Imagine the convenience of carrying all of your applications, documents, photos, and MP3 and video files with you, in a device no larger than a deck of playing cards. Imagine that you could wirelessly access and view those files through any large, high-quality display in your local environment, such as a PC or Digital Home TV, through a simple wireless interface. That's the concept behind the Personal Media Server, pioneered by Roy Want and the Ubiquity group within Intel Research, and now being refined at Intel.

In its earliest incarnation, the prototype device (then called the Personal Server) was a lightweight computer with high-density data storage capability, and was small enough to fit in a pocket. But the Intel XScale® Technology on which it’s based can be integrated into any mobile device with a short range wireless capability, such as Bluetooth* wireless technology. Over time, the Intel researchers realized that creating yet another mobile device for users to carry may not be the best solution. Instead, they focused on integrating the Personal Media Server into a mobile device that's emerged as ubiquitous and indispensable: the cellular phone.

Cell phone functionality has been increasing steadily. Phones with photo, video, gaming and email capability are widely available, and some models include MP3 players. Integrating a Personal Media Server capability could further enhance the value of the cell phone, Intel researchers believe, transforming it into a sophisticated computing platform. Combining the technologies would enable users not only to make phone calls, create photos and videos, and listen to music, but to store and have wireless access to all of their media files on the same device-anytime, anywhere.

In September 2004, Intel Research began exploring how to port the Personal Media Server to Linux-based cell phone platforms (Fig. 1 & 2). The broader goal was to find novel ways to extend the capabilities of cell phones, well beyond voice communication.

The Ubiquity Group within Intel Research had extensive experience with Linux and with developing custom embedded platforms for academic collaborators. They created a successful prototype of a Personal Media Server integrated into a cell phone platform. The prototype was demonstrated in several venues in 2005, including 3GSM and CTIA, the industry premier events. The demo was designed to showcase digital home usages of the new technology. The demo showed how easy it can be for users to wirelessly upload and download documents, and to stream audio and video files stored on the cell phone to a nearby laptop computer, over a standard Bluetooth wireless technology connection (Fig. 3). This represents a major step toward developing Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compliant platforms in the mobile space. Members of DLNA, including Intel, share a vision of interoperable networked devices in the home, including PCs, consumer electronics and mobile devices.

The integration of Personal Media Server technology has the potential to add significant value to cell phones, enabling them to be used for a broad range of mobile and wireless computing applications. In the digital home, for instance, a cell phone with integrated Personal Media Server could be the central device through which mobile media is introduced and shared wirelessly with a variety of digital home devices (Fig. 3). Using a single device, you could stream music files to high quality speakers in your living room, link to a set top box and stream video to your TV, or connect wirelessly to other digital devices throughout the home.

Intel researchers continue to refine the Personal Media Server technology on a number of Intel® XScale®–based platforms. These platforms deliver the high level of performance required to run services needed for integration with cell phones. The Personal Media Server is designed to comply with DLNA and Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standards, which will ensure interoperability with other compliant digital home devices-and help the industry move one step closer to achieving the vision of "seamless integration."

To make seamless integration possible will require that available infrastructure is capable of interacting with the Personal Media Server. Toward that end, Intel researchers are developing the software infrastructure necessary to support this new technology.

In addition, in 2006 Intel Research and Motorola Labs* began a joint effort to explore new research directions for mobile computing and communication. Their focus is on integrating sensors into the cell phone platform. Their collaboration could help to transform the promise of easy, ubiquitous computing on the go into reality.

The Challenge: What if you could carry all of your personal media with you (including applications, documents, photos, videos and MP3 files) in a convenient pocket form factor, and have wireless access to it when standing in front of a PC, kiosk, or large display, anywhere in the world? That might significantly improve your mobile computing experience.

The Solution: In 2004, the Ubiquity group within Intel Research began developing a new class of mobile device, called the Personal Media Server, which addresses the challenge. Taking advantage of advances in processing, storage, and communication technologies, the Personal Media Server provides ubiquitous access to personal information and applications through the existing fixed infrastructure.

In its earliest incarnation, the prototype device (then called the Personal Server) was a lightweight computer with high–density data storage capability, and was small enough to fit in a pocket. It requires no display, so it can be smaller than a typical PDA. A wireless interface enables the user to access content stored in the device through whatever displays are available in the local environment.

Over time, the researchers realized that creating yet another mobile device for users to carry may not be the best solution. Instead, they focused on integrating the Personal Media Server into a mobile device that's emerged as ubiquitous and indispensable: the cellular phone. Intel researchers have developed and successfully demonstrated a prototype Personal Media Server that is integrated into a Linux–based cell phone platform, and they continue to refine the technology.

Publicly available infrastructure must be capable of interacting with the Personal Media Server. Toward that end, Intel researchers also are developing the software infrastructure necessary to support seamless interaction and make the Personal Media Server an attractive mobile solution.

Potential Impact: The integration of Personal Media Server technology has the potential to add significant value to cell phones, enabling them to be used for a broad range of mobile and wireless computing applications. For instance, in the digital home, a cell phone with integrated Personal Media Server could wirelessly stream audio and video stored on the device to a PC or Digital Home TV.

Using a cell phone with integrated Personal Media Server also could make mobile computing far more convenient than using a laptop, while ensuring the privacy and accessibility of data. Another advantage: local wireless connections will have higher bandwidth and lower latency than Metropolitan networks such as GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) and thus will enable large files to be transferred quickly and at much lower cost. This approach to mobile computing is not limited by the physical size of the device's display, so the personal server can be integrated into any Ultra Mobile Device, not just a cell phone, and users will still be able to work effectively at remote locations using any large, high-quality display. As storage continues to increase in density, this model of mobile computing will become even more attractive, and will provide reassurance to users that they will always have their documents and media available when they’re on the go.