NetSE: Large: Collaborative Research: Platys: From Position to Place in Next Generation Networks

该项目开发了上下文的高级概念，利用下一代网络的功能，使应用程序能够提供更好的用户体验。特别是，它利用移动设备——总是与用户一起——来捕捉上下文的关键元素：用户的位置，并通过本地化，用户环境的特征。对用户体验至关重要的是用户的位置：一个概念性的位置，如“在家”、“慢跑”或“杂货店购物”——将位置与活动、环境属性和附近其他人的活动结合起来的描述。实现这个位置的概念需要来自设备和基础设施的信息以当前网络体系结构无法预料的方式流动。它假定在保护用户隐私的同时允许机会主义互动，并设计激励机制以促进合作而不利用任何隐私。上述架构关注点远远超出了路由等传统网络主题。该项目将开发、演示和评估一种以用户体验为主的新型网络架构。它将导致语义上下文建模、多抽象层次的移动跟踪、协作定位和激励机制方面的理论进步。提供增强用户体验的网络应用程序将为工业、生产力和公民的生活质量带来重大回报。一个原型系统将在大学环境中实施和评估环境感知服务，并有望扩展到K-12学校和公共设施。

This project develops a high-level notion of context that exploits the capabilities of next generation networks to enable applications that deliver better user experiences. In particular, it exploits mobile devices -- always with a user -- to capture key elements of context: the user's location and, through localization, characteristics of the user's environment. What matters for the user experience is the user's place: a location in conceptual terms such as "at home," "jogging," or "grocery shopping" -- descriptions that combine positions with activities, environmental properties, and the activities of other nearby people. Realizing this notion of place requires that information from devices and infrastructure flow in ways unanticipated in current network architectures. It presumes enabling opportunistic interactions while preserving the users' privacy and designing incentive mechanisms to promote cooperation without exploitation of any. The above architectural concerns lie far beyond traditional network topics such as routing.This project will develop, demonstrate, and evaluate a novel network architecture that gives primacy to user experience. It will lead to theoretical advances in semantic context modeling, mobility tracking at multiple levels of abstraction, collaborative localization, and incentive mechanisms. Networked applications offering enhanced user experience will have significant payoffs for industry and the productivity and quality of life of citizens. A prototype system will implement and evaluate context-aware services in university settings with prospects of expansion to K-12 schools and public facilities.