Chapter 1: Introduction to Pervasive Computing

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Chapter 1Introduction to Pervasive Computing

• A New Start
• What is a Computer?
• Computer Systems Vs. Our Needs
• Growth of Computer Technologies
• The Current Status and Current Trends
• The Next Step
• Integration of Technologies Pervasive Computing
• Some Definitions
• Pervasive Computing Systems Components

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A New Start

• Pervasive computing, a new topic
• A new angle to look at the relationship between
  our world and the computer world
• What is a computer world?
• The world created by a computer (logical and NOT
  physical)
• Data structure algorithms gt execute
• Computers are NOT Computers So, what are they
• Thus, we need to start to learn it from the
  fundamental computer concepts and rebuild the
  concepts
• New applications and requirements (become parts
  of our living)
• In hospital, shopping mall, driving and
  navigation, traveling and sight-seeing, home and
  office, all aspects of our daily lives, etc.
• Design Problems and Solutions
• New devices and tools
• Moving from mobile devices to pervasive computing
  devices, smart dusts, sensors limitations and
  constraints
• Fixed and mobile networks connectivity
  everywhere quality
• J2ME, Palm OS, Symbian OS, WinCE, TinyOS, TinyDB,
  etc.

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• What is a Computer?

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What is a Computer?

• Fundamental Question What is a Computer?
• Answer One Structurally, a specially designed
  machine CPU, memory and I/O devices software
  (OS ( middleware) applications)
• CPU performs computation
• OS manages resources
• Applications define what you want to be done by
  the computer
• Memory for temporarily storage of data
  (information) for computation
• Receive inputs and then generate outputs
• Compare computers Vs. human beings (structurally)

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What is a Computer?

• Answer Two Functionally, a machine that can
  perform computing jobs (computation)
• What is computation?
• I finished a program then I submitted it for
  execution (computation) by a computer
• Program a sequence of instructions telling the
  computer what to do
• What will be the consequences if the instructions
  are incorrect?
• Note computation is not just referring to
  arithmetic. It also includes logic operations
• Compare the way that we do a task with the way
  that computers do a task (stepwise)

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What is a Computer?

• Answer Three Functionally and operationally
• Mostly, a computer can be used for multiple
  (general) purposes (operating system
  applications)
• Mostly, at fixed locations although they are
  connected to fixed or wireless networks and can
  be carried around (home uses or office uses)
• If you have a job needed to be performed, you
  have to find a computer sit in front of it, and
  then submit your job request through the specific
  interface of the computer. (You know what is a
  computer and then you know how to find one)
• General purpose computers Vs. specific purpose
  computers
• General purposes loading different programs for
  different purposes
• Specific purposes pre-loaded programs for
  specific purposes. May not be able to add more
• You perform computation. Are you a
  specific/general purpose computer?

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• What are the relationships between You and
  Computer Systems?
• Separated!

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Computer Vs. Our Needs

• Q How can we finish a task? How about in the
  past when we did not have computers? I.e., How to
  communicate, perform computation, finish a task,
  deal with uncertainty, etc., in our daily???
• Similarity your real world Vs. the computer
  virtual world
• Computation 1 1 2
• Definition and change (operator) one to be
  another one
• How about your daily life?
• Your world One state gt an event gt another
  state
• Logically the same
• We model our living logics (defined in
  applications/programs) in the computer world (a
  simulated virtual world)
• Execute the logics and generate results (outputs)
• The generated outputs are returned into our world
• Real world (you are living in) Vs. computer world
  (virtual)
• Limited interaction, mainly through input/output
• Growing in degree of interactions virtual
  reality (games)

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Computer Vs. Our Needs
Computer creates a computer world (data
structures and states/values) in its memory and
then follows the instructions step by step to
run the world. Each step changes the current
state to a new state (modeling the changes of
events in the real world)
Environment
Events (interaction)
Objects (Physical logical)
You
Outputs
Inputs
Computing units
Computer world
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Computer Vs. Our Needs

