CST476 MOBILE COMPUTING - Module I

CST476 MOBILE COMPUTING

Jo Cheriyan1
1 Department of Computer Science and Engineering
 What is Mobile Computing?
Mobile Computing is a technology that allows us to transmit data, audio, and video via devices that are not
connected with any physical link. The key features of mobile computing are that the computing devices are
portable and connected over a network.
The major elements of mobile computing are mobile communication, mobile hardware, and mobile software.

1 Mobile Communication: This refers to the communication infrastructure set in place, including
wireless network infrastructure, protocols, data formats, bandwidths, and portals necessary to ensure

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seamless connectivity and communication.

2 Mobile Hardware: The hardware is the mobile computing devices and supporting devices, with the
capabilities required to perform their required operations and connect to networks.

3 Mobile Software: The most important software component is the operating system, which is the brain
of any computing system. For a laptop, this may be Windows, Linux or macOS, and for a smartphone,
it may be Android or iOS. The different applications running on a device are also part of the mobile
software.
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Features and Challenges

1 Size: The portability of mobile devices demand a smaller size. Reduction in size without reducing
capabilities have also always been a challenge when developing mobile devices.

2 Power Source: Mobile devices are usually powered by rechargeable batteries. Improving the battery
life of mobile devices is another significant area of research.

3 Operating System: Laptops run on more or less the same OS as PCs, but for smartphones and

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other devices, the OS is significantly different.

4 Connectivity: Mobile computing devices have capabilities that allow access to the internet. Also,
mobile devices like smartphones have access to mobile broadband networks that allow you to make
and receive phone calls.

5 Applications: Applications meant for mobile devices are specifically designed for running on a
particular OS. These applications are what extends the capabilities of devices beyond just connecting
to the internet or making calls.
Mobile computing devices

1 Laptop: Laptop computers are portable personal computers. It is meant to offer the same
functionality as a PC, so the same OS, applications, and files can run on this.

2 Smartphone: A smartphone is a mobile phone with powerful capabilities. They typically have a
touchscreen interface, have internet access, can run various applications, and include features like a
camera and GPS.

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3 Tablet computer: Tablets have touchscreens and virtual keyboards, and are often thought of as an
intermediary between a laptop and a smartphone. They have better processing power, functionality,
and screen resolution than smartphones.

4 Wearable: A more recent addition, wearable computers like smartwatches offer limited features
similar to a smartphone within a watch.

5 E-reader: E-readers are devices that are similar to tablets, but their main purpose is to read digital
documents.
Advantages of mobile computing

1 Portability: Mobility is the biggest benefit that mobile computing devices offer. With the advent of
mobile computing, it became possible for people to carry around computing devices with great
capabilities. There is no need to go to a physical location to access the internet or work with a
particular software.

2 Affordability: With each passing year, mobile computing devices are becoming cheaper and offer

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more capabilities. Even those who are economically struggling can easily invest in a smartphone. With
affordability comes accessibility, and eventually, this would also result in closing the digital divide.

3 Data Access: The internet opened up a trove of an incomprehensible amount of data, and mobile
computing devices made that data accessible to everyone. Gone are the days when you had to pore
over huge books in a library to compile a research paper, or look through phone books, or ask for
directions at every street corner.

4 Increased Productivity: The above benefits facilitate a great increase in productivity. People can
 work from their homes at any and all times. They have access to large amounts of information and
can teach themselves anything and do anything.

5 Entertainment: Access to a wide variety of movies, educational and informative content is now
simple. Thanks to the availability of relatively inexpensive high-speed data connections, you can live
stream anything anywhere. It is made possible through Youtube, Netflix and Amazon Prime.

6 Cloud Computing: Advancements in cloud computing have greatly increased the capabilities of

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mobile computing. The limitations in physical capabilities that mobile computing devices face can be
overcome by storing information and accessing applications in the cloud.
Limitations of mobile computing

1 Security: There are several security concerns associated with the increased popularity of mobile
computing devices. Keeping a device constantly connected to the internet makes it vulnerable to
threats. Cyber security concerns like data breaches and unethical practices such as hacking, pirating,
and so on, are becoming increasingly difficult to keep in check.

