Ubiquitous
Computing
Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) [Weiser
1988] is a model of human-computer
interaction, in which information
processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. It is the method of enhancing
computer use by making any computers available throughout the physical
environment, but making them
effectively invisible to the user.
Mark
Wiser in his article : “The
Computer for the 21st Century”, highlighted the future trend of
merging of profound technologies into everyday life. Today the ubicomp applications are diverse in nature ranging from
small applications that help commuters track train and bus schedules to smart laboratories,
smart museums, instrumented classrooms, etc. The ubiquitous computing environment
may contain many devices with which user interact. These devices include:
·
Laptop
Computers
· Handheld
devices including personal digital assistants (PDAs ), mobile phones ,pagers
,video cameras and digital cameras.
·
Wearable
devices such as smart watches with functionalities similar to a PDA.
·
Devices
embedded in appliances such as washing machines, hi-fi systems, cars and
refrigerators.
Behavior
by the user causes actions in the ubiquitous computing world. For example lying down in an
intelligent room can cause the window curtains to close, the lights to dim, and
the music to be turned off. Both the
input and output in ubicomp environment may be distributed. Some of the ubiquitous computing applications and projects are
discussed below:
1.
Ubiquitous
Health Care : A patient or
elderly person is continuously monitored with some sensors placed on the
patient’s body. An interface collects data and sends this data to the
monitoring system. The patient might enter a zone where the Interface cannot
connect to the current network anymore. But the Interface has to remain connected to the
monitoring system!! Situation is more serious when the patient in case of
emergency is being taken to hospital and has to be monitored while in
Ambulance. Due to the Seamless Connectivity characteristic of ubicomp devices
the interface remain connected due to the context aware behavior of ubiquitous
devices by exploiting the available
technologies like RFID ,Bluetooth, ZigBee etc.
2.
Ubiquitous
Navigation System : The software
provides the information like location, user context (static situation, dynamic
situation, static intention and dynamic intention), train operating
information, etc. It makes use of
technologies like GPS, GPRS, Wireless LAN, Mobile IP, RFID and Bluetooth.
3. E-Class
Room: The software can take notes on behalf of the
students- can time-line various information streams - provides annotations on
slides to index an audio/video recording. Interaction is through the electronic
white-board looks and feels like a white-board and not a computer. The
different context like location and class schedule is utilized to predict the
class. Information is captured automatically with various information streams
like adds annotations, web links, references etc.
4.
Cyber
Guide :The cyberguide project
focuses on how portable computers can assist in exploring physical spaces and
cyberspaces. It is a replicate of human tour guide using mobile and hand held
technology. It makes use of location information to track the user / suggest
establishments and maintains history of places visited, for future.
5. Easy
Living : At Microsoft Research,
the Ubiquitous Computing Group has created a system called EasyLiving that is a
prototype of architecture and technologies for ubiquitous computing. The Easy Living system demonstrates
many of the capabilities of ubiquitous computing, including mobile, wireless
computing with migratory programs; an intelligent environment with
context-awareness and location-sensitive computing; and disaggregated computing. It is just a prototype, so it is not intended
for the current software to be used outside of the laboratory
6. Stanford
iroom: A test bed of smart room
with spatial, socially aware, deep physically integrated and coordinated
autonomous systems. The room is fixed with multiple large embedded Displays,
Laptops and Heterogeneous handheld devices.
7. Labscape
: Ubiquitous biology Lab with
Sensors and PCs. Labscape is a smart environment that we designed to improve
the experience of people who work in a cell biology laboratory.
