Stimulating communication, preventing selfish behaviour
The advent of mobile communication devices able to directly link to each other using short-range communication technologies (such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi) has application in the development of completely distributed, infrastructure-less networks. These so-called mobile networks of individuals offer the potential to relay information for enhanced personal experiences, and are useful in the case of emergencies or disasters. However, this exciting and revolutionary technology raises critical issues related to user behaviour and security, given the unavoidable reality of ill-intentioned behaviour as an unavoidable part of human nature. As such, individuals — the carriers of these devices, or nodes — may be hesitant to embrace the technology and benefit from its potential, which will in turn have a negative impact on its scientific and industrial development. The 'RATIONAL: Secure mobile networks of selfish individuals' (Rational) project has been established to address such concerns. It advances mechanisms or tools critical to constructing secure distributed systems, thereby addressing so-called selfish node behaviour. The EU-funded project is focused on building primitives for forwarding and reliable broadcast in mobile networks of people, building protocols for consensus in a mutually suspicious domain, and better understanding the impact of 'selfishness with outsiders'. Work to date has been presented in leading conferences, and several submissions have been made for future participation as well as paper publications. Ongoing efforts and contribution to the field of study of distributed systems promises to advance the tremendous potential of this technology for the benefit of society at large.
