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A ubiquitous-computing microdevice developed by NEC. These devices can exchsnge a myrid of message through the output ports along its hexagonal perimeter.

An Ideal Role for the Computer

You’ve finished work, and you’re on your way home. Since you live alone, nobody is waiting for you, but even so the houselights come on as you pull into the driveway and, when you reach the entrance, the front door unlocks and opens. A few moments later, just as you’ve finished changing out of your work clothes, you hear a sound from the next room that signals that your bath is ready. Sound like a futuristic dream? Well, brace yourself: the future is going to be here sooner than you think. A lifestyle that lets you get what you want, when and where you want it, without having to lift a finger, is very nearly here. And the keyword in this Vernean fantasy of ultimate convenience is “ubiquitous.” It is a word we have all heard before, though perhaps without realizing its implications. “Ubiquitous” refers to the quality of having a universal and constant presence, and if you’re still wondering just what it is that will be “everywhere, and all at once,” the answer is: computers. Whether you are indoors, outdoors, or straddling the doorjamb—no matter where you go or what you do—a computer will be there beside you, unobtrusively yet ceaselessly obtaining and conveying the information necessary to make your daily life go round. That is the concept behind “ubiquitous computing.” The idea was first proposed by Mark Weiser of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in his “The Computer for the 21st Century” in the September 1991 issue of Scientific American. Tsutomu Hosokawa, director of the Business Incubation Technology Center at Japan Research Institute, explains the background to this startling proposal. “There was a time when the computer was used primarily as a stand-alone unit. The use of computer networks began to take hold in the 1980s, though, and with the explosive growth of the Internet that started in the 1990s, it has become increasingly difficult to consider computers as something separate from the networks they’re connected to. Technologically, we’re approaching the point where all computers everywhere are connected to a network, and that gave birth to the concept of ubiquitous computing.”

Tsutomu Hosokawa, Director of the Business Incubation Technology Center, Japan Research Institute

	Human-Centric Computing
	Some people will say that ubiquitous computing is already here, pointing to the browser available in many cell phones as just one example of how people can access computer networks anytime and from anyplace. According to Weiser, though, ubiquitous computing is not just something that would be available everywhere; it would also be something that would “weave itself into the fabric of everyday life until it is indistinguishable from it.” This obviously involves integrating microprocessors into every conceivable object, instrument, and piece of equipment, and then organizing them into a network capable of processing the information necessary for humans to lead the lifestyle of their choice. What Weiser means by “indistinguishable,” however, is not that these microprocessors would be “out of view,” but rather, the notion that users would no longer be aware that they were using computers to get things done. The conventional approach we use in telling computers to perform our jobs entails us preparing ourselves to some degree for what has to be done. In other words, we humans have to adjust to the computer’s way of doing things. What Weiser has proposed is that we move away from a computer-centric mode of operation and develop a framework in which computers accommodate to the way humans do things. This was the aspect of Weiser’s idea that so many other IT professionals found so visionary. It is also part of why the concept of ubiquitous computing has no fixed definition, says Hosokawa. “The idea of just being able to use a computer anywhere was basically achieved with the laptop computer, and in this sense, smart cards and cell phones also probably fall into the category of ubiquitous computing. Most current products require a conscious decision from the user to use them, but we’re seeing increasing diversity as new products are developed in line with the ubiquitous computing concept, and over the past two or three years new permutations have cropped up that were not a part of the original concept.” It has been more than 10 years since Weiser published his groundbreaking article. Considering the magnitude of advances in computer and information technology made in the interim, it should come as no surprise that the ideas and definitions informing the concept of ubiquitous computing have evolved as well. Even so, it is a lot of fun to imagine a time when the lifestyle described at the beginning of this article becomes reality, and there is no better way to get a taste of the future than to take a look at the cutting-edge technology being used to propel ubiquitous computing forward.