According to forecasts more than 40 billion such tools will be in circulation all over the world by 2020. In the future the embedded/mobile systems become part of companies’ and institutions’ operation, and part of everyday life of the civilian sector and people. Therefore technology development of such systems is of key importance both from industrial-technical and innovative-technical standpoints.

One of the important features of embedded applications that data link is built via mobile technology e.g. mobile telephones, sensor networks in many cases. The research subprogram wants to focus on such applications.

Beside core technology developments, the research subproject covers the following two areas:

1. Intelligent mobile data collecting and processing systems

Collection of data, intelligent and fast data processing, their use for rapid decision making and process monitoring have central role in every aspect of life nowadays.

- Enough to think of the rapidly spreading cheap sensors making possible e.g. placing even several hundred tiny data collectors onto a person, which furnish data continuously.

- The reliable and fast identification of environmental pollution requires also such IT background.

The traditional data collecting and processing model does not provide solution for these applications in many cases. Data is processed on a powerful central computer in case of traditional data processing systems, where data arrives from a network or an electronic data carrier. But such systems cannot be used successfully for tasks e.g. to collect data continuously about a mobile object, to process these data and make quick decisions. In such cases the real solution is to process data by small, mobile tools, and thus data collectors (sensors) and data processors form a uniform mobile architecture.

Data collecting and processing developments focus on the following two application areas given priority and supported also by the EU:

- Ambient Assistant Living

Due to demographic changes the number of old people is increasing in societies. These people are forced to leave their homes and require nursing. Societies face the fact that they should provide these people with the most humane and economical care.

The key goal of the EU is that the member sates’ governments focus on home care of old and handicapped people, support such developments which results extend the time for old people to stay and be nursed in their own home. One of the three main areas of such lifestyle supporting systems is the mobile checking and administrative tools (intelligent systems) based on data collection and process.

- Rural Information Society

Rural society lives on 80 percent of European territory and comprises 22 percent of the total European population, and is involved in traditional industries such as agrarian food industry, forestry or fishing. Development of the regions does not only mean competitive European agriculture, but also the deeper integration of rural people into the society by promoting economic development.

EU’s key goal is to develop the rural information society to advance European progress and integration in order to increase the competitiveness of European enterprises and companies, to stop depopulation of rural areas and to vary the income and job opportunities of the rural society.

Present results and opportunities of technological development requires significant technological development to be applicable also in rural areas, by transforming them into products and services (e.g. ad hoc networks, mobile tools based on data collection and process), which serves rural needs specifically.

2. Ad hoc (P2P) networks closely related to mobile systems

An ad hoc (P2P) network is an unmanaged infrastructure built out quickly at any location, which provides wireless network coverage by connecting interacting tools. Availability of protocols providing energy-saving and efficient bandwidth usage is a key issue for this network type.

During IP technology evolution IPv6 was born, latest generation protocol of IP networks, which is based on multicast addressing with more efficient bandwidth usage replacing the earlier uni and broadcast addressing. With the spread of IP TV, planning and building of such networks, network testing and monitoring during operation is of vital importance.