Studio Two: Bus Notification Systems

What could you do to establish that this system is usable-in-itself?

This piece of technology is now very common in modern day society.  Upon looking it at it, you can immediatly recognise that the piece of equipment is a very good invention.  The system in itself, is extremely well thought of because, in a lab situation, the digital timetable will work exceptionally well most of the time.  It is clear to read, it is simple to see which one is your bus and follow it along to see when it will be arriving. 


What could you do to establish that this system is usable-in-life?

Being a regular bus-user myself, I can relate to using these types of technology very well.  I am familiar with how they work and how accurate they are.  Most of the time I have used one of these, I have had no problem reading and understanding when my bus will be arriving.  My personal oppinion on these are that they are a very good invention.  I think with technology being updated and upgraded every day, this sort of equipment was needed to boost th eexperience of everyday life.  Looking at one of these digital timetables is a lot easier than trying to find your bus on the paper version of the timetable.  I think in modern day society it makes sense to have something of this quality present at every bus stop.   However, while thinking that this technology is a good idea, they also have their down sides.  The fact is, that even the best piece of technology can have a problem occur and so with people relying on these to help them plan their journey, for it to go wrong, by switching of or simply playing up, can be very tormenting to the general public and can make them wish that the paper form was present instead.

Reading, Week Two

What does 'usable-in-life' mean?

Usability can breakdown when people are forced into thinking that the device will work exactly as shown on TV or in the manual guide, when in actual circumstances, even the most expensive and high-tech piece of equipment can error and become unresponsive. 

How is usability-in-life different to usability-in-itself?

Usability-in-life is the way in which we take a simple device, that is easy to operate and then release it into the real world where it is faced with 'real' world situations.  Usability-in-itself is the actual usability of the technology itself without any real world input.

Reading, Week One

While reading the Extract taken from "Everyware", these are the definitions of pervasive computing that I picked up.

• "Computing has leapt off the deskytop and insinuated itself into everyday life."
• "It will affect almost everyone of us, whether we're aware of it or not."
• "A computing that does not live on a personal devise of any sort, but is in the woodwork everwhere."
• "Computing without computers."
• "Desktop machines per se would largely disappear."
• "Computation would flourish, becoming intimately interwined with the stuff of everyday life."
• "People would interact with these systems fluently and naturally, barely noticing."
• "To extend network access to just about anyplace people could think of to go."
• "Wireless-enabled, embedded sensors and microcontrollers."
• "Bridges between  the physical and virtual worlds."
• "Gesture recognisation and voice recognisation."
• "Invisible-but-everywhere."
• "Recogfiguration of everyday life around [ubiquitous computing]."
• "Information processing would be everywhere in the human environment."
• "Post-PC computing."
• "The network is effectivly invisible."
• "Everyware."
• "Without being aware."
• "Hiding in plain sight."
• "Incorporating digital intelligence into objects with an everyday form factor."
• "The invisible computer."
• "Our daily experience of the world altered."
• "Computing everywhere."

Technologies in todays society are fast approaching the ideas talked about in the article.  The IPhone alone, covers almost every example of what pervasive computing is actually about.

Studio One: Definitions and Images of Pervasive Computing

Pervasive Computing

The idea that technology is moving beyond the personal computer to everyday devices with embedded technology and connectivity as computing devices become progressively smaller and more powerful. Also called ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing is the result of computer technology advancing at exponential speeds -- a trend toward all man-made and some natural products having hardware and software. Pervasive computing goes beyond the realm of personal computers: it is the idea that almost any device, from clothing to tools to appliances to cars to homes to the human body to your coffee mug, can be imbedded with chips to connect the device to an infinite network of other devices. The goal of pervasive computing, which combines current network technologies with wireless computing, voice recognition, Internet capability and artificial intelligence, is to create an environment where the connectivity of devices is embedded in such a way that the connectivity is unobtrusive and always available.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/pervasive_computing.html


Refers to the use of computers in everyday life, including PDAs, smartphones and other mobile devices. It also refers to computers contained in commonplace objects such as cars and appliances and implies that people are unaware of their presence. One of the Holy Grails of this environment is that all these devices communicate with each other over wireless networks without any interaction required by the user.

