Hovering information-self-organizing information that finds its own storage

Abstract

Hovering information is a mobile computing paradigm where pieces of self-organizing information are responsible to find their own storage on top of a dynamic set of mobile devices. Once deployed, the hovering information service acts as a location-based service for disseminating Geo-localized information generated by and aimed at mobile users. It supports a wide range of pervasive applications, from urban security to stigmergy-based systems. A piece of hovering information is attached to a geographical point, called the anchor location, and to its vicinity area, called the anchor area. A piece of hovering information is responsible for keeping itself alive, available and accessible to other devices within its anchor area. It does not rely on any central server. This chapter presents the hovering informationmodel and results of simulations performed using replication and caching algorithms involving up to 200 distinct pieces of hovering information in a small geographic area. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.