Bringing Modern Web Applications to Disconnected Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a web browser-based framework enabling interaction with opportunistic network applications without installation, supporting multiple OSes and disconnected environments, validated through simulations and real-world implementations.

Contribution

It presents a novel web-based interaction system for opportunistic applications that works across various mobile OSes and disconnected networks, without requiring app installation.

Findings

Supports six opportunistic applications in implementation

Validated system operation through simulations

Enables interaction without app installation or full network connectivity

Abstract

Opportunistic networking is one way to realize pervasive applications while placing little demand on network infrastructure, especially for operating in less well connected environments. In contrast to the ubiquitous network access model inherent to many cloud-based applications, for which the web browser forms the user front end, opportunistic applications require installing software on mobile devices. Even though app stores (when accessible) offer scalable distribution mechanisms for applications, a designer needs to support multiple OS platforms and only some of those are suitable for opportunistic operation to begin with. In this paper, we present a web browser-based interaction framework that 1) allows users to interact with opportunistic application content without installing the respective app and 2) even supports users whose mobile OSes do not support opportunistic networking at all via minimal stand-alone infrastructure. We describe our system and protocol design, validate its operation using simulations, and report on our implementation including support for six opportunistic applications.