Contents

S.No. Name Of Topic Page No.

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. MOBILE COMPUTING FRAMEWORK 3

3. DREAMS BEHIND MOBILE COMPUTING 4

4. UBIQUITOES COMPUTING 6

5. UC TECHNOLOGIES 6

6. RADIO TRANSMISSION TECHNIQUES 7

7. Ad Hoc NETWORKS 8

8. RESEARCH CHALLENGES 18

9. DEFINATION OF TERMS 21

10. ACCESS METHODS 24

11. TECHNICAL & OTHER LIMITATION OF MOBILE COMPUTING 34

12. FIVE TRENDS IN MOBILE COMPUTING 36

13. ADVANTAGES OF MOBILE COMPUTING 37

14. TODAYS BEST MOBILE WIRELESS NETWORK 38

15. ACHIEVING BENEFIT OF MOBILE COMPUTING 39

16. NEW TECHNOLOGIES 40

17. CONCLUSION 42

18. REFERENCES 43

INTRODUCTION

Mobile computing means different things to different people.Ubiquitous, wireless and

remote computing.Wireless and mobile computing are not synonymous.Wireless is a

transmission or information transport method that enables mobile computing.

Mobile computing has fast become an important new paradigm in today's world of

networked computing systems. Ranging from wireless laptops to cellular phones and

WiFi/Bluetooth-enabled PDAs to wireless sensor networks, mobile computing has become

ubiquitous in its impact on our daily lives. The debut if iPhones and the proliferation of other

handheld devices has spurred excitement and interest in this evolving field. In this seminar,

we will study the state-of-the-art in both the research and commercial communities with

respect to mobile computing. We will investigate standard protocols and platforms, the

capabilities of today's commercial devices, and proposed next-generation solutions. In the

process, we will seek to gain an improved understanding about where the field is headed,

and what are the important remaining unanswered technical questions and challenges.

Mobile computing is a new style of computer access emerging at the intersection of the two

currently dominant trends: producing portable computers in computer industry and wireless

communications in telecommunication industry. This paper discusses some key issues

involved in realizing a mobile wireless computing environment by examining the

characteristics required of each main component: mobile computer, wireless

communications network, and coordination software.

Mobile computing is becoming increasingly important due to the rise in the number of

portable computers and the desire to have continuous network connectivity to the Internet

irrespective of the physical location of the node. Mobile IP, the more popular global mobility

solution, was designed to support mobility of a single host. Even though the same protocol

can be applied in the case of network mobility, providing connectivity to mobile networks

introduces many issues related to the scalability, security and QoS. Instead, a mobile

network can be cited as a remote site, trying to establish secured communication with the

home network. This view of mobile

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network solves many issues related to QoS, security and scalability. The objective of this

paper is to explore the possibility of using different VPN techniques to provide connectivity

for mobile networks and measure the corresponding end-to-end performance of real time

traffic and best effort traffic patterns.

Mobile Computing is an umbrella term used to describe technologies that enable people to

access network services anyplace, anytime, and anywhere. Ubiquitous computing and

computing are synonymous with mobile computing. Information access via a mobile device

is

plagued by low available bandwidth, poor connection maintenance, poor security, and

addressing problems. Unlike their wired counterparts, design of software for mobile devices

must consider resource limitation, battery power and display size. Consequently, new

hardware and software techniques must be developed. For example, applications need to

be highly optimized for space, in order to fit in the limited memory on the mobile devices.

For Internet enabled devices, the good old TCP/IP stack cannot be used; it takes too much

space and is not optimized for minimal power consumption. Given the plethora of cellular

technologies that have emerged in such a market, it becomes extremely difficult to provide

support for inter-device communication.

A new hardware technology solution, Bluetooth, has been proposed to overcome this

barrier. Any device with a Bluetooth chip will be able to communicate seamlessly with any

other device having a similar chip irrespective of the communication technologies they

might be using. For the sake of explanation, an analogy can be drawn between the Java

Virtual Machine and Blue tooth.

In the recent past, cellular phone companies have shown an interesting growth pattern. The

number of customers has been steadily increasing but the average airtime per user has

slowed to a constant. To increase the user average connect time, many cellular providers

have started providing data services on their networks which entices the user to use the

mobile device for both voice and data communication. Typical data services include chat, e-

mail, Internet browsing. An example of this type of service is SMS (Short Message Service).

It is a data service in a GSM cellular network that allows the users to send a maximum of

160-character message at a time (similar to paging). Inherently, this service is not feasible

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browsing, checking e-mail or chatting. GSM networks provide another service called GPRS

(General Packet Radio Service) that allows information to be sent and received across the

cellular network.

There has also been a recent effort defining common standards for providing data services

on hand-held devices. WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and KVM (Kilobyte Virtual

Machine) deserve a mention here. WAP is a protocol suite that comprises of protocols

tailored for small devices. WAP has been developed by the WAP Forum and runs over an

underlying bearer protocol like IP or SMS. In the WAP model, a service provider operates a

WAP gateway to convert Internet content to a miniaturized subset of HTML that is displayed

by a mini-browser on the mobile device. Companies like Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola have

already developed WAP enabled phones. As of now, these phones are available and

functional mostly in Europe.

MOBILE COMPUTING FRAMEWORK:

Mobile computing is expanding in four dimensions

(a)Wireless delivery technology and switching methods:Radio- based systems

Cellular communications

Wireless packet data networks

Satellite networks

Infrared or light based mobile computing

(b)Mobile information access device: Portable Computers

PDA

Palmtops

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(c) Mobile data internetworking standards and equipments: CDMA

IrDA

(d) Mobile computing based business application:

DREAMS BEHIND MOBILE COMPUTING

Location based services: Elements of location based services:

Geocoding:This is a task of processing textual address to add a positional co-

ordinate to each address. These co-ordinate are then indexed to

enable the address to be searched geographically in ways such as

“find me my nearest”.

Latitude: The first component of a spherical cell based system used to record

positions on the earth‘s surface. Latitude which gives the location of a

place north or south of the equator, is expressed by angular

measurement ranging from 0 at the equater to 90 at the pole.

Longitude:Longitude, the location of a place east or west of a north south line

called the prime meridian, is measured in angles ranging from 0 at the

prime meridian to 180 at the international date line . the international

date line passes through Landon ’s Greenwich observatory, uk.

Map content :This is very important element of LBS.

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Proximity searching:This is very important element of LBS.

Routing and driving directions: It is a interaction between the users location and a planned destination.

