Ubiquitous Computing

1. Ubiquitous Computing Lecture 28

2. Topics we shall Cover today • Introduction to Ubiquitous Computing • History • Definition • Need • Phases • Challenges and Researches in Ubiquitous Computing.

3. The Trends in Computing Technology 1970s 1990s Late 1990s Now and Tomorrow ?

4. Pervasive Computing Era

5. Computing Evolution

6. The Major Trends in Computing Mainframe (Past) 1:None computer shared by many people  Personal Computer (Present) 1:1 one computer, one person   Ubiquitous Nk:1 Computing N:1 *Internet - Widespread Distributed Computing*

7. Phase I - The Mainframe Era Computers were a scarce resource run by experts behind closed doors.

8. Phase II - The PC Era • In 1984 the number of people using PCs surpassed that of people using mainframe computers. • PC Era:You have yourcomputer, it contains your stuff, and you interact directly and deeply with it. • The PC is most analogous to the automobile.

9. Transition Phase - The Internet The Internet brings together elements of the mainframe era and the PC era.  Client = PC Server = Mainframe

10. Phase III - The UC Era • The UC era will have lots of computers shared by each one of us. • UC is fundamentally characterized by the connection of things in the world with computation. • Frequently used related terms: • Pervasive computing, Wearable computers, • Intelligent environment, Things That Think (T³), • Wearware, Personal Area Networking (PAN).

11. Ubiquitous Computing Mark Weiser, Xerox PARC 1988 “Ubiquitous computing enhances computer use by making many computers available throughout the physical environment, but making them effectively invisible to the user.” Source: Weiser, 1993a

12. Pervasive (Ubiquitous) Computing Vision • Small, cheap, mobile processors and sensors • in almost all everyday objects • on your body (“wearable computing”) • embedded in environment (“ambient intelligence”) “In the 21st century the technology revolution will move into the everyday, the small and the invisible…” “The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabrics of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.” Mark Weiser (1952 –1999), XEROX PARC

13. Related Topics • Several terms that share a common vision • Pervasive Computing • Sentient computing • Ubiquitous Computing • Ambient Intelligence • Wearable Computing • Context Awareness • ...

14. What is Ubiquitous Computing? • Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) integrates computation into the environment, rather than having computers which are distinct objects. • The idea of ubicomp enable people to interact with information-processing devices more naturally and casually, and in ways that suit whatever location or context they find themselves in. ~from Wiki

15. Goals of Pervasive (Ubiquitous) Computing • Ultimate goal: • Invisible technology • Integration of virtual and physical worlds • Throughout desks, rooms, buildings, and life • Take the data out of environment, leaving behind just an enhanced ability to act

16. What UC is NOT • It is not science fiction (SF),though it relies a great deal on it. • It is not impossible. • It is not Virtual Reality (VR). • It is not a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). • It is not a personal agent (PA).

17. Phases of Ubiquitous Computing

18. Pervasive Computing Phase I • Phase I • Smart, ubiquitous I/O devices: tabs, pads, and boards • Hundreds of computers per person, but casual, low-intensity use • Many, many “displays”: audio, visual, environmental • Wireless networks • Location-based, context-aware services • Using a computer should be as refreshing as a walk in the woods

19. Smart Objects • Real world objects are enriched with information processing capabilities • Embedded processors • in everyday objects • small, cheap, lightweight • Communication capability • wired or wireless • spontaneous networking and interaction • Sensors and actuators

20. Smart Objects (cont.) • Can remember pertinent events • They have a memory • Show context-sensitive behavior • They may have sensors • Location/situation/contextawareness • Are responsive/proactive • Communicate with environment • Networked with other smart objects

21. Smart Objects (cont.)

22. Pervasive Computing Enablers Moore’s Law of IC Technologies Communication Technologies Material Technologies Sensors/Actuators

23. Computing power (or number of transistors in an integrated circuit) doubles every 18 months Moore’s Law

24. Moore’s Law 1965 Computing power (or number of transistors in an integrated circuit) doubles every 18 months

25. Generalized Moore’s Law Problems: • increasing cost • energy • Most important technology parameters double every 1–3 years: • computation cycles • memory, magnetic disks • bandwidth • Consequence: • scaling down

26. 2nd Enabler: Communication • Bandwidth of single fibers ~10 Gb/s • 2002: ~20 Tb/s with wavelength multiplex • Powerline • coffee maker “automatically” connected to the Internet • Wireless • mobile phone: GSM, GPRS, 3G • wireless LAN (> 10 Mb/s) • PAN (Bluetooth), BAN

27. Body Area Networks • Very low current (some nA), some kb/s through the human body • Possible applications: • Car recognize driver • Pay when touchingthe door of a bus • Phone configures itselfwhen it is touched

28. Spontaneous Networking • Objects in an open, distributed, dynamic world find each other and form a transitory community • Devices recognize that they “belong together”

29. 3rd Enabler: New Materials • Important: whole eras named after materials • e.g., “Stone Age”, “Iron Age”, “Pottery Age”, etc. • Recent: semiconductors, fibers • information and communication technologies • Organic semiconductors • change the external appearance of computers • “Plastic” laser • Flexible displays,…

30. Interactive Map You are here! Foldable and rollable

31. Foldable Cell Phone

32. Smart Clothing • Conductive textiles and inks • print electrically active patterns directly onto fabrics • Sensors based on fabric • e.g., monitor pulse, blood pressure, body temperature • Invisible collar microphones • Kidswear • game console on the sleeve? • integrated GPS-driven locators? • integrated small cameras (to keep the parents calm)?

