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Developing Challenges of Multi-Hop Mesh Telephony on Android

Dr. Paul Gardner-Stephen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:48:00 +0000

If you are reading this blog, you probably know that the Serval Project is all about making mesh telephony practical, so that people can communicate anywhere, any time.

For regular Android software development, it is often practical to use the Android emulator to reduce the time between updating source code and seeing the effect of the change.

For Serval, this isn’t really an option, because we work below the Android API layer, and much of the software development challenge is related to making the WiFi chipsets do what we want. We also have a fair amount of native code to do the mesh routing and telephony functions. In fact, we currently have an entire distribution of Asterisk in the Serval Mesh software, which must be decompressed and installed when the Serval Mesh APK is installed or updated.

Together, these contribute to an update process that can take several minutes to between modifying a line of code and seeing it on an Android device, especially on the low-cost devices that are our primary targets, and when using the debug option in eclipse.

Those minutes add up over time, and so I decided to minimise the install time as much as possible, and also address another problem with developing our software, that is detecting when you have an actual multi-hop network.

To reduce the install time, I started looking at the Asterisk installation to see what we could safely throw out. I managed to get rid of about half of the loadable modules, several utilities and all of the speech files that Asterisk comes bundled with. This reduced the size of the APK by a little over 1MB, down to just under 5MB, and cut down the install time by about 15%. Further savings came from removing unused audio codecs in our SIPDroid-derived SIP client, saving another 0.4MB, and getting the whole thing down to less than 4.5MB and installing about 25% faster than previously.

The bulk of the remaining time is about evenly split between installing Asterisk and testing that the WiFi control works properly. For development, it probably makes sense to separate out the Asterisk installation from the other files we need to deploy on installation, as we really don’t modify the Asterisk files between builds. This shouldn’t be too hard to do, but I have run out of time tonight.

Also, for our target handsets, we really don’t need to test the WiFi control every time we update, so we should be able to set a flag to tell the software that we are in development mode, and just assume that the WiFi control works. This now works by checking if a file called /sdcard/serval/developer-mode/fast-wifi exists, and if so, bypassing those tests, and thus saving about 15 seconds.

So over all the minimum time from hitting “run” in Eclipse to getting the software ready has been reduced from 85 seconds down to 48 seconds (without debugging).

The over significant development convenience task I have worked on in the last few days is one that is probably of more general interest. The peer list now shows the number of hops to each of the nodes that your phone knows about, as shown in the image below. This was produced by having two phones at opposite ends of my house, and having the phone shown here with me out on the street.

Each row of the peer list now shows the telephone number, e.g., 5550344, the batman link score, e.g., 243, the ping time to the peer, e.g., 19 milli-seconds, and either “direct” for nodes we can reach directly, or the number of hops to reach the node, e.g., 2 hop.

Importantly for debugging, this displays doesn’t ask BATMAN how far to the node in question, but actually enquires of the time-to-live (TTL) field in the IP header, and thus returns the true distance from your phone to the phone in question (the return path might be a different length, though).

Actually, because of limitations with the Java UDP programming interface, the TTL field is read by the Serval DNA daemon (which is written in C), and included in the returned UDP packet to the requesting client.

This means that we can just look at the interface on the screen (and so can all of you who have been asking us for this feature) and see what is happening to routes, instead of having to connect to the phone with a USB cable and enter all sorts of commands to ask BATMAN and the operating system what might be happening.

So all in all we now have a slightly faster and easier development process, that I am sure will more than save the couple of person days of effort that they took to develop, and thus enable us to work faster instead of harder.

read original post on Dr. Paul Gardner-Stephen's Site

6th Pan-African ABS Workshop in Cameroon

Holly — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Between the 30th of January and 3rd of February the 6th Pan-AfricanABS Workshop brought together 110 participants in Limbe, Cameroon. Theworkshop is put together every year by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative and was hosted by the Cameroonian Ministry ofEnvironment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development(MINEP) and the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC). Itsparticipants included national ABS focal points, representatives ofindigenous and local communities, private sector experts and other ABSstakeholders as well as representatives of a number ofintergovernmental organisations including the CBD, UNEP-GEF and FAO.