Routes can be calculated and displayed on the map and driving

directions can be provided according to shortest distance or the fastest

route.

Rendering: This is a production of maps for display onto the screen of the device.

Rendering images are typically personalized according to the specific

LBS request.

GPS in LBS worldThe global positioning system is a network is a network of 24 Navistar

satellites orbiting earth at 11000 miles. DOD has established it at the cost of

about US $ 13 billion, access to GPS to all users including those in other

countries. GPS provides specially coded satellite signals that can be

processed by GPS receiver. Basically GPS works by using four GPS satellite

signals to compute positions in three dimensions In the receiver clock.

Operation control system has the responsibility for maintaining the satellite and

its proper positions.

How GPS finds where you are:Complex error correction used by satellite to determine the accurate speeds.

Here are some techniques to make improvements in LBS system.

o Time of arrival:Here the differences in the time of arrival of the signal from the mobile to more

than one base station are used to calculate the location of the device.

o Angle of arrival: AOA is a system that calculates the angle at which a signal arrives at two base

stations from the handset, using triangulation to find location.

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UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING

Firstly introduction of pervasive computing is necessary

Pervasive computing: this implies that computer has the capability to obtain information

from the environment in what it is embedded and utilized to dynamically build model of

computing.

Input interface of pervasive computing utilizes “Multimodal “interface and that means

developing systems that can recognize voice and gestures.

WHAT IS UBIQUITOUS TECHNOLOGY?

Ubiquitous computing is intangible-physically, figuratively, literally, living and working

environments embedded with computing devices in a seamless, invisible way.

True ubiquitous computing involves devices embedded transparently in our physical and

social movements, integrating both mobile and pervasive computing.

Ubiquitous computing represents a situation in which computers will be embedded in our

natural movements and interactions with our environments both physical and social. UC will

help to organize and mediate social interactions wherever and whenever these situations

might occur.

UC TECHNOLOGIES

UC represents amalgamation of quite a number of existing and future technologies like

“mobile computing, pervasive computing, wearable computing, embedded computing

location, context-aware computing technologies” fulfill the dreams of bringing UC into

reality.

Software Infrastructure and Design Challenges for UC Applications

Ubiquitous computing applications will be embedded in the user’s physical environments

and integrate seamlessly with their everyday tasks.

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Task dynamism: UC applications, by virtue by virtue of being available everywhere at all times, will

have to adapt to the dynamism of user’s environment and the resulting

uncertainties .in these environments; user may serendipitously change their goals

or adapt their actions to a changing environment.

Device Heterogeneity and Resource Constraints : The omnipresence of UC applications is typically achieved by either making the

technological artifacts (devices) move with the user or having the applications

move between devices tracking the user. In both cases, applications have to

adapt to changing technological capabilities in their environment.

Computing in a Social environment :Another major characteristic of UC technology is that it has a significant impact on

the social environments in which it is used. An introduction of a UC environment

implies the introduction of sensors, which irrevocably have an impact on social

structure.

Radio Transmission Techniques

We first have a look at techniques for transmitting information reliably over radio waves in

the GHz spectrum.

Three techniques in radio transmission are presented:

1. Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum

2. Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

3. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)In Frequency Hopping, the transmission band is divided into different frequency channels

and a logical channel. i.e. A channel on which two or more devices communicate hops

periodically from one frequency channel to another with a pseudo random hopping

sequence.

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Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)Also in Direct Sequence, the frequency band is divided into fewer but larger channels but

no hopping is used. To compensate for noise on a channel, a technique called chipping is

implemented, each bit is converted into a redundant bit pattern called chip sequence,

whereby an n-chip code spreads the signal by a factor of n. If some interference destroys

part of the chip sequence, the original bit may still be recovered from the remaining chips.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)The general idea of OFDM is to split a high rate data stream into lower rate streams which

are transmitted simultaneously over a number of subcarriers. These subcarriers are

orthogonal to each other in the sense that when listening to one subcarrier, the others don’t

interfere, hence the name Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. By using this

technique_ multipath delay spread and inter-symbol interference are considerably

decreased because only low bit rate streams are employed.

INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKS

In this section, two wireless network standards are presented: IEEE 802.11 and ETSI

HiperLAN/2. They are usually intended for use as Wireless LANs (WLAN). Table

summarises the characteristics of these two standards.

In DSSS, the channels are 22MHz wide, but spaced 5MHz and therefore they overlap. Two

overlapping channels used in one place interfere with each other, decreasing each other’s

data rate. Only 3 non-overlapping channels are available in one place.

Ad hoc NETWORKS

Ad hoc networks have no infrastructure. E.g. no access points (AP). We consider the case

of small devices with low transmit power and typically short range. Also the network is

highly dynamic i.e. devices can come and go at any time and Hyperlink provide Ad hoc

modes where

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devices can communicate without an AP. However, these standards are not intended for

very small devices_ such as PDAs and headphones. Instead, Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11

are specifically designed for small devices.

Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANET) has become an exciting and important technology in

recent years because of the rapid proliferation of wireless devices. A mobile adhoc network

consists of mobile nodes that can move freely in an open environment. Communicating

nodes in a Mobile Adhoc Network usually seek the help of other intermediate nodes to

establish communication channels. In such an environment, malicious intermediate nodes

can be a threat to the security of conversation between mobile nodes. The security

experience from the Wired Network world is of little use in Wireless Mobile Ad hoc

networks, due to some basic differences between the two Networks. Therefore, some novel

solutions are required to make Mobile Adhoc Network secure.

A Mobile Adhoc Network is a group of wireless mobile computers in which nodes cooperate

by forwarding packets for each other to allow them to communicate beyond direct wireless

transmission range. Application such as military excercises, disaster relief, and mine site

operation may bene_t from adhoc networking, but secure and reliable communication is a

necessary prerequisite for such applications. MANETS are more vulnerable to attacks than

wired networks due to open medium, dynamically changing network topology, cooperative

algorithms, lack of centralized monitoring and lack of clear line of defense. Security is a

process that is as secure as its weakest link. So, in order to make MANETs secure, all its

weak points are to be identi_ed and solutions to make all those weak points safe, are to be

considered. Some of the weak points and solutions to strengthen them are considered in

this article. However the list is possibly incomplete, and some more weak points of

MANETs are likely to be discovered in near future. So Security issues in MANETs will

remain a potential research area in near future.

Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET) is a collection of independent mobile nodes that can

communicate to each other via radio waves. The mobile nodes that are in radio range of

each other can directly communicate, whereas others needs the aid of intermediate nodes

to route their packets. These networks are fully distributed, and can work at any place

without the help

of any infrastructure. This property makes these networks highly edibles and robust.

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The characteristics of these networks are summarized as follows: Communication via wireless means.

Nodes can perform the roles of both hosts and routers.

No centralized controller and infrastructure.

Intrinsic mutual trust.

Dynamic network topology.

Frequent routing updates.

Advantages and Applications:

The following are the advantages of MANETs:

They provide access to information and services regardless of geographic position.

These networks can be set up at any place and time.

Some of the applications of MANETs are

Military or police exercises.

Disaster relief operations.

Mine cite operations.

Urgent Business meetings.

DisadvantagesSome of the disadvantages of MANETs are:

Limited resources.

Limited physical security.

Intrinsic mutual trust vulnerable to attacks.

Lack of authorization facilities.

Volatile network topology makes it hard to detect malicious nodes.

Security protocols for wired networks cannot work for ad hoc networks.

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ROUTING

The knowledge of routing protocols of MANETs is important to understand the security

problems in MANETs. The routing procols used in MANETs are different from routing

protocols of traditional wired world.

Some of the reasons are listed below:

Frequent Route updates.

Mobility.

Limited transmission range.

The performance criteria of nodes in MANETs are different than that of wired networks.

Some of the performance metrics of MANET routing protocols are listed below:

Energy consumption.

Route Stability despite mobility.

Routing protocols in Mobile Adhoc Networks are majorly of two categories:

Proactive Protocols

Reactive Protocols

Reactive Routing protocols are based on finding routes between two nodes , when it is

required. This is different from traditional Proactive Routing Protocols in which nodes

periodically sends messages to each other in order to maintain routes. Only Reactive

Protocols are considered in this article, as they are extensively studied and used in

MANETs. Among many Reactive Routing Protocols, only two of them are described below

as they are mostly studied.

Dynamic Source RoutingDynamic Source Routing (DSR) uses source routing to deliver packets from one node in

the network to some other node. The source node adds the full path to the destination in

terms of intermediate nodes in every packet . This information is used by intermediate node

to

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Determine whether to accept the packet and to whom to forward it.

DSR operates on two mechanisms:

Route Discovery and Route Maintenance:Route Discovery is used when the sender does not know the path upto the destination. In

this mechanism, the sender broadcasts a ROUTE REQUEST message which contains

Source Address, Destination Address, Identifier. Each intermediate node adds its address

in ROUTE REQUEST message and rebroadcast it, unless it has not rebroadcasted earlier.

With this controlled broadcast, the ROUTE REQUEST will ultimately reaches the

destination. The destination then sends a unicast ROUTE REPLY message in reverse

direction whose information is obtained from list of intermediate nodes in ROUTE

REQUEST message.

When the ROUTE REPLY packet reaches the source, it records the route contained in it

and saves in its cache for the speci_c destination. For better performance, intermediate

nodes also records this route information from the two route messages. All nodes

overhearing these packet adds meaningfull route entries in their caches. Finally, Route

Maintainance Mechanism is used to notify souce and potentially trigger new route discovery

events when changes in the network topology invalidates a cached route.

Adhoc On-demand Distance Vector RoutingAdhoc On demand Distance Vector rouing (AODV) is another on-demand protocol. It has

similar mechanism of ROUTE REQUEST and ROUTE REPLY as that in DSR. However, it

does not rely on source routing, rather it makes use of routing tables at intermediate nodes.

The nodes maintain routing table entries of all reachable nodes in the network. The entries

in routing tables are of the form: < Destination, Next Hop, No. of hops, Sequence Number>.

Sequence number is used to maintain freshness. The route table is used to route data

packets destined for a particular node and to respond to ROUTE REQUEST. The

advantage of AODV over DSR is that, a data packet does not need to contain whole route

to the destination.

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Security Basics:

Symmetric Key Cryptography.

Public Key Cryptography

Authentication and Digital Signatures.

Hash and Message Authentication Codes (MAC)

Man-in-the-middle attack, Denial of Service Attack

Security Problems in MANETs:MANETs are much more vulnerable to attack than wired network. This is because of the

following reasons :

Open Medium - Eavesdropping is more easier than in wired network.

Dynamically Changing Network Topology

Mobile Nodes comes and goes from the network,

thereby allowing any malicious node to join the network without being detected.

Cooperative Algorithms - The routing algorithm of MANETs requires mutual trust

between nodes which violates the principles of Network Security.

Lack of Centralized Monitoring - Absence of any centralized infrastructure prohibits

any monitoring agent in the system.

Lack of Clear Line of Defense - The only use of I line of defense - attack prevention

may not surface. Experience of security research in wired world has taught us that

we need to deploy layered security mechanisms because security is a process that

is as secure as its weakest link . In addition to prevention, we need II line of defense

- detection and response.

The possible security attacks in MANETs can be divided into two categories:

Route Logic Compromise: Incorrect routing control messages are injected into the

network to damage routing logic.

Traffic Distortion Attack: Attacks that prohibits data packets to transfer from the

source to the destination, either selectively or collectively comes under the category

of Traffic Distortion Attack. This type of attack can snoop network traffic, manipulate

or corrupt packet header or contents, block or reply transmissions for some

malicious purposes.

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The list of some of the attacks in MANETs is as follows:

Jamming.

Snooping.

Flood Storm attack.

Packet Modifications and Dropping.

Repeater attack.

Identity Impersonation.

Black Hole attack.

Wormhole attack.

Rushing attack.

802.11 Ad hoc modeProvides direct communication of stations in the absence of an AP. Because many features

of such as QoS or power saving rely on the AP, they are not available in ad hoc mode

making this a very limited ad hoc standard nevertheless with high data rates.

HiperLAN/2In the HiperLAN/2 ad hoc mode called the Home Network,a wireless terminal WT serves as

the central controller (CC) which is the equivalent of an AP in infrastructure mode. The CC

coordinates the medium and provides all the QoS features of infrastructure mode.

Furthermore, unlike 802.11ad hoc mode, it is possible for a WT located in two overlapping

cells called subnets to become a bridging node between these two subnets, allowing WTs

from one subnet to communicate with those of the other subnet.

BluetoothBluetooth uses FSSS with frequency channels in the 2.4 GHz ISM Band, which means it

will interfere with 802.11 b.The maximum data rate is 723kbit/s asymmetric, or 423kbit/s

symmetric. Bluetooth units communicating on a common frequency hopping channel form a

piconet. In a piconet there is master and up to 7slaves, with 255 more in parked mode.

