MOBILE COMPUTING &

MOBILE COMMUNICATION
SYSTEMS
 What is Mobile Computing?
Wireless Communication Systems

Mobile Communication Systems Architecture

Key Technologies of Mobile Computing

Applications
WHY MOBILE COMPUTING ?
People are mobile
WHY MOBILE COMPUTING ?
Devices are mobile
WHAT IS MOBILITY?
A person who moves
between different geographical locations
between different networks
between different communication devices
between different applications
WHAT IS MOBILITY?
Mobile computing is about both physical and
logical computing entities that move
Physical entities
computers change locations

Logical entities
a running user application or a mobile agent

migrating over internet

BUZZWORDS
NOMADIC-MOBILE-UBIQUITOUS

Nomadic computing
refers to limited migration
migration is within a building at a pedestrian speed
interleaved pattern of user relocation and indoor
connections
users carrying laptop with wireless access are
engaged in nomadic computing
BUZZWORDS
NOMADIC-MOBILE-UBIQUITOUS

Mobile computing
requires wireless h/w to support outdoor mobility and
handoff from one h/w to the next at a pedestrian or
vehicular speed
traveler in car using laptop / smart phone / mobile
device connected with a GSM/WCDMA/HSPA phone
engaged in mobile computing
Ubiquitous computing or pervasive computing
refers to access to computer network all the time at
any location by any person
can not be realized unless mobile computing matures
RELATIONSHIP
NOMADIC-MOBILE-UBIQUITOUS
 My Dream of Future
http://www.youtu.be/ujk1cprLpD8
Social Web of Things
http://www.youtu.be/i5AuzQXBsG4
Imagine Everything was Linked
http://youtu.be/igsJxXMssGA
http://www.youtu.be/__pkZ4-kNvY
http://www.youtu.be/tvpRJrQ8Z2c
HETEROGENEOUS WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
WORLD

DAB: Digital Audio Broadcast DVB-T: Digital Video Broadcast Terrestrial

VHE: Virtual Home Environment UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
HETEROGENEOUS WIRELESS COMMUNICATION WORLD
Heterogeneous wireless networks consists of
Cellular networks
WLAN networks
other access technologies
Users should be able to access various services from
various networks with varying properties in terms of data
rates, SNR, latency, coverage, price etc.
Multiple devices or multi-mode devices may be used to
access various services which add to the complexity of the
system
Mobile communication in such a scenario requires
automatic rearrangement of communication and services
These adaptive services need to be centered around the
user since multiple networks and operators may be present
 NATURAL EVOLUTION OF
COMPUTING

More
Flexible
Resource
Usage

Freedom from Collocation

CHALLENGE
Physical location of mobile is not the network
address (address migration)
existing applications send packets to a fixed network
address
need to support dynamically changing local
addresses as mobile device moves through network
how do we route the message to a mobile host
 Internet community
Mobile IP deals with location of mobile host

Mobile IP assumes connectionless, packet

switching scenario
Mobile IP specification: home environment tracks

mobile devices current location through registration

procedure
Cellular community
based on location management of cellular phone

users
it deals with connection oriented communication
(motivated by issues in call-setup in telephony)
 trade-off between searching and informing
informing is a responsibility of the mobile unit
when it migrates
extreme situations

mobile unit never informs - works for units

receiving few messages and for units which
don't move during receiving
mobile unit always informs - works well for
units receiving messages frequently
CHALLENGE
Ad hoc routing algorithms
Ad hoc networks arise in rapid deployment scenarios
emergency disaster management

military operation in remote sites

business meeting venues without infrastructure

support
Routing algorithms
AODV, DSR, DSDV, TORA, FSR, LAR, ABR, etc.
CHALLENGE
Harsh communications environment
lower bandwidth / higher latency
good enough for video conferencing?

variable bandwidth: applications adaptation to

changing quality of connectivity
high bandwidth, low latency

high bandwidth, high latency

low bandwidth, high latency

higher error rates: congestion, interference, etc.
more frequent disconnection
performance depends on density of nearby users but
frequency reuse architecture helps
network failure is common
CHALLENGE
Two modes of information dissemination
Publish
data is filtered by client, server provides directory

information for assisting the filtering

advantages

hot spots can be broadcast frequently - which

saves energy at client, avoid congestion.
Provide on demand
CHALLENGE
Services providing issues
Interoperability and adaptability to h/w
environments ranging from high to low bandwidths
and wireless communication links
Energy efficient data access
Support for mobility and disconnection
CHALLENGE
Handoff management
a mobile host moves from one cell to another while
being connected
undesirable features
call dropping

ping-pong handoffs

vertical handoff among heterogeneous networks

HETEROGENEOUS WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
WORLD

DAB: Digital Audio Broadcast DVB-T: Digital Video Broadcast Terrestrial

VHE: Virtual Home Environment UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
CHALLENGE
Security concerns
Authentication is critical
normal network point of attachment is a wall tap

wireless access makes network attachment too

easy
Exposure to over-the-air wiretapping
any transmitter can also be a receiver!

some wireless networks provide secure airlinks

(e.g., CDPD)
made more difficult by spread spectrum
technologies
Mobile agent security