Background and motivation

In recent years, more and more citywide Wi-Fi deployments have surfaced. The goal of these municipal Wi-Fi systems is to provide Internet access as well as access to local information sources to aid the citizens in their daily life. Examples for such local information services are digital tourist and shopping guides, social applications (e.g., tagging, and ranking of shops, bars, and restaurants), mobile blogs and meeting point applications. Although the benefit of municipal Wi-Fi is obvious, its cost is typically very high. Deployment and maintenance of the large wireless and wired network infrastructure often requires high investments without solid concepts for revenues.

The Distributed Systems (DS)-group at RWTH Aachen University has developed the secure Wi-Fi sharing system PISA that enables users to securely share their Internet connection. Based on this system we develop a platform for cost-efficient municipal Wi-Fi in Aachen: Mobile ACcess. The core concept is that the cost for the system is distributed among its users. This puts municipal Wi-Fi services in reach for every community. However, the provision of reliable and secure services is challenging in such user-driven systems. Hence, this project aims at improving security, reliability, usability, and user experience in a decentralized city-wide Wi-Fi deployment.

Challenges

You will learn how to develop software for wireless embedded network components (mobile devices and routers). We focus on Linux-based embedded systems such as the Nokia Internet Tablet platform (N800, N810) and openWRT (wireless routers). You will be working in a small team that actively develops the mobile ACcess municipal Wi-Fi system.

• Extending the functionality of mobile ACcess to meet private and business needs.
• Developing heuristics for adaptive protocol behaviour for mobile users to improve the user experience (e.g. decide when to switch access points).
• Realizing the system as a completely transparent service (zero configuration).
• Testing your extensions in our Wi-Fi test-bed.

What we offer

• the usual payment for HiWi students (10 hrs/ week).
• challenging work with flexible working hours.
• nice and young team of HiWis and assistants.
• a good opportunity to prepare for a Master's Thesis or Diplomarbeit.

We expect you to be ...

• motivated and reliable.
• experienced with Linux and/or BSD network programming.
• a skilled C programmer.
• experienced in network programming
• willing and able to read and understand other people's code (code maintenance).
• interested in protocol engineering and network design.

Applicants should have completed their Vordiplom or Bachelor's thesis and must be enrolled at a German University.

Please send your applications (just an informal statement about your skills and qualifications, e.g. courses and labs taken) to heer@cs.rwth-aachen.de.

See you,
Tobi