SMS - Simple Mobile Services

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Mobile services have not matched the success of web-based services. There are many reasons for that: potential users cannot find the services they need, many services are too difficult to use, users do not trust the services or service providers, and services are difficult to design and deploy. This applies especially for "small" service providers, e.g. SMEs, local government departments, NGOs, and individuals.

To overcome these obstacles, the SMS project has three strategic objectives:

  • to specify requirements for a new class of services, which meet the specific needs of mobile users;
  • to develop a software engineering methodology and a set of tools, based on open standards, which allow individuals and organizations to develop, deploy, and manage their own mobile services;
  • to prove the concept by developing and deploying two Simple Mobile Services in real-life environments (one at Athens Airport, one at Rome University).

The SMS project contributes to one of C-LAB's main topics, namely Mobility. Within the project C-LAB concentrates on the aspects of security, privacy, and trust. 

Today, there exist technical provisions for almost all threats to security. However, in real life, users remain basically unprotected, since they do not use the security provisions. The reasons for that are that a) the handling is too complicated and b) that the users cannot understand the implications of the security settings to make. This especially affects mobile users since their attention is usually limited and their devices' features constricted. 

C-LAB attempts to eliminate these obstacles by providing mechanisms and methods for building mobile services which include (existing) security mechanisms in such a way, that they are easy to use (e.g. by automatic handling of certificates or background invocation of services). Furthermore, innovative concepts of "gradual" or partial security are explored which can be used if the full-fledged security concepts ("either secure or insecure") are not applicable or accepted.

Project funded by: EU (IST, STREP)
Project duration: 06/2006 - 11/2008
Project partners: Consorzio Universita Industria - Laboratori di Radiocomunicazioni (I), Athens International Airport S.A. (GR),France Telecom S.A. (F), Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (GR), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (D), Sagem Orga GmbH (D), Siemens AG (D), Rome International University S.R.L. (I), Triagnosys GmbH (D), Lancaster University (GB), Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus (FIN), Xiwrite Di Walker John Richard E C. S.A.S (I)
Contact: Matthias Niemeyer, C-LAB;
Nicola Blefari Melazzi, Radiolabs, Rom