Mission

Computer technologies have become an essential part of daily life, influencing individuals, families, schools and organizations of all kinds. Computers are expected to gain an even greater presence and play an even more critical role in the future. Important technological advances will be made in communications and networks. The focus will be on mobile and wireless connectivity, known as third generation (3G and coming 4G) mobile telecommunications systems, and to a certain extent on ad hoc networks. As a result we will be surrounded by ever growing multi-domain (technical and administrative) heterogeneous communications in both wired and wireless networks.

This environment deals with communication in "multi-zoned networks", where people, devices, appliances and servers are connected to each other via different kinds of networks. Networks will be pervasive, ubiquitous, multi-service, multi-operator and multi-access. They will bring together several different types of networks, such as body area networ ks (BAN), vehicular area networks (VAN), personal area networks (PAN), home area networks (HAN), wireless hotspot networks, and cellular networks among many others. Currently accessing and using the services provided by these networks at any time is cumbersome and in sometime impractical or unaffordable. We believe that the success of 3/4G mobile systems lies in the ability to provide mobile users with cost effective, yet ubiquitous service access anywhere and anytime.

In order to achieve this, such systems will have to be personalized, adaptive, proactive and anticipatory in the requirements of security, network configuration and user needs. The goal of IMAGINE Laboratory is to develop, demonstrate and evaluate new mobility and service delivery architectures and frameworks to support context and situation aware seamless mobility operations and management of users, services, applications, devices and networks in mobile communication systems. We envision such an environment to be composed of key integrated solutions to the mobility management that is dynamic and adaptive, based upon context, situation, triggering, predictions, preferences, networks, policy generation and adaptation, trust and privacy management all balanced with policies of organizations and individuals.

Achieving these objectives will create solutions for the support of seamless mobility operations and management in mobile communication systems. It will enable ubiquitous service access scalable and affordable while providing rich and easy- to-use seamless services access for all. The research work developed in IMAGINE Laboratory is a fundamentally new vision based on the proactive and dynamic location of users, devices, and services, and on the fly adaptation of the resources to achieve a seamless mobility in key areas of future media and situation aware mobile communications.