Ubiquitous Computing E-Book

Stefan Poslad

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1196

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

This book provides an introduction to the complex field of ubiquitous computing Ubiquitous Computing (also commonly referred to as Pervasive Computing) describes the ways in which current technological models, based upon three base designs: smart (mobile, wireless, service) devices, smart environments (of embedded system devices) and smart interaction (between devices), relate to and support a computing vision for a greater range of computer devices, used in a greater range of (human, ICT and physical) environments and activities. The author details the rich potential of ubiquitous computing, the challenges involved in making it a reality, and the prerequisite technological infrastructure. Additionally, the book discusses the application and convergence of several current major and future computing trends. Key Features: * Provides an introduction to the complex field of ubiquitous computing * Describes how current technology models based upon six different technology form factors which have varying degrees of mobility wireless connectivity and service volatility: tabs, pads, boards, dust, skins and clay, enable the vision of ubiquitous computing * Describes and explores how the three core designs (smart devices, environments and interaction) based upon current technology models can be applied to, and can evolve to, support a vision of ubiquitous computing and computing for the future * Covers the principles of the following current technology models, including mobile wireless networks, service-oriented computing, human computer interaction, artificial intelligence, context-awareness, autonomous systems, micro-electromechanical systems, sensors, embedded controllers and robots * Covers a range of interactions, between two or more UbiCom devices, between devices and people (HCI), between devices and the physical world. * Includes an accompanying website with PowerPoint slides, problems and solutions, exercises, bibliography and further reading Graduate students in computer science, electrical engineering and telecommunications courses will find this a fascinating and useful introduction to the subject. It will also be of interest to ICT professionals, software and network developers and others interested in future trends and models of computing and interaction over the next decades.

Leseprobe

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgements

1 Ubiquitous Computing: Basics and Vision

1.1 Living in a Digital World

1.2 Modelling the Key Ubiquitous Computing Properties

1.3 Ubiquitous System Environment Interaction

1.4 Architectural Design for UbiCom Systems: Smart DEI Model

1.5 Discussion

References

2 Applications and Requirements

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Example Early UbiCom Research Projects

2.3 Everyday Applications in the Virtual, Human and Physical World

2.4 Discussion

References

3 Smart Devices and Services

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Service Architecture Models

3.3 Service Provision Life-Cycle

3.4 Virtual Machines and Operating Systems

References

4 Smart Mobiles, Cards and Device Networks

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Smart Mobile Devices, Users, Resources and Code

4.3 Operating Systems for Mobile Computers and Communicator Devices

4.4 Smart Card Devices

4.5 Device Networks

References

5 Human–Computer Interaction

5.1 Introduction

5.2 User Interfaces and Interaction for Four Widely Used Devices

5.3 Hidden UI Via Basic Smart Devices

5.4 Hidden UI Via Wearable and Implanted Devices

5.5 Human-Centred Design (HCD)

5.6 User Models: Acquisition and Representation

5.7 iHCI Design

References

6 Tagging, Sensing and Controlling

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Tagging the Physical World

6.3 Sensors and Sensor Networks

6.4 Micro Actuation and Sensing: MEMS

6.5 Embedded Systems and Real-Time Systems

6.6 Control Systems (for Physical World Tasks)

6.7 Robots

References

7 Context-Aware Systems

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Modelling Context-Aware Systems

7.3 Mobility Awareness

7.4 Spatial Awareness

7.5 Temporal Awareness: Coordinating and Scheduling

7.6 ICT System Awareness

References

8 Intelligent Systems (IS)

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Basic Concepts

8.3 IS Architectures

8.4 Semantic KB IS

8.5 Classical Logic IS

8.6 Soft Computing IS Models

8.7 IS System Operations

References

9 Intelligent System Interaction

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Interaction Multiplicity

9.3 Is Interaction Design

9.4 Some Generic Intelligent Interaction Applications

References

10 Autonomous Systems and Artificial Life

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Basic Autonomous Intra-Acting Systems

10.3 Reflective and Self-Aware Systems

10.4 Self-Management and Autonomic Computing

10.5 Complex Systems

10.6 Artificial Life

References

11 Ubiquitous Communication

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Audio Networks

11.3 Data Networks

11.4 Wireless Data Networks

11.5 Universal and Transparent Audio, Video and Alphanumeric Data Network Access

11.6 Ubiquitous Networks

11.7 Further Network Design Issues

References

12 Management of Smart Devices

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Managing Smart Devices in Virtual Environments

12.3 Managing Smart Devices in Human User-Centred Environments

12.4 Managing Smart Devices in Physical Environments

References

13 Ubiquitous System: Challenges and Outlook

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Overview of Challenges

13.3 Smart Devices

13.4 Smart Interaction

13.5 Smart Physical Environment Device Interaction

13.6 Smart Human-Device Interaction

13.7 Human Intelligence Versus Machine Intelligence

13.8 Social Issues: Promise Versus Peril

13.9 Final Remarks

References

Index

This edition first published 2009

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Poslad, Stefan.

