Introduction to Pervasive Computing

1
Introduction to Pervasive Computing

• What is pervasive computing?
• The Past, The Present and The Future
• Some Definitions
• Components in Pervasive Computing Systems
• System and Application Characteristics
• Projects and Example Services
• Integration of Technologies

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What is a Computer?

• What is a Computer?
• A traditional concept
• A machine that can perform computing jobs
  (computation)
• A specially designed machine CPU, memory and I/O
  devices OS
• CPU performs computation
• OS manages resources
• Memory for temporarily storage of data
  (information) for computation
• Receive inputs and then generate outputs
• 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 sit in front of a computer and submit
  your job request through the specific interface
  of the computer (you know what is a computer and
  then you have to find one)

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Growth of Computing Technology

• Standalone computer Vs. networked computers
• 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
• 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
• High connectivity (both fixed and mobile)
• The computing units are connected if necessary
  (even moving) and work together cooperatively to
  complete a job request
• Why do we have such a computing trend?
• Distributed performance reason
• Mobility connectivity??

4
The Current Status

• Build on top of existing trends and technologies
• Dramatic improvements in hardware technologies
• More powerful and smaller devices, higher
  bandwidth networks, network everywhere
• New needs (products) as a results of new products
• 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)
• Currently, most of these devices are embedded
  systems 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
• 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)

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Current Trends

• Decentralization
• Shifting from a centralized view to a
  decentralized computing (many small computing
  units and some of them are connected by networks)
• Price/performance reason and reliable distributed
  computing services
• Computation is performed close to the place where
  the event is detected (why?)
• Computation is performed at device level if
  possible (what are the advantages)
• Real-time and proactive operations
• Event monitoring, surveillance, actuators, rule
  and triggering, scheduling of resources
  (proactive)
• Diversification
• Different types of embedded devices for their own
  functions (mobile phone, MP3 player, camera and
  TV)
• Connectivity
• Heterogeneous networks with different QoS of
  services

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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 Mobile Communications (Schiller)
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Next Step Pervasive Computing

• Advancement in technologies -gt more powerful
  devices and smaller in sizes -gt more needs
• What are the needs? (Personal and business)
• Computers do not look like computers but
  computations are performed everywhere
• Embedded in our daily life
• Reading emails and news while taking a bus
• Searching for the nearest car park
• Traffic monitor and navigation
• Emergence messages
• Intelligent HiFi and lighting
• Connected embedded systems (why connecting them?)
• Sharing of resources and sharing of information
• Better performance and more reliable

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Result Invisible Computing?

• Integrated computer systems approach
• Invisible (minimal user distraction), everywhere,
  computing named pervasive computing
• Invisible tiny, embedded, attachable (dynamic),
  
• Everywhere wireless, dynamically configurable,
  remote access, adapting,
• Why dynamically configurable?
• Adaptive to changing environmental status gt why
  the status is always changing?
• Small, cheap, mobile processors and sensors
• in almost all everyday objects
• on your body (wearable computing)
• embedded in environment (ambient intelligence)
• The capability of human being is improved (why?)

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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

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

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Some Definitions

• 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.
• Computations are performed in every part of our
  life to enrich our living and improve our ability
  in responding to the changing 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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Components of Pervasive Computing Systems

• Front end devices, networks, backend server and
  applications
• FE devices/work stations are for capturing the
  system status (generating updates) and for
  input/output
• Backend servers for processing the updates and
  responding to the events occurred in the
  environment
• 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
• Smart entertainment (services) MP3 players, game
  console, digital camera, intelligent toys, etc.
  (cooperative and work together)
• User devices PDA, notebook computers, mobile
  phones, wearable computers, etc..
• Networks satellite communication, GSM, 3G,
  wireless LAN, personal area network (PAN), ad hoc
  network and sensor network
• Operating systems Palm OS, WinCE, EPOC, etc.
• Tools and standards J2ME, Jini, Bluetooth, WAP,
  GSM, etc.

