CSR-DMSS, SM: Web on Demand - Bridging the Gap Between Social Networks and Ad Hoc Networking

从西方世界到第三世界，手持设备（手机、PDA）的使用已经激增。用户世界正在变得既无线又移动的。Web 2.0开创了一个新的时代，在这个时代，Web被视为服务的提供者，而不仅仅是文档和/或信息的存储库。尽管有了这些进步，网络仍然是一个单一的网络，一个固有的假设，即强大的计算和通信基础设施支持它。难道移动的无线设备不能在近距离形成自己的网络吗？这就是这个项目背后的愿景，即Web on Demand（WoD）。 WoD旨在弥合社交网络和ad hoc网络之间的差距。 换句话说，它旨在重新思考从应用程序到网络的系统软件堆栈，这将允许创建和管理社交网络，而无需任何基础设施支持的假设。该研究的核心是为移动的设备开发软件技术，该技术将允许动态创建主题自组织覆盖网络，使（a）具有相似兴趣的移动的人（例如，天气预报），（B）朋友和家人（例如，在主题公园中），以及（c）在使命关键应用中的参与者（例如，搜索和救援，保持联系。 WoD补充了万维网（WWW），并在其可用时利用它，例如利用环境计算基础设施来增强用户体验，以及管理移动的用户动态创建的用户生成内容（UGC）。这个项目背后的愿景是使目前通过万维网提供的服务民主化。从这个意义上说，这项研究的结果可能会产生深远的技术和社会影响。最重要的是，这项研究将有助于培养一批新的计算机科学家，他们除了推动技术发展外，还与社会事业有关。

AbstractFrom the western world to the third world, the use of handheld devices (cellphones, PDAs) has proliferated. The world of users is becoming both wireless and mobile. Web 2.0 has ushered in an age wherein the web is viewed as a provider of services and not just a repository of documents and/or information. Despite this advance, the web remains just that, a single web with an inherent assumption that a powerful computing and communication infrastructure supports it. Couldn't mobile wireless devices in close proximity form a web of their own? This is the vision behind this project, the Web on Demand (WoD). WoD aims at bridging the gap between social networks and ad hoc networking. In other words, it aims to rethink the system software stack all the way from application to networking that would allow the creation and management of social networks without any assumption of infrastructure support. The core of the research is to develop software technologies for mobile devices that would allow the dynamic creation of thematic ad hoc overlay networks empowering (a) mobile people with similar interests (e.g., weather forecast), (b) friends and family (e.g., in a theme park), and (c) participants in mission critical applications (e.g., search and rescue), stay connected. WoD complements the World Wide Web (WWW) and leverages it when it is available, such as exploiting the ambient computing infrastructure to enhance user experience, and managing the dynamic creation of User Generated Content (UGC) by mobile users. The vision behind this project is to democratize access to services that are currently offered through WWW. In this sense, the results from this research can have far-reaching technological and societal consequences. Most importantly, the research will help breed a new class of computer scientists who are connected with societal causes in addition to advancing technology.