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WIRELESS SYNDICATION SERVICE (WSS) - MOBILE CHURCH PROJECT

The goal of this project is to develop an infrastructure for the delivery of information to mobile phone owners, using the latest wireless data transmitting technologies such as WAP, Internet over GPRS, or Bluetooth.

In the Wireless Syndication Service (WSS) a mobile terminal (e.g., a phone) equipped with a mobile Java-based software client receives up-to-date multimedia content (on a per visit or subscription basis) with hyper-references, pictures and audio. The content is stored on a central server. The data provider can easily add or modify the content using any Internet-enabled computer. The content is aggregated into packages with a time-stamp and life duration. Packages are transmitted on-demand to clients via Bluetooth or similar short-range wireless broadcast methods. The transmission is initiated upon a client's approaching a designated location, where a data transmitter is installed. Alternatively, whenever the client is out of range of the data transmitter or when Bluetooth technology is not available, the information packages can be obtained by using mobile data-transport technologies, such as GPRS. This can happen, for example, when using a subscription service or when following a hyper-reference link to content located in another data package. The Bluetooth approach is preferred to the GPRS approach, however, because of the high cost of the GPRS traffic.

In order to satisfy clients who have do not have the ability to use Java applications in their mobile phones, we also provide server-based information access using Internet- or WAP-enabled phones. The information content will be tailored to the form that these browsers can process and display.

The project includes the development of a dedicated data format for wireless syndication, a server-side application responsible for storage, a program for managing and disseminating information, a Bluetooth gateway, an Internet-based application for management and authoring the multimedia content. It also includes a mobile Java-based client-side program that navigates, retrieves, and displays information to the client.

Originally the WWS system was designed as information dissemination tool for use in services at churches in East Finland. The rationale is that it would attract youth to services by utilizing the advantages of modern mobile technologies. In addition to this use, WSS can be used at public locations in general. For example, it can be used by libraries, museums, restaurants, movie theaters, and other types of organizations to disseminate information such as opening hours, time-tables, selected activities, special offers, exhibition content, etc. - basically any information, that service providers consider to be worth for syndication.

Eugene Ageenko, Alina Gutnova, Konstantin Petrukhnov, Raimondas Milasius, Fedor Nikitin, firstname.lastname@cs.joensuu.fi