33. Solar Coat – Smart Clothings

34. Smart Glasses By 2009, computers will disappear. Visual information will be written directly onto ourretinas by devices inour eyeglasses andcontact lenses-- Raymond Kurzweil

35. Google Glass

36. 4th Enabler: Sensors/Actuators • Miniaturized cameras, microphones,... • Fingerprint sensor • Radio sensors • RFID • Infrared • Location sensors • e.g., GPS • ...

37. Example: Radio Sensors • No external power supply • energy from theactuation process • piezoelectric andpyroelectric materialstransform changes inpressure or temperatureinto energy • RF signal is transmitted via an antenna (20 m distance) • Applications: temperature surveillance, remote control (e.g., wireless light switch),...

38. RFIDs (“Smart Labels”) • Identify objects from distance • small IC with RF-transponder • Wireless energy supply • ~1m • magnetic field (induction) • ROM or EEPROM (writeable) • ~100 Byte • Cost ~$0.1 ... $1 • consumable and disposable • Flexible tags • laminated with paper

39. Past, Present and Future Researches of Ubiquitous Computing

40. Computing with natural interfaces • Ubicomp inspires “off-the-desktop” applications • Needs “off-the-desktop” means of interaction • Speech, gestures, writing • More accessible • Easier to use???

41. Computing with natural interfaces • Error prone interaction • Permit new and numerous mistakes • People do not have perfect recognition • As low as 54%; cursive handwriting 88%; printed handwriting 96.8% • Recognition accuracy == user satisfaction?? • Not really: complexity of error recovery dialogues and value-added benefit of any given efforts • Entering a command vs. writing journal entries • Several research areas • Error reduction (about 5-10%) • Error detection • Reusable toolkit for error handling

42. Context aware computing • Current Systems • Generally using position and identification of objects • Still do not provide a complete context • Definition of context is limited • Research areas • Context toolkits • Toolkit for sensing environment • Explicit use of sensed information is up to program • What is context? • How is context represented?

43. What is context? • Who • Currently generally tailored to one user • How important are others in determining our behavior • How could this be captured? • What • Attempt to figure out what is currently happening • Sense environment, use calendar software etc. • Where • Location based information, e.g., GPS • Most explored context information • When • Easily obtained information -- Computer is good at remembering time • Although determining when one event stops and another begins is not easy • Why • Even harder than the “what” question, biometric sensors might help (e.g., body temperature, heart rate, etc)

44. Toward context aware computing • Context representation • Requires universal context schemes or toolkits with standard context representations • Context sensing and fusion • How to make context-aware computing “ubiquitous”? • In practice, there are few truly ubiquitous, single-source context services • E.g., GPS does not work indoors; different indoor localization schemes have different characteristics (e.g., cost, range) • Like sensor fusion, context fusion handles seamless handling of sensing responsibility between boundaries of different context services • Combining multiple context sources can increase the accuracy of context information

45. Automated capture and access • Recording information and data as it occurs • Computers are inherently good at recording, people are not • People freed up to summarize and understand • Most work in academic/ classroom settings • Time stamping lectures, digital whiteboards • Challenges in “capture and access” • Sometime we don’t know we want to capture something until after its already happened • How could the computer know that? • If it captures everything then we need a system of sorting and filtering (access) • Access is a problem because capturing of raw data can be burdensome for sifting through; systems need to recognize important events facilitate access

46. Everyday computing • Continuous interactions (i.e., no clear beginning or end) • Both fundamental activities like communication and long-term endeavors do not have predefined starts and ends; information from past can be recycled • Very different traditional HCI design which assumes “closure” with clear goals like spell checking, dialogue, etc. • Interruption is expected: • People are constantly interrupted • Computer systems must recognize interruption and change state • Also computers must appropriately inform users • Multiple activities operate concurrently: • People multitask and rapidly switch task based on external unpredictable environment • Systems need to adapt to this opportunistic behavior and change accordingly

47. Toward everyday computing • Develop continuously present interface • No current model of continuously present interfaces, even people are not continuously present • Create an interface that doesn’t get annoying (e.g., wearable devices) • Determine what information should require my attention and what should be display peripherally • Connect events in the physical and virtual worlds (e.g., face to face vs. email, document, webs) • Modify/fuse existing HCI schemes to efficiently support everyday computing (but evaluation is challenging and laborious)

48. System evaluation challenges • Hard to evaluate Ubicomp Systems • Little publish on ubicomp evaluation • Systems often required to be fully connected leading to systems that are hard to build • Lack of development toolkits make system creation difficult • Systems often need to be integrated into peoples lives which using big clunky prototypes does not lead itself well too • Task/Goal centric approaches don’t work in ubicomp

49. Example Projects • Pervasive computing projects have emerged at major universities and in industry: • Project Aura (Carnegie Mellon University) • Oxygen (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) • Portalano (University of Washington) • Endeavour (University of California at Berkeley) • Place Lab (Intel Research Laboratory at Seattle) • For illustration let us look at Project Aura

50. Example Projects : Project Aura (1) • Aura (Carnegie Mellon University) • Distraction-free (Invisible) Ubiquitous Computing.