Technology Roadmap

This is a list of all the technology developed, in development and proposed by The Serval Project.

Uncategorised material

Technology Stack

Mobile applications

Existing or ongoing

Under development

Not started

Discontinued or rejected

Serval Mesh (app for Android) – secure voice calls, text messaging and file sharing over a mobile Ad Hoc wireless mesh network
Serval Maps (app for Android) – collaborative GIS application that uses Rhizome to share data
Commotion MeshTether integration
Sensor Logger
Auto Shutdown

Serval Chat (app for iOS)
Serval Sam (app for Android) – data collection using forms

Serval Mesh app for iPhone
Serval Mesh app for FirefoxOS
Serval Mesh for feature phones
Serval Morse – distributed micro-blogging

Rhizome Retriever – first prototype of Rhizome

Hardware

Existing or ongoing

Under development

Not started

Discontinued or rejected

Mesh Extender – small device for long-range mesh networking

GSM firmware – reprogram cell phone radios to carry mesh packets

Components, functions and interfaces

Existing or ongoing

Under development

Not started

Discontinued or rejected

Wi-Fi mode management
Energy Efficiency – battery life is important on mobile devices
GSM gateway
Modern Android audio

Field diagnosis – send Serval DNA log files to Serval HQ
User stats – opt-in app usage data collection

Protocols and services

Existing or ongoing

Under development

Not started

Discontinued or rejected

Mesh Datagram Protocol (MDP)
Overlay network – MDP over Wi-Fi using UDP/IP
Mesh Stream Protocol (MSP) – reliable streams over MDP
Mesh routing
Rhizome – resilient file distribution system
MeshMS – text messaging using Rhizome for data transport
Distributed Numbering Architechure (DNA) – telephone number look-up
Voice over Mesh Protocol (VoMP)
Auto Upgrade – sends upgrades over Rhizome
Rhizome Direct – push, pull and sync over HTTP
Serval Directory Service (SDS)
Opus codec support

Echo cancellation
Voice Mail
Serval Internet Location Service (SILS)
Serval Internet Routing Service (SIRS)
MeshMS rich content
Web of trust – distribute signatures representing trust relationships between subscribers
Mesh visualisation – dynamic display of local mesh topology and situation
Distributed aGPS – Assisted GPS using Rhizome to distribute satellite almanac data
Distributed location service – deduce geo-location from the mesh network
Mesh time – deduce time from nearby nodes
MDP over Bluetooth

Video Streaming – early experiments in streaming video over the mesh
Broadcast MeshMS – good while it lasted

Concepts and abstractions

Existing or ongoing

Under development

Not started

Discontinued or rejected

Forward compatibility
Serval Infrastructure – boost mesh performance using existing network infrastructure
Rhizome Rank – bundle prioritisation mechanism
Rhizome Use-By – bundle expiry date

Rhizome filter
Rhizome channels – for special purpose deployments
Rhizome content type
Rhizome Groups – scale to many users and topics
Rhizome bounding circle
Block Store for Efficient Rhizome Distribution
Massive Rhizome – a whole city using Rhizome
Micropayments – create a market in mesh network services

Rhizome "hidden" field – bad design

Tools, infrastructure and processes

Existing or ongoing

Under development

Not started

Discontinued or rejected

Simulated media testing
Android test framework
Central PSTN gateway – let Serval Mesh users call conventional phone numbers, and vice versa
Verifiable build – eg, using Gitian

Test case dependencies – not a good idea

The Serval Project Wiki

Table of Contents

Technology Roadmap

Uncategorised material

Mobile applications

Hardware

Components, functions and interfaces

Protocols and services

Concepts and abstractions

Tools, infrastructure and processes

The Serval Project Wiki

User Tools

Site Tools

Table of Contents

Technology Roadmap

Uncategorised material

Mobile applications

Hardware

Components, functions and interfaces

Protocols and services

Concepts and abstractions

Tools, infrastructure and processes

Page Tools