• Computers are similar to us structurally (and
  functionally)
• Processing unit memory I/O devices (stepwise)
• Why do we build computer systems (create the
  computer world)?
• Find someone to help us to deal with events in
  our environment
• Build a computer system following the ways in our
  world
• Computers and human being both have their
  limitations and their strong points
• Computers fast in computation, large memory,
  more accuracy (stable and repeatable) and
  reliable (no lying)
• Human being . Think about yourselves
• A general trend from the beginning of human
  history wants to improve the quality of our
  daily lives
• Add more computers in our world gt more
  computer worlds
• More interactions between our living and
  computing units
• Our needs create more computer systems
• Computer systems digitize our world and change
  our daily lives

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Computer Vs. Our Needs

• How do computers change our living and the way of
  doing things?
• When you want to book a restaurant?
• You want to make a stock analysis/trading?
• Learning and doing assignments???
• Control of machines and vehicles
• Information is modeled in database (digitized)
• Once digitized that they can be copied,
  transmitted, shared and repeated easily
• Plagiarisms, privacy and security
• THEN, we change the computers and the
  applications when we see new applications, in
  particular in interface and the ways of how to
  use them
• Consequences more computing units, better
  performance and more applications, and new ways
  of using computer systems in our living
  environment

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New Applications
Our Needs
Applications
New Needs
Our behavior to deal events occurred in our
environment
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• Why separated?
• Look back the growth of computer systems
• How about the future?

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Growth of Computing Technology

• Standalone computer Vs. networked computers
• Standalone computers for computation only (like
  a calculator)
• Network Distributed computing (starting from
  about 20 years ago)
• A computing job may be divided into sub-tasks to
  be performed by different processing units (in
  parallel/ or sequentially) which are connected by
  a network
• Better performance and more reliable (adv. of DC)
• Mobile computing (starting from about 10 years
  ago)
• The users may move around and computing units
  (notebooks, laptop, etc.) are carrying by users
• The system supports computing task requests from
  moving users through a wireless network
• Note wireless ?mobile (cordless phone ? mobile
  phone)
• Wireless no wire (may be stationary). The
  mobility is usually quite limited in scope
  (stationary is only a relative concept)
• Mobile the connectivity is still maintained
  while you are moving or stationary

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Growth of Computing Technology

• Why do we have such a computing trend in the
  past?
• Distributed performance reasons
• What is the performance requirements?
• Throughput, response time, quality, reliability,
  etc.
• Our life, thus our needs (follow us) are mobile
• Nothing is static (absolutely) in our world
• Our world is distributed (centralized is again a
  relative concept)
• Note computers simulate our world and are asked
  to perform logic operations similar to the way
  that they happen in our lives
• Applications need to move (follow) with us

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The Current Status

• Dramatic improvements in hardware technologies
  and system operation environment
• More powerful and smaller devices, higher
  bandwidth networks, more network connection
  points
• Build on top of existing trends
• Driven by our needs and new technologies (needs
  ltgt products)
• New needs create new products
• New products create new needs
• Nowadays, many electronic devices are equipped
  with a processor (intelligence computation) and
  memory for performing computing jobs, i.e.,
  mobile phone, projector, camera and MP3 players
• Are they computers? Yes? Perform computing jobs
  Computers
• Remember what is the Chinese meaning of
  computing
• Each one simulates a part of our daily life

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The Current Status

• Currently, most of these devices are embedded and
  close systems
• Embedded system predefined functions to be
  completely performed by the device itself
• Close system standalone system, no direct
  connection (I/O) with other devices (separated)
• Networks (fixed networks, mobile networks, ad hoc
  networks) are building to connect the devices
  together and to other parts of the systems
• i.e., bluetooth devices, your video camera, HiFi
  and TV set are connected to your computers
• Current limitations the connections are still
  not reliable and have limitations in
  bandwidth/stability. Energy and computation power
  are still problems. Reliability and lack of good
  software are other problems

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Current Trends

• System and Architecturally
• Further decentralization and getting smaller in
  size
• Continue to shift from a centralized view to a
  decentralized computing
• Many small computing units connected by networks
• Price/performance and reliable distributed
  computing services
• Different computing units for different
  purposes/functions and may work together
  (collaboration)
• Computation (performed by multiple computing
  units) is performed close to the place
  (localization) where the event is detected
  (carrying them)
• Computation is performed at device level if
  possible (what are the advantages?)
• From Client/Server to Peer-to-peer (same level)
• Advantages of distributed computing
• Faster in response (localized processing)
• Minimize data transmission workload