Slaves

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Never communicate directly with each other, but only from slave to master and vice versa.

There can be up to 10 piconets per coverage area. A device can participate in more than

one piconet, but only be a master in one, thereby forming a scatter net.However, a common

unit must periodically switch between piconets. Furthermore, hopping times and

frequencies are not synchronized.

Interesting applications of Bluetooth are: cable replacement (serial port emulation),

wireless headphone, file transfer, automatic synchronizer. In particular, this last application

implements the concept of hidden spontaneous networking.For some applications, most

notably multimedia ones such as digital imaging.Bluetooth is not suitable because of the

low data rate. Here, a more specialized standard such as IEEE

802.15 is necessary.

IEEE802.15802.15 is still in an early stage of development. It should provide different standards

specialized in different applications within Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), which

are small short range networks of low power and low cost devices communicating within a

Personal Operating Space (POS),which is the space extending in all directions from a

person to a distance of 10m.Currently,

there are four task groups(TG) working on802.15:

TG 1:WPAN based on Bluetooth (~1 Mbit/s) with some improvements

TG 2: Recommended Practices for coexistence of WPAN (802.15) and WLAN

(802.11).

TG 3: High rate WPAN (20+Mbit/s, at 2.4GHz. Unlike WLANs focus on low

power and low cost.Typical applications: digital imaging and multimedia.

TG 4: Low rate WPAN (10 kbit/s up to 200kbit/s). Here, focus is on “ultra low”

complexity, cost, and power consumption (multi-month/multi-year) battery life.

Should be ideal for sensors, interactive toys, smart badges, remote controls,

Typical applications, location tracking for smart tags and badges- medical

monitoring of patients in and outside hospitals.

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Suitability of standards for small devices and mobile computingIn this section, an attempt is made at evaluating how suitable the presented standards are

for implementation and use in small devices. We consider problems and issues that are

relevant to small devices.802.11 and HiperLAN/2 are grouped in WLANs. Bluetooth and

802.11 are grouped in WPANs, although for this evaluation.802.15 is mostly not

considered, because too little is known about the standard at this time.

Small BatteriesSmall devices have very little battery power available. Furthermore, wireless transmission

of information is very power-intensive compared to information processing.WLANs typically

operate at transmit powers that are ideal for notebooks (30-100mW) but not adequate for

very small devices.e.g. PDAs and headphones WPANs on the other hand concentrate on

small devices typically (1 mW).

Spontaneous networkingDevices should be able to, at any time, discover other devices in range and automatically

establish networks with them and transmit data.Both WPANs and WLANs are able to

implement this concept, to a greater or lesser extent.

ScalabilityBecause a person is likely to carry more than one small device with wireless connectivity,

high

concentration of small devices should be supported, are available in one place. Instead

802.11a and HiperLAN/2 have many non-overlapping channels and the author believes that

they scale well. Bluetooth has small cells piconets, therefore it should scale well, although

there can be only 3 piconets per coverage area, which could perhaps limit scalability.

Topology changesIn infrastructure networks, we consider the problem of roaming between different APs. The

presented standards support roaming within a logical network. I.e. a subnet in TCP/IP.

Roaming between subnets usually has to be implemented by higher protocol layers, such

as Mobile IP. However, the standards provide the tools for implementing roaming,

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Such as active/passive scanning of APs and reassociation requests.

In ad hoc networks, we must support the fact that any device may come and go at any time.

Therefore, in Bluetooth, also the master may disappear and it must be possible to reassign

the role of master without compromising the operation of the network.

Data ratesA look at the data rates clearly shows different approaches in the case of WLANs and

WPANs. In the former case, the goal is to achieve the highest data rates possible, so as to

make WLAN.

Standards an attractive alternative to wired networks when the advantages of wireless

networks are desired but one does not wish to compromise speed too much.In the latter

case, one optimizes the standards for small devices and there is a trade of between data

rates and range and power consumption. Furthermore, WPANs show a wide range of data

rates depending on how important these two aspects are. On one side we have sensors,

which only require low data rates but should have minimal power consumption. On the

other side we have multimedia applications, where high data rates are crucial.

PricesAlthough one has to be careful when trying to compare prices, it is possible to say that

commercial implementations of WPAN standards will generally be cheaper than those of

WLAN standards. This should be the case since, while we will usually only need WLAN

standards implemented in one or two devices, we want WPAN standards to be

implemented in all sorts of small devices that we may possess, thus enabling the concept of

ubiquitous computing. It is therefore essential that these technologies be cheap.

Conclusion: Future of WLANs & WPANsIn the near future, we are probably going to see the coexistence of WLAN and WPAN

standards. WLAN standards are ideal for connecting to high-speed infrastructure networks

do not fit well into most small devices , we are likely to have only a couple of devices that

connect to an infrastructure. Instead, WPAN can be implemented in all sorts of devices and

they can still access the infrastructure through WLAN/WPAN devices that serve as access

points.

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RESEARCH CHALLENGES

Semantic modeling: A fundamental necessity for an adaptable and composable computing

environment is the ability to describe the preferences of users and the relevant

characteristics of computing components using a high level semantic model.

Ontology can be used to describe user’s task environment, as well as their goals,

toanable reasoning about a user’s needs and therefore dynamically adapt to

changes .The research challenges in semantic modeling include developing a

modeling language to express the rich and complex nature of ontologies ,

developing and validating for various domains of user activity.

Building the Software Infrastructure: An effective software infrastructure for running UC applications must be capable

of finding ,adapting and delivering the appropriate applications to the user’s

context.

Developing and Configuring Applications: Currently services are being described using a standard description language

and in the future, using standard ontologies.such semantic descriptions could

enable automatic composition of services, which in turn enables an infrastructure

that dynamically adapts to tasks.

Validating the user experience:The development of effective methods for testing and evaluating the usage

scenarios enabled by pervasive applications is an important area that needs

more attention from researchers.

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Design of user interfaces for UC

The mobile access is the gateway technology required to make information available at any

place and at any time. In addition the computing system should be aware of user’s context

not only to be able to respond in an appropriate manner with respect to the user’s cognitive

and social state but also to anticipate needs of the users.

Speech recognition, position sensing and eye tracking should be common inputs and in the

future, stereographic audio and visual output will be coupled with 3D virtual reality

information. in addition heads-up projection displays should allow superposition of

information onto the user’s environment.

