Mobile Social Networking Framework
ART/087CP
20100517 - 20110816
6225
Dr Shen-chang Chao
There will be six deliverables in this project. They are listed as follows:
* A Mobile Social Networking Framework
In this framework, it includes several major components to be built to make mobile content sharing in the Personal Content Web (PCW) possible. They are listed as follows:
+ A PCW formation framework that includes leveraging relationships built from IM network, public social networking services, ad hoc group, etc.
+ A framework that allows the users to manage their contents, such as formulating content indices for searching, assigning access permissions, etc.
+ A location-triggering engine that triggers search queries to one’s PCW friends based on locations.
+ The necessary modules built at the client side to support NAT traversal.
The mobile social networking client based on this framework will be implemented on three mobile platforms, namely, Android, Symbian and iPhone.
* A content management tool
A tool will be developed for the users to select, de-select, and organize the contents to share, and determine whom to share the contents with. This content management tool will be available as a stand-alone client on the Android platform, as well as in form of web pages on Windows PC or other mobile devices.
* A Location-triggered content pushing software
The location-triggered software will be available on the client side, and enabling of pushing of contents to the mobile client based on where it is located. This deliverable also includes server support of this feature.
* Infra-structure support NAT
There will be several approaches to deal with accessing contents inside a home NAT, including manual pin-hole punching at one’s home router, UPnP, media-relay, etc. We will first investigate these three options and implement the one that would offer the most natural user experience, not only for tech-savvy users but also for non-tech users.
* Explore business opportunities with multiple customers
The technologies developed in this project are targeted for licensing to multiple customers, such as service providers and mobile device vendors. The potential business partnerships that ASTRI will explore include service providers that will offer this type of service, and device vendors that will incorporate this social networking function in their product offerings.
* Patent application
Shanghai WooJoy Technologies Company Ltd. [Sponsor]
In the Internet space, social networking is a new age application very popular among web users, especially among the younger generations. Internet services like Facebook, MySpace, Flick, YouTube, etc. are among the hottest sites in the web, mainly because they provide a new mechanism for Internet users to create and share contents, fitting perfectly into the Web 2.0 paradigm. The technologies developed in this project, a Mobile Social Networking Framework, are meant to add mobility into the equation. Instead of being confined to social networking on a PC at home, this framework would enable social networking on mobile devices, thus one is able to engage in these activities anytime at anywhere. A disruptive approach of social networking is to support these activities outside of the existing Internet-based social networking service. This would lead to a major paradigm shift that social networking and content sharing can be done in a de-centralized manner.