Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems

WHAT IS UBIGUITOUS COMPUTING?

Ubiquitous computing, or calm technology, is a paradigm shift where technology becomes virtually invisible in our lives. Instead of having a desk-top or lap-top machine, the technology we use will be embedded in our environment.

EXAMPLE:

TELE-MONITORING AS A MEDICAL APPLICATION OF UBIGUTIOUS COMPUTING

Using this system it is wanted to evaluate the concepts of ubiquitous computing (embedding, networking, context-awareness) in patient-monitoring applications. The related information collected by these methods:

1.  Micro-technical smart sensors within wearable sensors.
2.  Mobile & Wearable Computing: Personalized mobile information systems can be developed with high usability in mind. Like mobile health-monitoring applications in your mobile.

  

   

 3. Wireless Communications (especially Bluetooth and GSM/UMTS): a monitoring device can always be connected without generating high costs 

 4. Web-based Electronic Patient Record (EPR). In order to reduce the costs of public health systems using home-monitoring technology, the collected vital data must be automatically shared with the heterogeneous information systems (for example clinical information systems).
 

By "tele-monitoring" system,

1. Patient mobility is maximized by physically embedding the devices into distributed wearable or implantable systems.
2. Intuitive, context-aware user-interfaces to enable usability for diseased and elderly people. 
3. Special security requirements to preserve privacy due to the sensibility of patient data

ADVANTAGES of Ubiquitous systems:

Seamless Communication increase mobility. Ubiquitous systems can interact with mobile users or without wired infrastructure. This generally provaides  some form of wireless communication - Bluetooth, wireless LAN, cellular, infra-red, reflecting lasers  and enables mobility.

PROBLEMS of Ubiquitous systems:

Trust, Security and Privacy Ubiquitous applications may involve collaborations between ad-hoc groups of devices, agents or infrastructure servers. It may require migration (mobile agents) or downloading of code.  Most ubiquitous systems have the capability of tracking users and determining patterns of activity - this can be very dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands.

Low Powered Devices Power sources for devices is one of the biggest problems. You cannot keep changing batteries. Use of solar cells, fuel cells, heat converters, motion converters may all be possible. The biggest challenge is to design very low powered devices, transmitters etc although in the past our emphasis has been on faster chips.

THE PROPERTIES OF UBIGUITOUS SYSTEMS:

Context Awareness A ubiquitous system cannot assist a user without being able to accurately determine what they are doing. Sensor networks may need to be aware of what they are trying to measure or detect - human activity, cars, animals etc.

Information overload Vast numbers of sensors can potentially generate petabytes of data - this needs to filtered, aggregated, reduced etc. as close to source as possible e.g. using programmable networks, collaborative sensing strategies. Sensors may have to be programmed to look for specific events.

Self Configuration New approaches are needed to provide flexible and adaptable software and hardware both for mobile devices and the intelligent environment.

Human factors arise to cater for new modes of interaction and ’invisible’ ambient technology which must be usable by non-technical people. There is a need to support transient organizations and dynamic, potentially mobile work arrangements including virtual teams, ad-hoc collaborations and virtual organizations.

Social Issues Human, social and organizational issues that arise in creating new forms of interaction based on ambient technologies and deploying those systems within everyday environments be they the home, the workplace, or more public arenas such as museums and galleries.

Business Models Ubiquitous applications often assume a support infrastructure which provides storage, processing, network connectivity and various services in the home, office, on planes, trains and even in the street. How is this paid for? What is the business model which will make sure this expensive infrastructure is available everywhere.