UC technologies benefits

The most profound technologies are those that disappear and weave themselves into the

fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it. It will have profound effect on

the way people access and use services that only make sense by virtue of being embedded

in the environment.

IRLAN

The creation of the IrDA protocols and their broad industry support has led to IrDA-

compliant infrared ports becoming common on laptop computers. With the IrDA approval of

the higher media speeds of 1.15 and 4 megabits per second (Mbps), the infrared link is

becoming fast enough to support a network interface.

This document describes a protocol, conforming to the IrDA specifications, that has these

features:

Enables a computer with an IrDA adapter to attach to a local area network

(LAN) through an access point device that acts as the network adapter for the

computer.

Enables two computers with IrDA adapters to communicate as though they

were attached through a LAN.

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Enables a computer with an IrDA-compliant adapter to be attached to a LAN

through a second computer that is already attached to the LAN (the second

computer must also have an IrDA-compliant adapter).

The proposed protocol, the infrared LAN (IrLAN) protocol, should allow for interoperability of

all devices supporting the protocol.

Design Goals

The IrLAN protocol has these design goals:

The IrLAN protocol deals with the issues associated with running legacy

networking protocols over an infrared link. It supports three different operating

modes that represent the possible configurations between infrared devices and

between infrared devices and an attached network.

From a client operating-system perspective, the IrLAN protocol must be

implemented completely as a set of network media-level drivers. No modification of

the existing network protocols should be necessary.

The IrLAN protocol must not impose excessive processing constraints on access

point devices, which may be implemented with slower processors than typically

found in modern computers.

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Definition of Terms

The following technical terms are used in this document.

Control channelAn IrLMP communication channel used by the client and offered by the

provider to allow for the setup and configuration of a data channel .

Data channelAn IrLMP communication channel used by the client and provider to exchange

LAN-formatted packets .

Frame (or media frame)A block of data on the media. A packet may consist of multiple media frames.

IAS (information access service)Part of the IrDA protocol suite, the IAS is a standard IrLMP client that implements

a local store of configuration information. Information is stored under a primary

key called the class and under subkeys in each class called attributes. The class

may only contain subkeys, each of which is unique in the class, and each subkey

may contain a corresponding value, which may be a string or an integer. Multiple

objects of the same class are allowed, and each object in the IAS may be read by

a remote station supporting the IAS protocol.

IrLAN client (or client)The station in an IrLAN link that is using the IrLAN services of a provider to

set up an IrLAN link. The client is the active component in the IrLAN protocol;

it issues requests to the IrLAN provider to establish a data link and to

configure the link.

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IrLAP (Infrared Link Access Protocol)A protocol, based on the HDLC protocol, designed to control an infrared link.

IrLAP provides for discovery of devices, their connection over an infrared link,

and reliable data delivery between devices.

IrLMP (Infrared Link Management Protocol)A multiplexing protocol designed to run on top of IrLAP. IrLMP is multipoint-

capable even though IrLAP is not. When IrLAP becomes multipoint-capable,

multiple machines will be able to communicate concurrently over an infrared

link.

Infrared LAN access point deviceA network adapter with an infrared link to the LAN client . Conceptually, the

infrared link is the bus that the LAN card resides on.

LANA local area network.

LSAP (logical service access point)A unique 1-byte identifier used by IrLMP to multiplex and demultiplex packets

sent using IrLAP. Clients of IrLMP logically open an LSAP and then attach it

to a remote node, or receive attachment from a remote node. Clients typically

advertise their LSAP to other clients by writing entries in the local IAS.

NIC (network interface controller)A piece of hardware designed to transmit and receive packets on a LAN

network.

PacketA block of data that is transmitted or received over the media. The media may

break a packet down into several media frames to deliver it.

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Primary stationA term used in IrLAP to specify the station that is controlling the infrared link.

The other side of the link is where the secondary station resides (or

secondary stations reside). No secondary station can transmit without

receiving permission from the primary station.

IrLAN Provider (provider)The station in an IrLAN link that is providing the IrLAN protocol interface.

Secondary stationA term used in IrLAP to specify a station that is controlled by the primary

station. The secondary station can send when it receives permission from the

primary station.

TinyTPA lightweight protocol, supporting flow control and segmentation and

reassembly, that is designed for use over an IrLMP connection.

Window sizeOne of the parameters negotiated between the two infrared nodes as part of

establishing an IrLAP connection. The window size specifies the number of

consecutive IrLAP frames that a node can transmit before it must allow the

other node an opportunity to transmit. The maximum IrLAP window size is

seven frames.

OverviewThe IrLAN protocol is a “sided” protocol that defines a two-channel interface between a

protocol client and a protocol server. An IrLAN provider is passive. It is up to the IrLAN

client to discover and then attach to the provider and open up a data channel over which

LAN packets

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Can be transmitted and received. In IrLAN peer-to-peer mode (which is also described in

“Access Methods”), each station has both an IrLan client and provider. There is a race to

determine which node will open the Data channel. This race condition is resolved by the

protocol in State Machines described later in this document.

The client begins setting up the connection by reading an object’s information in the

provider’s IAS. The object specifies an IrLMP LSAP for the “control channel.” The client

connects to the control channel and uses the control channel to negotiate thecharacteristics

of a data channel. Once the data channel has been negotiated, it is opened and then

configured. All configuration is handled through the control channel. The data channel is

used solely for the transmission and reception of packets formatted for the LAN. The IrLAN

protocol defines a graceful close, but it is seldom used because it would require user

intervention to initiate a disconnect. Typically, the connection will close down “ungracefully”

through an IrLAP connection timeout. Both the control and data channels use the TinyTP

protocol for segmentation and reassembly of packets and for flow control.

Access MethodsThe IrLAN protocol is intended to support these modes of operation:

Access point

Peer-to-peer

Hosted

Access Point Mode

An access point device is hardware supporting both a LAN network interface controller

(NIC) and an infrared transceiver. For communication over the infrared link, the access

point device runs a protocol stack that conforms to the IrDA standards and runs the IrLAN

protocol over the IrDA stack. The access point device implements a network adapter for the

client using infrared as the bus for accessing the adapter.

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The following illustration shows the access point mode of operation.

Filtering information is passed from the client to the access point device to minimize the

transmission of unwanted traffic over the infrared link. In this case, the access point device

assigns a unique UNICAST address to each client connecting to the device.