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Current Trends

• Diversification Vs Integration
• Different types of embedded devices for their own
  functions (mobile phone, MP3 player, camera and
  TV)
• Diversification mobile phone, handheld computer,
  MP3 player, camera
• Integration one device contains all
• Integration in the future???
• Business and performance reasons
• High connectivity (both fixed and mobile)
• The computing units are connected if necessary
  (even moving)
• The computing units work together cooperatively
  to complete a task
• Heterogeneous networks with different QoS of
  services
• QoS quality of services (a measure of how good
  is the service)
• Normally, we require a guarantee of QoS
• Is it better to have a single high performance
  global network instead of multiple networks? Yes,
  no handoffs and easier to manage but it may not
  be adaptive

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Heterogeneous Network
integration of heterogeneous fixed andmobile
networks with varyingtransmission characteristics
regional
vertical handoff
metropolitan area
horizontal handoff
campus-based
in-car, in-house, personal area
What is handoff? From one hand to another hand
From Mobile Communications (Schiller)
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Current Trends

• Application and functionally
• Real-time tasks
• Our world is changing gt using computers to
  assist us to deal with the real-time events
  occurring in our world
• I.e., Booking, car park status, navigation,
  on-line games
• Real-time current state gt then, computation, if
  need action (actuation) gt generate action
  immediately (with a pre-defined time frame)
• Real-time tasks have deadlines on completion
• Multiple tasks gt multiple deadline constraints
  need to be met gt scheduling problem
• Multi-data integration and processing
• Integration of (multi-media) data from different
  sources for processing for better decision-making
• Sharing of resources and information

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Current Trends

• Proactive Operations
• Event monitoring/surveillance want to get the
  latest status of the world, then react to it
  immediately, i.e., latest stock prices, sport
  results, ticketing and transportation information
• Define monitoring rules
• Once a new data item is received, check the new
  system status
• If the conditions are met, trigger an action
  (actuator
• If not ignore (filter out) the received data
  items
• A lot of data values are pushing in front of you
  and require attention for processing
• Prioritizing, filtering and consolidation
  (summary)
• Filtering and pushing interested values gt You
  can concentrate on those interested tasks

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• Pervasive Computing
• A new direction for the future computer systems
• Note Different people may have different
  understandings about pervasive computing

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Next Step Pervasive Computing

• Build on top of existing trends gt more
  interactions with the computer world and more
  convenient to use the systems gt to more the
  computer world into our real world
• Computers do not look like computers but
  computations are performed everywhere in our
  environment
• Embedded into our daily life and even
  materials/devices
• Small, cheap, mobile processors and sensors, in
  almost all everyday objects, i.e., on your body
  (wearable computing) and embedded in
  environment (ambient intelligence)
• The environment is embedded with a logical
  assistant to help us to deal with our living
  environment and events related to us
• Connected embedded systems (why connecting them?)
• Cooperative operation of devices
• Sharing of resources and integration of
  information
• Better performance and higher quality services
  (reliable)

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Results Invisible Computing?

• Invisible and everywhere wireless, dynamically
  configurable, remote access, adapting,
• Why dynamically configurable?
• Adaptive to changing environmental status gt why
  the status is always changing?
• The capability of human beings in dealing with
  the real world (environment) is improved (why?
  Like a Robot and assisted by other robots)
• But, this is not easy to achieve. It requires
  integration of various techniques and knowledge

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Smart Spaces (Operation Environment)

• We are living within (interact with) our
  environment
• Environment school, home, office, city, train,
  etc
• Interactions with the environment eating,
  learning, reading, traveling, listening to music,
  etc..
• Smart space an environment embedded with
  computing devices (sensors) to detect your
  needs/status and perform jobs to react to your
  needs proactively (interactive and anticipating)
• Example automatic adjustment of heating, cooling
  and lighting levels in a room based on occupants
  electronic profile

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Not a Robot But an Intelligent Servant

