Mobility has created an increasing demand for information local to the user in a challenging and information-rich environment, demanding new capabilities from information services and network protocols. The Wireless Knowledge Infrastructure (WiKI) project develops an extensible general-purpose system layer based on new ideas for applying concepts from programming languages and database systems - the use of declarative languages and composable views of router, network and host state - to allow monitoring, event detection and triggering based on extant network conditions and policies. Declarative routing algorithms take into account application, session and network state information to set up adaptive routes among mobile devices and wired infrastructure nodes. Cross-layer and cross-domain integrated views of data streams expose and abstract data from different subsystems and layers, providing a step towards a "Knowledge Plane" for networks. WiKI takes an exploratory approach, namely building a small-scale software infrastructure using 802.11 to understand the wireless challenges of heavily populated urban areas in Philadelphia, and to develop prototype services based on a WiKI model. WiKI services are incrementally refined as the research progresses.
Broader Impact: The end goal is incorporation of WiKI platforms, software and services into the "Wireless Philadelphia" municipal WiFI effort, notable for its integral Digital Inclusion program which attempts to reach economically disadvantaged households in our city.