Ubiquitous computing: smart device, environment, and interactions/Stefan Poslad.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978–0-470-03560-3 (cloth)

1. Ubiquitous computing. 2. Context-aware computing. 3. Human-computer interaction.

I. Title.

QA76.5915.P67 2009

004—dc22

2008052234

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978–0-470-03560-3 (H/B)

To my family, Ros and Ben here, and to friends and family inthree wonderful parts of the world, South Wales (UK),Glandorf and Brisbane.

List of Figures

1.1 Example of a ubiquitous computing application

1.2 A UbiCom system model

1.3 Human–ICT device interaction

1.4 ICT device and Physical World Interaction (CPI) is divided into four sub-types of interaction: P2P, P2C, C2P and C2C

1.5 Three different models of ubiquitous computing: smart terminal, smart interaction, and smart infrastructure

1.6 Some of the main subtypes (triangle relationships) of smart devices, environments and interactions and some of their main aggregations (diamond relationships)

1.7 Alternate viewpoints and organisations for the device, environment and interaction entities in the Smart DEI model

2.1 Example of Smart Dust

2.2 The DataTiles system integrates the benefits of two major interaction paradigms, graphical and physical user interfaces

2.3 Type of wearable computer devices prototyped by Mann

2.4 An electrode array surgically implanted into Warwick’s left arm and interlinked into median nerve fibres is being monitored

2.5 Audio-video cluster distributed over a local home network with a PC as the hub

2.6 Use of a soft universal local controller to interact with washing machine, TV, DVD recorder and radio

3.1 Different viewpoints of distributed ICT system components

3.2 Abstract view of user access to database and file applications

3.3 Balancing the use of local processing against the amount of communication needed depends upon the application and how it is designed

3.4 Different designs for partitioning and distributing Information (I), Processing (P) and Service Access (A) using communication (C)

3.5 Information Resources (R) can be divided within an Information System

3.6 Use of proxies to simplify network access by transparently encoding and decoding the transmitted data on behalf of clients and servers

3.7 The trade-off in using middleware to hide the complexity of the ICT system access from applications and types of middleware service

3.8 Three types of P2P system, pure, hybrid and partial decentralised

3.9 The service life-cycle: smart services entail life-cycle. Smart service entails operation and management throughout the whole life-cycle

3.10 Service discovery driven by providers publishing service descriptions

3.11 Different designs for supporting distributed interaction

3.12 Asynchronous versus synchronous I/O

3.13 Two design patterns to deal with intermittent server access, read-ahead and delayed write

3.14 Shared Repositories (left) and Event-driven Interaction (right)

3.15 a HLL (High-level Language) Program is compiled into intermediate (portable) code

3.16 The main components of an operating system

3.17 Operating System kernel functions: memory management (MM), process control (PC), inter process communication (IPC) and Input/Output Control (IO)

3.18 Scheduling multiple tasks that exceed the number of CPUs available

4.1 Thin client-server architecture example

4.2 J2ME uses a VM to support a variety of devices

4.3 .NET VM versus the JRE VM

4.4 Use of Dynamic Voltage Scaling and Soft Real-Time scheduling to reduce CPU usage and power consumption

4.5 Contactless and Contact Smart Cards

5.1 The range of ICT device sizes in common use in the 2000s

5.2 Use of rotate, tilt and stretch gestures to control a display

5.3 Human to virtual device interaction, human to physical device interaction, human to human physical interaction, which can in turn trigger human to virtual device interaction

5.4 Electrophoretic displays are reflective type displays using the electrophoretic phenomenon of charged particles suspended in a solvent

5.5 Comparison of a conventional functional system design approach with a human-centred design approach

5.6 Requirements for interactive design considers a wider set of requirements beyond functional and non-functional requirements

5.7 A Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) model for part of the record physical world scene from the PVM scenario in Section 1.1.1