• Conventionally, we submit commands (requests) to
  instruct the computers to perform computing jobs
• I.e., calculate a sum, order a ticket booking
• In pervasive computing a computer is more than a
  robot (a passive machine)
• Do we require the robot to follow you?
• An intelligent servant it can anticipate what
  you want before you submit your requests
  (proactive)
• The servant logically exists everywhere and
  arrange your life before your any commands based
  on prediction
• How to make the prediction? It is difficult
  especially to make the right one

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Proactive Services

• Location-based services
• Different services are provided based on
  different locations of the users (or at different
  places)
• Emphasized on data and information delivery
  (broadcast and dissemination of information)
• I.e., shopping malls, schools, toilets
• What do you need when you are in a shopping mall?
• Context-aware services
• Different services are provided based on
  different context detected in the system
  (situational)
• Surveillance and triggering (monitor react)
• Detecting system status (e.g. intruders? crisis?)
• Any emergence events -gt timely responses
  (triggering)

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Some Definitions

• Ubiquitous/Pervasive computing
• It is everywhere
• It is invisible, you don't notice it (minimal
  intervention)
• It is inside things, in the infrastructure
• It is integrated in your everyday life. It is
  invisible and useful, but it does not imply
  mobility
• Mobile computing
• It can move around and no wire connected
  (wireless)
• Distributed computing
• May be static (fixed locations and wired
  connection)
• Why wired connections?
• A task is divided into sub-tasks for
  parallel/sequential processing
• Everyware exists everywhere (what? Computing
  units)

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Pervasive Computing Vs. Mobile Computing

• Mobile computing Vs pervasive computing
• Structurally are similar (i.e., mobile devices
  and mobile networks) but functional and operation
  requirements are different
• Mobile computing
• Support mobile applications
• Mobile networks so that users and computing units
  can be mobile
• Applications are mobile and access to mobile data
  (sources)
• Pervasive computing
• Also have mobile applications (networks) but more
  than that
• Main requirements are in how to use the
  applications and how the applications fit into
  our life. They need to be smart (mobile devices
  Vs. smart devices)
• Requirements smart spaces, invisible, proactive
  localization, etc., and applications become part
  of our life. They become our assistants and
  secretaries (Fig. 1 of Sats paper)

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Pervasive Computing Vs. Mobile Computing
Distributed Systems
Pervasive Computing Systems
Mobile Computing Systems
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Pervasive Computing Goals

• Pervasive computing is roughly the opposite of
  virtual reality where virtual reality puts people
  inside a computer-generated world
• Pervasive computing forces the computers to live
  out here in the world with people (become parts
  of our world)
• Computers become not computers
• .. Make a computer so imbedded, so fitting, so
  natural that we use it without even thinking
  about it. gt unaware and easy to use
• Computations are performed in every part of our
  life to enrich our living and improve our ability
  in responding to the changing environment gt more
  interaction with environment
• In the 21st century the technology revolution
  will move into the everyday, the small and the
  invisibleThe most profound technologies are
  those that disappear. They weave themselves into
  the fabrics of everyday life until they are
  indistinguishable from it

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Pervasive Computing Views
Environment (Your world)
Events
Objects (Physical logical)
You
Embedded Computing units
Computer world
34

• How to achieve the Goals of
• Pervasive Computing?
• Integration of technologies!
• NOT just within Computer Science
• BUT also other disciplines

35
Putting Them Altogether

• Progress in
• computing speed
• communication bandwidth
• material sciences
• sensor techniques
• computer science concepts
• miniaturization
• energy and battery
• display technologies

• Enables new applications
• Create new computing concepts
• Computing becomes a part of our life
• Post-PC era business opportunities
• Challenges for computer scientists, e.g.,
  infrastructure

36
Integration of Computer Science Technologies

• Distributed processing
• Peer to peer computation
• Cooperative processing
• Distributed transactions management
• Network and mobile Communication
• PAN, Wireless LAN and WAN
• Sensor networks
• Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET)
• Database systems
• Concurrency control and consistent data
  management
• Data dissemination
• Broadcast Vs. Pulling
• Update, stream processing and temporal
  consistency
• Control Theory and Real-time Systems
• Scheduling
• Feedback control
• Semantic and context modeling (situational and
  different context general different responses)
• Image processing, pattern and voice recognition
  (Integration of multi-media information for
  generating different contexts)

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Integration of Multi-disciplines
Enabling your capability in response to the
changing environment
38

• Overview of
• Pervasive Computing Systems
• What are the components?
• Anything new and special?

