Researchers Test WiFi Access From Moving Vehicles

Julie188 writes "Researchers from Microsoft and the University of Massachusetts have been working on a technology that would let mobile phones and other 3G devices automatically switch to public WiFi even while the device is traveling in a vehicle. The technology is dubbed Wiffler and earlier this year its creators took it for a test drive with some interesting results. Although the researchers determined that a reliable public WiFi hotspot would be available to their test vehicles only 11% of the time, the Wiffler protocol was able to offload almost 50% of the data from 3G to WiFi."

Comments

not gonna work

[alex_guy_CA]

I had my phone setup to auto connect to wifi, but there is a lot of wifi out there that looks open and free to my phone, only it takes you to a page where you have to log in. Peets coffe, most hotels.

When I hit one of these, it sort of grinds everything to a halt, as the phone thinks it has a wi-fi connection but does not.

Re:Define "Public"

[gstoddart]

I don't agree with this. I think it should be the owners responsibility to secure their network, but the possibility for legal ramifications exists.

So, if I have an electrical outlet outside of my house and I don't "secure it", should people be able to plug into my electricity with impunity? How about my garden hose? If I don't physically bar someone from parking in my driveway, that's OK? Is it OK to help yourself to my garden? How about siphoning the gas out of my car?

There's loads of things in the physical world that aren't necessarily secured, but that you don't have a reasonable expectation of being able to use.

I don't agree in any way that just because the wireless isn't 100% locked down that you should get a free pass to just use it. You know you're using a network that isn't yours -- just because you can connect to it doesn't mean you have carte blanch.

Re:call it what it is

[WrongSizeGlass]

I thought this was called "How Google Got In Trouble (aka 'HoGGIT')"

Re:Yo moron

[WrongSizeGlass]

But how would a city bus line offering Wi-Fi negotiate carriage with every AP on its routes?

And would a bus using this technology in the Netherlands have to register as an ISP?

Re:Define "Public"

[rotide]

I see where you're going with that line of thinking and I agree to an extent. However, all of those analogies require you to physically go out and take/plug in/steal something that clearly isn't yours and shouldn't be.

Logging onto an unsecured WiFi connection can be done incredibly easy while I'm in my pajamas in the middle of a blizzard. It can also be done innocently and unknowingly. "Wait, there are 4 "linksys" networks, which was mine again?".

While I don't agree with torrenting or otherwise saturating someones connection, leaving it wide open and then being pissed when someone logs onto it is almost as ridiculous as yelling to your neighbor across the street and getting mad when another neighbors listens in and potentially adds their two cents. If you're not going to take the time to secure your broadcast transmissions, don't get pissed at those who listen/use it.

only 50% - must not have been on 128 at rush hours

[Locutus]

with the typical AP having only a 300m range in open air and traveling at 55+ MPH, they would be in and out of the AP quite quickly. But, if they were sitting in traffic then that would be another story. I've been quite disappointed with how many of the Android apps rely on 100% data connectivity instead of intermittent connectivity. Even the facebook app just dumps a notification and does not continue with the post or upload unless the user interacts with the notification. I found no setting in the maps/navigation app to cache the route but must rely on me manually scrolling through the entire route to cache it and then hit the road. Believe it or not, there are still dead xG spots out there and wifi-only is currently not an option.

Maybe this study will wake up the apps developers to intermittent connectivity and make the device much easier to use.

LoB