Open-Source, Web-Based, Framework for Integrating Applications with Social Media Services and Personal Cloudlets. (OPENI)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Information and Communication Technologies
Destination: Pervasive and Trusted Network and Service Infrastructures
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Ireland,Greece,Germany,Spain,United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-ICT-2011-8, 2011)
Start date: 2012-10-01
End date: 2015-06-30
Duration (months): 33.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3778484.0
EU funding (EUR): 2618000.0
Participants: 7
Project status: CLOSED

In today’s society, accessing cloud-based services, such as YouTube, Spotify, Facebook, TripAdvisor, is predominantly through applications on mobile devices. Through everyday usage, consumers of these services provide these services providers with an immense amount of content and personal data. However, due to the lack of consumer-controlled cloud storage infrastructures and the siloed nature of cloud-based services, consumers are deprived of any control over their content or data. Furthermore, they are unable to make this data available to multiple applications across various services and devices – something which has led to a significantly impaired application usage experience and stagnation in application innovation. OPENi will define and deliver an open-source web platform that will enable mobile application consumers to store data and metadata from their mobile application usage in their own space in the cloud – the “Cloudlet”. This information can be shared (by and under the control of the consumer) securely among their applications, services and across their connected devices. To realize this vision OPENi will provide the required components that will support both consumers in creating and managing their Cloudlets but also Developers in creating applications that will be able to access and interact with them without disrupting service providers. OPENi will define and deliver the following prototype infrastructures: 1. A cloud platform that will allow Users to instantiate, deploy and manage their own Cloudlet. 2. An API framework that will allow Developers to build applications that integrate dynamically a broader spectrum of cloud-based services and at the same time can access User Cloudlets to store and retrieve content and data. 3. A set of value adding services, such as data brokering, access authorization and multi device UI rendering, that will allow Developers to easily access and use the content and data stored in the Cloudlets across several applications and devices. OPENi will be a significant catalyzing factor, boosting EU software industry – which already counts a considerable number of highly skilled SME software firms to take further advantage of the thriving market of mobile applications, through a framework of open technologies that will be readily available and require almost no additional skill to take up. The timing for such an effort is crucial. Platforms such as iOS and Android are establishing their dominant position in the applications market. At the same time web and cloud technologies are ever more maturing and gaining acceptance in application development. OPENi harnesses this technological power and constitutes an EU effort that equally benefits Developers and Users in this thriving ecosystem.

Keywords: cloud,personal cloud,open standard,security,privacy,api framework