The objective of the workshop was to provide participants with a forumwithin which to exchange and discuss national and regional experiencesin addressing ABS issues with a special focus on non-timber forestproduct based value chains; approaches to addressing the transboundarynature of biological and genetic resources; and the need to considerthe establishment of a Global Multilateral Benefit-Sharing Mechanism.The workshop also provided African stakeholders the opportunity tofamiliarise themselves with a recently finalised draft study on a “GapAnalysis and Review of the African Model Law”; the outcomes of anexpert workshop on ABS and intellectual property rights and theregional perspectives on ABS as relevant in other UN fora, namely WIPOand the FAO.

Finally, as every year, participants were invited to study with moredetail a local ABS case study. In this case participants were able togain insight into the case of the Prunus Africana at the foot of MountCameroon. Through a day long excursions participants familiarisedthemselves with the value chain of the bark of the tree used amongother to treat prostate ailments. The example brought great insight tothe actual challenges of implementing ABS in practice.

read original post on Holly's Site

Briefing Paper from Amazon Watch on FPIC

Holly — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:02:00 +0000

With the rights of many Indigenous peoples and local communities neglected by companies they interact with, Amazon Watch has prepared an important briefing paper to ensure that companies and other actors fully understand their responsibilities in ensuring Free, Prior and Informed Consent from communities.

The introduction to the briefing paper states that it “focuses on the roles and responsibilities of companies, investors and finance institutions to identify, prevent and address the adverse human rights impacts of company operations. It identifies the rights of indigenous peoples that are potentially affected by extractive industry and infrastructure projects and explores the ethical, legal and financial reasons for respecting these rights. This paper highlights the importance of a company operating only where it has the free, prior and informed consent of any indigenous peoples potentially affected by their operations. It identifies some of the key challenges involved in implementing a Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) policy and makes recommendations for companies and shareholders who engage in business activities or investments in the Amazon.”

Download the full briefing paper here.

read original post on Holly's Site

TK Commons Meeting in Cape Town

Holly — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:42:00 +0000

On the 31st January representatives from the Bushbuckridge Traditional Healers’ Association, lawyers working on issues around traditional knowledge (TK) from Kenya and Ghana, and Natural Justice gathered in Cape Town with support from the Open A.I.R. Project. The theme was “Non-Traditional Users of TK—Opportunities and Challenges Around Compliance”. Breakout sessions delved into the definition of TK commons, methods of pooling and sharing TK, TK practioners and their issues, external links to non-traditional users of TK, and existing and future policies around TK. Interviews with the healers from Bushbuckridge on the challenges they have faced in managing the sharing of their TK informed much of the discussion.

Looking forward, the representatives looked to build on the successes of the Bushbuckridge community. As communities in Ghana and Kenya move forward with their development of TK commons, participants will support the development of linkages between these communities and the Bushbuckridge healers. They will also continue to look for ways to creatively collaborate to analyse and shape laws and policies around TK based on experiences at the grassroots level.

read original post on Holly's Site

Speaking on Digging into Open Data at Data Insights Meetup in Cambridge Today

Rufus Pollock — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:07:31 +0000

I’ll be talking at Data Insights Meetup today on the topic of Digging into Open Data.

Where: Fountain Inn, Cambridge, UK (OpenStreetMap)
When: Feb 2nd 2012, from 7:30pm

Abstract

There has been growing interest, especially in government, in ‘open
data’. This talk will explain what open data is, why it is important
and go on to cover some of the Open Knowledge Foundation’s recent work
in this area.

