Past, Present, and

Future of Mobile Computing

1
Presentation outline
Introduction on mobile computing

Past of mobile computing

Present of mobile computing

* Wireless LAN * GSM/GPRS/CDMA *Bluetooth

* Mobile IP * Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET)

* PDA/SmartPhone/Laptop * Sensor/Zigbee Mesh * RFID

* Security

Future of mobile computing

2/16/2024 Amuomo 2
What is mobile computing?
 Mobile computing is to describe technologies that
 enable people to access network services anyplace, anytime,
and anywhere,
 with portable and wireless computing and communication
devices.
 Aspects of mobility
 User mobility
 Between different geographical locations
 Between different networks
 Between different communication devices
 Between different applications
 Device portability
Between different geographical locations
 Between different networks

2/16/2024 Amuomo 3
 Mobile Communication Networks: Examples
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications): worldwide
standard for digital, cellular Mobile Radio Networks
UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System): European
Standard for future digital Mobile Radio Networks
AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System): analog Mobile Radio
Networks in USA
DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications): European
standard for cordless phones
TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio): European standard for circuit
switched radio networks
ERMES (European Radio Message System): European standard for
radio paging systems (Pager)
802.11: International standard for Wireless Local Networks
Bluetooth: wireless networking in close/local area
Inmarsat: geostationary satellite systems
Teledesic: planned satellite system on a non-geostationary orbit
2/16/2024 Amuomo 4
Mobile Computing vs.
Ubiquitous Computing/Pervasive Computing
 Mobile Computing is a generic term describing the application of
small, portable, and wireless computing and communication
devices. This includes devices like laptops with wireless LAN
technology, mobile phones, wearable computers and Personal
Digital Assistants (PDAs) with Bluetooth or IRDA interfaces, and
USB flash drives.
 Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp, or sometimes ubiqcomp)
integrates computation into the environment, rather than having
computers which are distinct objects. Another term for ubiquitous
computing is pervasive computing. Promoters of this idea hope
that embedding computation into the environment would enable
people to move around and interact with computers more naturally
than they currently do.
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

2/16/2024 Amuomo 5
Applications of mobile computing
 Vehicles
 transmission of news, road condition, weather, music via DAB
 personal communication using GSM
 position via GPS
 local ad-hoc network with vehicles close-by to prevent accidents, guidance
system, redundancy
 vehicle data (e.g., from busses, high-speed trains) can be transmitted in advance
for maintenance
 Medical
 Nurses/Doctors in Medical offices are now using Wireless Tablet PCs/WLAN to
collect and share patient information.
 Sales
 Sales representatives are using Tablet PCs with Smart phones for presentation,
transmitting/access information among office, hotel, and customer location.
 Emergencies
 Early transmission of patient data to the hospital, current status, first diagnosis
 Provide mobile infrastructure in dealing with Natural Disaster (earthquake,
hurricane, fire), terrorist attacks, war, ...

2/16/2024 Amuomo 6
 Natural evolution of computing

More
Flexible Mobile Computing
Resource
Usage LANs + WorkStations

Networking

Timesharing

Batch

Single User
OS

Freedom from Collocation

2/16/2024 Amuomo 7
Challenges in mobile computing
 Mobility means changes
 Hardware
 Lighter, smaller, energy management, user interface
 Low bandwidth, high bandwidth variability
 Kbit/s to Mbit/s, bandwidth fluctuation
 Security risk
 Devices more vulnerable, endpoint authentication harder
 Heterogeneous network
 Different devices, interfaces and protocols
 Location awareness
 Locality adaptation
 Higher loss-rates, higher delays, more jitter
 Connection setup time, hand-off
 Restrictive regulations of frequencies
 Frequencies have to be coordinated
2/16/2024 Amuomo 8
History of wireless communication
 1896 Guglielmo Marconi,
 First demonstration of wireless telegraphy
 Based on long wave, requiring very large transmitters
 1907 Commercial Trans-Atlantic Wireless Service
 Huge ground stations: 30 x 100m antenna masts
 1920 Discovery of short waves by Marconi
 Cheaper, smaller, better quality transmitters by vacuum tube
 1982 Start of GSM in Europe (1G analog)
 1983 Start of AMPS in America (1G analog)
 1992 Start of GSM (2G digital)
 1997 Wireless LAN - IEEE802.11
 1998 Iridium satellite system
 66 satellites
9
2/16/2024 Amuomo
History of wireless communication
 1999 Standardization of additional wireless LANs
 IEEE standard 802.11b
 Bluetooth
 WAP (Wireless Application Protocol): access to many
services via the mobile phone
 2000 GSM with higher data rates (2.5G digital)
 HSCSD offers up to 57,6kbit/s
 First GPRS trials with up to 50 kbit/s
 2001 Start of 3G systems
 IMT - 2000, several “members” of a “family”,
CDMA2000 in Korea, UMTS tests in Europe
2/16/2024 Amuomo 10
 Overview of mobile devices
Pager Smart phone
Laptop
• receive only • voice, data
• fully functional
• tiny displays • simple graphical displays
• standard applications
• simple text
messages

