Introduction

Mark Weiser in 1991 set the vision for ubiquitous computing: “The mostprofound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves intothe fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable fromit.”[1]. Ubiquitous computing in his vision is embedded in the worldaround us or over our body via sensor networks accessed through intelligentinterfaces: “Its highest ideal is to make a computer so embedded, sofitting, so natural, that we use it without even thinking aboutit.”[2]. He meant to reposition the center of our world by movingtowards human-centered computing, where technology assists us adapting tohuman needs and preferences while remaining in the background, silent untilrequired. Weiser predicted three ages of computing technology: the mainframeage when many people shared a computer; the personal computer age when oneperson has one computer; and the ubiquitous computing age when each personshares many computers via a rich interconnect fabric. The consequence ofthis evolution of computing is a change in how people can interact withtechnology: a more natural way of using the power of networked sensing andcomputing systems. In the ubiquitous computing world, people are connectednot just to the Internet or other computers, but to places, other people,even to everyday objects and things. Indeed the frontier of research is verymuch related to this vision: Internet of Things, Systems of Systems, andSwarms are all different facets of this encompassing vision, albeit eachtheme emphasizes one particular aspect.

The increasing maturity, performance, and miniaturization of processors,networking technologies, memory, displays, and sensors is enabling a movetowards pervasive computing, ubiquitous connectivity, and more adaptableinterfaces that are sensitive and responsive.