About the Open Knowledge Foundation

The Open Knowledge Foundation has been a pioneer in the field of open
data since its inception in 2004. It works in a wide array of areas
from sonnets to statistics, genes to geodata. Its open-source CKAN software powers http://data.gov.uk/,
http://thedatahub.org/ and dozens of other open data hubs around the
world. For more information about the Foundation see http://okfn.org/
and http://okfn.org/projects.

read original post on Rufus Pollock's Site

Live Mag SA in Arise Mag

Gavin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:18:35 +0000

read original post on Gavin's Site

New Publication: Legal Pluralism in Southeast Asia

Holly — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:01:00 +0000

A new publication entitled “Diverse Paths to Justice: Legal Pluralism and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Southeast Asia” has been released by Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Forest Peoples Programme, the Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), and Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). Demonstrating that legal pluralism is “at the heart of Indigenous peoples’ struggles”, this fascinating compilation includes a range of articles by leading practitioners and academics about the legal landscapes and Indigenous peoples’ experiences in Nagaland (India), Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia), the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh).

The publication can be downloaded here.

read original post on Holly's Site

Project plans for 2012

Kathi Fletcher — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:22:00 +0000

I am thrilled to report (a bit belatedly) that my fellowship with the Shuttleworth Foundation has been renewed for another year and I have big plans for the next year (along with the team of designers, developers, testers, open ed collaborators, and students working with me so far)!

Year 1 Review and Year 2 Plans

In Year 1 we:

Created an API (OERPub) for publishing OER to remixable repositories. The API is an adaptation of the popular SWORD API.
Implemented the API in Connexions, a repository anyone can use to create open textbooks and share learning materials.
Developed an importer for creating and publishing remixable OER to Connexions.
Formed a team of designers and developers using OERPub.

In Year 2 we plan to:

Work with specific OER producers and help them publish their content efficiently while making it remixable using the OERPub tools.
Create an easy to use visual editor for the importer to create a full service “Massive Content Enabler”.
Expand OERPub to include common APIs to make open assessment banks interoperable.

References

The complete plan

I am always looking for more people to get involved so if some aspect resonates with you, please get in touch.

read original post on Kathi Fletcher's Site

Exploring Native Land Rights in Sabah

Holly — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:56:00 +0000

Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended a symposium entitled “Sabah Native Land Rights: Issues, Challenges and the Way Forward”. Chaired by Dr. Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan (UMS Kadazandusun Chair), it was hosted by the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) School of Social Sciences from 30-31 January in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The opening keynote was delivered by YAA Tan Sri Richard Malanjum (Chief Justice, High Court of Malaysia). Highlights of the paper presentations included:

Overview of Native Customary Land Laws in Malaysia (Dr. Ramy Bulan, Centre for Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Law, University of Malaya)

Governance of Customary Land and Natural Resources in Sabah (Datuk Osman Jamal, Director, Sabah Lands and Surveys Department)

Land Rights, Native Rights, and Human Rights (Tan Sri Simon Sipuan, Former Vice Chairman, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia)

Selection of Village Headmen in Sabah (Dr. Paul Porodong and Dr. Gaim Lunkapis, UMS)

As in many former British colonies, the legal landscape in Sabah consists of a mosaic of statutory, common, and customary law. Drawing on a burgeoning global jurisprudence in support of Indigenous peoples’ rights, many presenters called for greater legal pluralism, effective reform of decades-old legislations, and a national tribunal to address violations and the backlog of an estimated 300 000 native title applications.

read original post on Holly's Site

Weekly Update: Rufus Pollock – 30th January 2012

Rufus Pollock — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:17:08 +0000

2012-01-30

Availability

All week (in London Wednesday)

Last Week

Lots of CKAN
- Especially work on Recline Data Explorer. This is now fully functional and integrated into the DataHub, see e.g. this gold prices dataset
Work on BibServer and Public Domain Works and its Public Domain Calculators
Open Economics Hackday — it was great!
- Working on YourTopia code – clean rewrite in pure js
- Data wrangling: Economics datasets on the DataHub — up 10 in the last week
Post on Dreams of a Unified Text
Various administration

This Week

Some core admin, including getting a standard spreadsheet template for budgeting and (simple) tasks/todos
More on OKFN Labs with Tom Rees and others
CKAN work and planning
More work on YourTopia code with Open Economics team — hope to get it to the point where we can upgrade curr
ent YourTopia to new codebase
NESTA round-table on innovation on Wednesday
Talking at Data Insights meetup in Cambridge on Thursday

read original post on Rufus Pollock's Site