categorized to consultants, inspectors and managers, and their tasks typically involve contacting colleagues, participating meetings, managing documents and retrieving information. Mobile telematics has impact on society in municipal and state level. It also enables free-form mobile communities to born and act. By connecting people, mobile telematics may enhance democracy, but problems arise also. Possibilities lay in mobile teleservices that could be provided to citizens by society. New technologies may accompany a change in humanity. No real answer exists to the question how the work and community aspects of mobile computing will influence on the individual's life. Mobile technologies have already affected the ways we socialize, but that is not all about the relationship between people and technology.

Features in future: 4G visions from a technical perspective

Abstract: Mobile communication is continuing to be one of the hottest areas developing at a booming speed, with advanced techniques emerging in all the fields of mobile and wireless communications. Currently, 3G mobile communication systems are just beginning to be deployed, while research on the next generation of mobile communications, 4G wireless and mobile networks, begin to pave the way for the future. This paper studies the visions of 4G from a technical perspective. After a brief review on the development history and status of mobile communications and related 4G perspectives, we present an overall 4G feature framework based on the kernel concept of integration, in which two key features (diversity and adaptability) of the three targets (terminals, networks and applications) are described in detail. The concepts of both external and internal diversity of each target are defined to illustrate the causes and solutions of the adaptability feature. Then, along the entire 4G domain, each feature in the framework is deeply discussed from a technical standpoint, in which promising techniques and possible research issues for sufficient support of adaptability are also proposed. Finally, a short summary on 4G visions is presented as a continuum of features in the development of the mobile communications world.

Managing One’s Availability to Telephone Communication Through Mobile Phones: A French Case Study of the Development Dynamics of Mobile Phone Use

Abstract: This paper provides empirical results concerning the negotiation of access and joinability by mobile phone users. It shows how access is embedded in a gift-giving economy (giving one’s number for example). It also shows that the more users make themselves available on the mobile phone, the more their mobile phone traffic increases (both incoming and outgoing). This remarkable result is discussed in terms of the reciprocity involved in the management of mobile phone relationships.

Configuring the Mobile User: Sociological and Industry Views

Abstract: This article considers the role of the consumer in the diffusion of mobile telecommunications technologies. There is presently little research on the consumption and use of mobile technologies, and the aim of the present paper is to facilitate discussion about the way consumer behaviour is currently understood in industry and academia. The paper considers key themes in social science research on mobile ICTs, and understandings of the consumer held by those in the mobile industry. Bringing these understandings together, we reiterate the now well attested view that the diffusion and consumption of mobile telephony and computing cannot be understood without investigating the contexts and processes of their use in everyday life.

Who's watching whom? Monitoring and accountability in mobile relations

Abstract: This chapter offers some tentative thoughts on an issue that has recently become a subject of public debate — the capability of mobile technologies, especially emerging location-based services, to act as technologies of “surveillance”. I take as my starting point two instances of social relations, one drawn from what might be termed “popular culture”, the other drawn from observational research.1

System and method for providing access to mobile devices based on positional data

Abstract: The present invention is embodied in a system and method for providing access to mobile devices based on positional data. Namely, an authentication system of the present invention controls and authenticates access rights to the mobile devices. In general, the present invention includes a mobile electronic device and a wireless positioning system, such as a global positioning satellite (GPS). The electronic mobile device can be any suitable portable electronic device, such as a wireless telephone, personal data assistant, portable notebook computer or the like. The electronic mobile device includes a positioning receiver and an authentication module. During start-up or operation of the mobile electronic device, the positioning receiver of the mobile electronic device first receives information relative to a position from the wireless positional system and then the authentication module determines whether access should be granted or requires a special password for access based on the location of the electronic device, based on predefined parameters.

Exploring the vision of “Anytime, Anywhere” in the context of mobile work

Abstract: Copyright © 2001, Idea Group Publishing. This chapter explores the vision of “anytime, anywhere” in the context of mobile work. The exploration is done empirically. Using qualitative research methods, we studied to what extent the work tasks they do are dependent on time and place. We analyzed the data using a 2x2 matrix, with the two axis “time” and “space,” which both have the categories “dependent” and “independent.” One of the four situations is “anytime, any where,” while the other three are dependent on time, place, or booth. We found instances of work in all four categories. Some traveling seems very difficult to escape, simply because there are places that staff need to visit physically to do their job. For example, to repair a telephone pole you need to go there. We also found there are time frames that staff cannot escape. For example, rebooting parts of the telephone network has to be done at night. Lastly, there are work tasks that seem pretty much independent of time and space, e.g., scheduling and rescheduling of activities. Accordingly, the vision of “anytime, anywhere” is not easy to realize in the case of the mobile workers we studied.