2 Issues with Connectivity: Mobile devices need either WiFi connectivity or mobile network

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connectivity to access most of their capabilities. Most applications do not function without internet
connectivity, and the lack of it makes devices very limited.

3 Device Size Limitations: The portability of mobile computing devices demands smaller sizes. And
the limitations in size puts limitations on features like processing power, storage, and screen resolution.

4 Power Consumption: Rechargeable batteries are always limited by the time it needs before it needs
to be plugged in. A possible lack of availability of power sources and charging stations can render
mobile computing devices useless.
 5 Dependency:Because mobile computing devices are lacking in some ways, as mentioned above,
increased dependency on them can prove dangerous. Nowadays we always expect to have our
smartphone with us to help us solve any problem, and we would be lost if it runs out of juice.

Mobile Computing Functions

Mobile computing can be defined as a computing environment over physical mobility. The user of the
mobile computing environment will be able to access data, information or logical objects from any device in
any network while on move. A computing environment is defined as mobile if it supports one or more of
these characteristics:
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1 User mobility: User should be able to move from one physical location to another location and use
same service

2 Network mobility: User should be able to move from one network to another network and use same
service

3 Device mobility: User should be able to move from one device to another and use same service
 4 Session mobility: A user session should be able to move from one user-agent environment to another.

5 Service mobility: User should be able to move from one service to another.

6 Host mobility: The user should be either a client or server.

The mobile computing functions can be logically divided into following major segments:

1 User with device: The user device, this could be fixed device like desktop computer in office or a
portable device like mobile phone. E.g Laptop Computers, Desktop Computers, Fixed Telephones,

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Mobile Phones, Digital TV with set top box, palmtop computers, pocket PCs, two way pagers,
handheld terminals etc

2 Network: Whenever a user is mobile, he will be using different networks at different places at
different time eg GSM, CDMA, iMode, Ethernet, Wireless LAN, and Bluetooth etc.

3 Gateways: This is required to interface different transport bearers. These gateways convert one
specific transport bearer. These gateways convert one specific transport bearer to another transport
bearer.
4 Middle-Ware: This is more of a function rather than a separate visible node. In the present context
Middle-Ware handles the presentation and rendering of the context on a particular device. It will also
handle the security and penalization for different users.

5 Content: This could be an application, system or even an aggregation of systems. The content can
be mass market, personal or corporate content. Origin Server will have right to accessing the database
and the storage devices.

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Mobile Computing Architecture

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In the three-tier architecture, the first layer is the User Interface or Presentation Tier: This layer deals
with user facing device handling and rendering. This tier includes a user system interface where user
services (such as session, text input, dialog and display management) reside.
Presentation (Tier - 1)

1. The layer of applications that run on the client device and offer all the user interfaces.

2. It is responsible for presenting information to the end-user.

3. Users receive information through: screens, speakers, vibration.

4. Users send information through: keyboards, pens, touch screens.

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5. It includes web browsers, WAP browsers, customized client programs.

6. It should be context-aware and device-independent.

The second tier is the Process Management or Application - Tier II:

1. This layer is for application programs or process management where business logic and rules are
executed.

2. This layer is capable of accommodating hundreds of users.

3. It controls transactions and asynchronous queuing to ensure reliable completion of transactions.

4. It performs the business logic of processing user input, obtaining data and making decisions.

5. Application Tier may include technology like CGI, Java, JSP, .Net services, PHP or ColdFusion
deployed in products like Apache, WebSphere, WebLogic, iPlanet, JBOSS.

6. Presentation and database-independent.

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7. Decisions on rendering, network management, security, datastore access, need for different middleware
software.

8. A middleware can be categorized into:

(a) Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM): Connects different applications through

asynchronous exchange of messages. It provides a message queue between any 2 interoperating
apps with a temporary storage location if busy or out of service.
 (b) Transaction Processing Middleware: Provides tools and environment for developing
transaction-based distributed applications. It includes management features like restarting failed
processes, dynamic load balancing, and enforcing consistency of distributed data. It optimizes
the use of resources.

(c) Database Middleware: runs between app and DB, ex: DB connectors as ODBC.

(d) Distributed Objects and Components: ex: CORBA, an open distributed object computing
infrastructure. It simplifies common network programming tasks; object registration, location,

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activation, request multiplexing, error handling, and operation dispatching.

