A collaborative healthcare application based on opportunistic resource utilization networks with OVM primitives

Opportunistic resource utilization networks or oppnets are a paradigm for specialized ad hoc networks. The Oppnet Virtual Machine (OVM) is a collection of primitives designed to create a universal platform for application-level resource acquisition by oppnets and oppnet-enabled systems and devices (where the latter are defined as the computational entities able to communicate with other oppnets or oppnet-enabled systems and devices). Acquisition of communication resources is the foundation for acquisition of other resources. The OVM primitives can be downloaded by any computational entity - making it oppnet-enabled. OVM ensures that oppnets and oppnet-enabled entities can communicate and acquire resources in an opportunistic and ad hoc manner. This application-level and OVM-based interaction between entities can support the following required oppnet characteristics, which together distinguish oppnets from other available collaborative distributed systems: (i) support for the helper paradigm - as the basis for resource acquisition; (ii) universality - regardless of the system or device make or function, and through any communication media, protocols, etc.; (iii) lack of third-party mediators - since interactions among oppnet-enabled entities take place without (trusted) third parties; and (iv) ad hoc operation - except predesigned formation of the oppnet seed. Our challenge in this work was developing and validating the improved second version of the OVM primitives, capable of supporting a very broad and diverse set of applications. We illustrate use of the primitives in developing a healthcare application for monitoring medical conditions and wellness.