5.8 Relating the HCI design heuristic

6.1 Enabling ubiquitous computing via micro, macro embedded and annotation of physical objects in the world

6.2 Taxonomy for types and characteristics of tags

6.3 RFID tag application

6.4 The processes of augmented reality tagging

6.5 A sensor network used to detect increases in heat and report these to a user

6.6 The main functional characteristics for sensor net deployment

6.7 Block diagram for a sensor electronics circuit

6.8 Some examples of MEMS devices, size of the order of 10 to 100 microns

6.9 Two simple control systems: a proportional type controller (top) and a PID-type controller (bottom)

6.10 Using the Lego Mindstorm NXt robot to solve Rubik’s Cube

7.1 Multidimensional multi-level support for a UbiCom property, e.g., context-awareness

7.2 A conditional planning model of context-awareness based upon pre-planned actions that move the system towards a goal context

7.3 A general architecture for context-aware systems

7.4 Location determination in mobile networks

7.5 A composite (location, person, terminal and network) context-aware application

7.6 Using lateration to determine the location of point O with respect to three reference points A, B and C

7.7 Storing and indexing spatial structures in an R-tree to support efficient spatial queries

7.8 Simple task scheduling for non pre-emptive tasks with execution times, deadlines and periods known a priori without resource restrictions

8.1 Unilateral active system model (left) versus bilateral active system and active environment models

8.2 Reactive type intelligent system

8.3 Environment model-based IS according to Russell and Norvig (2003)

8.4 Two types of goal-based or utility-based IS design – basic versus hybrid, according to Russell and Norvig (2003)

8.5 Two different learning IS designs

8.6 Two different designs for a hybrid IS based upon horizontal and vertical layering

8.7 Simplified layered views for a hybrid environment model-based IS design and for a hybrid goal-based IS design

8.8 A rule-type knowledge-based IS

8.9 Hybrid IS designs to support UbiCom

8.10 Two different graphical KRs for the device domain

8.11 A Bayesian network which models vehicles and passengers indeterminately, arriving and waiting at pick-up points

8.12 Two types of uninformed or brute force search

8.13 Hierarchical Task Plan and Partial Order Plan for watch AV content goal

9.1 Some examples of smart interaction: service composition, concurrency control for shared resources, receiver context dependent responses and active intermediaries acting as filters

9.2 Some basic examples of interaction multiplicity

9.3 Designs for mediators based upon who (requestor, mediator or provider) knows what

9.4 Multiple information representations are needed and need to be managed as we move to increasingly rich and soft information

9.5 Multiple ISs designed as MAS interaction using an Agent Interaction Protocol Suite or Agent Language

9.6 The FIPA request interaction protocol

9.7 Part of the interaction for the plan given in Figure 9.10: locating help when access to resource fails (left) and delegating the task of resource access (right) to a help assistant

9.8 Part of the interaction for the plan given in Figure 9.10: asking for advice (left) and negotiating (right) resource access from multiple resource providers

9.9 Organisational entities (agents) can play multiple roles. Organisational roles constrain the type of interaction

9.10 A simple planning model to achieve a goal which defines redundant paths through tasks (redundant sequences of tasks) which can be enacted to reach the goal and which can use redundant peers to enact tasks

10.1 Reflective system architecture

10.2 Three major types of internal self-* system control of resources

10.3 A high-level schematic architecture for an autonomic computer system that uses managers as opposed to resources to implement the control loop

10.4 Control loops to support self-management in different kinds of natural and artificial systems

10.5 A finite state machine represented as a Markov graph for a door control device

10.6 Five successive generations of Conway’s game of life show how a gliding pattern in which a shape shifts position

11.1 Data messages for an application are fragmented into packets Dj to D3 for delivery across distinct communication networks C1 to C5

11.2 A typical telecoms network that can support voice and data over fixed and wireless links

11.3 A video broadcasting network over cable that also supports the cable provider operating as an ISP

11.4 The difference between mobile and wireless

11.5 An ad hoc network has no dedicated router nodes

11.6 Data, control and management flows across the different layers in a simplified network model

11.7 From network oriented service models to service-oriented network models

11.8 Mesh networks, wireless mesh networks and overlay networks

12.1 Telecommunication Network Management (TMN) Services and Network Management (NM) functional areas

12.2 Basic architecture for network management

12.3 V-SAT model of security: viewpoints of safeguards that protect the assets of the systems against threats

12.4 Some examples of threats through the use of seamless (wireless) networks

12.5 Block diagram for a content-based feature recognition and identification system

12.6 Classifying user activity as a composite context based upon a decision tree for individual contexts

13.1 Graduated levels and system support for each of the five core UbiCom system properties

13.2 The trend towards smaller, low-powered, higher resources smart devices

13.3 The trend to embed and scatter numerous and even potentially overwhelming numbers of digital network devices into and bound to physical objects in the environment