(e) Transcoding Middleware: Transcode one format of data to another format to suit the need of
the client; content adaptation to fit the need of the device, i.e. PDA screen, network bandwidth
needs. i.e., Internet Content Adaptation Protocol (ICAP), that transcodes HTTP messages.

The third and final tier is the Database Management or Data Tier (Tier -III:

1. This layer is for database access and management.

 2. This tier architecture provides increased performance, flexibility, maintainability, re-usability and
scalability while hiding complexity of distributed processing from the user.

3. Data Tier is used to store data needed by the application and acts as a repository for both temporary
and permanent data.

4. It is used to store data needed by the application and act as a repository for both temporary and
permanent data.

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5. Data can be stored in any form, ex: relational DB, text files.

6. SyncML: Protocol to standardize synchronization of data access from different nodes.

The data could be stored in any form of datastore or database (Relational Databases, Simple Text files or
legacy Hierarchical Database), XML format for Interoperability.
Design Considerations for Mobile Computing
Should be context-independent and context-sensitive in terms of content and behavior.
Examples of adaptation: Context can be decomposed into disjoint categories or types to help define the
context of the software system.

1 The User Context

2 The Time Context

3 The Physical Context

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4 The Computing Context.

Context-independent properties are activated by the word for a concept on all occasions. The activation of
these properties is unaffected by contextual relevance.
Different types of context that can enhance the usability, reliability, and security of the service.

1 Content with context awareness.

 2 Content switch on context.

3 Content transcoding on context.

4 A MC application should operate in dynamic conditions.

Context can be used as a basis by which an adaptation manager or algorithm decides to modify content or
application behavior.

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What is meant by context-sensitive?
Sensitive to context; exhibiting different behaviour depending on a task or situation.
More relevant definition: Mobile context-aware computing systems can respond to the changes in the
environment in an intelligent way to provide a better consumer experience for users.
Example:
The context-aware computing include the new design of mobile devices that switch between a vertical and a
landscape orientation depending on how they are positioned. Another example is devices that change their
screens and back lighting according to the amount of light in the room where they are being used.
Client Context Manager TRACE KTU
1 It gathers and maintains information related to the client device, user, network, and environment
surrounding the mobile device.

2 Information is provided by a set of Awareness Modules (sensors of various kinds).

3 Examples of context information: identity, spatial, temporal, environmental, social situation, resources
nearby, availability of resources, physiological measurements, activity, and schedules & agendas.
 4 The challenge of context-aware systems is in the complexity of capturing, representing, filtering, and
interpreting contextual data.

5 3 aspects of context management: Context sensing, Context representation, and Context

interpretation.

Policy Manager

1 A policy is a set of rules

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2 Is responsible for controlling policies related to mobility.

3 It defines policies for documents and services and assigns roles to users.

4 Each role will have permissions and obligations.

5 Each policy will haves access rights to read, write, and execute.

6 A policy in combination with role and current context information can determine what actions a user
is allowed to perform.
 7 How to make a machine understand policies and make them behave in the expected fashion?

8 Machine - understandable data on the web is required - Semantic Web.

Security Manager

1 Provides secure connection between the client device and the server.

2 Depending on the security policies, if the security requirements are not met, some contents may not be
viewable.
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3 It ensures security with respect to

– Confidentiality (encryption).

– Integrity (hashing).

– Availability (firewall).

– Non-repudiation (digital signature).

 – Trust (third-party recommendation system).

Adaptability Manager

1 Is responsible for adapting content and behavior according to context and policy.

2 Appends location-specific information to documents.

3 Content Adaptation needs:

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– Physical capabilities of the device, i.e., screen size, width/height... etc.

– Logical capabilities of the device, i.e., displaying video... etc.

– Effective network bandwidth.

– Payload

4 Transcoding can be either: spatial, temporal, color, code, or object (semantic).

5 Seamless Communication.
Middleware and Gateway Middleware is Software that provides a link between separate software
applications. It is a layer that lies between the operating system and applications.
Use of Middleware:

1. Provide interaction with another service or application.

2. Filter data to make them friendly usable.

3. Filter data to make them friendly usable.

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4. Make an application independent from network services.

