Bringing Modern Web Applications to Disconnected Networks

Abstract: Opportunistic networking is one way to realize pervasive applications while placing little demand on network infrastructure, especially for operating in less well connected environments. In contrast to the ubiquitous network access model inherent to many cloud-based applications, for which the web browser forms the user front end, opportunistic applications require installing software on mobile devices. Even though app stores (when accessible) offer scalable distribution mechanisms for applications, a designer needs to support multiple OS platforms and only some of those are suitable for opportunistic operation to begin with. In this paper, we present a web browser-based interaction framework that 1) allows users to interact with opportunistic application content without installing the respective app and 2) even supports users whose mobile OSes do not support opportunistic networking at all via minimal stand-alone infrastructure. We describe our system and protocol design, validate its operation using simulations, and report on our implementation including support for six opportunistic applications.