Andrew Lippman

1
Viral Invention

• Andrew Lippman
• lip_at_mit.edu
• June, 2005

2
Lippmans Helix
Viral Optimized for innovationLow riskAgility
Legitimate EconomicCentralized(Scalable)
After Fine
3
Viral Innovation
Scalable Incremental Contributory
Viral systems are innovative through modularity
and distribution of capability -- the
intelligence is at the ends e.g. Fax machines,
Internet
4
Viral Possibilities
Education The learners are the innovators,
infrastructure makes the system rigid Healthcare
Patients as a group already are more up-to-date
than their physician the average psychologist
reads no more than one journal per
month Communications The intelligence is now in
the phones, will the carriers be marginalized?
5
Viral Mandates
Open Source
Linux
Wiki
Skype
Open Comms
Open Knowledge
Brazil, today
6
Viral Mandates
Open Source
Open Reference
Linux
Google
Wiki
Skype
Open Comms
Open Knowledge
Brazil, today
7
Going Legitimate
When?Base Techs
Viral Optimized for innovationLow riskAgility
Legitimate EconomicCentralized(Scalable)
Magic is when tech is in sync with society
8
Academic View
Wiki
Technology
Skype
Adoption
Linux
Maximize the value in the plateau and minimize
the cost in the leap
9
Moral More than telephones
Health Mobility Efficiency
Hundred Dollar Laptop looks at the extremes of
personal computing and communications
10
Viral Radio
Open systems such as PCs gain capacity with more
units, traditional communications systems divide
fixed capacity among elements. Can we make
communications systems (telephones, networks)
that are viral and economic?
Social Context
11
Exploding myths
Spectrum Capacity Interference Channels
Will 1920s engineering guide 21st century
products?
12
Radio Magic
Radios costing less than radio waves
(Breadcrumbs) There are no receivers (Receiving
costs more than transmitting)
There is no 4G. There are no more Gs
13
Engineering Guidelines (old)
Free space is well known, other cases are not
14
Radio in the real world
Small movements make large changes
15
Lesson of 2004 Propagation
A
?
?
?
?
B
Model (1) Fill the space with radios (versus
power) (2) They determine best case relay (3)
Diversity allows two to win
16
Optimal Propagation
Choose the best ones, not the worst
17
Cooperative Telephony
Use my phone for your call? Delays? Distance?
Collaboration makes it work
18
Radio Magic
19
Radio Magic
20
Virality Index
Scalability
Incremental
Value-adding
From home to market Unreliability can be a
feature Asynchrony can be a feature
21
802.11(HiFi)
2002 Mayhem Protocol 2003 Local
Intelligence 2005 Vid Torrent
Lippman, Reed, Bletsas, Christakos, Vyzovitis,
Cooley, Li
22
(No Transcript)