Toward Remote Service Invocation in Android

Android has spread as a platform for not only smart phones and tablet devices but also embedded devices. When Android was adapted for embedded systems, various kinds of application software were considered. One of these applications is to build collaborative and cooperative work environments. In developing software for collaborative and cooperative work, transparent invocation of remote services in other devices is expected. In this paper, we evaluate whether the inter-process communication mechanism in Android can be used in remote service invocation using the application layer protocol in the feasibility study. Moreover, we propose intent class extension to realize transparent remote service communication to other devices without any modifications to the Android application.