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=pervasive+computing&i=49146,00.asp

Ubiquitious Computing

We define ubiquitous computing environments as learning environments in which all students have access to a variety of digital devices and services, including computers connected to the Internet and mobile computing devices, whenever and wherever they need them. Our notion of ubiquitous computing, then, is more focused on many-to-many than one-to-one or one-to-many, and includes the idea of technology being always available but not itself the focus of learning.
Moreover, our definition of ubiquitous computing includes the idea that both teachers and students are active participants in the learning process, who critically analyze information, create new knowledge in a variety of ways (both collaboratively and individually), communicate what they have learned , and choose which tools are appropriate for a particular task.

http://www.rcet.org/ubicomp/what.htm

Used to describe a future where computers are so numerous they affect every action we take. This includes computers that are part of our clothing and which monitor our vital functions, computers which control traffic, computers which are integrated with television sets, and computers that control our homes.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-ubiquitouscomputing.html

Ambient Computing

Ambient computing is concerned with issues of interface design and interaction arising from ubiquitous computing (Ubicomp) environments. Mark Weiser, when he was Chief Technologist at Xerox Parc coined the term ubiquitous computing (ubicomp), authoring and co-authoring with John Seely Brown (Director and Chief Scientist at PARC) numerous papers describing the concept - in the late eighties and early nineties. Numerous research and academic projects followed including the Oxygen Project at MIT. Pervasive computing is a near synonym for ubicomp. Pervasive computing and projects like PARC's MEMS / Smart Matter Project are concerned with embedding computing and networking power into every day objects, and in the case of MEMS, making "smart molecules." Ambient intelligence and ambient computing are also near synonyms and are concerned with human interactions in computing rich environments.

http://www.infoq.com/news/2010/07/ambient-ubiquitous-computing

Ambient computing is currently a field in strong development, and a vision that has been supported e.g. within the European IST program. Ambient computing is about moving computing capabilities beyond the desktop and about constantly and seamlessly adapting configurations of technology to changing situations and needs.

http://www.daimi.au.dk/~olavb/AQLWS/

Disappearing Computing

In the context of disappearing computing, the user is engaged in mobile interaction sessions, with wearable machinery, while the software should be able to dynamically utilize distributed remote I/O resources, for the purpose of interaction, that are engaged (I.e. come and go) "on-the-fly". The technical purpose of this work is to provide the development infrastructure for crafting interfaces that support such disappearing computing behaviour. More specifically, the results of this work concern: (a) an interaction style that is particularly suited to the mobile, distributed and wearable nature of interactive applications; (b) a systematic design method, enabling designers to formulate easily dialogues with concrete interface elements, assuming dynamic engagement through discovery, and optimal utilisation of I/O resources "on-the-fly"; c) an implementation library in the form of an interface toolkit, through which programmers can implement fully working interfaces, that hide all dynamic remote I/O resource management details; and d) a set of run-time utility components, such as an application manager, being the necessary accompanying run-time instrumentation for dynamic distributed I/O control supporting multiple concurrent applications.

http://www.ics.forth.gr/publications/technical-reports.jsp?raey=2002

This book examines how the computer, as we currently know it, will be replaced by a new generation of technologies, moving computing off the desktop and ultimately integrating it with real world objects and everyday environments. Computing thus becomes an inseparable part of our everyday activities while simultaneously disappearing into the background. It becomes a ubiquitous utility taking on a role similar to electricity: an enabling but invisible and pervasive medium revealing its functionality on request in an unobtrusive way and supporting people’s everyday activities.
This book provides a unique combination of concepts, methods and prototypes of ubiquitous and pervasive computing reflecting the current interest in smart environments and ambient intelligence. As members of the Steering Group of the EU-funded Disappearing Computer research initiative, the editors of this book successfully assembled a collection of 13 elaborate chapters and three forewords that address the issues and challenges in this area. All authors are prominent researchers who set out investigating, developing and deploying future, people-centered smart environments.

http://www.springer.com/computer/hci/book/978-3-540-72725-5

Analysis

When looking at the numberous definitions of Pervasive computing, you begin to see a similarity arising withing them.  All words share a major common factor in the way technology has already and will in the advance in the future.  The similarities in these definitions outway the differences.  They tend to focus on the way technology is being used in everday life and the way we use technology to do simple everyday activities without even realising. 

Disappearing Computing is based upon the role technology takes in our life whilst becoming all the more "invisible" to its users. Others hint at this factor whilst focusing on other major issues that we will face in the future. 

However, many technologies are successful becuase of their 'interfaces' and with the growing demands of 'invisible' technologies, disappearing computing is becoming more and more likely everyday.  With technology that is available today, some do not even require user input in order to work.  In the future, the technology will be so common to the public, it will be used without hesitation or indeed thought for that matter.

The only difference between the definitions, is the way they view the future aspects of technology, some sharing the view that it will chnage our lives without us realising, while others achknowledging the fact that we will eventually become dependable on technology even without an actual interface.  They all achknowledge that it will become a major part of our everyday lifestyle and that we will in time, rely on technology without even knowing.  All definitions concentrate on how computing will become an inseparable part of our everyday activities while simultaneously disappearing into the background