Synchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time. Systems operating with all their parts in synchrony are said to be synchronous or in sync. Some systems may be only approximately synchronized, or plesiochronous. For some applications relative offsets between events need to be determined, for others only the order of the event is important.
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Location-based service
Location-based services are a general class of computer program-level services used to include specific controls for location and time data as control features in computer programs. As such (LBS) is an information and has a number of uses in Social Networking today as an entertainment service, which is accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and which uses information on the geographical position of the mobile device.
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Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties. More generally, it is about constructing and analyzing protocols that overcome the influence of adversaries and which are related to various aspects in information security such as data confidentiality, data integrity, and authentication. Modern cryptography intersects the disciplines of mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering.
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Mobile device
A mobile device (also known as a handheld device, handheld computer or simply handheld) is a small, hand-held computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input and/or a miniature keyboard and weighting less than 2 pounds (0.91 kg). Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Research in Motion (RIM), and Samsung are just a few examples of the many manufacturers that produce these types of devices.
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Wireless network
Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise (business) installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment locations. Wireless telecommunications networks are generally implemented and administered using a transmission system called radio waves.
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Access control
Access control refers to exerting control over who can interact with a resource. Often but not always, this involves an authority, who does the controlling. The resource can be a given building, group of buildings, or computer-based information system. But it can also refer to a restroom stall where access is controlled by using a coin to open the door. Access control is, in reality, an everyday phenomenon. A lock on a car door is essentially a form of access control.
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Communications protocol
A communications protocol is a system of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications. A protocol may have a formal description. Protocols may include signaling, authentication and error detection and correction capabilities. A protocol definition defines the syntax, semantics, and synchronization of communication; the specified behavior is typically independent of how it is to be implemented.
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Sensor
A sensor (also called detector) is a converter that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated glass tube. A thermocouple converts temperature to an output voltage which can be read by a voltmeter. For accuracy, most sensors are calibrated against known standards.
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