SBIR Phase I: A WebTurbine for Lightweight, Ubiquitous Internet Publishing

This Small Business Innovation and Research Phase I project will design and develop an innovative technology that enables those at the edge of the Internet to easily and efficiently become Web publishers. The solution is a compatible enhancement to the existing Web that counters the notion that all Web content be published in a hub and spoke fashion from central servers. The primary distinction between Web server and client thus becomes one of chosen roles, not physical location in a fixed topology. The project addresses the special needs of lightweight Web publishing, including intermittent connections (dial-up and wireless), location independence (roaming, dynamic DNS/IP address), modest resources (handheld devices), and limited bandwidth. The solution builds upon Creare's RBNB DataTurbine middleware, which provides asynchronous access to cached sequential information, a proven technology for peer-to-peer data distribution at educational and government research facilities. The project adapts and applies RBNB as a Web solution (WebTurbine), and, in Phase I, will demonstrate it by establishing a wireless Web publisher and publishing live video images to the Internet (viewable by our NSF sponsors). Commercialization Prospects: Millions of new publishers, now inhibited by cost and technical hurdles, will publish to the Internet. The unique capabilities of RBNB will enable the scientific and educational community to collaborate in a manner far more time-sensitive and flexible than is now possible. Our solution creates new commercial opportunities for seamless streaming media, a new approach to virtual private networks, and a micro payment pay-per-transaction model.