39
Components ofPervasive Computing Systems

• Front end devices, networks, backend server,
  operating systems, tools and development, and
  applications
• FE devices for capturing the system status
  (generating updates) and for input/output
• User devices PDA, notebook computers, mobile
  phones, wearable computers, etc..
• Smart devices and spaces sensors and actuators,
  smart control (responsive and proactive to the
  environment)
• Smart materials electronic ink, smart clothing,
  smart glasses, smart label, etc. (not all are
  electronics)
• Smart appliances networked electronic appliances

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Components of Pervasive Computing Systems

• Work stations for integration of data from
  various sources and devices
• Backend servers for processing the updates and
  responding to the events occurred in the
  environment
• Networks connecting front-end devices to the
  workstations and servers
• Satellite communication, GSM, 3G, wireless LAN,
  personal area network (PAN), ad hoc network and
  sensor network
• Operating systems build on top of the networks
  for connection, i.e., Palm OS, WinCE, EPOC, etc.
• Tools and standards for development, i.e., J2ME,
  Jini, Bluetooth, WAP, GSM, etc.
• Smart applications (entertainment and services)
  MP3 players, game console, digital camera,
  intelligent toys, etc. (cooperative and work
  together)

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A generic view of pervasive information
technology
Pervasive Computing, 2ed. Springer
42
Pervasive Devices
Automotive
Pervasive Computing 2ed. Springer
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Wireless Sensors Monitoring the Environment

• Why sensors? Work like our sensors. Small and can
  distributed in large number
• What is a sensor?
• Sensing the environment (i.e., temperature,
  pressure, presence of unknown objects, etc.)
• Sensors continuously (periodically) capture the
  current status of their operation environment
• MICA Motes, sensors, and TinyOS gt go further
  small and tiny and large in number

www.xbow.com
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RFIDs (Smart Labels and Identifiers)

• A label for identification and counting (simplify
  the identification process)
• Like a low-end smart card with memory and
  processing power (embedded device)
• Identify objects from a short distance (10m to
  100m)
• small IC with RF-transponder
• Wireless energy supply
• magnetic field (induction)
• Read/writeable
• Low Cost gt 0.1 ... 1
• consumable and disposable
• Flexible tags
• laminated with paper

www.aimglobal.org/technologies/rfid/resources/pape
rs/rfid_basics_primer.asp
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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)?

http//www.sensatex.com/
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Todays Wearable Computers

• Wearable computers the computers that you can
  wear
• Simplified I/O (reduced display) and voice input
  together with simple panel to make it more easy
  to use
• Compact design to make it easy to carry (reduce
  unnecessary components)
• What can you do with this devices?
• Easy to operate and fit into your working
  environment
• What will be the future wearable computers?

www.xybernaut.com
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Body Area Networks (BAN)

• Networks are required to integrate the components
  to form a system
• Very low current (some nA), some kb/s through the
  human body
• Possible applications
• Health monitor
• Car recognize driver
• Pay when touchingthe door of a bus
• Phone configures itselfwhen it is touched
• Various network scales
• WAN, LAN, PAN
• Different performance
• Different connectivity
• Like a road system with different connectivity
  and performance

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Personal Area Network (PAN)

• Various network configurations
• Static vs. dynamic
• Dynamic ad hoc network
• Ad hoc network changing configuration and
  workload
• How to group and connect?

PAN Personal area network
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Our world
Reach out more Indirect connection
Peoples
Objects
Direct connection
You
Events
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Example Projects and Applications

• Oxygen
• Smart home
• Data recharging

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MIT Oxygen Project
From http//oxygen.lcs.mit.edu/Overview.html
52
Aware Home Project (Georgia Tech)
Design for people provide interactive
experiences appropriate for people in an aware
home environment particularly enabling older
adults to age in place. Technology develop the
building blocks to create highly distributed
sensing and perception technology, developing
awareness of human activity in physical
environments. Social Implications explore the
social, political, legal and economic benefits
and concerns related to privacy and autonomy when
services exploit awareness and knowledge of human
activity within the protected space of a home.
From http//awarehome.imtc.gatech.edu/
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Example Application Data Recharging

