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While basic communications protocols for the Internet were developed decades ago, new requirements such as bandwidth-hungry multimedia and the need for the Internet to reach the "final third" of the population create constant demand for improvements. Research at the University of Aberdeen has greatly contributed to meeting this demand by influencing the standardization and implementation of the Internet Protocol (IP) stack in commercial networks. New standards for Internet Transport Protocols and Satellite IP Transmission resulting from the research have been implemented in industrial products in Europe and the US, benefitting industry and millions of end users.
This case study provides an account of work on a mathematical framework for the design and optimization of communication networks, and some examples of the framework's influence upon the development of the network congestion control schemes that underlie modern communication networks, notably the Internet.
The impact on protocol development and on network architectures has been significant; in particular on the development of congestion control algorithms and multipath routing algorithms that are stable and fair. Several of the insights on large scale system behaviour have been transferred to help understand cascading failures in other large scale systems, including transport infrastructures.
As a key participant in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Dr Perkins has been instrumental in developing key protocol standards that underpin modern telecommunications. The Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) acts as a transport layer distributing audio-visual data across the network, whilst the Session Description Protocol (SDP) describes the format and destination of streaming media. These standards are essential components of 3G and 4G mobile phone standards and form the infrastructure for many fixed telephone networks. They are implemented in Apple's Mac OS X and iOS, Google's Android, and Microsoft Windows, and feature in billions of devices around the world.
Lancaster University's pioneering research on Quality-of-Service (QoS) architecture has led to significant impact on the development of TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) — the digital radio standard used by emergency and public safety services globally. The route to impact was via UK projects on Mobile and Emergency Multimedia. It involved the transfer of QoS technology and know-how to HW Communications Ltd (HWC), a Lancaster-based SME. HWC became instrumental in developing the outcomes of our collaboration in TETRA's Multimedia Exchange Layer (MEX) standard and its specification for TETRA II (or TETRA Enhanced Data Services, TEDS) — a new version of TETRA that enables multimedia data services. MEX was adopted as a new clause in the TETRA II release in 2010. The impact is that vendors of TETRA equipment manufactured after 2010 can implement MEX in their products, thereby leveraging Lancaster's pioneering QoS research to enable applications to obtain the best possible level of service in a standardised way — which is absolutely crucial for the public-safety and related applications for which TETRA is being used.
Low-cost wireless solutions beyond the technologies available previously and developed at Loughborough University since 2005 are used by IDC, and Sure, who integrate these technologies in several products and services so generating impacts in terms of:
The technologies have been deployed in a logistics distribution centre (ToysRUs), an automotive manufacturing process (Toyota), and a safety and security system (Sure).
UCL spinout company, Senceive Ltd, has established itself as an innovative provider of wireless enabled remote condition monitoring solutions. The company provides a robust, scalable, safe and highly cost-effective infrastructure monitoring capability for railway and construction industry applications, with customers including Amey, Costain, Network Rail and Tubelines. Recent deployments on projects such as Crossrail have been recognised by industry bodies as delivering significant product innovation and cost savings in excess of £1 million compared to use of a wired monitoring solution.
A number of trimaran ocean-going ships, based on original designs conceived by UCL researchers, are currently in use. RV Triton, the demonstrator trimaran, is presently employed as a patrol vessel to provide Australian Customs and Border Protection with increased capability and lower fuel consumption compared to a monohull. The Independence Class of littoral combat ships currently entering service in the US Navy offers improved military capability and one-third lower fuel consumption, with the ensuing benefit of creating almost 2,000 jobs at the shipbuilder, Austal. Similarly, trimaran ferries with their inherent stability have improved passenger comfort and their reduced fuel consumption has lowered operating costs.
Research during the 1990's at Newcastle University resulted in the development of CANopen (Control Area Network open), a manufacturer independent communication protocol for connecting multiple devices used in industrial systems. It has resulted in opening up the market by providing the platform for a low-cost simplified method of connecting off-the-shelf devices to communicate effectively over a network, benefiting the global economy and inspiring innovation. The significance of the impact is evident by the wide incorporation of the technology in a diverse range of products ranging from health care, automotive, renewable energy, rail and aerospace industries. The reach of the impact is evident by its use in product development by national and international companies and is the de-facto European standard EN 50325-4 (CiA 301).
Mobile telecommunication networks serve nearly 7 billion users; over 90% of the world's population. The flexibility and pervasive nature of mobile networks underpin an enormous range of business and personal activities. Many systems are based on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standards for digital cellular networks that were created by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in the 1990s to replace analogue network standards. A key factor in the success of GSM has been the ability to authenticate legitimate users and to provide privacy for wireless transmissions. A strong authentication mechanism is critical for the economic operation of mobile telephony.
The security of GSM is based on a secret key, known only to the network operator and the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), and an authentication algorithm implemented by the SIM and the network operator. A network operator may implement its own authentication algorithm, but many adopted the example implementation (known as COMP128, or COMP128-1) suggested by the GSM Association (GSMA). COMP128-1 was later found to be flawed. Cryptographers at Royal Holloway, at the request of GSMA, designed a replacement algorithm (COMP128-2), the example implementation offered by the GSM Association (GSMA) to over 800 Mobile Network Operators (MNO) in over 200 countries. The algorithm is still regarded as robust and it and derivative algorithms are relied upon by enormous numbers of users every day.
The worldwide population of mobile TV subscribers had almost quadrupled from 75 million in 2008 to 271 million in 2011, and it is expected to reach 792.5 million by 2014 according to RNCOS report (an industry and consultancy firm) on Global Mobile TV Forecast to 2013. The recent roll-out of 4G in the UK strongly features its capacity to deliver real-time TV programmes and videos with high-definition image quality on their mobile devices. Brunel Wireless Networks and Communications Centre developed a global schema, DVB-CBMS (Digital Video Broadcast - Convergence of Broadcast and Mobile Service), subsequently adapted as OMA-BCAST (Open Mobile Alliance - Broadcasting Services Enabler Suite), which enables users to access mainstream TV channels at real time through various networks such as DVB-H in Europe, DVB-SH (satellite) in the USA and DVB-NGH in China.
OMA-BCAST has been successfully used in South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana since 2010: a digital satellite TV service provider, DStv Mobile, delivers mobile TV programmes to its 6.7 million subscribers in Africa. In Europe, 3 Italia offered DVB-H customers free access to six TV channels in 2008; 3 Austria had 90,000 subscribers to its DVB-H mobile TV service between 2008 and 2009. Major mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung and LG have launched special mobile TV editions (e.g. Nokia 5330, Samsung, Philips, Garmin, LG, Motorola, Sagem, ZTE, etc) using DVB-H technology and the convergence system.