The Ambient Networks Project is a global effort to create infrastructure to drive standardisation and remove the technical barriers that separate different wireless technologies.
The project focuses on technology which will allow people to communicate using the most cost-effective and appropriate combination of wireless networks and services. Its goal is to provide seamless communication and entertainment through wireless devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops and mobile phones.
What will this research achieve?
The project aims to create a general framework to overcome the problem of wireless network roaming and making services available across foreign networks. The results will facilitate the incremental introduction of new services onto the market and will stimulate sustainable growth in the world mobile communications sector.
The Ambient Networks project aims to create network solutions for mobile and wireless systems beyond third-generation (3G) mobile communications. It will enable scalable and affordable wireless networking while providing rich and easy-to-use communication services.
Who will benefit?
The Ambient Networks project has the potential to impact the development of future mobile and wireless networks. A successful system would enable timely introduction of new applications and services, increasing the use of mobile communications while improving the use of network resources.
Application service providers, network service providers and the general public will benefit with cost-effective, service-rich networks which attract new services and flexible usage scenarios to empower the users.
What are the key features?
The team has started from a selected set of scenarios, which represent the user’s, network operator’s or service provider’s view of what various new services could be and how these may be used in home, work or social situations. The team has, from those, built a technical description of the underlying services and technology components, then analysed these in regards to existing technology fit and possible new ways and ideas of how they can be used. The team then considers innovative technologies which will result in the desired services, then analyses and optimises them. Finally, ideas are tested by simulation and prototyping.
Progress update
- Project consists of 3 phases
- Phase 1: 2004-2005, Phase 2: 2006-2007, Phase 3: 2008-2010
- NICTA has participated in Mobility and Multimedia routing Work packages in phases 1/2
- M2NM Workshop organised in Sydney, October 2007
- Decision to change direction for Phase 3, with more emphasis on transport protocols for wireless communications
Research team
Ambient Networks Phase 1 and 2 was done as part of a strong industry-led consortium.
NICTA project team: Dr Roksana Boreli, Christoph Dwertmann, Olivier Mehani and Golam Sarwar.
Duration: Six years
Participants
In an international collaboration with global significance, a consortium, led by Ericsson, was put together for the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Program under the Information Society Technology priority. The consortium includes: Alcatel, British Telecom, DoCoMo, Fraunhofer FOKUS, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Lucent Germany, NEC, NICTA, Nokia, Nortel, Siemens, Siemens Mobile, Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Telenor, TNO, TU Berlin, University College London, University of Surrey, Vodafone and VTT.