Pervasive Computing?
I attended a fuss meeting (my first) today. The meeting was concerned with the question of how (if?) to use habitats (and related concepts) in training simulators for operators of sea going vessels. During a break, I discussed pervasive computing with a couple of other attendees. One attendee voiced a concern about pervasive computing being very difficult to grasp, since pervasive computing appeared to be about everything and nothing. Pervasive computing seemed to be the focus of a great many research areas and projects, and yet there dit not appear to many - if any - established core definitions.
I have been considering this question since the meeting and I think I will jot down my thoughts.
I did my master's thesis on the subject of pervasive computing. On the basis of that - and other experiences - I personally have come to the conclusion that pervasive computing is less about new technology breakthroughs, and more about using technology in new ways. I do not mean to belittle the significance of diminishing the size of processor, sensor and actuator components. Matter of fact, it is precisely this tiny-ness that enable us to use these components in new ways, but the capabilities (interpretation of higher order programming languages, networking etc.) of the components are known from other platforms.
The ways in which these components are used have two characteristic aspects:
- Through pervasive computing, technology is reaching out into most - if not all - dimensions of human exsistence. This is sometimes paraphrased as "humans being embedded in a sea of computing".
- Pervasive computing enable technology to "sample" human life with an unprecendented level of detail.
The resulting force is one which drive technology to take one step closer to us - technology pervade our existence (hence the name pervasive). Not only does it span across different aspects of our existence - it also probes into the individual aspect. This drive is probably also what makes it difficult to encompass pervasive computing as a whole: It is used in so many different settings and ways - different applications focus on different aspects - which has led to a wealth of labels being used: pervasive computing, ubiquitous computing, mobile computing, context-aware computing, sentient computing, etc.
In my mind, the drive for technology to close in on us, prompts some very interesting questions regarding the novel ways to use and interact with technology. These new ways propose a challenge to the way we design technology, which is probably why pervasive computing development and research is so concerned with *design* issues. Most significant, however, is perhaps that the onslaught of pervading technology leads us to reflect on the nature of the relationships between humans and technology.
To answer the initial question, I think it is most fruitful to regard pervasive technology as a technology that is characterized by - and exhibit - a set of properties, e.g.:
Intention
History
Dynamic
Personalized
Adaptation
Anticipation
Time & Space
The above list is taken from from "TangO: Concepts and Properties for Modeling the Digitally Pervasive World", May, Kristensen and Nowack, 2002. The list is not exhaustive and similar, but slighly different sets of properties can probably be derived from other sources (e.g. Satyanarayanan, 2001). What is nice about this list, though, is that it enables us to view and comprehend pervasive computing as a whole, and in general. Furthermore, the set of properties supports an overview of the multifaceted application and research areas of pervasive computing: The different "niches" (re: the labels listed above) can be understood as focusing on different - but not disjoint - subsets of properties.
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