14
A generic view of pervasive information
technology
Pervasive Computing, 2ed. Springer
15
Pervasive Devices
Automotive
Pervasive Computing 2ed. Springer
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Wireless Sensors Monitoring the environment

• What is a sensor?
• Generating data about the environment
  continuously
• MICA Motes, sensors, and TinyOS
• Sensors continuously (periodically) capture the
  current status of their operating environment

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

• Identify objects from a short distance (10m)
• small IC with RF-transponder
• a material
• Wireless energy supply
• 1m
• magnetic field (induction)
• ROM or EEPROM (writeable)
• 100 Byte
• Read-only
• Cost 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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Smart Glasses

• By 2009, computers will disappear. Visual
  information will be written directly onto
  ourretinas by devices inour eyeglasses
  andcontact lenses-- Raymond Kurzweil

What can you do with this device?
20
Todays Wearable Computer
www.xybernaut.com
What can you do with this device?
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Body Area Networks (BAN)In addition to wireless

• 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

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Pervasive Information
PAN Personal area network
How to manage the network? A kind of ad hoc
network
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Smart Spaces (System Concept)

• We are living within (interact with) an
  environment
• Environment school, home, office, city, train,
  etc
• Interactions with the environment eating,
  learning, reading, traveling, listening to music,
  etc..
• Your living is dynamic (locations, body status,
  needs)
• Your needs (requests) in our daily life (for
  leisure, study, works)
• Smart space an environment embedded with
  computing devices (sensors) to detect your
  needs/status and perform jobs to react to current
  your needs proactively
• Example automatic adjustment of heating, cooling
  and lighting levels in a room based on occupants
  electronic profile
• Note we need to pre-define a profile (rules,
  guidelines) first
• More examples complex events and simple events

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Not a Robot But an Intelligent Servant

• Active Vs. Proactive Computing
• We submit commands (request) to instruct the
  computer to perform computing jobs
• I.e., calculate a sum, order a ticket booking
• In pervasive computing a computer is more than a
  robot
• Why? You are living (moving) within an
  environment which is highly dynamic and our
  living is also highly dynamic (what is the
  meaning of a dynamic living?)
• Do we require the robot to follow you?
• An intelligent servant it can predict what you
  want before your submit your requests
• How to predict what you need?
• Maintaining your profiles, a set of pre-defined
  rules and putting computing devices (sensing
  devices) everywhere to detect (sense) your status
• Check your body temperature (health monitor)
• Check your location (navigation)
• Check the traffic congestion (traffic control)

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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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Application Characteristics

• Dynamic changing environmental status
• Location information, news, stock quotes
• A lot of updates
• A lot of small intelligent components
• Sensors, control units, mobile phones and smart
  phones
• Efficient energy management is a big concern
• Power saving mode of operations
• Proactive and smart spaces
• Rule and event triggering
• Monitor the system and need to be responsive
• Real-time issues (deadlines)
• Control and surveillance
• Unreliable network, Disconnection is frequent
• Intelligent pre-fetching and pre-caching

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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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Example Projects and Applications

• Oxygen
• Smart home
• Location-dependent services
• Navigation

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MIT Oxygen Project
From http//oxygen.lcs.mit.edu/Overview.html
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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 www.awarehome.gatech.edu
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Example Application Traveler

• Setting
• A traveler with a PDA and a wireless connection
  in a city at dinner time
• Problem
• Show restaurants in vicinity that traveler will
  enjoy and that have less than a 15 min wait
• Issues
• Expressing travelers eating profile
• Getting up to the minute information about
  occupancy
• Frequent updates and monitoring of the users
  interests
• Design
• A database, a mobile network and a user
  input/output device

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Example Application Traffic

• Setting
• Cars equipped with GPS (global positioning
  system) and route computer
• Problem
• Help me get where I am going most efficiently to
  my destination from my current position
• Issues
• Where to the map?
• How to maintain the route and traffic data
• Traffic data are dynamic information
• How to monitor the traffic and progress of the
  cars? Disconnection and message loss problems
• Scalability problem

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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

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Summary

• Pervasive computing emphasizes metaphors of life,
  interaction with other people, invisibility, and
  is leading to new discoveries in computer science
• Using a computer should be as refreshing as
  taking a walk in the woods.
• Advances in device technology to improve our
  living in responding to the changing environment

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References

• Assigned reading
• M. Satyanarayanan, Pervasive Computing Vision
  and Challenges IEEE Personal Communications, Aug
  2001
• Oxygen Project and Aware Home Project

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Assignment One (3 marks)CS4289 CS5289 Students

• Write a review report (1200-1500 words/3-5 pages
  including figures) to introduce one of the new
  devices/projects in pervasive computing (i.e.,
  RFID, sensors, PAN, smart ink, wearable computer,
  etc.)
• 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.
• Some suggestions for the organization of the
  report
• Abstract, Introduction, Technical issues,
  Examples, Discussion, Conclusion, and References
• Organization and style of writing are important
  in marking
• Due on 2 Feb (put the hardcopy into my mailbox in
  front of CS general office)