Sensors, Wearable device PDA

embedded • human wearable • graphical displays
controllers • non standard I/O • character recognition

performance
2/16/2024 Amuomo 11
 Overview of development
cordless wireless
cellular phones satellites LAN
phones
1981: 1980:
NMT 450 1982: CT0
1983: Inmarsat-A 199x:
AMPS 1984: proprietary
1G CT1
1986:
NMT 900 1987: 1997:
1988:
CT1+ IEEE 802.11
Inmarsat-C

1989:
1991: 1991: 1992: 1999:
CT 2
1992: CDMA D-AMPS Inmarsat-B 802.11b, Bluetooth
2G GSM Inmarsat-M
1993: 1991:
PDC DECT 2000:
1994: IEEE 802.11a
DCS 1800 1998:
Iridium 2003:
2000: IEEE 802.11g
2.5G
GPRS
2007?:
2001:
3G IEEE 802.11N
IMT-2000
20??
4G? analogue Fourth Generation?

digital
2/16/2024 Amuomo 12
 Overview of wireless services
Data Rates

10 Mbps

Wireless
LAN
IR
1 Mbps

50 Kbps Cellular: GSM,

GPRS, CDMA,

10 Kbps Satellite

Local Wide
2/16/2024 Coverage Area Amuomo 13
Wireless LAN
 IEEE 802.11 standard: a family of specifications for
wireless LAN technology. The IEEE accepted the
specification in 1997.
 802.11 specifies an over-the-air interface between a
wireless client and a base
AP
station or between two
AP: Access Point
wireless clients.
 to 2 Mbps inWired
802.11: up AP the Network
2.4 GHz band. AP
 802.11b: up to 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band.
 802.11a/g: up to 54 Mbps in the 5/2.4 GHz band.
 802.11n: up to 220+ Mbps in the 2.4/5 GHz band (two proposals
not approved yet). Vendors already selling 802.11pre-n devices.
 802.11 promises true vendor interoperability. Every
vendor must have a viable 802.11 product strategy.
2/16/2024 Amuomo 14
Wireless LAN Security
 WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy.
 A basic wireless LAN security mechanism.
 Easy to set up, commonly used.
 Don’t rely on WEP for wireless security. There are a number of
flaws in the WEP.
 Many wireless home networks don’t even use WEP,
which makes bad situation worse.
 MAC address based access control mechanism doesn’t
work.
 Use other security mechanisms such as VPN, PEAP and
TTLS.
 Research project on PEAP / TTLS in our research group in
University of Colorado.
2/16/2024 Amuomo 15
Wireless Ad Hoc Network
 Wireless Ad Hoc Network (peer to peer)
 A collection of autonomous nodes that communicate with each
other by forming a multi-hop radio network in a decentralized
manner.
 No infrastructure, no default router available
 “every” node needs to be a router
 Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET)
 Host movement frequent
 Topology change frequent
 Wireless Ad Hoc Sensor Networks
 A number of sensors spread across a geographical area.
 Limited resources on sensors
2/16/2024 Amuomo 16
Mobile IP
 Mobile IP is designed to allow mobile device users to
move from one network to another while maintaining
their permanent IP address.
 Motivation:
 Changing the IP address is not desired when host moves.
 However, traditional scheme requires to change IP address
when host moves between networks.
 Mobile IP provides an efficient, scalable mechanism for
node mobility within the Internet. Mobile IP allows
moving devices to maintain transport and higher-layer
connections while moving.
 Applications:
 Mobile IP is most often found in wireless WAN environments
where users need to carry their mobile devices across multiple
LANs with different IP addresses.
2/16/2024 Amuomo 17
 Mobile IP: Basic Idea
Mobile Node (MN)
Home Agent (HA)
2

home network 3 receiver

Internet
foreign
network
COA: ? Foreign Agent (FA)
1. Sender sends to the IP address of MN,
1 HA intercepts packet (proxy ARP)
2. HA tunnels packet to COA, here FA,
by encapsulation
sender 3. FA forwards the packet to the MN
2/16/2024 Amuomo 18
 Mobile IP: Basic Idea
HA
1 MN