5. Make an application reliable and always available.

6. Add complementary attributes like semantics.

Types of Middleware:

1 Communication Middleware: Communication Middleware is used to connect one application with

another application. For Example connecting one application with another application using telnet.
2 Message Oriented Middleware: It supports the receiving and sending of messages over distributed
applications. It enables applications to be disbursed over various platforms. It makes the process of
creating software applications across many operating systems. It makes network protocols less
complicated. It holds many advantages over middleware alternatives and is one of the most widely
used types of middleware.

3 Object Oriented Middleware: Object Oriented Middleware is also known as an object request
broker. It provides the facility to send objects and request services via an object oriented system. In

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short, it manages the communication between objects.

4 Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Middleware: It provides the facility to calls procedures on
remote systems and is used to perform synchronous or asynchronous interactions between applications
or systems. It is usually utilized within a software application.

5 Database Middleware: It provides direct access to databases and direct interaction with databases,
There are many database gateways and connectivity options and you simply have to see what will best
work for your necessary solution. This is the most general and commonly known type of middleware.
 This includes SQL database software.

6 Transaction Middleware: This type of middleware includes applications like transaction processing
monitors. It also encompasses web application servers, These types of middleware are becoming more
and more common today.

7 Embedded Middleware : This type of middleware allows the facility of communication and
integration of services with an interface of software or firmware. It acts as a liaison between embedded

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applications and the real time operating system.

8 Content-Centric Middleware: This type of middleware allows you to abstract specific content
without worry of how it is obtained. This is done through a simple provide or consume abstraction. It
is similar to publish orsubscribe middleware, which is another type of this software that is often used
as a part of web based applications.
What is Gateway ? Gateways as the name suggest are one kind of gate (passage) that connects smart
objects to the servers by application of fog computing.
A computer that sits between different networks or applications. The gateway converts information, data or
other communications from one protocol or format to another. A router may perform some of the functions
of a gateway. An Internet gateway can transfer communications between an enterprise network and the
Internet.
Features Of Gateways : Gateways provide a wide variety of features. Some of which are:

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• Gateways work as a network bridge for data transmission as it makes the transmission of data possible
to transmit with more ease and does not demand high storage capacity. Gateways create a structural
temporary storeroom for the data transmitted by the server and data requests made by the user end.

• Gateways made the transmission more feasible as it queued up all the data and divide it into small
packets of data rather than sending it bulk. Data transmitted through Gateway is divided into various
useful and small packets each having its individual significance and a role to play while processing
data.
 • Gateways made the data more secure if the modifications to the gateway could be done which then
could create more reliability over smart devices.

• Gateways optimize the data for search engines, applications, and servers by implanting better
readability to the content so that a machine could understand and optimize data with ease.

Types Of Gateways: There is not any specification of gateways in the commercial market other than
being brand specific. But on the feasibility, performance, speed, and work-ability gateways can be classified
in a broad manner as:
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• High Bandwidth Gateways: These Gateways are meant for a more complex and intelligent
Internet of Things or when there are lots of data to be processed and transmitted and a lot of smart
devices to be handled once a time. These gateways could process data with more speed and flexibility
and are able to handle more data at a time. Gateways basically are not categorized as such in the
market, but various brands have certain specifications through which it could be decided either the
gateway is of high bandwidth or not.
 • Low Bandwidth Gateway: These Gateways are really the best choice while choosing a simple
smart object or when you want to handle a single device once at a time. These Gateways are usually
cheap and are easy going with simple smart devices, and usually need a sink* for more feasibility.
They are really awesome if want a cheap solution to your data transmission.

Advantages Of Gateways : The gateways provide the following advantages to the user:

• It is possible through gateways that smart objects rely on fog computing for data transfer between
user and server.
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• Gateways provide a way for the feasibility of smart objects without reducing the intelligence of objects
as there is no need to transfer the intelligence of objects on the server-side hence preserving
performance and accessibility.

• Gateways make the use of smart objects energy-efficient as data transfers do not rely on the smart
device and transfers between devices and gateways are possible through low energy options like BLE,
ZigBee, or Bluetooth.
 • Gateways open a new technology to the world, i.e., fog computing.

• Gateways could add an extra layer of security to the data if certain modifications added to them.

• Gateways make data encryption, data analysis, and handling possible so that a new phase of smart
objects is available to users.

• Gateways drive industries to innovate and make it possible for industries to grow more.

