Abstract
Today in the beginning of the 21st century, mobile devices are now ubiquitous. No matter where we go or what we do, we are touched by this new insatiable need for mobile computing. Mobile devices, especially mobile phones, have become the essential commodity item. In many countries the world over, mobile phone ownership is well above 100% market penetration. The main features predominantly used are text messaging and voice communications. The phones of today, however, have far more to offer than these interpersonal communication features. Many phones include components such as digital cameras, wireless data communication systems (Bluetooth), and music playback facilities. Some even include additional sensor technology such as accelerometers to detect motion. Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) are now shipped as standard with almost every phone that comes off the production line. This opens the door to a huge body of developers to create applications specifically directed to these small mobile computing devices. The area of mobile Java games is one area of growth, especially due to the ease of deployment. Mobiles are, however, capable of so much more. This chapter focuses on the computational abilities of these small portable computers. It provides a selection of concrete results that indicate that mobiles are more than capable of performing complex computational tasks; therefore, the future of computing is mobile.
TopFractal Generation
The Mandelbrot and Julia Sets are inexorably linked. For any point of the Mandelbrot image plane, one can generate a Julia Set that corresponds to that location. Therefore, there are infinite possibilities. The Buddhabrot technique uses the exact same generation function as the Mandelbrot Set, but the manner in which the final image is calculated and rendered is quite different, resulting in an image that is visually rich. This section will discuss some of the background of these fractal images and present the algorithms necessary for the generation of the same.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Mandelbrot Set: A fractal image discovered in the 1970s by Benoit Mandelbrot; it acts as an index to all the possible Julia Sets in existence.
Bluetooth: A wireless technology that is becoming more and more widespread to allow mobile devices to communicate with each other. Bluetooth 1.2 offers speeds of 723kbit/s, while version two offers speeds of 2.1 mbit/s. Ultra Wide Band Bluetooth will soon become commonplace, offering USB 2.0 speeds of 480 mbit/s.
Scatternet: A Bluetooth network of two or more interconnected Piconets. A node common to both networks interconnects the Piconets. This bridging node must act as both a client and a server.
Fractal: A fractal is an image that comprises two distinct attributes: infinite detail and self-similarity. Examples of such images include the Mandelbrot and Julia Sets, the Koch Curve and the Menger Sponge.
Piconet: A network of Bluetooth devices that is limited to seven client/slave devices connected to a master. The architecture of such networks is that of the star topology.
Julia Set: A fractal image discovered by French mathematician Gaston Maurice Julia.
Buddhabrot: An alternative means of visualizing the Mandelbrot Set that produces a Buddha-like image.