home network sender

Internet

FA foreign
network

1. Sender sends to the IP address

CN of the receiver as usual,
FA works as default router
2/16/2024 receiver Amuomo 19
Bluetooth
 Bluetooth is used to connect and exchange information
between devices like PDAs, mobile phones, laptops, PCs,
printers and digital cameras wirelessly.
 Named after a Denmark king Harold Bluetooth, who is
known for his unification of previously warring tribes.
 Low-cost, short range (up to 10m), low power
consumption, license-free 2.45 GHz band.
 Using the same frequency range, Bluetooth differs from
Wi-Fi in that
 Different multiplexing schemes.
 Wi-Fi with higher throughput, greater distances, more expensive
hardware, and higher power consumption.
 Applications:
 Wireless mouse, wireless headset
2/16/2024 20
Amuomo
RFID: Radio Frequency Identification
 RFID is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data
using devices called RFID tags.
 An RFID tag is a small object, such as an adhesive sticker, that
can be attached to or incorporated into a product.
 RFID tags contain antennas to enable them to receive and
respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver.
 No line-of sight required (compared to laser scanners)
 Withstand difficult environmental conditions (cold, frost etc.)
 Categories:
 Active RFID: battery powered, distances up to 100 m
 Passive RFID: operating power comes from the reader over the
air, distances up to 6 m
 Applications:
 Automated toll collection: RFIDs mounted in windshields allow
commuters to drive through toll plazas without stopping
2/16/2024 Amuomo 21
GSM
 One of the most popular standards for mobile phones in
the world.
 Formerly: Groupe Spéciale Mobile (founded 1982)
 Now: Global System for Mobile Communication
 European standard, moving to North America
 More than one billion people use GSM phones as of
2005, making GSM the dominant mobile phone system
worldwide with about 70% of the world's market.
 GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile
phones connect to it by searching for cells in the
immediate vicinity.
 One of the key features of GSM is the Subscriber
Identity Module (SIM), commonly known as a SIM card.
The SIM is a detachable smartcard containing the user's
subscription information and phonebook.
2/16/2024 Amuomo 22
 GSM Overview
OMC, EIR, HLR
AUC GMSC
NSS fixed network
with OSS
VLR MSC MSC
VLR

BSC

BSC
RSS (Radio Subsystem)
NSS (Network and switching subsystem)
OSS (Operation Subsystem)
MS (Mobile Station)
BTS (Base Transceiver Station)
RSS MS BSC (Base Station Controller)
MS MSC (Mobile Services Switching Center)
GMSC (Gateway MSC)
HLR (Home Location Register)
BTS VLR (Visitor Location Register)
EIR (Equipment Identity Register)
AUC (Authentication Center )
2/16/2024 Amuomo OMC (Operation and Maintenance 23Center )
 GSM: structure
Fixed network Switching Subsystems Radio Subsystems
OMC

Data VLR HLR AuC EIR

networks
MS
(G)MSC BSC BTS

PSTN/
BTS
ISDN MS
Call Management
Network Management BSS MS

AuC Authentication Centre MS Mobile Station

BSS Base Station Subsystem (G)MSC (Gateway) Mobile Switching Centre
BSC Base Station Controller OMC Operation and Maintenance Centre
BTS Base Transceiver Station PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network
EIR Equipment Identity Register VLR Visitor Location Register
HLR Home Location Register ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
2/16/2024 24
Amuomo
 GSM: Structure
Operation and Maintenance Centre (OMC)
• logical, central structure with HLR, AuC und EIR
Authentication Centre (AuC)
• authentication, storage of symmetrical keys, generation of
encryption keys
Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
• storage of device attributes of allowed, faulty and jammed
devices (white, grey, black list)
Mobile Switching Centre (MSC)
• arrangement centre, partial as gateways to other nets, assigned
to one VLR each
Base Station Subsystem (BSS): technical radio centre
• Base Station Controller (BSC): control centre
• Base Transceiver Station (BTS): radio tower / antenna

