Using the DIAL Protocol for Zero Configuration Connectivity in Cross-Platform Messaging

Sammanfattning: Today's living room context offers more and more possibilities when it comes to when and how to interact with the television and media content offerings. Buzzwords such as "TV Everywhere" is something that both hardware manufacturers, content providers and television networks are pursuing to great lengths. At the core of such marketing schemes is the availability of platform-independent content consumption. In a Utopian setting, the end-user should never have to worry if he or she is currently using a smart TV, tablet, phone or computer to view a video or photos, play music or play games. Taking the concept even further, the devices should also be able to connect and communicate with each other seamlessly. Having for example a television set (first screen) controlled by a mobile phone (second screen) is commonly referred to as companion device interaction and is what this thesis has investigated. More specifically, a way of discovering and launching a first screen application from a second screen application using the zero configuration discovery protocol named DIAL has been implemented into a cross-platform messaging solution. A case study was conducted to gather data about the system and its context as well as what was needed of the framework in terms of architecture design, use cases and implementation details. A proof of concept application was developed for Android that used the proposed framework, showcasing the ease of use and functionality presented in integrating DIAL into such a solution. Since DIAL is so well-documented, easy to understand and is becoming one of the industry standards among consumer electronic manufacturers in terms of device discovery, I believe it should become a standard for so called zero configuration companion device interactivity.