IBM's Infinity middleware looks to bridge ad hoc networks

Computerworld - Imagine being able to use your cell phone to share data with other phones or mobile devices nearby in a way that could allow you to avoid traffic jams on your way to work -- or find the best way out of a burning building.

That's the idea behind "Infinity," prototype middleware developed by IBM researchers and graduate students for data sharing among mobile devices. The middleware could allow users to connect and share information between devices, regardless of operating system, hardware or communication modes.

IBM officials declined to say when Infinity -- which IBM calls the first standard way to share data between diverse mobile devices directly in ad hoc networks -- would be ready for sale. And while they declined to detail their plans for the technology, they said it could be used for ad hoc networking that could involve traffic monitoring or responses to natural disasters.

"The idea for Infinity started with realizing we have a whole lot of mobile devices such as cell phones, PDAs and even USB memory sticks, which all store a lot of information," Stefan Schoenauer, lead researcher on the Infinity team, said in a recent interview. "So we wondered: What if we could tap into all those devices and make all that information accessible?"

Schoenauer noted that devices "speak so many different languages" given the various operating systems and hardware and software features now in use. "It's hard to connect devices and to share information among them," he said. "So we've built a piece of software that runs atop all these mobile devices and makes them speak a common language, makes the exchange of information easier and takes security and privacy into account so that you're only sharing information with whom you want."

Work on the concept began a year ago, and the middleware is currently just 200KB in size, Schoenauer said. It still needs features added for greater stability and use.

IBM officials described a number of possible uses: In one example, a beleaguered driver commuting to work could use his cell phone to get data directly from mobile devices from other people stuck in traffic. That data could be shared atop Infinity via Bluetooth wireless or General Packet Radio Service, a popular cellular service.

In another example, IBM officials described a disaster scenario where damaged cell phone towers would knock out cellular service. Using Bluetooth atop Infinity, rescue workers coud more easily track the locations of co-workers or victims, officials said.

In yet an other example, a user would be able to set security and privacy controls so that only members of an account team in a large company could share data -- or in a hospital, patient information could be shared only among authorized doctors and care providers.