Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Integrating mobile devices into distributed systems requires functionality that allows these devices to interact with remote resources and allows remote services access the resources that devices export. As an application scenario consider the utilization of technology in homes to enable individuals to take care of their own health simply by interacting with several technological devices designed to assist them in daily living tasks as well as monitor and control their medical conditions. As another application scenario, consider the components in a wireless sensor network that need to cooperate, rather than compete for network resources, to accomplish a common goal such as monitoring a bridge. In both of these scenarios, we have a challenging environment in which applications must be designed to be flexible, interoperable, and dependable and they must seamlessly coordinate the devices to accomplish the required task with the required reliability and quality of service. Such applications have a unique property: they must be proactive in the sense that they would be actively affecting the network when the environment changes, rather than reactive, simply responding to the changing environment. Creating such applications is complex using existing software technologies.NetDNA is a Network-level middleware platform for integrating Devices, Networks, and Applications. The need for such middleware, which is a distributed software layer that abstracts the heterogeneity of the underlying environment, stems from the increasing growth in network-based applications and the heterogeneity of devices, networks, and applications. The goal of the NetDNA research program is to design and develop a software technology to enable seamless integration of mobile devices, networks, and applications. It will help network operators and service providers to offer and provision subscriber-centric applications and services independently from the type of network and devices being used. Anticipated applications will be in domains such as mobile services, smart homes, and environmental surveillance.