13.4 An example of unexpected connectivity

13.5 The engineering process versus the reverse engineering process

13.6 Human ability versus machine ability

List of Tables

1.1 Distributed system properties

1.2 iHCI system properties

1.3 Context-aware system properties

1.4 Autonomous system properties

1.5 Intelligent system properties

1.6 Comparison of smart device, smart environment and smart interaction

1.7 Book chapters and their relation to the Smart DEI Model 3.1 Characteristics of service access used by smart devices

5.1 UI design heuristics for UbiCom based upon the high-level heuristics proposed by Tidwell (2006)

5.2 Some examples of lower-level HCI design patterns which are linked to higher-level HCI design heuristics, based upon Tidwell (2005)

6.1 Challenges in designing and deploying sensors and some corresponding solutions

7.1 A classification of the main types of context by type of UbiCom system environment and according to that of Morse et al. (2000)

7.2 Different types of context representation according to Strang and Linnhoff-Popien (2004)

7.3 The main challenges in modelling contexts

7.4 Some types of SAS application with illustrative examples

8.1 Dimensions along which intelligent systems can be classified

8.2 Environment models for UbiCom systems based upon the classification of environments for intelligent systems by Russell and Norvig (2003)

8.3 Designs of intelligent systems related to the types of environment they are suited in

9.1 Summary of types of multiplicity and associated designs

9.2 Advantages and disadvantages of cooperative

9.3 Causes of interaction errors and some ways to handle these

10.1 Types of self-star properties for UbiCom Systems

10.2 Increasing levels of support for an evolution of systems

11.1 A comparison of the characteristics of wireless networks used for different kinds of services

12.1 Management requirements for smart devices

12.2 FCAPS network management functions

12.3 Relation between threats, assets and safeguards from the viewpoint of the user of a smart mobile device

12.4 Seven different models for user-centred service management

12.5 Different types of biometric identification

13.1 Challenges in designing support for UbiCom system properties

13.2 UbiCom Interaction past, present and future

13.3 Contrasting specific human versus intelligent system behaviours

Preface

Ubiquitous Computing, often also referred to as Pervasive Computing, is a vision for computer systems to infuse the physical world and human and social environments. It is concerned with making computing more physical, in the sense of developing a wider variety of computer devices can be usefully deployed in more of the physical environment. It is concerned with developing situated and pervasive technology that is highly accessible and usable by humans that can be designed to operate in harmony in human and social environments.

Audience

This book is primarily aimed at computer scientists and technologists in education and industry to enable them to keep abreast of the latest developments, across a diverse field of computing, all in one text. Its aim is to also to promote a much more cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas within the sub-fields of computing and between computer science and other associated fields. It interlinks several sub-fields of computing, distributing computing, communication networks, artificial intelligence and human computer interaction at its core, as well as explaining and extending designs which cover mobile services, service-oriented computing, sensor nets, micro-electromechanical systems, context-aware computing, embedded systems and robotics, and new developments in the Internet and the Web. This is a good text to apply models in these fields.

The main prerequisite needed to understand this book is a basic level of understanding of computer science and technology. Parts of the book should be readily understandable by students towards the middle and end of undergraduate courses in computer science, although parts of it may also be used as an introduction textbook to highlight some of the amazing things that are happening in the world of ICT systems. It is also suitable for students at MSc level and for cross-disciplinary use in courses which include computing as just one of the elements of the course. It is the author’s hope that this text will contribute to a renewed interest in some of the advanced ideas of computing by a wider audience and will lead to new advanced courses in computing being developed. An overview of the book is found at the end of the first chapter.

Teaching with this Book

The author’s website for the book is available at http://www.elec.qmul.ac.uk/people/stefan/ubicom. The website contains PowerPoint slides for the book, additional exercises and selected solutions to exercises, on-line bibliography for the book, etc. The book site also gives advice about how to use this book in different types of educational courses and training programs.

Acknowledgements

Patricia Charlton, Michael Berger and Robert Patton were involved with this book project at the start. In particular, Patricia Charlton contributed many good ideas particularly in the AI chapters, two of which she co-authored. Several international colleagues gave feedback on specific sections of the book: Barbara Schmidt-Belz, Heimo Laamanen, Jigna Chandaria and Steve Mann; as did several colleagues at QMUL: Athen Ma, Chris Phillips, Karen Shoop and Rob Donnan.

