Pervasive & Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp)

1. Pervasive & Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp) Lecture #1: Introduction Hao-hua Chu (朱浩華)

2. What is UbiComp? Keynote talk at the 26th Conference of Taiwan Occupational Therapy, November 2007

3. Students Intro • Please tell us about: • Current (future) research area, interests, & faculty advisor • Background • Hardware skills • Software programming skills (C/C++, Java) • User interface • Computer vision and sensors • Interdisciplinary • English (presentation, reading, and writing) • Why are you interested in this course?

4. Reading list will be finalized next week. Reading list intro UbiComp vision UbiComp criticized Smart objects & Context-awareness Localization systems Tangible interaction & ambient display Persuasive objects (3) Autism technology Course Outline

5. Course Objectives • To prepare us (students and faculty) for research in UbiComp research. • Learning by reading & discussing papers • Define problems & challenges • Understand state-of-art techniques & solutions • Identify limitations of state-of-art solutions • Learning by doing projects • The project must have a research component.

6. What more can you get out of this course? • Develop your own belief on where computer science is going • Learn research experiences • Scenario, problem definition, related work survey, design & implementation, evaluation, etc. • Reading, writing, and presentation skills

7. Collaborative Learning • This is a research seminar course, so everyone (faculty and students) will contribute to the learning process. • Paper discussion • Project presentation • UbiComp is a new, fast changing field, so faculty may not know all materials!

8. (Unusual) Course Format • Each lecture will discuss 3~5 papers on a specific topic. • For each paper, • Faculty & presenters will pose questions before the start of the class • An overview of the paper will be given for 15~20 minutes. • Everyone will join the discussion for 15~20 minutes.

9. How to read a paper? • For each paper, try to answer the following questions: • What is the problem? • What is the current state-of-the-art? • What is the key make-a-difference (new) method and technique? • What is good/bad/ugly about this make-a-difference method? • What has actually been done? • What is the future work?

10. Reading in Depth • Must challenge what you read! • Attack the paper (use your common sense) • Are assumptions reasonable? • Is the method similar to other methods in related work? • Is the improvement marginal or significant? • Are arguments logically sound? • Are evaluation metrics reasonable? • Is conclusion drawn logically from measurements?

11. Develop Critical Thinking • Critical thinking is "the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work." Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson, 1978.

12. Paper Sources • ACM UBICOMP • Pervasive • ACM CHI • IEEE PERCOM • IEEE Pervasive Computing Magazines • ACM Transaction on Computer Human Interaction (TOCHI) • ACM/Springer Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (PUC) Journal • MOBICOM, SENSYS, MOBIHOC, etc. (system & network oriented)

13. Project Component • Rapid research prototype of an UBICOMP application in one semester. • Push you to do some research • Find a fit with your current research • Learn some team work

14. Define motivation scenario (an interesting story) Emphasize the parts of scenario where it is currently not possible, but with your idea, it will become possible. Show me a proof-of-concept demo prototype Derive problem(s) Assumptions, requirements, implementation vs. research problems Survey related work Design Differentiate your work from related work What’s new? Why is it significant? Rapid prototype implementation Evaluation of prototype implementation Define evaluation metrics Experiments & user studies Shoot a video & write a report Lifecycle of a Research Project

15. Project Phases • Phase 1: project idea presentation (4 weeks) • Fun, realizable within one semester time framework and computing equipments, has a research component. • [Scenario] • Phase 2: project proposal document (4 weeks) • Form teams, define goals, plan, and needed equipments. • [Problems, related work, and design] • Phase 3: progress checkpoint (4 weeks) • [Preliminary prototype, evaluation metrics] • Phase 4: project working prototype and final report (4 weeks) • Working prototype demonstration

16. Project Focus • Localization • Autism • Play

17. Toys for your projects • NTU Zigbee Taroko nodes • Crossbow motes • Nokia and Windows CE Smart phones • HP IPAQ 5500 (Bluetooth + 802.11) • Handheld PCs • IPAQ Accessories: expansion pack, camera, memory card, GPS, GPRS, .. • Sparkfun Sensors: light, tilt, temperature, accelerometer, pressure, weight, orientation, ultrasound, etc. • Philgets RFID kits

18. More Toys for your projects • Passive RFID tags & readers (Skyetek and Alien) • Biometric sensors (heart rate, BVP, GSR, etc.) • Projectors • WiFi based location systems (ekahau.com) • Ultrasound-based positioning systems (Navinote or Cricket motes) • LCD TV • Use your imagination • Anything you can find on the Internet or from your own lab … • However, budget may be limited 

19. Grading • Class Participation (30%) • Project (70%)

20. Course Requirements • Class attendance (MUST!) • Please don’t register if you are going to miss classes. • Must talk & exchange ideas with others • Creativity • Good programming skill • Willing to learn hardware skill (by yourself) • Willing to spend extra time & efforts than what a regular course would need

21. Course webpage http://mll.csie.ntu.edu.tw/course/embedded_s07/

22. Who are still interested in this course? <Collect Students’ Email Addresses>