US Ignite is fostering the development of next-generation application and digital experiences that will transform how we receive everything from weather reports to healthcare, to how we use the library, guide transportation in our cities and more.

To bring these apps to life, developers leverage the unique capabilities of next-generation networks, including:

• 100 Mbps+ and low latency, permitting for example, multiple bi-directional streams of uncompressed video.
• Software-defined networks (e.g.,OpenFlow), promising dramatically-improved control over network routing and optimization.
• Networks with capabilities such as virtual network “slices” matched to application requirements and distributed programmable resources throughout the network.
• Integrated wireless networks to facilitate, for example, sensor networks and continuous remote monitoring.
• Applications built to be open, shared, and extendable.

To see these new technology in action take a look at the following 20 transformative applications that will change how Americans work, live, learn and play.

• Remote Process Control Using a Reliable, Real-Time Protocol: Gigabit networks can provide new ways for controlling processes from afar, allowing engineers, artists, and experimenters to remotely control advanced manufacturing processes such as 3D printing — regardless of how close they are to the means of production. George Adams, Purdue; Judi Clark, Lit San Leandro; Jeff Kay, City of San Leandro; Pat Kennedy, OSIsoft; Douglas Comer, Purdue; John Geske, Kettering University; Prasad Calyam, Ohio State University

• Banyan Version Control & Collaboration for Scientists: This app is optimized to manage huge files in order to enhance remote scientific collaboration. Currently, merging different versions of research and rolling back errors that inevitably occur is a nightmare; plus many researchers are still sharing findings the slow and laborious way via USBs and physical hard drives. Banyan dramatically improves tracking and management of authorship, version comparison, and real-time editing. It automatically tracks the additions and deletions an individual makes and allows previous versions of the work to be recalled instantly if an error is discovered. Toni Gemayel, TJ Weigel, Travis Staton, Anthony Blardo, Androwis Abumoussa, Mike Bradshaw, Kristina Gemayel

• High Quality Open Source Web Conferencing: Combining high-speed networks with new web standards like HTML5 and WebRTC results in a robust, remote classroom experience and high-quality education for any student equipped with a simple web browser, no matter where they are located.  Chris Kenniburg, Dearborn Public Schools; Fred Dixon and team at BigBlueButton.

• The Rashomon Project: “Multi-Perspective Chronology”: Using social video to improve our understanding of complex events, this project would allow visitors to study an event from multiple perspectives, zooming in on particular moments to examine sequences in detail. TRIS, UC Berkeley Cora Basada, Ken Goldberg, Camille Crittenden, Aphid Stern, CI.

• engage3D Conferencing: This app proposes to use 3D Kinect sensors for two-way, three-dimensional “tele-presence,” permitting doctors to gain real-time views of their patients, or permitting teachers to teach remote classes in 3D. Bill Brock, SimCenter Enterprises, Chattanooga, TN; Andor Salga.

• euMetrica: Ubiquitous sensors plus high-speed networks can revolutionize healthcare. This app would allow a patient and his or her doctor to aggregate and analyze  health data in real-time, detecting and preventing potential crises before they occur. Dmitri Boulanov, Maria Constantopoulos, Christopher Riederer, Amr Ali; Boston, MA.

• Real-Time Emergency Response: This app can save lives by arming firefighters, rescue workers and first-responders with powerful new real-time data and communications. Combining live, high-quality video from multiple feeds with real-time sensor data — like heat and smoke levels — could dramatically improve decision-making and coordination. Jeff Blum, Jeremy Cooperstock and team, McGill Shared Reality Lab

• KinectHealth 3D: Meeting fitness goals requires peers and a place to meet. Convenient and easy,  this virtual fitness platform enables anytime+anywhere fitness with peer groups for improved health. Bob Summers and team at Friendeo, Blacksburg, VA

• Flood Information Platform: Provides a one-stop platform for flood warnings, forecasts, visualizations, mapping and information. Ibrahim Demir, University of Iowa

• Cloud Computing for Collaborative Advanced Manufacturing: This app uses ultra fast, low latency networks to enable remote collaboration for advanced manufacturing. Manufacturers will be able to work together to build things they cannot build today. J. Cecil, Oklahoma State University; Prasad Calyam, Ohio State University.

• OpenPath: OpenPath makes place-based, collaborative learning possible for all in real-time. Shawn Van Every, Jared Lamenzo, Richard Scullin, Ilona Parkansky.

• Improvements in Radar Networks for Weather and Aircraft Surveillance: This project demonstrates the benefits of connecting radars to ultra high-speed networks to improve hazardous weather warning and response and the identification and tracking of small, low-flying aircraft by developing new detection algorithms that operate directly on uncompressed, high-bandwidth radar data. Michael Zink, University of MA.

• Telehealth and Wellness for Senior Citizens: High-Definition Multipoint Videoconferencing is a core application for Gigabit and faster networks, offering higher quality and lower cost than many commercial systems. Lev Gonick, Case Western Reserve

• Disaster Mitigation System: This app provides emergency response staff with both training and planning as well as real time guidance on effective strategies to protect the general public and first responders. The system uses computational fluid dynamics to predict toxic plume evolution and an intelligent agent-based model of the at-risk population operating within an intelligent traffic management system. Henry McDonald, University of Tennessee—Chattanooga.

• In-home health alert system: The in obtrusive monitoring of individuals with in-home sensors offers enormous potential for detecting early health problems-before they become big problems–so timely interventions can improve health outcomes. Marge Skubic, University of Missouri

• Challenge-Based, Collaborative STEM Education: This project uses broadband communication to support a diverse community of STEM learners, including K-12 students, their teachers and parents, school administrators, community organizers, city planners, and university faculty and graduate students. The project will build a community-situated, challenge-based, collaborative cyber-learning environment (C3STEM) that harnesses computational thinking, modeling, simulation, and challenge-based learning to support STEM learning in the context of a city traffic planning. Gautam Biswas, Vanderbilt.

• Virtual reality training for surgeons: This project will develop and demonstrate new virtual reality-based applications for training medical residents and doctors in microsurgical techniques using the Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI) infrastructure and capabilities. J. Cecil, Oklahoma State

• Audio-visual applications for ambulances: This project will design and trial a new service called WiMed that provides high-quality, robust data communications between moving ambulances and the destination hospital. WiMed is application aware and able to cross-layer and cross-application optimization when wireless connectivity characteristics change due to ambulance location.  Suman Banerje, University of Wisconsin.

• In-Home Monitoring in Support of Caregivers for Patients with Dementia: This project develops, integrates, and tests advanced video and networking technologies to support family caregivers in managing behavioral symptoms of individuals with dementia, a growing public health problem that adds to caregiver stress, increases morbidity and mortality, and accelerates nursing home placement. Russ Waitman, Kansas University Medical Center

• Network Slicing for Emergency Communications: Americans depend on the existing Emergency Communications Systems (ECS) to save lives, either via 911 calls to ambulance, police and fire services or via the broadcast Emergency Alert System. The existing Emergency Communications Systems (ECS) infrastructure is becoming increasingly outdated due to the migration of voice and video services to IP-based technologies. The Network Slicing for Emergency Communications (NSEC) project is a prototype US Ignite demonstration project that will utilize GENI slices to create a demonstration system of a robust, reliable, and scalable alternative to existing ECS. Milos Manic, University of Idaho.

We know these apps are really just the beginning, so be sure to check back often as we add to this evolving list of next-generation applications from the US Ignite community!