Ubiquitous Computing Software Systems

Why Ubiquitous Computing? The most profound technologies are those that disappear. -Mark Weiser (1952-1999) Chief Technologist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center

Why Ubiquitous Computing? The personal computer is still too hard to use Think about watching a movie by PC Download file, network access, media player, codecs, supporting software…

The Goal of UbiComp Age of calm technology, when technology recedes into the background of our lives

What Ubiquitous Computing isn’t The opposite of Virtual Reality virtual reality puts people inside a computer-generated world, ubiquitous computing forces the computer to live out here in the world with people

What Ubiquitous Computing isn’t Although ubiquitous computers may employ sound and video much more than text and graphics, but it is not merely a “Multimedia Computer” It’s a revolution in human-computer interaction

UbiComp—Third Wave in Computing Phase I — Mainframe One computer, many people Phase II — Personal Computer One person, one computer Transition Phase Internet and Distributed computing Phase III — Ubiquitous Computing One person, many computers

UbiComp—Third Wave in Computing Source: www.ubiq.com/hypertext/weiser/UbiHome.html

Initial Incarnation in Ubiquitous Computing “Tabs”, “pads”, and “boards” built at Xerox PARC, 1988-1994

Calm Technology A calm technology moves easily from the periphery of our attention to the center, and back.

Periphery and Center Periphery Center Something we are attuned to without attending to explicitly Center Something we explicitly take control of

So, what is a Calm Technology? A comfortable pair of shoes? Or a Personal Computer?

The Final Aim of UbiComp To make computing Calm Technology

Signs of Calm Technology A Calm Technology easily moves from center to periphery and back enhances our peripheral reach Ex. Video conference with phone conference puts us at home, in a familiar place

Life With Ubiquitous Computers Ubiquitous Computing will make our world more convenient It will make our world into a computer-aided one – but without information overload.

Current Ubicomp Research Part 2 Current Ubicomp Research

A ubicomp prototype – Interactive Workspaces Development began at Stanford in 1999 Collection of many different smaller software systems

Interactive Workspaces Purpose team-based collaboration in technology augmented environments Social protocols determine which tools team members use at any given time, instead of: making environment itself “smart” attempting to anticipate user needs

Interactive Workspaces Application projects Construction project management Interactive learning Product design

Interactive Workspaces iwork_scenario.rm

Interactive Workspaces – Workspace Devices Large, interactive, high-resolution wall-mounted and tabletop displays PDAs Laptops Tabletop scanners Wireless LCD displays Pan-and-tilt cameras

Interactive Workspaces - Systems Integration Event Heap Centralized event exchange system for workspace devices PointRight system that allows a single mouse and keyboard to control multiple screens PointRight.rm Barehands Implement-free interaction with a wall-mounted display

Challenges for Ubicomp (1) Privacy / trust issues “one rotten apple” Component interaction Components must be designed in open, extensible manner Assurances in performance, security, reliability Flexibility / adaptability Ubicomp environments inherently subject to change System Management mechanisms, policies As components --> infinity

Challenges for Ubicomp (2) Viable economic models Without killer app, no one wants it But the killer app is the combination of many small mundane apps UI integration How to make it consistent, usable, obvious, invisible

Conclusion: Emerging Commercial Ubicomp Systems Railcar Telematics position, temperature, acceleration, and weight sensors Just-in-time billing, railcar handling, security Multimedia response center Takes advantage of pervasive camera phones 911 emergency calls, reporting crime