L-VCONF: A location-aware infrastructure for battlefield videoconferences

Audio and videoconference technologies make complex coordination processes easier, especially when mobile participants need to synchronize their action in critical environments. The need for an infrastructure providing such a functionality may arise in complex scenarios where an IP network is not available, as for instance in battlefield or other critical environments. This paper describes L-VCONF, an architecture for geo-located conferencing based on a mobile/cellular network (i.e. GPRS, UMTS, WiMax technologies), quick-and-dirty mobile/cellular geolocation, SIP protocol and presence server. Our architecture supports IP audio/videoconferences enriched with geo-located coordination functionalities in complex environments. The approach described in the paper is robust w.r.t. uncertainty while handling location update notification for SIP presence server.