It is quite reasonable to expect future implementation of access point devices to support

multiple concurrent clients connecting to the LAN. In this case, each client would be

assigned a unique LAN address, and the access point device would likely use a NIC

supporting multiple concurrent UNICAST addresses.

Peer-to-Peer Mode

The IrLAN protocol peer-to-peer mode allows nodes running network operating systems

that are peer-topeer capable to create ad-hoc networks.

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The following illustration shows the peer-to-peer mode.

In peer-to-peer mode, there is no physical connection to a wired LAN. Filtering information

can still be sent to the provider during the connection setup process. The filters allow the

provider to lower traffic when both peers are not running the exact same protocol suites.

Also, the filters can lower traffic in the case of point-to-multipoint traffic.

In peer-to-peer mode, each peer must provide a Server Control LSAP in addition to its

Client Control LSAP and Data LSAP. Each Client Control LSAP connects to its peer’s

Server Control LSAP. This allows each node to establish and control its peer’s Data LSAP

using the command set described herein.

Hosted Mode

In hosted mode, the provider has a wired network connection, but has multiple nodes

attempting to communicate through the wired connection. The following illustration shows

hosted mode.

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Unlike access point mode, both the host machine and the client(s) share the same NIC

address in host mode. To make host mode work, the host must run special bridging and

routing software that will handle the proper routing of packets. The algorithms used in this

mode are highly protocol-dependent.

IrLAN IAS Object Specification

When a client connects to a provider, it looks in the provider’s IAS for the object with the

“IrLAN” class.

The client reads the following attribute information for the IrLAN object to determine which

LSAP the IrLAN control channel resides on.

IrDA:TinyTP:LsapSel:<LSAP>

For compatibility with Plug-n-Play operating systems, peer nodes, access points and hosted

mode hosts must advertise the LAN and PNP hint bits in the discovery process. Access

points should report PnP ID *PNP8294 in their PnP IAS entry. Peer nodes should report

PnP ID *PNP8389 in their PnP IAS entry.

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TinyTP Considerations

In the IrLAN protocol, both the control and data channels use the TinyTP protocol for

segmentation and reassembly of packets and for flow control. The use of TinyTP involves

these elements:

Maximum assembled frame size

Flow control

Maximum Assembled Frame Size

TinyTP allows for the fragmentation and reassembly of packets, which may span several

IrLMP frames.

During the setup of the TinyTP connection, a maximum assembled frame size is negotiated

between the two sides.

The IrLAN protocol currently defines support for access to the 802.3 (Ethernet) and 802.5

(token-ring) LANs. (In the future, this protocol may be modified to support additional media

types.) The assembled TinyTP frame should be large enough to support the maximum

frame size for the media.

For 802.3 (Ethernet), the assembled TinyTP frame size is 1,518 bytes.

For 802.5 (token ring), the assembled TinyTP frame size is 65,535 bytes. Because

token ring permits a smaller upper bound on the frame size, depending on the adapter

technology in use, a 2,045-byte assembled frame size is acceptable for 802.5 support. A

smart token-ring IrLAN implementation will scale the media frame size to fit well in an

integer number of TinyTP frames, which depends on the negotiated frame size. Examples

of such scaling are shown in the following table.

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Flow Control

TinyTP specifies a flow control mechanism based on extended credit; that is, during the

setup of a TinyTP connection, each side informs the other of a number of outstanding

“credits,” where each credit represents a TinyTP packet that may be sent to the side

extending the credit. Each time a packet is sent, the sending side assumes that the

receiving side has one less resource available for receiving packets.

If the sending side reaches the point where it determines the receiving side has no

resources left because all credits have been consumed, it will stop transmitting until more

credit is extended. The receiving side will extend more credit as resources are freed up on

the receiving side. When this flow mechanism operates in conjunction with IrLAP, it can

lead to under-utilization of the link.

This typically happens when the credit extended by a receiver is smaller than the window

size negotiated by IrLAP. This results in the send window not being filled, and the link turns

around as a consequence more often than it needs to. If at all possible, the receiver should

extend at least enough credit so that the transmitter can always fill an IrLAP window. The

current maximum IrLAP window size is seven frames.

Because a frame may not hold an entire packet, this is the actual formula for the minimum

credit that should be extended for optimum throughput:

Noninteger credit values derived from the formula should be rounded up to the next highest

integer value. Examples of values derived from the formula are shown in the following table.

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Frame Formats

The IrLAN protocol defines the commands used on the control channel as well as the

format of data on the data channel. These formats are defined above TinyTP; that is,

TinyTP segmentation and reassembly and flow control is assumed to be handled by the

TinyTP interface. The definitions in the following sections are for the assembled TinyTP

frames.

Data-Channel Frame FormatsFrames on the IrLAN data channel are formatted the same as for their

respective media.

For 802.3 (Ethernet), the format is the same as would be transmitted at the

software level for an 802.3 packet.

The IrLAN data-channel frame does not contain the 802.3 FCS. This is the

IrLAN data channel packet format

(the numbers in the square brackets are the number of bytes in each part of

the packet):

For 802.5 (token ring), this is the IrLAN data channel packet format.

These are the same formats typically used by network protocols when talking

to network drivers. Usually, the IrLAN driver will only have to reformat the

descriptors for the packets for transmission on the infrared media. The driver

should not have to change any of the packets contents in either the peer-to-

peer or access point modes. In the hosted mode, some protocol specific

transformations may have to be made.

Once the data channel is established, it is treated as the send and receive

path for all frames on the emulated LAN media. All packets sent from a node

are transmitted on this channel, packets being received will come from this

channel.

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Control-Channel Frame FormatsThe control channel is used to perform these tasks:

Set up a data channel connection.

Set up configuration parameters for the data channel connection.

The control channel uses TinyTP as a flow control and segmentation and

reassembly protocol. The client and provider must both support a minimum

1,024-byte assembled frame size on the control channel. If a cient must send a

command that exceeds 1,024 bytes, which is highly unlikely, it must send a

sequence of smaller commands of the same type that accomplish the same

purpose.

A command/response protocol is used on the control channel. Currently, only

client-initiated command/response pairs are defined. In the future, there may be a

requirement for unsolicited responses from the provider to the client, but these

requirements have not been defined. If an unsolicited response is received from

the provider, the client should check the result code field, which is the first byte of

the response. If the result code field is not 0xFF, indicating a valid unsolicited

response, the link should be dropped.

During a session, the client issues a sequence of request packets, each of which

is immediately followed by a response from the provider. The format of the

command packets and response packets are defined in the following sections.

