Project Overview

Programme: IST
Project number: IST-2001-34144
Project acronym: MOSES
Project full title: MPEG Open Security for Embedded Systems
Action Line: IV.6.2 (Interfaces and buffers for seamless end-to-end services)
Start Date: 1st March 2002
Duration: 24 months

Objectives

The main objectives of the MOSES project are:

1. Extending and modifying the OPIMA interfaces and architecture to achieve compliance with the most recent security standards, some of which are still in the making, for example MPEG IPMP Extensions and DVB-CPCM.

2. Extending current business models to encompass operational scenarios where the full set of functionalities pertaining to IPMP systems is implemented and tested, including means for controlling copying, moving, exporting and importing protected content as well as the relevant business and service data.

3. Porting this end-to-end MPEG-4 compliant secure infrastructure to devices other than the PC, addressing typical CE platforms based on open development suites, like WinCE and DVB-MHP, and point out additional actions needed for subsequent full and successful commercial exploitation. The developed software/hardware aims also at representing a European test-bed where new pieces of technology specified by the main standardisation discussion groups in the field of content protection can be assessed and a co-ordinated European input to standard bodies can be provided.

Description of work

The main part of the work is expected to be the implementation of open mechanisms and components in the framework suggested by the MPEG IPMP Extensions and DVB-CPCM architectures. Those components, together with existing or newly proposed tools for content identification and representation, information management and intellectual property rights (IPR) management, will constitute a technological kernel around which prototype applications will be built for testing a number of innovative business models.

Applications are expected to address first controlled access to established forms of multimedia content, like music; implemented services will then gradually extend their scope to finally include management of the full range of digital content types, based on most promising technological frameworks such as MPEG-4 and MPEG-21.

In the course of the project, it is expected that all these innovative techniques will be assembled into a MOSES test facility, exploiting existing communications and e-commerce infrastructures, by means of which different IPMP tools securely downloaded onto the MPEG-4 platform. It will be exercised in laboratory and field trials in order to test interoperability between IPR protection components and validate the technology for controlled copying, moving, exporting and importing protected content to the superdistribution model.

The end-to-end MPEG-4 secure infrastructure will be ported to devices other than the PC, addressing typical CE platforms based on open development suites, like WinCE and DVB-MHP. The work in this strategic area, where the European industry has proven particularly competitive, is expected to yield a number of technical benefits to the development, including the possibility to produce highly optimised code as well as a chance to exploit the hardware-based security features of embedded devices to deliver more tamper-resistance implementations. In doing this, the project will also keep an eye on the important requirement that MOSES' code remain as much platform and vendor independent as possible, so that its results can be exploited by the larger number of players in Europe. Therefore, proprietary designs and OSs will be disregarded in favour of more open developments suites, like WinCE and DVB-MHP.

User feedback will be collected in a structured and organised fashion, providing overall evaluation data highlighting criticalities of the implemented system and pros and cons of the selected business models. Performance of the chosen technologies in providing the requested functionalities and the level of robustness and reliability ensured by the implemented standards will thus be validated. Following this path, the MOSES workplan has been split into six "Work Packages" that can be grouped into the following four Work Areas:

Work Area 1:
Business models, security analysis, requirements and specifications: WP1

Work Area 2:
Technical development and implementation (MPEG IPMP Extensions and IPMP Tools): WP2, WP3.

Work Area 3:
Integration, porting to hardware, user trials, demonstrations and results validation: WP4, WP5.

Work Area 4:
Project co-ordination and management: WP6

Expected results

It is expected that:

Project year 1 will be devoted to defining operational scenarios, requirements and specifications for the components and subsystems; meanwhile, technical activities will set up a first implementation of the MOSES system, possibly compliant to MPEG IPMP Extensions and DVB-CPCM.

Project year 2 will be spent porting this end-to-end MPEG-4 secure infrastructure to typical CE platforms based on open development suites, like WinCE and DVB-MHP.

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