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Ubiquitous Networking Research Group
The goal of the Ubiquitous Networking research group is to create and apply key technologies for seamless and ubiquitous networking in 4G mobile networks and to conduct research on advanced service support platforms. Our research covers core networking aspects such as technologies for next-generation IP based mobile networks and overlay networks as well as the extension of traditional cellular networks to ubiquitous environments.
Next-generation Service Platforms
Today's mobile service platforms are centralized, monolithic systems, which usually do not support inter-domain service provisioning and heterogeneous service access. Our research on next-generation service platforms focuses on the development of component-oriented overlay architectures leveraging existing platforms such as IMS and integrating them with emerging Internet technologies such as web services.
Next-generation Mobile Networks
Key topics such as mobility management, multi-radio support, multi-path networking, network virtualization, and well integrated security concepts are of high interest to mobile operators. We design and analyze protocols in the areas mentioned above, and investigate how they can be integrated into future all-IP core networks of cellular operators. In order to address the diverse quality-of-service requirements of emerging IP-based services, application-awareness is an important building block for future network architectures. We address application-aware networking through cross-layer optimization targeted at multi-application, multi-radio networks.
Overlay Networks
Emerging overlay networks are regarded as being disruptive for traditional fixed and mobile operators. For example, most Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications being offered today are not under control of the operator but overlay its infrastructure causing traffic management problems and attracting users with different business models. Our research investigates managed, operator-friendly overlays. Moreover, overlay technologies also provide vast opportunities for networking and services. Distributed overlay concepts, for example based on P2P technologies, allow a more efficient usage of existing platform resources by relying on existing infrastructure. Further, P2P technologies provide new business opportunities for operators. Here, we target the development of an operator-grade distributed resource management framework including controllability, availability, bootstrapping, and reputation management as core building blocks.
Integration of Heterogeneous Networks
The integration of and inter-operation with networks and devices beyond the traditional cellular domain, such as WLAN, WiMAX, RFID, sensors, etc. is an important aspect of future 4G systems. Transporting real-time traffic over these types of networks requires MAC layer modifications and scheduling strategies that offer strict QoS guarantees, high reservation efficiency, and that coexist well with existing best effort traffic. We also investigate more intelligent interference management that makes use of improved physical layer capabilities including multi-user detection and beam-forming. Techniques such as network coding and cooperative communication can further help to improve the performance of these types of networks.
Mobile Phones interfacing peripheral Devices
Mobile phones can take on the unique role of acting as mediating devices between cellular networks and emerging near field communication and sensor networks. In addition to centrally controlled services, we are also looking at systems distributed among mobile phones, investigating the most efficient combination of cellular and local communication. Application scenarios include large scale search for objects, cooperative data acquisition, configuration, and device management. We are further interested in research on using the network of cellular phones itself as a large scale sensing system. This poses many challenges on large-scale distributed data storage, dissemination, and information retrieval.
Security
Security research is an integral part of all of the research topics above. Its prime objective is to create protocols, interfaces, and interchange formats plus associated validation results that are key for trusted communication in 4G systems. These enable or support secure transmission of information, well protected infrastructure components, as well as secure access mechanisms. |
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