Command Packet Structure

Each request consists of a command code, a count of parameters, and a

parameter list for the command.

Command CodeA 1-byte field specifying the command to be issued on the control channel. A

number of different commands are currently defined.

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These are the valid command code values.

Parameter CountA 1-byte value specifying the number of parameters that follow in the

parameter list.

Response Packet StructureThis is the structure of a response packet generated by a provider.

Result CodeIf the result code is success, zero or more parameters are returned in the

response packet. If the result is nonzero, the provider must return, in its response

packet parameter list, the first invalid parameter it encountered in the request

packet.

These are the valid result codes.

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Parameter CountNumber of parameters to follow in the parameter list.

Parameter ListList of zero or more parameters that are return values for the associated

command. For a definition of the structure of a parameter list, see “Packet

Parameter List Format” later in this document.

Packet Parameter List FormatThe parameter list contains zero or more variable-length parameters. The

number of parameters in the list is defined by the Parameter Count field in both

request and reply packet headers Each parameter in a parameter list has a

Parameter Name field and a Value field. The Parameter Name field identifies the

content and format of the Value field. There may be more than one parameter of

the same name in the same parameter list. The parameters in the parameter list

may be in any order.

Name LengthLength of the Parameter Name field.

Parameter NameASCII parameter name, which is case insensitive.

Value LengthLength of the Value field.

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ValueParameter value. The format is implied by the Parameter Name field. Values that

represent integers are transmitted in little endian (Intel) format. Parameters that

represent nonintegers, such as network address fields, are transmitted in the

same octet order that they would be transmitted on their respective media.

TECHNICAL AND OTHER LIMITATIONS OF MOBILE COMPUTING

Following are the limitations:

Insufficient bandwidthMobile internet access is generally slower than direct cable connections, using

technologies such as GPRS and EDGE, and more recently 3G networks. These

networks are usually available within range of commercial cell phone towers. Higher

speed wireless LANs are inexpensive, but have very limited range.

Security standardsWhen working mobile one is dependent on public networks, requiring careful use of

VPNs.

Power consumptionWhen a power outlet or portable generator is not available, mobile computers must

rely entirely on battery power. Combined with the compact size of many mobile

devices, this often means unusually expensive batteries must be used to obtain the

necessary battery life.

Transmission interferencesWeather, terrain, and the range from the nearest signal point can all interfere with

signal reception. Reception in tunnels, some buildings, and rural areas is often poor.

Potential health hazards

More car accidents are related to drivers who were talking through a mobile device.

Cell phones may interfere with sensitive medical devices. There are allegations that

cell phone signals may cause health problems

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MOBILE COMPUTING: IN-VEHICLE COMPUTING AND FLEET COMPUTINGMany commercial and government field forces deploy a ruggedized portable

computer such as the Panasonic Toughbook or larger rack-mounted computers with

their fleet of vehicles. This requires the units to be anchored to the vehicle for driver

safety, device security, and user ergonomics. Ruggedized computers are rated for

severe vibration associated with large service vehicles and off-road driving, and the

harsh environmental conditions of constant professional use such as in Emergency

medical services, fire and public safety.

Other elements that enables the unit to function in vehicle:

o Operating temperature: A vehicle cabin can often experience

temperature swings from -20F to +140F. Computers typically must be able to

withstand these temperatures while operating. Typical fan based cooling has

stated limits of 95F-100F of ambient temperature, and temperature below

freezing require localized heaters to bring components up to operating

temperature(based on independent studies by the SRI Group and by

Panasonic R&D)

o Vibration: Vehicles typically have considerable vibration that can decrease

life expectancy of computer components, notably rotational storage such as

HDDs.

o Daylight or sunlight readability: Visibility of standard screens

becomes an issue in bright sunlight.

o Touch screens: These enable users to easily interact with the units in the

field without removing gloves.

o High-Temperature Battery Settings: Lithium Ion batteries are

sensitive to high temperature conditions for charging. A computer designed

for the mobile environment should be designed with a high-temperature

charging function that limits the charge to 85% or less of capacity.

o External wireless Connections, and External GPS Antenna

Connections: Necessary to contend with the typical metal cabins of

vehicles and their impact on wireless reception, and to take advantage of

much more capable external tranception equipment

.

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Several specialized manufacturers such as National Products Inc (Ram Mounts), Gamber

Johnson and LedCo build mounts for vehicle mounting of computer equipment for specific

vehicles. The mounts are built to withstand the harsh conditions and maintain ergonomics.

Specialized installation companies, such as TouchStar Pacific, specialize in designing the

mount design, assembling the proper parts, and installing them in a safe and consistent

manner away from airbags, vehicle HVAC controls, and driver controls. Frequently

installations will include a WWAN modem, power conditioning equipment, and

WWAN/WLAN/GPS/etc… transceiver antennæ mounted external to the vehicle.

FIVE TRENDS IN MOBILE COMPUTING

The next stage in mobile computing is to put some interesting plays on the stage. Okay,

that is a strained comparison, but I recently attended Xconomy's Mobile Innovation in New

England forum and came away impressed.

If you are in the mood to read the tweatstreams of the event, do a Twitter search on mobile.

The event was sold out and speakers included Rich Miner, the managing partner of the new

Google Ventures arm and Ted Morgan, CEO of Skyhook Wireless. Xconomy writer Wade

Roush has a decent wrap-up of the wireless event.

Here are the five main trends I took away from the one day event -- which was one of the

better events I've attended recently.

1. Appstore madness. As usual Apple has blazed the trail and now it is up to

Microsoft, RIM and Google to catch up. Mobile devices and networks are simply a

platform, it is up to the developers to come up with the cool apps that make a

platform great. Maybe it has always been this way, but in the mobile space everyone

got fixated on the device rather than the application. That is changing.

2. Business matters. Apple has never seemed to interested in the business to

business marketplace. But, unlike consumers, a business will put its money where its

strategy is. Business applications for mobile devices have been sorely lacking. That

is changing.

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3. The carriers may be finally getting it. The big carriers have been some of

the biggest obstacles in getting the mobile application business moving. They were

way too much in the "my way or the highway" mode of business partners. Now the

carriers are suddenly interested in partnering. Carriers should do what carriers do

best, build infrastructure and bill in small increments.

4. The mobile device is a platform, not an adjunct. Applications need to

written for the smaller user interface and unique characteristics of the devices. Stop

trying to squeeze down applications that were written for the big screen PC

environment.

