Wireless experts believe that by 2017 personal networks will have to cope with at least a thousand devices such as laptops, telephones, mp3 players, games, sensors and other technology. To link these devices will require a €˜Network of Everything,€ or Personal Networks, which are seen as essential for a world where many different devices must work in sync together.

It represents an astonishing challenge, but researchers believe that they are moving towards the solution. European researchers have just completed work on a networking project to perfect what will become known, perhaps, as the Smart Personal Network. Further developing the concept of Personal Area Networks, which have been looked at in earlier research projects, the EU-funded MAGNET Beyond project tackled each of the issues surrounding Personal Networks.

While Personal Area Networks link together all the devices and technology within a person's reach, a Personal Network belongs to and serves a private entity, such as a person, a vehicle or an airplane. Using power devices with ubiquitous and broadband connectivity, Personal Networks "spread" the networking domain to all personal devices reachable through different network infrastructures.

In the future, there will be hundreds, even as many as a thousand devices in a Personal Network. It may seem an impossible figure, but in the near future the number of personal devices will multiply enormously. One person might have dozens of sensors monitoring vital signs like heart rate and temperature, even the electrolytes present in perspiration. There will also be sensors and actuators (devices responsible for activating a mechanical device) in homes and cars. People will have a €œhome gateway€ to manage all their home devices, and a €œcar gateway€ while driving.

A person may access remotely personal files from almost anywhere in the world as if he or she were at the office. People will be able to include others in their Personal Network and exchange personal information, or patch into a presentation in another conference room and watch it remotely. Many of these technologies already exist, but over time, they will become more widespread and connected.

In reality, it is hard to know what kind of devices or technology might be around for sure, but one thing is certain: there will be a lot of them. The World Wireless Research Forum's (WWRF) predicts 7 trillion devices for 7 billion people by 2017 €“ in other words, around a thousand devices for every man, woman and child on the planet.

€œIn the industry, 2017 is like slang for a future where there will be many, many more devices that people use in their day-to-day life,€ explains Professor Liljana Gavrilovska, Technical Manager of the MAGNET Beyond project. €œThis project prepares for that future.€

Right now, Personal Networks usually involve fiddling around with Bluetooth settings and crossing your fingers. If it does work, users typically try to complete simple tasks by trial and error, like hunting for photos on their mobile or trying to transfer songs from their computer to a PDA.

In the MAGNET model, users will be able to easily set up their Personal Networks with all their devices. Better yet, these networks will be able to €˜federate' with other Personal Networks on a permanent or ad-hoc basis. Users will be able to link their networks permanently with those of their friends and family, or temporarily with other people and companies depending on some purpose or joint interest. Users will be able to control precisely what devices and information other people can link with.

"The system is designed to be user friendly, with little or no training required and no need for system administrators,€ Gavrilovska explains. €œIt will ensure security and protect privacy, and it will work everywhere, even without any additional infrastructure, but still be able to exploit any available resources, like wifi or cell phone networks, for example."

MAGNET Beyond included a consortium of 35 companies from 16 countries on two continents, and featured many of the world's leading corporations and research institutes, such as Nokia, NEC, Alcatel-Lucent, Samsung, France telecom, Telefonica, Fraunhofer, and many others.

The effort was worth it, with a vast range of innovative technologies now delivering Personal Networks that can be easily integrated into the future generations of wireless networks, and co-operate in the unfolding future of the Internet.

Editor\'s Note: This feature on the MAGNET Beyond project was adapted from a press release from ICT Results. Click here to see the full-length article and to gain more information.