Accessing remote devices using conventional interfaces in mobile computing environment

Technologies to access devices from mobile computers over network are drawing increasing attention. However, diverse problems remain to be solved in connection with these technologies: such as coping with changes in network and device configurations. We have proposed a system that makes it easier to cope with such problems while maintaining conventional APIs. The proposed system allows applications to access remote devices in exactly the same way as they access local devices, through device files. This paper describes the design and implementation of the proposed system, based on implementation of a prototype system on the Linux OS. Experimental results show that the runtime costs of the proposed system will not be prohibitive in actual use. This paper also describes how to implement a facility on the proposed system to cope with changes in network and device configurations.