Intelligent Mobile Proxy (IMP) is a software product that intelligently proxies for a mobile user. The IMP provides information objects to a user faster than previously possible while maintaining the best perceived quality possible. An information object may be composed of images, video, audio, or text.

An IMP example is illustrated within the following two images. The image on the left is the original image requiring 1.3 MBytes of data to describe its contents and the transcoded figure on the right requires only 5.14 KBytes. Over a typical cell phone data plan bandwidth of 200 KBits/second the image on the left would require 52 seconds to be delivered and the one on the right would take approximately 0.2 seconds. A factor of 250 times improvement. Both images transmit the same amount of information, i.e. we view Secretary Gates speaking at the Pentagon. The bottom line is: it is not the size of the data that counts but the quality, as perceived by the end user, of the delivered information object.

The IMP software exists solely on a web server. The user does not have to download any software for their client device (e.g. a PC or mobile device). They only require an Internet browser. The IMP software modifies the original information object (IO) based upon the type of IO, the bandwidth available, the user’s device attributes (e.g. screen size, color depth, stylus), the user’s quality of experience and the requested time they are willing to wait for the IO to be delivered. A demonstration of a prototype system built with text and images can be tried at mobile.PrudentialCarucci.com with a mobile device or by clicking on the demo link below for a PC.

We are currently optimizing our algorithms for text and images, pursuing an algorithm for Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents, and are developing new algorithms for video and audio IOs. We believe that this technology will be helpful for mobile device usage and for the many people who do not have high bandwidth connections to the Internet. It is also our contention that no matter how much bandwidth is available the public will always want more. This work is being funded by the US Air Force under a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract.