Compiled with the assistance of the Tiger University Program of the Estonian Information Technology Foundation

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Ubiquitous and Mobile Computing

Ilya Shmorgun

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Ubiquitous Computing

The goal of ubiquitous computing is to make technology invisible by integrating computational capability into our everyday life. Taking cues from the physical world a ubiquitous computing environment should include lots of information on the periphery.

Ubiquitous computing aims to enable devices to move with us, dynamically build understanding of their changing environments, and congure their services accordingly. Ubiquitous computing is simultaneously very personal and extremely global.

Ubiquitous computing requires simple, easyto-use interfaces and a positive user experience. A user should be able to focus on the task without worrying about the technology itself.

New Paradigms of Interaction

The proliferation of computing into the physical world suggests new paradigms of interaction inspired by constant access to information and computational capabilities. Ubiquitous computing assumes the development of applications that are off the desktop.

The new interaction paradigm should reect more closely how humans interact with each other and the physical world. This includes the ability to speak, gesture, and use various tools for writing.

We have come to expect to have entities from a physical environment to have a presence on the Internet. This is were the idea of the Internet of Things comes into play.

Contextual information allows applications to provide more relevant services to users without requiring additional input.

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things encompasses a variety of technologies and research that aim to extend the existing Internet to the world of physical objects. Examples of connecting physical objects to the information stored on the Internet include QR codes and RFID tags.

QR Codes

Quick Response (QR) codes are rectangular bar codes, which can store large pieces of information. QR codes can be found on billboards, bus stops, advertising and food wrappers. Users need to download special applications to decode the information stored in the codes.

RFID Tags

RFID tags rely on wireless non-contact systems to transfer data from tagged objects to readers. RFIDs enable information to be read without requiring a line of sight. Special RFID readers are yet to become widely adopted.

Context

Context is any information that can be used to characterize the situation of a person, place, or object that is relevant to the interaction between a user and an application.

Systems can automatically adapt to the environment by taking into account the current time, physical location, needs, and other parameters.

Important aspects of context are: where you are, who you are with, and what resources are nearby.

Types of Context

Computing context

Network connectivity, communication costs, bandwidth, nearby devices. Users prole, location, people nearby, current social situation. Lighting, noise levels, trafc conditions, temperature. Time of day, week, month, season of the year.

User context

Physical context

Time context

Ubicomp Reality

Some feel that the world of ubiquitous computing is just around the corner. We just need to add a couple of missing pieces to the puzzle.

Others think that we are already living in the ubiquitous computing reality thanks to our smart mobile devices.

Mobile Computing

Mobile computing is about providing access to information at your ngertips anywhere, anytime. As computers become more portable, people expect to be able to access information anytime and anywhere on the devices they carry with them all the time.

The term mobile computer includes many types of devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

The key ingredients are high-performance low-power processors, high-density memory, and standardized wireless communication.

Mobile computers are resource-poor, their connectivity is highly variable in regards to performance and reliability, and they rely on a limited source of energy. These constraints are intrinsic to mobility and not simply artifacts of the current technology.

Evolution of Mobile Phones

Evolution of Tablets

Mobile Platforms

Mobile Coming to Desktop

Ubiquitous Mobile Interactions