Successful Completion of the PalCom EU Research Project

January 2008 saw the successful completion of the Palpable Computing (PalCom) research project for the European Union’s 6th Framework Programme begun in January 2004. The project brought together a consortium of leading European industrial labs, universities, and other research organizations specializing in distributed computing. The objective was the definition of a new form of computing relating to the manner in which people comprehend and utilize ubiquitous computing technologies pervading their everyday environments.

Whitestein Technologies served several roles throughout the project, from leading the creation of the software architecture to designing and prototyping a unique approach to hybrid communications in disruptive environments known as the RASCAL system. RASCAL stands for Resilience and Adaptivity System for Communication over Ad-hoc Links and has been reported in several recently published papers. Whitestein's contribution to PalCom was deemed "essential" in the final project review report.

The legacy of the project includes a conceptual framework and architecture for Palpable Computing, as well as an open source toolbox containing all software prototypes created during the project.

Of perhaps even greater significance is the success generated by the Major Incident and Event Management application prototype that has been used by several emergency services in Denmark during mass events, such as a Tall Ships Race. The productization of this prototype is currently in planning.