Mobile networks seem to be the way of the future, at least in many projected applications that includes emergency management, traffic control and even health care. Researchers are now looking into developing wireless networks of embedded systems of mobile phones and possibly small computers that would enable continuous communication and monitoring especially in times when they are really needed such as during disasters.

A possible scenario that European researchers are now investigating is a road tunnel fire. In such cases, it would be a struggle for rescuers to handle such an area filled with smoke and with fixed communication systems probably going down due to the fire. But with a system of wireless sensors to provide communication and a means to monitor what is the situation inside the tunnel, they could be gain information such as interior temperature, location of possible survivors as well as aid firefighters inside the tunnel to receive information from a control source using wireless handheld terminals and displays.

In order for such a project to become a reality, it is necessary for mobile devices to be capable of forming a self-organized wireless network that encompasses a wide range of communications technologies. Developing the software that would make this possible is the objective of the RUNES project.


Mobile networks function very differently from the wireless computer networks found in homes and offices today, so explains Dr. Lesley Hanna, a consultant and dissemination manager for RUNES. Without a human administrator, an ad-hoc network must be able to assemble itself from any devices that happen to be nearby. It should have the ability also to adapt as devices move in and out of wireless range. And where the office networks use powerful computers with separate routers to do this job, the building blocks of ad-hoc mobile networks are low-power devices that must be able to do their own wireless routing, forwarding the signals from other devices that would otherwise be out of radio range.

A typical network contained in this embedded system could include tens or even hundreds of devices ranging from handheld computers down to tiny devices called motes that are each equipped with a sensor, a microcontroller and a radio that can be scattered around an area that needs to be monitored. Other devices in the network could be mounted at fixed points, carried by robots, or worn as ‘smart clothing' or ‘body area networks'.

Source: ICT Results