Adaptive Groupware for Wireless Networks

Current groupware systems do not work well over wireless networks, as a wireless connection is of variable and often poor quality. Our research suggests a number of changes that allow groupware applications to make efficient use of a wireless channel. One fundamental change is providing adaptability, which allows applications to take advantage of favourable network conditions and to react to difficult conditions as they occur. Our experiments with a multiuser text editor revealed several strategies for adaptive groupware. Applying these strategies demonstrated a bandwidth reduction in one scenario of over 90%.