The contents of this book arose in part out of teaching various distributed computing, AI, HCI and other applied computing courses at undergraduate level and at MSc at several universities but in particular through teaching the ELEM038, Mobile Services courses to students at Queen Mary, University of London. Second, this book arose out of research in the following projects: AgentCities, CASBAH, Context-aware Worker (an EPSERC Industrial Case-award project with BT, John Shepherdson), CRUMPET, EDEN-IW, iTrust, My e-Director 2012 and from work with my research assistants: uko Asangansi, Ioannis Barakos, Thierry Delaitre, Xuan (Janny) Huang, Kraisak Kesorn, Zekeng Liang, Dejian Meng, Jim Juan Tan, Leonid Titkov, Zhenchen Wang and Landong Zuo. Several of them helped to review parts of this text.

At Wiley, Birgit Gruber instigated this book project. Sarah Hinton and Anna Smart guided the book through the various stages of drafting to the finished product while Susan Dunsmore and Sunita Jayachandran helped apply the finishing touches. Finally, my family offered a high-level of support throughout, encouraging me onwards, to finish it.

1

Ubiquitous Computing: Basics and Vision

1.1 Living in a Digital World

We inhabit an increasingly digital world, populated by a profusion of digital devices designed to assist and automate more human tasks and activities, to enrich human social interaction and enhance physical world1 interaction. The physical world environment is being increasingly digitally instrumented and strewn with embedded sensor-based and control devices. These can sense our location and can automatically adapt to it, easing access to localised services, e.g., doors open and lights switch on as we approach them. Positioning systems can determine our current location as we move. They can be linked to other information services, i.e., to propose a map of a route to our destination. Devices such as contactless keys and cards can be used to gain access to protected services, situated in the environment. Epaper2 and ebooks allow us to download current information onto flexible digital paper, over the air, without going into any physical bookshop. Even electronic circuits may be distributed over the air to special printers, enabling electronic circuits to be printed on a paper-like substrate.

In many parts of the world, there are megabits per second speed wired and wireless networks for transferring multimedia (alpha-numeric text, audio and video) content, at work and at home and for use by mobile users and at fixed locations. The increasing use of wireless networks enables more devices and infrastructure to be added piecemeal and less disruptively into the physical environment. Electronic circuits and devices can be manufactured to be smaller, cheaper and can operate more reliably and with less energy. There is a profusion of multi-purpose smart mobile devices to access local and remote services. Mobile phones can act as multiple audio-video cameras and players, as information appliances and games consoles.3 Interaction can be personalised and be made user context-aware by sharing personalisation models in our mobile devices with other services as we interact with them, e.g., audio-video devices can be pre-programmed to show only a person’s favourite content selections.

Many types of service provision to support everyday human activities concerned with food, energy, water, distribution and transport and health are heavily reliant on computers. Traditionally, service access devices were designed and oriented towards human users who are engaged in activities that access single isolated services, e.g., we access information vs we watch videos vs we speak on the phone. In the past, if we wanted to access and combine multiple services to support multiple activities, we needed to use separate access devices. In contrast, service offerings today can provide more integrated, interoperable and ubiquitous service provision, e.g., use of data networks to also offer video broadcasts and voice services, so-called triple-play service provision. There is great scope to develop these further (Chapter 2).

The term ‘ubiquitous’, meaning appearing or existing everywhere, combined with computing to form the term Ubiquitous Computing (UbiCom) is used to describe ICT (Information and Communication Technology) systems that enable information and tasks to be made available everywhere, and to support intuitive human usage, appearing invisible to the user.

1.1.1 Chapter Overview

To aid the understanding of Ubiquitous Computing, this introductory chapter continues by describing some illustrative applications of ubiquitous computing. Next the proposed holistic framework at the heart of UbiCom called the Smart DEI (pronounced smart ‘day’) Framework UbiCom is presented. It is first viewed from the perspective of the core internal properties of UbiCom (Section 1.2). Next UbiCom is viewed from the external interaction of the system across the core system environments (virtual, physical and human) (Section 1.3). Third, UbiCom is viewed in terms of three basic architectural designs or design ‘patterns’: smart devices, smart environments and smart interaction (Section 1.4). The name of the framework, DEI, derives from the first letters of the terms evices, nvironments and nteraction. The last main section (Section 1.5) of the chapter outlines how the whole book is organised. Each chapter concludes with exercises and references.