Introduction
Mark Weiser in 1991 set the vision for ubiquitous computing: “The most
profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into
the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from
it.”[1]. Ubiquitous computing in his vision is embedded in the world
around us or over our body via sensor networks accessed through intelligent
interfaces: “Its highest ideal is to make a computer so embedded, so
fitting, so natural, that we use it without even thinking about
it.”[2]. He meant to reposition the center of our world by moving
towards human-centered computing, where technology assists us adapting to
human needs and preferences while remaining in the background, silent until
required. Weiser predicted three ages of computing technology: the mainframe
age when many people shared a computer; the personal computer age when one
person has one computer; and the ubiquitous computing age when each person
shares many computers via a rich interconnect fabric. The consequence of
this evolution of computing is a change in how people can interact with
technology: a more natural way of using the power of networked sensing and
computing systems. In the ubiquitous computing world, people are connected
not just to the Internet or other computers, but to places, other people,
even to everyday objects and things. Indeed the frontier of research is very
much related to this vision: Internet of Things, Systems of Systems, and
Swarms are all different facets of this encompassing vision, albeit each
theme emphasizes one particular aspect.
The increasing maturity, performance, and miniaturization of processors,
networking technologies, memory, displays, and sensors is enabling a move
towards pervasive computing, ubiquitous connectivity, and more adaptable
interfaces that are sensitive and responsive.