Mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, are increasingly used for multitasking, data access, and computation, while on-the-go. However, mobile devices are typically constrained in terms of their compute power, energy, and network bandwidth, making it a challenge to support the full array of desired applications and behavior in terms of performance, fidelity, reliability, and energy usage. To enhance mobile user experience, this project is investigating how the mobile platform can be extended into the cloud to provide needed resources on-demand. It is exploring the potential of the cloud as an outsourcing platform for mobile applications and developing new techniques for managing cloud resources as the number of applications and users scale.
The project adopts a user-centric approach guided by the actions of users, including their patterns, preferences, and activities. The research thrusts include user preference-driven optimization of context-based user activities, enhanced cloud provisioning based on cross-user resource sharing, and user activity-based optimization of collaborative applications. The research is based on a close synergy between systems and data mining techniques. The broader impact of this proposal is to enhance the experience of the mobile user, increasing their productivity, and expanding the range of mobile applications. This project will demonstrate how the cloud is central to realizing this vision. All source code developed and data collected as part of this project will be released. This project is also providing students with greater exposure to the areas of cloud computing, mobile computing, and data mining, both in courses and research experiences.