2/16/2024 Amuomo 25
GPRS
 GPRS: General Packet Radio Service
 It is a mobile data service available to users of GSM
mobile phones. It is often described as "2.5G“.
 GPRS is packet-switched which means that multiple
users share the same transmission channel, only
transmitting when they have data to send.
 GPRS provides moderate speed data transfer, by
allocating unused cell bandwidth to transmit data.
 Poor bit rate in busy cells
 Usually, GPRS data is billed per kilobytes of information
transceived
 In 3G mobile systems like UMTS (Universal Mobile
Telecommunication System), voice and data services
will be mixed in a normal communication.
2/16/2024 Amuomo 26
CDMA (Code Division Multiple
Access)
 based on CDM (Code Division Multiplexing, Code multiplex)
 i.e. to transmission channels the definite Code is assigned, this can
be on the same Frequency for the same Time transmitted
 derivates from military area
 via development of cost-efficient VLSI components
 via spread spectrum techniques a good communication security and
tiny fault sensitivity
 but: exact synchronization is required, code of transmitting station
must be known to receiving station, complex receivers for signal
separation are required
 Noise should not be very high

2/16/2024 Amuomo 27
CDMA illustrated by example
The Principle of CDMA can be good illustrated by the example of
some party:
 communication partners stand closely to each other, each
transmission station (Sender) is only so loud, that it does not
interfere to neighbored groups
 transmission stations (Senders) use certain Codes (for
instance, just other languages), they can be just separately
received by other transmission stations
 receiving station (Listener) attunes to this language (Code), all
other Senders are realizing this only as background noise
 if receiving station (Listener) cannot understand this language
(Code), then it can just receive the data, but it cannot do
anything with them
 if two communication partners would like to have some secure
communication line, then they should simply use a secret
language (Code)
 Potential Problems:
 security distance is too tiny: interferences (i.e. Polish und
Czech)
2/16/2024 Amuomo 28
CDMA-Example in the theory
Sender A
 Sends Ad =1, Key Ak = 010011 (set: „0“= -1, „1“= +1)
 Transmit signal As =Ad *Ak = (-1, +1, -1, -1, +1, +1)
Sender B
 sends Bd =0, Key Bk = 110101 (set: „0“= -1, „1“= +1)
 Transmit signal Bs =Bd *Bk = (-1, -1, +1, -1, +1, -1)

Both signals superpose additively in air

 Faults are ignored here (noises etc.)
 C = As+ Bs =(-2,0,0,-2,+2,0)

Receiver will listen to Sender A

 uses Key Ak bitwise (internal product)
 Ae = C * Ak =2 +0+0 +2 +2+0 = 6
 Result is greater than 0, so sent bit was „1“
 analog B
 Be = C * Bk =-2 +0 +0 -2 -2 +0 = -6, also „0“
2/16/2024 Amuomo 29
PDA
 Personal digital assistants (PDAs or palmtops)
 handheld devices that were originally designed as personal
organizers, but became much more versatile over the years.
 A basic PDA usually includes a clock, date book, address book,
task list, memo pad and a simple calculator.
 One major advantage of using PDAs is their ability to
synchronize data with desktop, notebook and desknote
computers.
 The currently major PDA operating systems are:
 Palm OS by PalmSource, Inc
 Windows Mobile (Windows CE) by Microsoft
 BlackBerry by Research In Motion
 Symbian by a group of companies
 According to a Gartner market study, the overall market
for PDAs shrunk by 5% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2004,
compared to Q1 2003. Amuomo 30
2/16/2024
Satellite Systems
 Like cellular systems, except that the base stations (i.e.,
satellites) move as will as mobile devices
 Satellite coverage attractive for areas of world not well
served by existing terrestrial infrastructure: ocean areas,
developing countries
 IRIDIUM
 Motorola
 Voice, Data (2.4 kbps), Fax, Location Services
 66 satellites in 6 polar orbits (780 km)
 Failed project

2/16/2024 Amuomo 31
Future mobile and wireless networks
 Shift industrial paradigm from piecewise solutions to
end-to-end information systems
 Improved radio technology and antennas
 smart antennas, beam forming, multiple-input multiple-output
(MIMO) 802.11N
 dynamic spectrum allocation
 Core network convergence
 IP-based, quality of service, mobile IP
 Ad-hoc technologies
 spontaneous communication, power saving, redundancy
 Simple and open service platform
 intelligence at the edge, not in the network (as with IN)
 more service providers, not network operators only

2/16/2024 Amuomo 32
Integrated mobile computing
Integration of heterogeneous fixed and
mobile networks with varying
transmission characteristics

regional

vertical
handover
metropolitan area

campus-based horizontal
handover
in-car,
in-house,
2/16/2024 personal area Amuomo 33
IP-based next generation network ?
SS7 signalling

server farm,
PSTN, CS gateways, proxies broadcast
core
gateways

MSC
IP-based
firewall, GGSN,
core gateway
SGSN
GSM BSC router
Internet

access
points private
private WLAN
RNC WPAN

UMTS
public
WLAN

2/16/2024 Amuomo 34