LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Today marks the launch of the new long-term research partnership between Nokia Research Center and the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology, with the Pervasive Communications Laboratory doors officially opening in Lausanne.

The focus of this major research collaboration is to get beneath the skin of new technologies and explore the real-life application of what’s been dubbed the “Internet of Things” - a vision of context aware mobile interaction, using your mobile device to soak up and share information about your environment and the real objects in your close vicinity. Sure, merging existing technologies such as GPS and high-speed networks will inevitably form part of the research agenda, however the development of fresh technologies and smart sensors that could replicate human senses, such as touch and even smell, to help gather information will also go under the microscope.

“The initial joint research agenda will focus on pervasive communications: Exploring new interaction experiences and technologies utilizing all the human senses; Services and applications based on the user’s context, such as location, and personal preferences, e.g., information provided by sensors within a mobile device or in the surrounding world; Internet services and technologies - enriching the Internet experience on mobile devices.”

Dr. Bob Iannucci, Nokia Chief Technology Officer and head of Nokia Research Center, supports this vision saying:

“Nokia has already carried out a great deal of research in the field of pervasive communications, and sees the fusing of the digital and physical worlds as a key objective in mobility. We have chosen to work with the Swiss Institutes of Technology because of their expertise in this area”

The Pervasive Communications Laboratory has just announced a call for proposals to gather new innovative ideas for high quality, high impact research projects.

They are looking for proposals in the following areas:

• Context aware services and applications
• Social networks linked to location and context
• Usability and human aspects, pervasive communication interfaces
• Networking and context awareness