Thinworks is a mobile information platform and location based service (LBS) mechanism, designed to distribute location-based mobile content in all IP-based wireless networks. At this point in time, Thinworks operates with specified hardware in WLAN environments.

Technically, Thinworks is a server/client solution with centrally located Thinworks servers supervising and managing mobile content and Thinworks clients, called Agents, making the mobile device end-user able to obtain and use this mobile information.

Fig 1. A typical Thinworks-enabled WLAN hotspot network configuration

Thinworks is written in Java and runs on several Java VM-enabled computers and
devices. On the server side, it has been tested to run successfully on Windows
NT/2000 and Linux (Debian) servers. On the client side, Thinworks is provided for
Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP running Sun's Java 1.3.x runtime and Windows CE
devices running Sun's Personal Java or Insignia Jeode Java VM.

Thinworks is used to distribute mobile content to various physical locations, defined as so-called access zones. In today's Thinworks, an access zone is a logical grouping of one or several access point's radio coverage areas. With access zones, the Thinworks administrator can define and differentiate all physical areas covered by the access points connected to the network, effectively making these areas into well-defined hotspots.

Mobile content provided by Thinworks comes in two flavours; either as so-called push content messages or as remote applications.

Push content messages

A Thinworks push content message is an information unit being sent to and received by the end-user's device without any intervention on the user's behalf i.e. it is pushed to the end-user. Push content messages are location based, meaning that they are attributed to appear in one or several Thinworks access zones.

Normally, push content messages are used to push web URLs to the end-users. When the client device receives such a message, the device's built-in browser is started and the corresponding web page is displayed. The effect is that as the user walks along in a Thinworks-enabled WLAN network, web pages belonging to the various visited access zones are displayed in the device's display. For instance, when you're in the caféé, you will get their order menu, when you're at the bus stop you will get the current bus time schedule. Thinworks push content messages can also be use to carry text or any other digitally encoded material.

Permission marketing

A push content message is always attributed to belong to a specific category (message topic), for example to "Toys", "Leisure", "Sports", "Food" etc. End-users can subscribe to these message categories and will only receive messages belonging to the subscribed categories. This possibility makes Thinworks into a so-called Permission Marketing enabler.

Each Thinworks server provides a sophisticated push content message scheduling mechanism (the push content engine), allowing for the pushing of commercial (and non-commercial, of course) information at specific time intervals and periods, making way for push content message campaigns.

Remote applications

A Thinworks remote application is an application program running in a centrally located application server, with its end-user seeing and operating it from his or her mobile device. To the end-user, the application is remote, but appears as though it was installed and operating in the mobile device. Such applications are provided through thin-client technology (currently Microsoft Windows Terminal Services), hence its name. Thinworks is used to supervise and coordinate the execution of remote applications, both in the server and the client end. Remote applications can also be location based i.e. attributed to belong to defined access zones, but normally they are available to end-users throughout the entire wireless network.

To obtain the mobile content available in a Thinworks-enabled wireless network, the end-user's device runs a special client program, known as the Thinworks Agent. It is currently available for Windows CE devices and mobile Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP computers (usually laptops).

Fig 2. The Thinworks Agent running on a Compaq iPAQ equipped with an A Brand New World Gismo WLAN/GSM jacket.

The Agent allows the user to log on to one or several Thinworks user accounts, placed on different Thinworks servers, meaning that the Agent is able to communicate with several Thinworks servers simultaneously. Provided the user possesses a user account at one or several Thinworks servers, using the Agent the end-user can subscribe to any desired push content message categories (topics) and to a range of offered remote applications. The Agent will display the combined selection of all push content and remote applications available via the contacted Thinworks servers.

Fig 3. The Thinworks Agent simultaneously communicating with several Thinworks servers.

The Agent also picks up publicly available push content messages from Thinworks servers in the local neighbourhood, for instance in a shopping mall or in a hot spotted shopping street. With this possibility, local shop owners and other commercial interests can push offerings and discount flyers to the end-users passing by their shops.

The Thinworks Agent is also responsible for carrying out what has been coined client-based positioning. This is the underlying method used to make a Thinworks server know within which access zone a particular mobile device is located.

The Thinworks Agent continually interrogates the device's WLAN network driver for the unique ID (the MAC address) of the WLAN access point currently servicing the device's network connection. This address is sent back to the Thinworks server in the network neighbourhood. Since the Thinworks server knows which access point belongs to which access zone, it can determine within which access zone the mobile device is located. The server then reacts by finding what push content and remote applications is applicable to the particular access zone and sends this information to the positioned device and its Agent. In order for client-based positioning to work, the Agent needs access to proprietary API functions in the employed WLAN driver. Currently, Thinworks provides client-based positioning for Agere/Orinoco and Atmel WLAN client hardware on Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP and CE devices.

Thinworks was initially conceived, designed and developed by A Brand New World AB in 2000-2001. In 2002 ClickBase AB, a new software development company within the area of information integration and distribution acquired the Thinworks product along with its development team. ClickBase AB is located in Stockholm, Kista and currently employs 15 people, mainly within development and sales.

Thinworks is continually being developed. For instance, it is being extended for use in BlueTooth as well as GSM/GPRS and 3G (UMTS/CDMA) networks. This involves providing new remote application technologies, mathematically defined access zones, mapping functionalities and new positioning techniques suited for such wireless network environments.