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• Gateways led industry and set up an employment opportunity as if development to gateways is made
there are more people brainstorming to make gateways more feasible and overcome limitations.

Limitations Of Gateways : There are few limitations of gateways as well. Here are some of them:

• Gateways need to device-specific as multiple attachments are not possible to single.

• Gateways and there is a need for a sink for this purpose.

• Gateways are not data handling master but just are used for data transfers.
• Gateways do not validate the sources of data request and user and also could not predict the behavior
from the data.

• Gateways are just task-specific and not learners.

• Gateways add an unavoidable expense to your daily life if you want your lifestyle IoT-driven.

• Gateways need extra space in your space.

• They want special attention for maintenance sometimes.

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• More featured gateways could even make a hole in your pocket if you are looking for something cheap.

• A sink is needed for the feasibility of a lot of gateways.

Applications
Mobile Computing is a term used to describe technologies that enable people to access network services
anyplace, anytime, and anywhere.
In many fields of work, the ability to keep on the move is vital in order to utilise time efficiently. The
importance of Mobile Computers has been highlighted in many fields of which a few are described below:

1. Vehicles: Music, news, road conditions, weather reports, and other broadcast information are

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received via digital audio broadcasting (DAB). For personal communication, a universal mobile
telecommunications system (UMTS) phone might be available offering voice and data connectivity.
The current position of the car is determined via the global positioning system (GPS). Cars driving in
the same area build a local ad-hoc network for the fast exchange of information in emergency
situations or to help each other keep a safe distance. In case of an accident, not only will the airbag be
triggered, but the police and ambulance service will be informed via an emergency call to a service
provider. Buses, trucks, and trains are already transmitting maintenance and logistic information to
their home base, which helps to improve organization (fleet management), and saves time and money.
2. Emergencies: An ambulance with a high-quality wireless connection to a hospital can carry vital
information about injured persons to the hospital from the scene of the accident. All the necessary
steps for this particular type of accident can be prepared and specialists can be consulted for an early
diagnosis. Wireless networks are the only means of communication in the case of natural disasters
such as hurricanes or earthquakes.

3. Business: Managers can use mobile computers say, critical presentations to major customers. They

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can access the latest market share information. At a small recess, they can revise the presentation to
take advantage of this information. They can communicate with the office about possible new offers
and call meetings for discussing responds to the new proposals. Therefore, mobile computers can
leverage competitive advantages. A travelling salesman today needs instant access to the company
database: to ensure that files on his or her laptop reflect the current situation, to enable the company
to keep track of all activities of their travelling employees, to keep databases consistent etc. With
wireless access, the laptop can be turned into a true mobile office, but efficient and powerful
synchronization mechanisms are needed to ensure data consistency.
4. Credit Card Verification: At Point of Sale (POS) terminals in shops and supermarkets, when
customers use credit cards for transactions, the intercommunication required between the bank central
computer and the POS terminal, in order to effect verification of the card usage, can take place
quickly and securely over cellular channels using a mobile computer unit.

5. Replacement of Wired Networks: wireless networks can also be used to replace wired networks,
e.g., remote sensors, for trade shows, or in historic buildings. Due to economic reasons, it is often
impossible to wire remote sensors for weather forecasts, earthquake detection, or to provide

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environmental information. Wireless connections, e.g., via satellite, can help in this situation. Other
examples for wireless networks are computers, sensors, or information displays in historical buildings,
where excess cabling may destroy valuable walls or floors.

6. Infotainment: wireless networks can provide up-to-date information at any appropriate location.
The travel guide might tell you something about the history of a building. places etc. Another
growing field of wireless network applications lies in entertainment and games to enable, gaming
networks as soon as people meet to play together.
Limitations of Mobile Computing

1. Resource constraints: Battery

2. Interference: Radio transmission cannot be protected against interference using shielding and result in
higher loss rates for transmitted data or higher bit error rates respectively.

3. Bandwidth: Although they are continuously increasing, transmission rates are still very low for
wireless devices compared to desktop systems. Researchers look for more efficient communication

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protocols with low overhead.

4. Dynamic changes in communication environment: variations in signal power within a region, thus link
delays and connection losses.

5. Network Issues: discovery of the connection-service to destination and connection stability.

6. Interoperability issues: the varying protocol standards