Thesis - Mobile Real-Time Web

Some of the most important features of Web 2.0 are active contributions and information upload from users in blogs, wikis, or social network services like Facebook.. Due to the polling nature of HTTP and the fact that the Web was originally constructed to publish static documents, a common scenario today is that a person following some blogs and RSS feeds, manually has to press the refresh button of the Browser in order to check for updates.

There is a trend that more services provide programming interfaces that allow access to information flow in near real time, often called Streaming APIs. One example of this is the Twitter Streaming API that provides a flow of user tweets. There are also standardization efforts on the Browser side, such as the Event Source API and Web Sockets that will allow Web Applications running in the Browser to receive server initiated updates. PubSubHubbub & RSSCloud are server-side RSS extensions that allow a server to get notifications when subscribed feeds are updated. These new technologies may evolve parts of the Web into new event-based usage. The servers will provide the clients with updates as soon as they happen similarly to what we have in SMS and Instant Messaging.

The main goals of this thesis project are to investigate how these new push/event driven technologies fit together and suggest the best use cases and setups from a mobile point of view, including aspects such as battery consumption. One demo application for a relevant use case shall be implemented. The report shall include results on what values are added if we go from polling content to pushing content.

The thesis work will be done at the Media Protocols and Applications unit at Ericsson Research in Kista outside Stockholm. The unit is doing research on web technologies, media transport, media protocols, and applications.

Qualifications

We are looking for one M.Sc. student that is skilled in Web Technologies with knowledge and interest in the evolution of Web technologues such as HTML5, WebKit, and PubSubHubbub. You should be fluent in client side scripting using JavaScript (and HTML), and should also master Java, Python or some other server side programming language. Knowledge about the IP transport, especially on the Application Layer, is a plus.

Applications should contain three documents: a short personal letter, recent grades and a CV. Candidates are encouraged to send their applications as soon as possible.

NOTE. Applications must be sent in via the Ericsson Web site, search for Job Number 00014487.