Ubiquitous computing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. In the course of ordinary activities, someone "using" ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems simultaneously, and may not necessarily even be aware that they are doing so. This model is usually considered an advancement from the desktop paradigm.

This paradigm is also described as pervasive computing, ambient intelligence.^[1] When primarily concerning the objects involved, it is also physical computing, the Internet of Things, haptic computing,^[2] and things that think. Rather than propose a single definition for ubiquitous computing and for these related terms, a taxonomy of properties for ubiquitous computing has been proposed, from which different kinds or flavours of ubiquitous systems and applications can be described ^[3].

Contents 1 Core concept 2 History 3 Examples 4 Current research 5 See also 6 References 7 Resources and other external links

[edit] Core concept

At their core, all models of ubiquitous computing (also called pervasive computing) share a vision of small, inexpensive, robust networked processing devices, distributed at all scales throughout everyday life and generally turned to distinctly common-place ends. For example, a domestic ubiquitous computing environment might interconnect lighting and environmental controls with personal biometric monitors woven into clothing so that illumination and heating conditions in a room might be modulated, continuously and imperceptibly. Another common scenario posits refrigerators "aware" of their suitably-tagged contents, able to both plan a variety of menus from the food actually on hand, and warn users of stale or spoiled food.

Ubiquitous computing presents challenges across computer science: in systems design and engineering, in systems modelling, and in user interface design. Contemporary human-computer interaction models, whether command-line, menu-driven, or GUI-based, are inappropriate and inadequate to the ubiquitous case. This suggests that the "natural" interaction paradigm appropriate to a fully robust ubiquitous computing has yet to emerge - although there is also recognition in the field that in many ways we are already living in an ubicomp world. Contemporary devices that lend some support to this latter idea include mobile phones, digital audio players, radio-frequency identification tags, GPS, and interactive whiteboards.

Mark Weiser proposed three basic forms for ubiquitous system devices, see also Smart device: tabs, pads and boards.

• Tabs: wearable centimetre sized devices
• Pads: hand-held decimetre-sized devices
• Boards: meter sized interactive display devices.

These three forms proposed by Weiser are characterised by being macro-sized, having a planar form and on incorporating visual output displays. If we relax each of these three characteristics we can expand this range into a much more diverse and potentially more useful range of Ubiquitous Computing devices. Hence, three additional forms for ubiquitous systems have been proposed: ^[3]

• Dust: miniaturised devices can be without visual output displays, e.g., Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), ranging from nanometres through micrometers to millimetres. See also Smart dust.
• Skin: fabrics based upon light emitting and conductive polymers, organic computer devices, can be formed into more flexible non-planar display surfaces and products such as clothes and curtains, see OLED display. MEMS device can also be painted onto various surfaces so that a variety of physical world structures can act as networked surfaces of MEMS.
• Clay: ensembles of MEMS can be formed into arbitrary three dimensional shapes as artefacts resembling many different kinds of physical object (see also Tangible interface).

In his book The Rise of the Network Society, Manuel Castells suggests that there is an ongoing shift from already-decentralised, stand-alone microcomputers and mainframes towards entirely pervasive computing. In his model of a pervasive computing system, Castells uses the example of the Internet as the start of a pervasive computing system. The logical progression from that paradigm is a system where that networking logic becomes applicable in every realm of daily activity, in every location and every context. Castells envisages a system where billions of miniature, ubiquitous inter-communication devices will be spread worldwide, "like pigment in the wall paint".

[edit] History

Mark Weiser coined the phrase "ubiquitous computing" around 1988, during his tenure as Chief Technologist of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Both alone and with PARC Director and Chief Scientist John Seely Brown, Weiser wrote some of the earliest papers on the subject, largely defining it and sketching out its major concerns.^[4][5][6]

Recognizing that the extension of processing power into everyday scenarios would necessitate understandings of social, cultural and psychological phenomena beyond its proper ambit, Weiser was influenced by many fields outside computer science, including "philosophy, phenomenology, anthropology, psychology, post-Modernism, sociology of science and feminist criticism." He was explicit about "the humanistic origins of the ‘invisible ideal in post-modernist thought'",^[6] referencing as well the ironically dystopian Philip K. Dick novel Ubik.

