Just-in-time multimedia distribution in a mobile computing environment

Disseminating multimedia content to users in a mobile computing environment such that they receive it in an
appropriate and timely manner is fundamental to the success of mobile information systems. Too often, however, this
endeavour is hindered by the poor data rates supported by wireless telecommunications networks and by the limited
computational resources available on mobile devices. We describe an approach to overcome these limitations, which is
based on extremely dynamic and proactive precaching. This approach, which we have termed intelligent precaching, is
realised through the innovative deployment of intelligent agents on mobile devices. To illustrate this concept, the
design and implementation of an archetypical mobile computing application is provided, namely that of an electronic
tourist guide. This is augmented with a description of the salient points derived from a user evaluation, from which
emerging avenues for further research are identified.