Multimedia Networks Laboratory

Publications - Abstract

Anwar M. Haneef, Santhosh R. Thampran, Aura Ganz, "MOKSHA - Waves of Knowledge", The 5th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, July 2001, Orlando, Florida, USA.

MOKSHA - The Name

MOKSHA, in the ancient Indian language Sanskrit, means emancipation from knowledge, or the state of having achieved a state of Nirvana, by attaining all of knowledge.

Abstract from the paper:

In this paper, we propose an application called MOKSHA for efficiently delivering information, in particular, course contents to mobile users. MOKSHA has been designed keeping in mind the following issues: 1) the client device that is a low-end system in terms of battery power, memory capacity, computational power and display features, and 2) wireless channel characteristics such as low bandwidth and frequent disconnections. MOKSHA assumes that a mobile device has three time varying connectivity modes: network connectivity, peer-to-peer connectivity and stand-alone mode. In order to work effectively in such conditions, MOKSHA implements strategies used for caching the course contents on the mobile device of the end user. Such strategies account for the user behavior, the end device characteristics and connectivity mode and the course contents.

Extended Abstract:

With the popularity of the Internet, Distance Education has become a burgeoning field. Mobile devices such as PDAs and Cellular phones are becoming an essential component of our daily lives. In this paper we propose an architecture, MOKSHA, for merging these two technologies.

MOKSHA utilizes Jini as its agent mobility framework, thereby making the entire architecture platform independent. MOKSHA also assumes that the devices have dynamic peering capability with technologies such as Bluetooth. The client would initially require registering and setting up the environment for running the MOKSHA Jini agent.

MOKSHA incorporates three modes of operation. During the stand-alone mode, the device is not within the network range. Whenever the mobile device is not within the network range, the agent resident on the device tracks the user behavior, such as his/her course navigation. During the peer-mode, devices may query neighboring devices for updates in course materials. For example, roommates, in an apartment not within network range may peer with each other’s devices to share course material. During connection mode, the client is connected to the Internet. Since the device is connected, the agent on the device communicates with the server and updates the user profile onto the server. The course content is divided into multiple tracks based on the background of the users and based on the current user profile, caches the appropriate track of the course material onto the device. The user profile transmitted to the server may also include the characteristics of the mobile device used, for efficient caching. In case the server is loaded, the server would signal the device with a busy tone. The device in this case would resort to peer-mode for retrieving course content. As and when the server is free, the client’s request, which was queued on the server, may be serviced via the server.

The agent on the device may look up for the course service provider locally, using Jini Lookup protocol. In case the local course provider cannot be located, it may resort to a predefined lookup. For example, a certain company may have registered for a course from UMASS. When the device is within the UMASS campus or within the company LAN vicinity, the course server may be dynamically located. In case the user travels abroad, the agent may not find the course service provider locally in which case, it would connect to the course service provider directly via a unicast connection. The agent may keep track of the location of the default course provider in such cases.

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This research work is supported by grants from:


National Science Foundation	Army Research Office	Microsoft Corporation