Mobile Phone Based Ad Hoc Network Using Built In Bluetooth for Ubiquitous Life

There are about 90 million high performance mobile phones used in Japan. We are now planning to develop new applications of mobile phone to support children and elder and disabled people who are out of scope of major mobile phone application based on their requirements. We have a responsibility to extend the application filed of mobile phone as a leading country of ubiquitous life. This paper discusses possibilities to realize mobile ad hoc networks using Bluetooth functions equipped on a mobile phone. Hierarchical mobile ad hoc networks using Bluetooth in a mobile phone are firstly developed as a test platform. The test platform proves the possibility of developing mobile ad hoc network by mobile phone built-in Bluetooth functions. We demonstrate their capabilities by showing results of implementing game applications on the test platform. The paper also describes some example applications using mobile ad hoc network technologies, which include a location tracking system for children on the way to a school and an alarm system for hearing impaired people