Scientists develop platform to remotely control mobile devices
A racing game is played with a smartphone and tablet, powered by the Mobile Plus technology. A group of KAIST researchers developed the cross-device sharing platform. / Courtesy of KAIST
By Lee Min-hyung
A team of scientists developed have a software platform to remotely control a string of mobile devices, which will allow users to keep track of in-app information on any smart devices, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said Friday.
The team led by KAIST professor Shin In-sik said it developed the mobile platform technology, called Mobile Plus. It enables a smartphone app to share its data and functions with any other devices and vice versa.
The primary goal of Mobile Plus is to enable unmodified applications to share functionalities across devices, KAIST said. With Mobile Plus, such in-app functionalities as login and payment can also be shared among devices.
“The mobile software is expected to serve as a hub to interconnect various smart devices more conveniently, as users are not hassled to install the same apps in each device,” a KAIST official said.
For example, parents can use Mobile Plus to monitor payment records in their kids’ smartphones.
The research team took advantage of “remote procedure call” technology, which removes the need for developers to modify app code when sharing app functions across devices.
“Users can also continue using the same app in multiple devices without buying or installing it on each device,” the official said. “The researchers are now focusing on promoting the software to widen its user base. Toward that end, we encourage Google to adopt the platform so more users can benefit from the technology.”
The research team was upbeat for its growth potential, as the technology can be widely applied to emerging tech areas such as smart homes and smart vehicles.
Shin said the Mobile Plus technology will generate synergy when combined with the two rising industries whose building block is to seamlessly connect a number of devices with real-time data.
“With smartphones serving as a hub, the technology can provide novel user experiences, widely used for smart appliances and car infotainment systems,” Shin said.
The latest feat was introduced at this year’s MobiSys Conference in the United States in June.
The research team said it is has succeeded in demonstrating that a Mobile Plus prototype does not slow down performance of interlocked devices unless data transfer is large. The cross-device sharing platform is expected to boost development of creative and useful apps down the road, it said.
The KAIST researchers applied for a patent here, and the team is seeking to raise its global profile by teaming up with overseas software players.