Location based content distribution system for mobiles using bluetooth and GPRS technology See More At: http://www.greymatterindia.com/mobile-based-content-distribution-system
1. Client Requirement
Client required a system that will be compatible with wireless devices that are placed in range and can
form a type of wireless network in case of blue tooth. Data should be accessible to any wireless device
enabled with the client that is installed.
Client required a software that will enable mobile users to access Bluetooth or GPRS network located at
pre-specified locations and benefit from location based information and value added services.
The software will be targeted for marketing purposes and business advertisements. This system shall be
made available for customer centric services such as shopping centers based on location and proximity.
Challenges
The team faced the following challenges
System should work as a web server and should be capable of delivering location based
proximity content with a certain range.
System should use Bluetooth and GPRS wireless technology for communication.
A Personal Area Network should be developed to make data accessible to any wireless device
enabled with downloadable wireless client.
The system should be equipped with a dependable framework that is capable of supporting a
wide range of value added services as well as localized information over the network.
Data transfer should be safe and secure.
2. Technologies Used
Operating System &
Server Management
Windows OS/Windows Mobile , Multi-Server Architecture with
Staging & Production Environment through Version Controlling
releases, Server Optimization, Security & SSL Implementation,
Scheduler for Back-ups, Alert Monitoring System Integration,
Server Performance Tuning at regular intervals, Software
Firewall Configuration & Maintenance
Development Tools &
Environments
VC++ 6.0, Microsoft Platform SDK, Symbian Series 60, Carbide,
.Net, Codewarrior, Visual Studio, Win32 SDK, PocketPC 2003/5.0
SDK, SmartPhone 5.0 SDK, XML etc.
Database MSSQL Database Server (Web), Symbian Native Database
(Mobile), DB Clustering, DB Optimization, Master Slave
Replication, Query Optimization, Scheduler for Backups
Manpower
Project Leader 1
Developers 5
Designers 2
Quality Assurance Testers 2
3. Planning
Taking into consideration the functionality of the server, the following approach was charted out and
development method was planned for.
Web Server using HTTP protocol for communication.
Mobile clients that used: BTNode (Bluetooth stack) for mobile device access and packet based
UDP/IP for GPRS.
Windows Desktop clients used TCP/IP for web server to communicate with BTNode if PC is
Bluetooth enabled.
Third party SMS and MMS gateway to support SMS and MMS ads.
Architecture
The core component of the system was the web server that provided quality location based services.
This would make it possible to configure and monitor the entire system. Centralized monitoring of the
system would also be possible. The web server would also enable centralized monitoring of security. A
Windows server was configured and equipped with a number of BTNodes. The data from mobile devices
get routed via the BTNodes to the web server and can be accessed from the third party applications.
The server was designed in such a way that it could keep track of the mobile users in order to display
personalized and location based content advertisements when clients access services via Bluetooth and
GPRS. Mobile clients would use Bluetooth stack and UDP/IP packets for GPRS. .Net pages were used for
server and database interactions. System was integrated with third party SMS and MMS gateways to
supports ads. The web server would compose the SMS and MMS and send it to the respective gateway
to ensure performance and efficiency.