Decentralized Ad-Hoc Groupware API and Framework for Mobile Collaboration

Abstract

We describe a mobile collaborative system designed for wireless, ad-hoc collaboration. In recent years, mobile computing has emerged as a new discipline in the field of computer science. Due to advances in technology, portable computing devices have become more pervasive. From smart phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) running embedded operating systems, to portable computers running conventional desktop operating systems, these devices have increasingly provided communication capabilities that utilize wireless connections. With those communication capabilities firmly established, the next logical step is in the direction of greater interactions between mobile users equipped with such devices. However, conventional collaborative tools are ill suited for the demands of portable computers and mobile networks, especially in situations in which no fixed-network infrastructure is present. With these considerations in mind, we designed and implemented a collaborative environment and a framework API suited towards ad-hoc networks of small mobile devices. By creating such a framework, developers can easily take advantage of a decentralized and fault-tolerant collaborative environment, and rapidly develop custom collaboration spaces suited towards their specific need.