• Setting
• People with PDAs working on business tasks
• Problem
• How to recharge PDA with the most relevant data
  without user intervention
• Issues
• Selecting an optimal charge out of a potentially
  large set of objects with dependant utilities
• Picking the most important items first just in
  case there is a disconnection
• Data synchronization to the database server from
  the PDA if the user may update the data

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Example Home services

• System architecture and communication
• Different computable devices are connected to
  form a network (networked home)
• A networked home is connected to an external
  network (i.e., Internet)
• A service gateway (embedded and zero-admin) is
  used to ensure trusted service providers to
  aggregate and deliver services to a client
  household
• One broadband access to the Internet could be
  used to interact with each other and the rest of
  the world
• Home automation of household electronic
  appliances
• The appliances automatically handled their tasks
  (using smart devices)
• i.e., switching on the lighting when the light
  intensity in a room is low
• What are the problems?
• Security and remote home healthcare services

55
Review of Sats Paper

• Introduction
• What is pervasive computing and how it began?
• The most profound technologies are those that
  disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric
  of everyday life until they are indistinguishable
  from it.
• Environment computing and communication
  capability that integrated into our life
• Related Fields (PC Vs. DS and MC)
• DS and MC concentrate on processes, organization
  and connections
• DS connectivity, fault tolerance, availability,
  security and cooperation
• MC energy, adaptability, local sensitivity
• PC smart spaces, invisibility, localized
  scalability, masking uneven conditioning

56
Review of Sats Paper

• Example Scenarios
• Note the application functions, and the proactive
  and smart features
• Drilling Down (Design and Implementation
  problems)
• Connection problems for devices with various
  capability and operation environment (Example
  Fig. 2)
• How can the system be smart? Tracking users
  intents and pre-defined user profiles
• Conclusions

57
Summary

• Pervasive computing, a new area in computer
  science, integrating various areas and
  disciplines
• Pervasive computing emphasizes metaphors of life,
  interaction with other people, invisibility, and
  is leading to new discoveries in computer science
  to improve our daily living
• Using a computer should be as refreshing as
  taking a walk in the woods.
• Advances in device technologies improve our
  living in responding to the changing environment
• Pervasive computing system like our personal
  assistants and we interact with them in a natural
  way to deal with the events in our daily living
• Computer applications change our living and
  pervasive computing changes computer applications
  and systems

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One More Bad Sides of Pervasive Computing

• Any social problems resulting from the
  development of pervasive computing systems?
• Can I be NOT connected?
• Human needs? Interaction with people? Privacy and
  security?
• What will the next step after the next step???

59
References

• Assigned reading
• M. Satyanarayanan, Pervasive Computing Vision
  and Challenges IEEE Personal Communications, Aug
  2001
• I will discuss with you about the paper in next
  lecture
• The Aware Home A living laboratory for
  ubiquitous computing research"
  http//www.awarehome.gatech.edu/publications/cobui
  ld99_final.PDF
• Oxygen Project oxygen.lcs.mit.edu/Overview.html

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Assignment One (4 marks)CS4289 CS5289 Students

• Use your own words (about 1000-1500 words) to
  explain what is pervasive computing to your
  classmates who did not take this course. (3-4
  pages)
• Note You are encouraged to use the terminologies
  and keywords introduced in the lectures to
  explain the important concepts in pervasive
  computing. Organization is an important concern
  in marking. You may start with a discussion on
  the main concepts, and then use an example to
  illustrate them. Finally, you may need a
  conclusion and the discussion of the future of
  the technology. You may add references in your
  discussion but remember to put the reference
  numbers right after the sentences that refer to
  them and put the details of the references at the
  end of your report.
• Remember to use your own words and figures in
  your report (Copying ANY materials from the web
  into your report without references will receive
  ZERO mark)
• How to make a reference? You may see
  Satyanarayanans paper
• Put the following declaration state on the first
  page of your report
• I declare that the materials presented in this
  assignment is original except explicitly
  acknowledged.
• Due on 1 Feb (put the hardcopy into my mailbox in
  front of CS general office)