Wi-Fi Proximity and Context-aware Browsing

A new approach for delivering local data

Dmitry Namiot Lomonosov Moscow State Universitydnamiot@gmail.com

Manfred Sneps-Sneppe Ventspils University Collegemanfreds.sneps@gmail.com

ICDT 2012

• A new model for for accessing to local data for mobile subscribers based on Wi-Fi proximity ideas

• Any existing or even especially created Wi-Fi hot spot could be used as presence sensor that can open (discover) access for some user-generated content.

• We can discover hyper local data as info snippets that are valid (relevant) for mobile subscribers being at this moment nearby some Wi-Fi access point.

• Possible use-cases for this application: distributing data in Smart City projects, proximity marketing in malls and office centers (campuses)

About

Contents

Introduction

Spot Expert (SpotEx)

Future development

Conclusion

Introduction

The common definitions:

• Context - location, identities of nearby people and objects, and changes to those objects.

• Context awareness is defined as complementary element to location awareness. Anything we can add to location

• Pervasive computing - deal with linking changes in the environment with computer systems, which are otherwise static.

Context-aware

Modern applications adopt a context-aware perspective to manage:

a)communication among users and among systems, or between the system and the user,

b) situation-awareness, like modeling location and environment aspects (physical situation) or the current user activity (personal situation)

c) knowledge chunks: determining the set of situation-relevant information, services or behaviors

Wi-Fi and location

• The most popular approach for indoor-positioning• Wi-Fi location positioning is based on a grid of Wi-Fi hotspots providing, in general, 20–30 meters location accuracy. • The big question is costly infrastructure preparation (what is a location for our base Wi-Fi tags?)• One alternative: Cooperative Location-sensing system (CLS) is an adaptive location-sensing system that enables devices to estimate their position in a self-organizing manner

Location and LBS • Do we really need location in all LBS? In the most cases location is just an intermediate stage. It is a key used in requests for geo-database

• The target in the most cases is geo-data. Context aware information is the true goal for LBS applications (for most of them)

• What if we provide context aware data directly, without the location?

• Here comes the proximity: “if you are close (near) to some then …”

Proximity projects

Some existing projects:

• AllJoyn• Nokia Instant Community• LocalSocial• AROUND

Most of them targets end-user devices. Device to device proximity. Our own project: device to infrastructure proximity.

Spot Expert (SpotEx)

• What if we borrow from the traditional indoor positioning schema the first stage only: detection of Wi-Fi networks?

• This detection actually already provides some information about the location – just due to local nature of Wi-Fi network.

And as the second step we add the ability to describe some rules (if-then operators, or productions) related to the Wi-Fi access points.

SpotEx foundation

• Our rules will simply use the fact that the particularly Wi-Fi network is detected. And based on this conclusion we will open (read – make them visible) some user-defined messages to mobile terminals.

• Actually it is a typical example for the context aware computing. The visibility for user-defined text (content) depends on the network context.

• This approach uses Wi-Fi proximity

• Any Wi-Fi hot spot works here just as presence sensor.

SpotEx components

• database (store) with productions (rules) associated with Wi-Fi networks

• rule editor. Web application (including mobile web)that lets users add (edit) rule-set, associated with some Wi-Fi network

• mobile applications, that can detect Wi-Fi networks, check the current conditions against the database and execute productions

SpotEx – how does it work• We can take any exiting Wi-Fi network (or networks especially created for this service – the most interesting case) and add some rules (messages)to that network.

• Message here is just some text that should be delivered to the end-user’s mobile terminal as soon as the above-mentioned network is getting detected via our mobile application.

• The word “delivered” here is a synonym for “available for reading/downloading”.

SpotEx – use cases

The possible use cases:• Some shop can deliver deals/discount/coupons right to mobile terminals as soon as the user is near some predefined point of sale. Proximity marketing.

We can describe this feature as “automatic check-in” for example. Rather than directly (manually or via some API) set own presence at some place (e.g. similar to Foursquare, Facebook Places etc.) with SpotEx mobile users can pull data automaticallyand anonymously.

SpotEx – use cases

• Campus admin can deliver news and special announces

• Hyper local news in Smart City projects could be tight (linked) to the public available networks and delivered information via that channel etc.

