Enabling cutting edge future internet research The problem with visionary research is that it often does not see the light of day. Facilities are often simply not available, or the experts needed to put scientific theories to the test cannot be found. This is true for a number of research fields, including cutting edge thi... The problem with visionary research is that it often does not see the light of day. Facilities are often simply not available, or the experts needed to put scientific theories to the test cannot be found. This is true for a number of research fields, including cutting edge thinking on the future of the internet. The two-year EU-funded SMARTFIRE project was established to address these points. Launched in November 2013, it aims to establish large-scale experimental facilities capable of accommodating cutting edge research on the future of the internet, and encourage international collaboration between the EU and South Korea. Through doing so, it aims to ensure that Europe remains at the forefront of this field. It is vital that Europe does not get left behind when it comes to internet research. After all, the internet is increasingly called upon to perform many tasks, from online banking to tsunami monitoring. Future networks will be faster, more flexible and ever-more responsive to the demands of both citizens and machines. In the near future, smart appliances may be able to talk to each other, our clothes may be able to monitor our health and cars may be crash-proof. Staying at the cutting edge is crucial. The project, which received nearly EUR 0.5m in EU funding, brings together ten partners from the EU, South Korea and an international collaborator from Australia. The first step has been to assess the expectations that are currently being placed on the internet, in order to identify future potential for this technology and where new research should be focused. A shared experimental facility located in Europe and South Korea is currently being built, which will promote joint experimentation among the project partners. The idea is to give leading experts in this field the opportunity to conceive and implement innovative ideas, and to take advantage of the most advanced facilities available. Indeed, SMARTFIRE aims to create a common and unified way of experimenting with such a large-scale experimental facility. The sharing of resources and expertise also reflects the global reach and unifying potential of the internet. The SMARTFIRE project's overall research infrastructure will be validated through two real life scenarios, designed to demonstrate the full potential of the interconnection of European and South Korean research. These scenarios have been selected on the basis of current trends in research experimentation. The first scenario is distributed Internet of Things measurement aggregation and processing. 'Internet of Things' is used to describe the advanced connectivity of devices, systems and services, whereby objects are equipped with identifiers and can be managed by computers. The key aspect of this scenario is to demonstrate how distributed measurements gathered from distant locations will be stored and processed in a cloud computing system that the end user will access transparently, without any knowledge of its location. The second scenario is video streaming over different technologies. In this scenario, the project team will examine how different technologies and bottlenecks of distant intercontinental links can impair video streaming applications, and how this problem can be alleviated.For more information, please visit: SMARTFIRE http://www.eukorea-fire.eu Project Factsheet Countries Greece
