May 2010 Archives

For the most part, security has been an afterthought in the mobile phone space.  That is until recently.  As the value of information living on phones increases (financial, healthcare, home, etc.), the interest in them by hackers will increase.  We are just starting to see solutions that are helping to protect the data that lives on these phones as well as information communicated between devices.  A start-up venture called, Whisper, has recently announced an encryption approach for VoIP cell phone calls and texting that can prevent eavesdropping.  http://blogs.forbes.com/firewall/2010/05/25/android-app-aims-to-allow-wiretap-proof-cell-phone-calls/  They may need to find a way around CALEA  (http://www.eff.org/issues/calea) which allows the FBI and local law enforcement to tap into any communication including the internet.

Also, companies like Mocana (http://www.mocana.com/management.html), are developing solutions to secure not only cellphones but also any device (sensors, Nav, e-readers, thermostats, appliances, etc.) as the universe of these expands dramatically beyond just phones.  Mocana recently recieved an investment from Norton, validating the growing importance of this area.

This area is ready to explode so expect both small and large players to enter with pfferings, especially as the once fractured OS landscape consolidates for mobiles. Continue Reading...

When will we see the fundamental User Interface for Mobile devices change?  I do not consider touch screens a major UI breakthrough given they have been around since the 1980's.   Fundamentally, we have had the same windows/pointer based interface for the past 30 years!  So are we ready for a change?

There are some string signals on the horizon.  The major push is coming from several research labs developing gesture-based interfaces.  These include 6th sense out of MIT's Media Lab, Sony's EyeToy, Natal from Microsoft (gesture-based interface for Xbox), and a new approach from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany (http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/25380/?nlid=3025&a=f)  It is encouraging to see this many viable approaches to a new UI, even with some of these entering through the gaming market (first instigated by Nintendo with Wii).

The promise is that we will soon do away with keyboards, touchpads, and even monitors in favor of using our surroundings to be the interface.  This should encourage more immersive applications which our limited today by the constraints of having to type and face a screen.  One more stpe towards untethering us and unlocking the full power of Digital Swarms. Continue Reading...

There have been a wave of new innovations coming around using mobile phones as sensors.  The most recent is from a company called Rhevision which spun out of UCSD.  They have developed a tiny sensor that changes colr based on the presence of specific chemicals in the local environment.
(http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20005058-247.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0)  This continued advancement in tiny, cheap sensors will create a whole new set of solutions around participatory sensing with enormous social benefit.  Imagine knowing if the air in your office has any toxins in it?  or know if there are bacteria around your cafeteria or water cooler.  This used to take very expensive, and sophisticated detection equipment.  Soon it may be a matter of equipping a portion of employees with new smartphones.

The upside is obvious.  The downside of using people as sensors is the potential abuse of the information, especially knowing the context/location of the participating user.  With this information, many agencies will have deeper windows into our lives.  The trick will be to balance the protection of personal information with getting the necessary info to provide beneficial scientific results.  Much like in healthcare where knowing the patents entire life cycle profile could result in better treatments, mobile sensing services will need to tread carefully and demonstrate benefit in order for users to let more information out.  Whether its knowing the noise polution level in your neighborhood or your community carbon footprint, people will need to feel their data is contributing to something bigger.  If this can be managed, the potential of participatory sensing is limitless.
Continue Reading...