• The most interesting (by our opinion, of course) use case: Wi-Fi hot spot being opened right on the mobile phone

SpotEx – use cases

• Open Wi-Fi Access Point right in the mobile

• Add (link) proximity rules for this access point exactly

• Rules will define data chunks (info snippets) visible for users nearby this phone

SpotEx – security issues

• Our approach does not touch security and connectivity issues.

• You do not need to connect mobile subscribers to your hot spot.

• SpotEx is all about using hot spot attributes for triggers that can discover the content.

• SpotEx threats Wi-Fi hot spots just as sensors.

SpotEx productions

Each rule looks like a production (if-then operator). The conditional part includes the following objects:

Wi-Fi network identity, signal strength (optionally), time of the day (optionally), client ID (MAC-address)history of visits

SpotEx productions

In other words it is a set of operators like:

IF network_SSID IS ‘mycafe’ AND time is 1pm – 2pm THEN { present the coupon for lunch }

It is like production based expert system.We can use well known algorithm for the Processing, e.g., Rete

Implementation

• Based on Android OS. • WiFiManager from Android SDK • This API let us pickup the following information:

SSID - the network name.BSSID - the address of the access point.capabilities - describes the authentication, key management, and encryption schemes supported by the access point.frequency - the frequency in MHz of the channel level - the detected signal level in dBm.

Implementation

• IF network_SSID IS ‘mycafe’ AND level > -60db AND time is 1pm – 2pm AND network_SSID ‘myStore’ is not visible THEN {present the deals for dinner}

• {present the deals for dinner} is some data (information) snippet presented in the rule. Each snippet has got a title (text) and some HTML content (or a link to external site for example). Snippets are presenting coupons/discounts info for malls, news data for campuses etc.

Client’s application

• Client-side application• Shows visible

networks• Shows working rules

(conclusions)

Context-aware browsing

• Conclusion for rules present set of context-aware Conclusion for rules present set of context-aware datadata

• De-facto users are browsing context-aware data De-facto users are browsing context-aware data chunkschunks

• Each data chunk is presented a a mobile web page Each data chunk is presented a a mobile web page (SpotEx creates web pages automatically when you (SpotEx creates web pages automatically when you set new rule)set new rule)

• SpotEx is actually context-aware browserSpotEx is actually context-aware browser

Wi-Fi chat

• Hyper-local communication tool based on SpotEx

• Web chat and communication forum for the mobile users nearby the same Wi-Fi access point

Future development

• Markup for rules – e.g. describe context-aware data Markup for rules – e.g. describe context-aware data right in HTML. Custom defined attributes in HTML5 right in HTML. Custom defined attributes in HTML5 defines conditions.defines conditions.

• Native context-aware browser: web intentsNative context-aware browser: web intents

• Bluetooth support Bluetooth support

• Wi-Fi direct support Wi-Fi direct support

Conclusion

• a new context-aware browsing model for mobile a new context-aware browsing model for mobile users based on the ideas of Wi-Fi proximity. users based on the ideas of Wi-Fi proximity. • can use any existing as well as the especially can use any existing as well as the especially created (described) Wi-Fi network as created (described) Wi-Fi network as presence presence ttrigger for discovering user-defined content rigger for discovering user-defined content • completely software based completely software based and and does not require the does not require the upfront space preparations. upfront space preparations. • supports ad-hoc solutions supports ad-hoc solutions • could be used for delivering commercial information could be used for delivering commercial information in malls, distributing data in Smart City projects, in malls, distributing data in Smart City projects, sharing news feeds for office centers and campusessharing news feeds for office centers and campuses

About us

International team: Russia - Latvia International team: Russia - Latvia ((Moscow – Moscow – Riga – VentspilsRiga – Ventspils). ). Big history of developing Big history of developing innovative telecom and software services, innovative telecom and software services, international contests awards international contests awards

Projects examples we are in: Projects examples we are in: open API for telecom, open API for telecom, web access for telecom data, web access for telecom data, mobile web applications, mobile web applications, M2M applications, context-aware computingM2M applications, context-aware computing..