Project description
Mobile and wireless systems and platforms beyond 3G
For instant mobile services, just add MIDAS
A new software platform will make it easier to provide sophisticated mobile services quickly and cheaply.
It means rescue workers could benefit from advanced team collaboration and mapping services, rally spectators could track the position of their favourite driver in real time, and tourists could get sightseeing information at the time and place they actually need it, tailored to their preferences.
The specific services offered will be limited only by the imagination of the designers. The technical barriers will no longer be a problem.
Wheels included, no reinvention required
Up to now, only major telecoms companies could provide innovative mobile services at short notice, and at great expense. Only they had the expertise to get services running quickly.
But this is no longer true. Thanks to the MIDAS project, small teams of programmers and designers will be able to rapidly develop and deploy innovative mobile services.
The MIDAS project centres around a middleware platform of building blocks. Middleware allows different software systems to communicate and work together seamlessly.
Currently, it takes a lot of time just to set up a network. But the MIDAS middleware takes care of this task, freeing application developers from dealing with the time-consuming reinvention of low-level technical functions. The wheels are included, and no reinventing is required.
The MIDAS middleware will be useful in situations when the number of users could be very large, services need to be deployed quickly or for a limited time, and infrastructure is limited.
The proof of the opportunistic platform
MIDAS used two demonstration scenarios to test the middleware out. One involved a rescue crew, the other a sporting event. For a rescue crew, speed and reliability are critical. The team chose a sporting event for the second test as officials, volunteers and spectators can benefit from mobile services, and there is considerable commercial potential.
MIDAS demonstrated the sporting scenario at Gieten, Drenthe, in the Netherlands, in November 2007 during the Super Prestige Cyclo Cross event.
The MIDAS platform delivered race rankings and rider positions to hand-held mobile devices, and computers in real time. It could even provide championship rankings, based on the real-time rankings in the Gieten race, and compare rider race performance against training performance.
The MIDAS platform is opportunistic. It searches for the strongest available communications network to route information, whether mobile GSM, 3G, WiFi or even Bluetooth. MIDAS routes communication along the best path, on the fly, in the background.What’s next?
The Gieten test provided the MIDAS team with detailed information about the platform’s performance, and improvements will be included in the next version, due for completion in the coming months. Now the team is attempting to raise the profile of their product.
Next, the project will test the improved software in a crisis management deployment in the Paris Metro. The software will make it easier to track and communicate with safety personnel, even if other standard communication networks like GSM are no longer available.
Once the Paris test has been completed, the MIDAS team will finish analysing their results and begin the process of moving from proven prototype to a commercial product.
The project will define and implement a platform to simplify and speed up the task of developing and deploying mobile applications and services. It focuses in particular on making it feasible to provide mobile services where: (1) The number of users is very large; (2) The network may need to be set up at short notice, or for limited duration; (3) Infrastructure is limited and some users may have to use ad-hoc communications.The platform will consist of an overall architecture, and middleware building blocks providing solutions to technical issues that must be addressed in developing mobile services.The functions provided by the building blocks will include: (1) Maintaining connectivity between nodes, mixing infrastructure-based and infrastructure-free communications as needed; (2) Information sharing through development of a flexible distributed data management system; (3) Gathering, transforming and distributing context information in a form suitable for realizing mobile services.A "horizontal" architecture will be used, meaning that applications can adapt to different underlying communications technologies.The project will promote standardisation by aligning its work with the OMA (Open Mobile Alliance).Two challenging application scenarios will be used as a source of requirements on mobility, and as a means to validate the approach: mobile support for emergency crews responding to a major incident, and a system for collecting and spreading information at sports events.The consortium includes a major research institute, one of European's foremost system integrator companies, a major telecoms company, an SME (and IST prize winner) specialising in mobile services, two organisations with expertise in the domains to be used for application scenarios, and two Universities with leading expertise in the technical areas addressed by the project.The project duration will be 30 months, with a cost budget of 4.9 MEuro and requested grant of 2.9 MEuro.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2004-IST-4
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
7034 Trondheim
Norway
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.