5. Your mobile phone knows where you and your friends are. The

location determining capabilities of the mobile network continue to improve as the

processing horsepower residing in the phone and on the network grows. The

combination of the two will result in location aware applications that enhance social

networks, banking and GPS-based services. Knowing the location of you and your

friends also carries privacy concerns that need to be addressed upfront.

ADVANTAGES OF MOBILE COMPUTING

Computers are one of the major inventions of the world. The invention of computer

has changed the world. During these days every field of life seems to be

computerized. Later in the 21st century a new technology was introduced in the

world known as mobile computing. Now-a-days computers are modified into mobile

computers known as laptops.

A small introduction of mobile computing is that you can do your work in motion. In

simple words it means that you can do your work while sitting anywhere in the world.

You do not have to sit at one place to do your work.

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Following are some of the advantages of mobile computing.

1. The main benefit of mobile computers is that you do not have to bind yourself to a

certain place. You can do your work while sitting in a car or a train. You can

communicate with other people while sitting anywhere in the world. You can chat

online with your friends and family members while sitting on a beach. You can do

your office work while sitting anywhere.

2. The second major benefit is related to the first benefit. When people can do their

work while sitting anywhere they will do more work. This will play an important

role in the economy of the country and the world.

During these days there is no problem for a student to search any information that he

needs for his assignment. Many people use these mobile computers for

entertainment. Children play video games on these computers.

TODAY'S BEST MOBILE WIRELESS NETWORKS

What is a Mobile Wireless Network?

A mobile wireless network is simply a computer network that is implemented without the

use of wires. There are various types of wireless networks including wireless Personal Area

Networks (PAN), wireless Local Area Networks (LAN), wireless Metropolitan Area Networks

(MAN), and more. To enable people to access wireless networks, a variety of network

service providers provide wireless network coverage to offices, public places, and other

small workplaces.

Mobile wireless networks frequently involve the use of cellular phone networks connecting

to an Internet Service Provider (ISP); thereby, enabling the user to connect to the internet.

All wireless networks consist of radio communications services carried on between mobile

stations or receivers and land stations, as well as by mobile stations communicating

amongst themselves. The wireless network service providers, for example Sprint and

Cisco, use a wireless access point device to provide wire-free network coverage in

designated areas to users. This allows various mobile devices, such as smart phones and

laptops, to connect.

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Currently, smart phones are by far the most commonly used mobile computing devices.

Trapeze Networks – This Company’s mobile wireless LAN Mobility System is

superior to many other networks. The LAN Mobility System enhances user

productivity, introduces new efficiencies, and accelerates business response time.

The system also delivers secure mobility and the company offers low cost solutions.

Sprint – Sprint is a leading innovator when it comes to wireless networks. One of

Sprint’s recent wireless network innovations is its 3G (3rd generation) PCS Vision

network. This innovative network is easy to use, reliable, secure, and reasonably

fast. Additionally, because the network is 3G, it can be accessed anywhere as

opposed to only being accessed in a wireless “hot spot.”

Cisco Systems, Inc. – The Cisco Unified Wireless Network addresses several

mobile computing issues, such as wireless network security, network management,

network control, and more. Cisco combines the best elements of wireless and wired

networking to deliver secure and cost-effective wireless networks, all the while

providing instant, real-time, reliable network access.

ACHIEVING THE BENEFITS OF MOBILE COMPUTING (MOBILE FRAMEWORK)

Mobile computing is an important, evolving technology. It enables mobile personnel to

effectively communicate and interact with the fixed organizational information system while

remaining unconstrained by physical location. Mobile computing may be implemented using

many combinations of hardware, software, and communications technologies. The

technologies must be carefully selected and the applications designed to achieve the

business needs required from the overall organizational information system. The MOBILE

framework can assist information technology professionals in determining the applicability

of mobile

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Technology to an organizational problem, opportunity, or directive. Mobile computing is a

versatile and potentially strategic technology that improves information quality and

accessibility, increases operational efficiency, and enhances management effectiveness.

The MOBILE framework is used to determine when it is most appropriate to use mobile

computing technology to address a problem, opportunity, or directive. The name MOBILE is

derived from the first letter in each of the six categories that make up the framework.

The six categories are:

M the need for mobility

O the need to improve operations

B the need to break business barriers

I the need to improve information quality

L the need to decrease transaction lag

E the need to improve efficiency

NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Exciting new technologies are being developed that will drastically alter and improve mobile

computing capabilities. Two of these technologies are low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and

wearable computers. Current LEO satellite developments promise ubiquitous and high-

speed network access using extremely small and low power devices. Soon, it will be

possible and economical to provide all mobile workers with a connected mode for all mobile

computing operations. Advances in microcomputer, display, and natural interface

technologies are making the first wave of commercially useful wearable computers

possible. These devices are still in the experimental stages, and are not commonplace, but

are finding applications in areas like aircraft inspection; where a hands-free operating

environment and access to large amounts of information is required. In the future, wearable

computers are predicted to replace the myriad of personal electronic devices (computers,

cell phone, pagers, tape recorders, and cameras) with an integrated and unobtrusive

wearable replacement that merges the user's work space with his or her information space.

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ADAPTING TO CHANGEThe field of mobile computing is still evolving. Even more advanced and yet unimagined

mobile technologies will certainly be discovered. Many of the advances will be evolutionary,

but some will be revolutionary. The key to integrating these new technologies into the

organizational information system will be forward thinking, adaptability, life-long learning,

technical competence, an explorative spirit, and the use of tools such as the MOBILE

framework. The result will be hardware, software, and communications systems that are

even more mobile and more capable of accomplishing organizational objectives.

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CONCLUSION

Mobile computing offers significant benefits for organizations that choose to integrate the

technology into their fixed organizational information system. Mobile computing is made

possible by portable computer hardware, software, and communications systems that

interact with a non-mobile organizational information system while away from the normal,

fixed workplace. Mobile computing is a versatile and potentially strategic technology that

improves information quality and accessibility, increases operational efficiency, and

enhances management effectiveness. A detailed analysis, supported by selective

presentation of published literature, is used to elucidate and support these asserted

benefits of mobile computing. Additionally, a set of heuristics called the MOBILE framework

is developed. The MOBILE framework assists information technology professionals in

achieving the stated benefits of mobile computing by defining the types of problems,

opportunities, and directives that are best addressed through mobile computing technology.

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REFERENCES

1. www.umpcportal.com

2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

3. Mobile Computing - Tomasz Imielinski, Henry F Korth - 764 pages

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