The Mobile Phone: An Identity on the Move

Abstract: This paper analyses the shifting identity of the mobile phone in the light of research carried out in 1996 on a representative population sample from five major European countries: Italy, UK, France, Germany and Spain. A total of 6609 people were interviewed by means of a telephone survey. The mobile phone emerged as a charismatic technology compared to other mobile technologies (laptop and car phone) and as a leading technology that, in just a few years, has appropriated 11p of total telephone traffic. It has “dragged” its widespread presence and amount of use from the workplace to the domestic sphere, although in Italy, where it has had greatest success, its widespread use has been detached from its use in the workplace. Another emerging result is that the use of the mobile phone is not correlated to strong residential mobility in individuals.

Replication requirements in mobile environments

Abstract: Replication is extremely important in mobile environments because nomadic users require local copies of important data. However, today's replication systems are not "mobile-ready". Instead of improving the mobile user's environment, the replication system actually hinders mobility and complicates mobile operation. Designed for stationary environments, the replication services do not and cannot provide mobile users with the capabilities they require. Replication in mobile environments requires fundamentally different solutions than those previously proposed, because nomadicity presents a fundamentally new and different computing paradigm. Here we outline the requirements that mobility places on the replication service, and briefly describe ROAM, a system designed to meet those requirements.

Streaming technology in 3G mobile communication systems

Abstract: Third-generation (3G) mobile communication systems combine standardized streaming with a range of unique services to provide high-quality Internet content that meets the specific needs of the rapidly growing mobile market.

Exploiting location information for infostation-based hoarding

Abstract: With the increasing popularity of mobile computing devices, the need to access information in mobile environments has grown rapidly. Since the information has to be accessed over wireless networks, mobile information systems often have to deal with problems like low bandwidth, high delay, and frequent disconnections. Information hoarding is a method that tries to overcome these problems by transferring information, which the user will probably need, in advance. The hoarding mechanism that we describe in this paper exploits the location dependence of the information access, which is often found in mobile information systems. Our simulation results show that it is beneficial to do so and that we achieve higher hit ratios than with a caching mechanism.

Negotiating Use: Making Sense of Mobile Technology

Abstract: This paper is based on a study of the ways in which a group negotiated the use of a new mobile technology. The group was made up of ski instructors who, during a one-week ski trip, were equipped with a mobile awareness device called the Hummingbird. The group was studied using ethnomethodologically inspired qualitative methods, with the focus on the group members’ different views of the Hummingbird’s intended use. Negotiations of use occurred using two methods: talk and action. The users negotiated issues such as where and when to use the technology, and whether to consider the Hummingbird a work tool or a gadget for social events. Further, the empirical results clearly show how negotiations of new, mobile technology differ from stationary technology.

A Web-based peer-to-peer architecture for collaborative nomadic working

Abstract: With the recent advances in mobile computing, distributed organizations are facing a growing need for advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) that support mobile working. The ability to use information effectively anywhere and anytime has become a key business success factor. Although many computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) systems have been introduced to date, technologies and architectures that support the collaboration of nomadic workers on a wide range of mobile devices, notebooks and personal computers is still a challenge. The MObile Teamwork Infrastructure for Organizations Networking (MOTION) project is aiming to design a highly flexible, open and scalable ICT architecture for mobile collaboration. We present the mobile collaboration requirements of two MOTION industry case studies, and highlight the advantages of a Web-based peer-to-peer architecture for nomadic working.

Centaurus: a framework for intelligent services in a mobile environment

Abstract: In an age where wirelessly networked appliances and devices are becoming commonplace, there is a necessity for connecting them to work together for a mobile user. The design outlined in the paper provides an infrastructure and communication protocol for providing 'smart' services to these mobile devices. This flexible framework allows any medium to be used for communication between the system and the portable device, including infra-red, and BlueTooth. Using Extensible Markup Language (XML) for information passing, gives the system a uniform and easily adaptable interface. We explain our trade-offs in implementation and through experiments we show that the design is feasible and that it indeed provides a flexible structure for providing services. Centaurus provides a uniform infrastructure for heterogeneous services, both hardware and software services, to be made available to the users everywhere where they are needed.