MIT Wireless Network Tracks Info on Users

MIT Wireless Network Tracks Info on Users

By BROOKE DONALD, Associated Press Writer

In another time and place, college students wondering whether the campus cafe has any free seats, or their favorite corner of the library is occupied, would have to risk hoofing it over there. But for today's student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that kind of information is all just a click away.

MIT's newly upgraded wireless network — extended this month to cover the entire school — doesn't merely get you online in study halls, stairwells or any other spot on the 9.4 million square foot campus. It also provides information on exactly how many people are logged on at any given location at any given time.

It even reveals a user's identity if the individual has opted to make that data public.

MIT researchers did this by developing electronic maps that track across campus, day and night, the devices people use to connect to the network, whether they're laptops, wireless PDAs or even Wi-Fi equipped cell phones.

The maps were unveiled this week at the MIT Museum, where they are projected onto large Plexiglas rectangles that hang from the ceiling. They are also available online to network users, the data time-stamped and saved for up to 12 hours.

Red splotches on one map show the highest concentration of wireless users on campus. On another map, yellow dots with names written above them identify individual users, who pop up in different places depending where they're logged in.

"With these maps, you can see down to the room on campus how many people are logged on," said Carlo Ratti, director of the school's SENSEable City Laboratory, which created the maps. "You can even watch someone go from room to room if they have a handheld device that's connected."

Researchers use log files from the university's Internet service provider to construct the maps. The files indicate the number of users connected to each of MIT's more than 2,800 access points. The map that can pinpoint locations in rooms is 3-D, so researchers can even distinguish connectivity in multistoried buildings.

"Laptops and Wi-Fi are creating a revolutionary change in the way people work," Ratti said. The maps aim to "visualize these changes by monitoring the traffic on the wireless network and showing how people move around campus."

Some of the results so far aren't terribly surprising for students at the vanguard of tech innovation.

The maps show, for example, that the bulk of wireless users late at night and very early in the morning are logged on from their dorms. During the day, the higher concentration of users shifts to classrooms.

But researchers also found that study labs that once bustled with students are now nearly empty as people, no longer tethered to a phone line or network cable, move to cafes and nearby lounges, where food and comfy chairs are more inviting.

Researchers say this data can be used to better understand how wireless technology is changing campus life, and what that means for planning spaces and administering services.

The question has become, Ratti said, "If I can work anywhere, where do I want to work?"

"Many cities, including Philadelphia, are planning to go wireless. Something like our study will help them understand usage patterns and where best to invest," said researcher Andres Sevtsuk.

Sevtsuk likened the mapping project to a real-time census.

"Instead of waiting every year or every 10 years for data, you have new information every 15 minutes or so about the population of the campus," he said.

While every device connected to the campus network via Wi-Fi is visible on the constantly refreshed electronic maps, the identity of the users is confidential unless they volunteer to make it public.

Those students, faculty and staff who opt in are essentially agreeing to let others track them.

"This raises some serious privacy issues," Ratti said. "But where better than to work these concerns out but on a research campus?"

Rich Pell, a 21-year-old electrical engineering senior from Spartanburg, S.C., was less than enthusiastic about the new system's potential for people monitoring. He predicted not many fellow students would opt into that.

"I wouldn't want all my friends and professors tracking me all the time. I like my privacy," he said. "I can't think of anyone who would think that's a good idea. Everyone wants to be out of contact now and then."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051103...2nl8KFk24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

 

My university (while still relatively small (7000 or so people) but growing every semester)), still has 802.11 b. They should upgrade to wireless-G.

The only areas that have wireless internet access are in our library and in our student union.

 

When is wireless N coming out?

 

Oh.

I didn't even realize that.

 

ShoresGuy, here are some basic definitions for wireless-B and wireless-N:

802.11b: (also referred to as 802.11 High Rate or Wi-Fi) -- an extension to 802.11 that applies to wireless LANS and provides 11 Mbps transmission (with a fallback to 5.5, 2 and 1 Mbps) in the 2.4 GHz band. 802.11b uses only DSSS. 802.11b was a 1999 ratification to the original 802.11 standard, allowing wireless functionality comparable to Ethernet.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/8/802_11.html

802.11g: applies to wireless LANs and provides 20+ Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/8/802_11.html

802.11n:

In January 2004 IEEE announced that it will develop a new standard for wide-area wireless networks. The real speed would be 100 Mbit/s (even 250 Mbit/s in PHY level), and so up to 4-5 times faster than 802.11g, and perhaps 50 times faster than 802.11b. As projected, 802.11n will also offer a better operating distance than current networks. The standardization progress is expected to be completed by the end of 2006.
802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output). The additional transmitter and receiver antennas allow for increased data throughput through spatial multiplexing and increased range by exploiting the spatial diversity through coding schemes like Alamouti coding.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/8/802_11n.html

MIMO (multiple-in, multiple-out): takes advantage of multiplexing to increase wireless bandwidth and range. MIMO algorithms send information out over two or more antennas and the information is received via multiple antennas as well. On normal radio, multiplexing would cause interference, but MIMO uses the additional pathways to transmit more information and then recombines the signal on the receiving end. MIMO systems provide a significant capacity gain over conventional single antenna systems, along with more reliable communication. The benefits of MIMO lead many to believe it is the most promising of emerging wireless technologies.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/MIMO.html

Here is another website with the terms defined:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11

My school uses 802.11 b (11 Mbps), and my house uses 802.11 g (54 Mbps).

 

Basically "b" means 11 Mbps and "g" means up to 54 Mbps.

My wireless router/access point and wireless-G game adapter use wireless-G (to get online via Xbox Live and soon to be Xbox 360 ).

 

I'm not bragging. I just love games so much that I had to post it.

 

Yeah, that's true.

But you don't know if I am a Sony man or a Microsoft man, or both.

 

Yeah. That is cool too.

But my friend has a NES and Super NES and I didn't. Instead, I had a Sega Genesis.

 

Well, I will probably end up getting PS3 too.

But right now, 360 comes out first.