Application: Mobile Computing Systems
1. Overview
Research in PRISM incorporates a diverse range of issues pertinent to the mobile computing paradigm. Content and service delivery, filtered through salient aspects of end-users’ contexts, are the core objectives of all mobile computing projects undertaken in the lab. These projects encompass a broad range of state-of-the-art technologies including multimedia, positioning systems and a range of communications technologies. The target delivery platform in each case is the ubiquitous mobile phone. And all projects are modelled and implemented using intelligent agents.
Ad-Me focuses on the area of context-sensitive advertising. Adverts can be irksome when delivered in an inappropriate context. However, if an appropriate context can be identified for delivering adverts, their effectiveness increases. Ad-Me seeks to identify those opportune moments when delivering an advert would be most effective. GPS is used for position as well as biometric data, for example galvanic skin response can be harness to estimate the mood of a person and if they would be receptive to adverts. Ad-Me harnesses these contextual cues, and constructs simple adverts that can be delivered on a mobile phone. The architecture of Ad-Me is modelled on the intelligent agent paradigm, encompassing a suite of agents on a mobile device and on a fixed network node.
EasiShop seeks to harness mobile computing technologies and intelligent agents to realise mobile commerce (m-commerce). Shoppers specify their shopping lists. As they explore their local shopping mall or high street, their agent migrates to the various shops
and seeks to purchase the items on the shopping list. If necessary, a reverse auction can be initiated where all agents representing the retailers on the street can vie for the shopper’s business. In this way, the shopper gets the best deal. The agent may consider other criteria besides price, for example distance, when considering the bids. From the retailer’s perspective, they have a unique opportunity as they know that there is a shopper in their vicinity who seeks to purchase some item they have in stock. Hence the retailer can specify policies that their agents can adopt during the negotiation or auction processes. EasiShop operates on a PDA or mobile phone. It uses Bluetooth both for communication and as an implicit position mechanism.
In the screen snapshots below, some samle screens illustraet the construction of a shopping list, and the result of successful product acquisition.
 
 Gulliver’s Genie is concerned with the intelligent dissemination of cultural information to tourists. It has resulted form an original prototype developed for the EU Hyper-interaction within physical space (HIPS) project. The Genie is in essence a Multi-agent system that encompasses a fixed networked server and mobile devices of the PDA and mobile phone genre. The tourists’ physical position is captured using GPS. Using an environmental model, the nearest tourist attraction can be identified. A multimedia presentation for this attraction is dynamically assembled on the server such that the information it contains is consistent with the tourist’s personal and cultural interest profile. However, this material is not precached on the tourist’s device until such time as it is probable that they will actually encounter this attraction, and that there is sufficient time available to download such that it is available in a just-in-time basis. This process, termed intelligent precaching maximizes the use of the limited resources that are typically available on a mobile phone. As a 3G wireless data communications connection is being used, the cost of the service is reduced while the possibility of delivering content that the tourist will find educational is increased. The Genie has been evaluated through user trials. In addition, it has formed the basis for a number of other ongoing studies.
As an example of the operation of the Genie, a presentation concerning the GPO, one of Ireland's most significant landmarks was developed. In these two example, the presentaions were rendered using SMIL, rather than the standard Genie rendering engine.
 
3. Future Directions
Ongoing work in the area of mobile computing is targetted at the following issues / problem domains:
- Embedded agents
As the Genie was one of the pioneering applications that demonstrated the viability of the intelligent agents paradigm on mobile devices, it has encouraged a range of research initiatives in PRISM on the broad issues of embedded agents. As well as helping validating Agent factory Micro edition (AFME), it has motivated research in the broad area of recourse optimisation for agents systems of mobile devices, for example, Collaborative Agent Tuning, as well as the use of agents in Wireless Sensor Networks
- Mobile Multimedia
Rendering multimedia presentations on mobile devices demands that the developer frequently has to implement a propriety rendering engine. A better alternative is to use a standardised representation that can be rendered using a configurable rendering engine that can be controlled from within third party applications. While standard WWW technologies offer some possibilities, the Synchronised Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) offers an attractive option here. However, using SMIL with J2ME has proved problematic due to the scarcity of rendering engines. This project seeks to remedy this and develop an API that developers can use to integrate SMIL presentations into their applications and services. An initial implementation of a SMIL player for J3ME enabled devices has been developed.
- Context Simulator
Testing context-aware applications can be inherently difficult due the myriad of scenarios that can arise. A simulator is being developed that simulates a subscriber’s movement in a geographic area. A suite of agents monitor the “subscriber” and generate a snapshot of the prevailing context at any one time. This can be dispatched to agents running on a mobile device or a mobile device emulator; and the behaviour of the application can be then be observed by the software engineer.
- SISnet
Though GPS provides a reliable service and position measurements to within 20 meters or so, this is not sufficient. Receivers that use the European Ground Overlay Service (EGNOS) can obtain positions with an accuracy of up to 3 meters. However, in areas with high buildings the signal is frequently unobtainable. One alternative is the use the internet and the European Space Agency (ESA) has developed SISNet to address this scenario. The objective of this project is to augment the Genie with SISNet so that positions can be calculated to a more accurately. Though some initial work has been done eon this , the recent acquisition of some commercial DGPS equipment by University College Dublin (UCD) will enable the completion of this project.
- Mobile Blogging
Blogging offers interesting possibilities for augmenting the tourist’s experience. The objective of this project is to develop a blogging component for Gulliver’s Genie. In this case, blog entries would be tagged with position and the profile of the creator. Blogs could be retrieved only when the tourists is within a similar physical space to the original blogger. An initial prototype has been developed.
4. Selected Publications
- O'Grady, M.J. O'Hare, G.M.P. Donaghy, C., Delivering Adaptivity through Context Awareness, Journal of Network and Computer Applications, Special issue on Intelligence-based Adaptation for Ubiquitous Multimedia Communications, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 1007-1033, 2007. Elsevier [pdf].
- O'Grady, M.J. & O'Hare, G.M.P., Mobile Devices & Intelligent Agents-Towards a New Generation of Applications and Services, Special Issue on Intelligent Embedded Agents, Journal of Information Sciences, Vol. 171, No. 4, pp. 335-353. 2005. Elsevier [pdf].
- O'Grady, M. J. & O'Hare, G. M. P., Just-In-Time Multimedia Distribution in a Mobile Computing Environment, IEEE Multimedia, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 62-74, 2004. IEEE [pdf].
- O'Hare, G.M.P., O'Grady, M.J., Gulliver’s Genie: a multi-agent system for ubiquitous
and intelligent content delivery, Computer Communications,
Volume 26, Number 11, 1 July 2003 , pp. 1177-1187(11), Elsevier [pdf].
- Keegan, S. O'Hare, G.M.P. & O'Grady, M.J., EasiShop: Ambient Intelligence Assists Everyday Shopping, Journal of Information Sciences Elsevier Press, Vol 178, No. 3 pp 588-611, 2007. Elsevier [pdf].
- O'Hare, G.M.P., O'Grady, M.J, Collier, R.W., Keegan, S. Agents as Catalysts for Mobile Computing. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI), Vol. 3508, 182-197. Springer Verlag [pdf].
- Hristova, N. and O`Hare, G.M.P., Ad-me: Wireless Advertising Adapted to the User Location, Device and Emotions In Proceedings Software Track of the Thirty-Seventh Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-37), 5th-8th Jan. IEEE Computer Society Press 2004 [pdf].
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