1. D. Buchs, A. Chen, D. Hurzeler, L. Lúcio, L. Pedro, M. Risoldi Software Modeling and Verification group Applications Discovered = Appear Save or Discard = Dis-Appear No Coverage = No Applications Download, Install, Use = Click & Run™ Wi-Fi Network We want to use the wireless network technology to give the users the possibility of living university courses and services in a more dynamic way. We can do this using the university wireless network infrastructure, with its 44 access points (going to increase) in four buildings, and providing users the software to use on their portable devices (portable PCs, palm computers). Services and information are to be delivered to users in an automatic fashion, depending on the time of the day, the location of the user and his role (student, professor…) While users move in the university area, they will cross certain “zones”, and they will automatically receive contents and applications on their devices. The user device calculates its position depending on signals received from the wireless access points around it. With the help of a software from Appear Networks, the Appear Positioning Engine (APE), it can understand in which zone it is, and communicate this to the server. Depending on this position information, and on the time of the day and the type of user and device, the Appear Provisioning Server (APS) will send available contents to the device. Contents can be of many types: applications, web pages, slides, documents… they will be displayed on the device as icons in a window. Clicking them will allow the user to run the application or view the document. Physics Pic Database Materiel du course Physics Lesson 14 Wireless networks Distribution of content is made through HTML GET requests sent from the client software to the server. Encryption and security are available using SSL technology, like in normal browsers. The position of the user is calculated using signal strength. A software running on the client device is continuously monitoring signals of all access points around it and communicating them to the APE; depending on their strength, the APE can deduct the position of the device with a precision of 2 meters. 9h00, cafeteria: Perfect time to get the online news and check the daily schedule on the palm computer. 10h00, classroom: Entering the room, the students get the test to be done today. The teacher also gets the solution on his device 15h00, study room: All material from the last week of courses is available to students with a portable PC in this room, to review recent lessons. In the Centre Universitaire D’Informatique we have carried out an experi- ment with our students, providing them devices and instructing them on how to use the system. The impressions from the students have been very satisfying, and most of them agreed that the system can improve students’ life, that it’s a definitely good way to provide information, and that it should be expanded to the whole university. In the future this way of working can gradually eliminate the need of bringing around books and printed slides. Students and personnel will be equipped with mobile devices, and content will always be reachable with a simple click. Researchers on mobile application models have now a platform on which they can build their prototypes to study the correctness and the possible applications of their theoretical work. A day in the wireless university Project NOMAD: living the wireless university The problem The system Our experience: making our university wireless APE/APS User position contents (x1,y1,z1) (x2,y2,z2) Location specific Time specific Device & user specific