A prediction technique for disconnection detection serves as the basic layer of a pervasive architecture for cooperative work and activity coordination in MANETs

T he widespread availability of network-enabled handheld devices (for example, PDAs with Wi-Fi capabilities) has made the development of pervasive computing environments an emerging reality. MANETs (mobile ad hoc networks) are networks of mobile devices that communicate with one another via wireless links without relying on an underlying infrastructure.1 This distinguishes them from other types of wireless networks—for example, cell networks or infrastructurebased wireless networks. To achieve communication in a MANET, each device acts as an endpoint and as a router forwarding messages to devices within radio range. MANETs are a sound alternative to infrastructurebased networks whenever an infrastructure has never been available, is no longer available, or can’t be used, as in emergency scenarios. People who collaborate via MANETs in emergency situations would benefit from software support for their collaboration. Such a coordination layer would let them execute sequential or concurrent sets of activities through specific applications (for example, computer-supportedcooperative-work tools2 and workflow management applications3) running on handheld devices, thus supporting the execution of cooperative processes. All such applications typically require continuous connections (for example, for data and information sharing, and activity scheduling and coordination) among devices. Unfortunately, continuous connections generally aren’t guaranteed in MANETs. We’re investigating a specific pervasive architecture that can maintain continuous connections among MANET devices. We’re targeting this architecture for computer-supported-cooperativework (CSCW) and workflow management applications that would constitute the coordination layer. The basic problem of such an architecture is, how do you predict possible disconnections of devices, to let the coordination layer appropriately address connection anomalies? To solve this problem, we’ve developed a technique for predicting disconnections in MANETs. This technique serves as the basic layer of an innovative pervasive architecture for cooperative work and activity coordination in MANETs. We believe that in emergency scenarios, our proposed pervasive architecture can provide more effective coordination among team members.