Connecting the Disconnected

Mobility, in all of its forms, results in networks with varying degrees of connectivity. Providing communication services in such networks relies on solutions that treat these disconnections as an expected part of the system, instead of as an exception to be handled out of band. However, handling disconnectivity breaks most architectures for more stable and connected networks. Instead of a standard layered approach to communication services, communication in such intermittently connected networks depends on three key components: contacts, or knowing who we meet, context, knowing what is in our neighborhood, and content, knowing how to find and deliver data. In this talk, I will present some of our current research on support for communication in intermittently connected networks, vehicular networks and mobile social networks, as well as the target applications and deployment testbeds.

Robin Kravets is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the head of the Mobius group at UIUC, which researches communication issues in all types of networks that are challenged by mobility, including wireless LANs, ad hoc networks, sensor network, delay and disruption tolerant networks, vehicular networks, mobile social networks and personal area networks. Her research focuses on solutions that enable effective power management, connectivity management, data transport, congestion management, location management, routing and security. For more information, visit http://mobius.cs.illinois.edu.