MIT has also contributed significant research in this field, notably Hiroshi Ishii's Things That Think consortium at the Media Lab^[7] and the CSAIL effort known as Project Oxygen.^[8] Other major contributors include Georgia Tech's College of Computing, NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, UC Irvine's Department of Informatics, Microsoft Research, Intel Research and Equator ^[9], Ajou University UCRi & CUS.^[10]

[edit] Examples

One of the earliest ubiquitous systems was artist Natalie Jeremijenko's "Live Wire", also known as "Dangling String," installed at Xerox PARC during Mark Weiser's time there. This was a piece of string attached to a stepper motor and controlled by a LAN connection; network activity caused the string to twitch, yielding a peripherally noticeable indication of traffic. Weiser called this an example of calm technology.^[11]

Ambient Devices has produced an "orb", a "dashboard", and a "weather beacon": these decorative devices receive data from a wireless network and report current events, such as stock prices and the weather, like the Nabaztag produced by Violet.

[edit] Current research

Ubiquitous computing touches on a wide range of research topics, including distributed computing, mobile computing, sensor networks, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence.

[edit] See also

• Ambient intelligence
• Context-aware pervasive systems
• Human-centered computing
• Human-computer interaction
• List of Ubicomp Researchers
• Pervasive adaptation
• Sentient computing
• Smart device
• Ubiquitous learning
• Ubiquitous service
• Virtual reality
• Wearable computer

[edit] References

[edit] Resources and other external links

An introduction to the field appropriate for general audiences is Adam Greenfield's book Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing (ISBN 0-321-38401-6). Greenfield describes the interaction paradigm of ubiquitous computing as "information processing dissolving in behavior."

Notable conferences in the field include:

• International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (Ubicomp)
• International Conference on Pervasive Computing (Pervasive)
• IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications (Percom)
• IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Services (ICPS)
• IEEE GlobeCom Workshop on Service Discovery and Composition in Ubiquitous and Pervasive Environments (SUPE)
• The Second International Conference on Mobile Ubiquitous Computing, Systems, Services and Technologies (UBICOMM 2008)
• Interactive Map of Ubiquitous Computing Conferences

Academic journals and magazines devoted primarily to pervasive computing:

• Pervasive Computing (IEEE)
• Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (Springer)
• Pervasive and Mobile Computing journal, PMC (Elsevier)
• Ubiquitous Computing and Communication Journal - UbiCC Journal

Mark Weiser's original material dating from his tenure at Xerox PARC:

• Ubiquitous Computing

Other links:

• Context and Adaptivity in Pervasive Computing Environments: Links with Software Engineering and Ontological Engineering, article in Journal of Software, Vol 4, No 9 (2009), 992-1013, Nov 2009 by Ahmet Soylu, Patrick De Causmaecker and Piet Desmet
• From computers to ubiquitous computing, by 2020. Special issue of the Royal Society Journal of Philosophical Transactions, 2008.
• Yesterday’s tomorrows: notes on ubiquitous computing’s dominant vision, by Genevieve Bell & Paul Dourish.
• Towards pervasive computing in health care – A literature review, article in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making (Open Access journal) by Carsten Orwat, Andreas Graefe and Timm Faulwasser.
• PerAda is the Pervasive Adaptation Research Network PerAda is the Coordination Action for the Pervasive Adaptation community, supporting the funded projects under FP7: FET Proactive Initiative on Pervasive Adaptation.

v • d • e Mixed reality Concepts Virtual · Virtual reality · Augmented reality · Augmented virtuality · Meat world · Projection augmented model · Virtuality Continuum · Simulated reality · Ubiquitous computing · Virtual world Technology Compositing · Camera resectioning · Head-mounted display · Head-up display · Image-based modeling and rendering · Real-time computer graphics · Video tracking · Virtual retinal display · Wearable computer · Stereoscopy (Computer stereo vision)  · Chroma key  · Visual hull Applications Alternate reality game · ARToolKit · Interactive art · Cave Automatic Virtual Environment