Neighborhood Cache For the Future

Researchers at Intel Labs Berkeley are working on the next generation of the neighborhood cache, a storehouse of supplies intended for community use in the event of a disaster.

Neighborhood Cache for the Future Nick: Researchers at Intel labs Berkeley are working on the next generation of the neighborhood cache. A store house of supplies intended for community use in the event of a disaster. They showed one off during an open house at the joint Intel and University Research Center on Wednesday. A traditional cache has only a few communications tools such as an AM/FM radio and the Hem radio. Nina: What we’re showing you is the vision for the neighborhood cache of the future. We have a serious of antennas on the top there. Satellite phones, GPS receivers. We have a long distance point to point. WiFi link and we have here a wireless router. Nick: The routers Intel wants to put into neighborhood caches use special software that makes it easier for people to get messages out to friends and family. Nina: What this kinds of routers can do they have technology called the delayed tolerant networking often called DTN and what it does it that data – that’s in transit, you know people who are walking by in the neighborhood can send things through their. It will actually store data for long periods of time. And when the opportunity to connect arises at that point and you forward your data. Nick: Social networking is playing a growing role in communications after disasters including in Haiti and during the recent blizzards in the US Taft said. Photos and text messages have helped in locating people on the affected areas. Nina: But there are many problems that these applications while wonderful won’t work if you are not connected to the internet. So we need this find of networking protocols to deal with disconnected you know and a sort of – what we call interment and connectivity to the network. Nick: Intel is also working on solving network congestion cause by people trying to reach their friends and family and authenticating the information sent over the network. With reporting by Steven Lost in Berkeley, I’m Nick Barber IDG News Service.