CS 756: Mobile Computing and Sensor Networks, Fall 2008

Tuesdays, 6pm-9pm, GITC 4415

Instructor

  Cristian Borcea
  Office: GITC 4303
  Phone: 973 596-3662
  Office Hours: Mondays, 5pm-7pm
email

News

  • 12/19 The grades are posted. You can check them in the Highlander Pipeline. Enjoy the winter break! Happy Holidays!


  • 10/28 I posted yesterday's project presentations


  • 09/20 I posted a few background slides on sensor networks. Don't forget to prepare a document with the problem statement for your projects and be ready to discuss your ideas in class.


  • 09/11 I posted the lecture slides for next week (background on routing in MANET). You should read them before the lecture (as I will go over them quickly) and preferably before reading the first paper.


  • 09/09 I posted today's presentations (after each paper below). I will do the same every week.


  • 09/09 The slides for the second lecture (background information to be covered before the paper presentations) are posted.


  • 09/02 The slides for the first lecture are posted. I also updated the list of papers for the entire semester. Look for them in the weekely schedule below. I will provide the required user name and password in class today.

    • Goals

    Short description

    As mobile devices become ubiquitous, they will begin to serve purposes beyond email and browsing on the go. Smart phones, vehicular systems, home appliances, and environmental sensors can form heterogeneous mobile networks to provide a new class of distributed services that acquire, process, and disseminate real-time information from systems located in the proximity of people, places, or activities of interest. This course provides an in-depth study of mobile computing and sensor networks, which are becoming major components of the transition from today's world of desktop computers to a world where computing is ubiquitous. The main topics include: techniques to handle mobility in the Internet and ad hoc networks; operating systems, programming languages, and protocols for sensor networks; applications, middleware, programming models, and security for ubiquitous computing environments. This semester, the course will focus on mobile social computing and urban/people-centric sensor networks.

    Who should take this course

    You should take this class if you want to learn how the wireless revolution is (and will be) changing the way we live and interact with each other. Besides understanding mobile computing and sensor networks, you can find topics for Ph.D. and M.S. theses or M.S. projects. Additionally, the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired in this class can help you find very good jobs as we are witnessing a boom in the wireless/mobile computing industry and people with skills in these areas are rare.

    Prerequisites

    CS 656. Talk with me if you did not take CS 656: good background in operating systems, distributed systems, security, or programming languages may be acceptable. While this course is addressed to CS graduate students, you should contact me if you are from another department and have a strong interest in it.

    Reading, presenting, and discussing research papers

    There is no book required for this class. Each lecture is based on several research papers covering a specific topic. Every week, the instructor will briefly introduce the topic (the lecture slides will be posted before each class) and then will moderate the discussions of the assigned papers for that week. Students are required to read the papers before the class. Each student will lead the discussion for at least one paper during the semester (this involves preparing slides for that paper as well). The papers will be selected by the instructor from top conferences and journals.

    Design project

    This class does not have exams. The design project will be the main grading criteria. Students will form teams to design novel protocols, system architectures/mechanisms, or applications. The goal of this project is to identify interesting problems and propose sound solutions for these problems. Prototyping your design is highly recommended, but not required. The instructor will present several ideas for projects during the first class; however, you can propose your own ideas. We will have frequent design reviews in class: each team presents its ideas/progress and receives feedback from the entire class. There will be a major intermediate project presentation (mid-semester) and a final project presentation at the end of the semester. Additionally, each team will produce a final project report similar to a short research paper. For those teams that decide to prototype their designs, smart phones and sensors will be provided.

    Grading

    Schedule

    Week Topic Readings
    1 Introduction to mobile computing and sensor networks. Course overview. Project Ideas. Slides.
    2 Mobility and the Internet. Slides.
    3 Mobile ad hoc networks. Slides.
    4 Sensor networks. Slides.
    5 Mobile social computing.
    6 Urban/People-centric sensing.
    7 People-centric sensing on smart phones.
    8 Security in mobile computing.
    9 Intermediate project presentation.
    10 Privacy in mobile computing.
    11 Power management on mobile devices.
    12 Vehicular networks.
    13 Programming mobile networks and sensor networks with mobile code.
    14 Final project presentation.

    Honor Code

    The NJIT Honor Code will be upheld, and any violations will be brought to the immediate attention of the Dean of Students.

    Modifications to Syllabus

    The students will be consulted and must agree to any modifications or deviations from the syllabus throughout the course of the semester.