With their location based services (LBS), mCommerce (mobile commerce), GPS-coded pictures, and applications as-yet-unseen, these smartphones and tablets are in the vanguard of a revolution in computing. These tiny devices with their touch screens, motion sensors, cameras, Internet access and always-on presence have infiltrated our everyday lives. That, of course, is the very nature of pervasive computing; its ability to join our world rather than demand we visit its techno-universe.
“The premise of ‘pervasive computing’ is compelling: simplicity of use and transparency for the user,” explained Pam Cory, VP of Marketing for NetMotion Wireless.
Eventually, pervasive computing will become so ubiquitous that the sheer invisibility of it will be both comforting and disconcerting. One can just imagine the sequel to the movie Office Space wherein a discontented worker flips off the boss from the safety of his cubicle only to find that the motion prompted the computer camera to take the shot and pass it automatically from device to device.
The scene would be a series of cuts showing the Bird launcher’s picture bounce from device to device, even to the TV in the company cafeteria, as the worker walks by. The last shot would show the offending picture as it flits finally to the boss’ own desktop. That’s the nature of pervasive computing — it does the work for us automatically even when we rather it did not.
Yes, the world of pervasive computing is likely to be fraught with comedy and errors but it will also be full of benign perks and advantages, as well. We are not quite there yet, but the precursors are in place: smartphones, the Xbox Kinect motion recognition technology, next-gen RFID tags, 3G/4G, etc. With the cloud, enterprises are already moving steadily towards ambient intelligence and an invisible blanket of computing.
What’s next
Indeed, pervasive computing is already creeping into the cracks, filling in voids and tightening seams in unexpected places in businesses of all types. The result is often so smooth that people rarely realize the movement is underway.
For example, Jaspersoft, a business intelligence software maker, reports it sees a demand for pervasive computing every day. Indeed, CEO Brian Gentile says 70 percent to 80 percent of JasperSoft’s business comes from embeddable business intelligence (BI) ” … a big percentage of our customers are software developers who need to embed analytics into existing applications.”
Embeddable BI based on a flexible architecture represents the third generation of BI in which analytics are tightly integrated into applications to offer a continuous loop from information source to analytics output, with no latency. “The seeming deluge of data now available to enterprises of all sizes, from the use of smart assets, sensors, video feeds, click streams, and many other sources, provides great new opportunity for well architected business intelligence systems,” he said.
Examples of this abound from city governments monitoring crime-ridden areas with cameras and sensors to intelligent tags that help track the movement of costly supplies through a healthcare system. In these cases, the data is gathered to aid humans in making informed decisions based on fact rather than anecdote. “In this sense, pervasive computing is both practical and financially justified,” Gentile said.
While pervasive computing is far from a state of ubiquity, today it is definitely on its way. The question now is how and where will it show itself next?
Access control systems are the most likely entry point for motion computing, according to Adam John, formerly CIO at Villafranco Wealth Management and now president of Sterling Solutions, a consulting and website solutions group based in New York.
“Face recognition will be first. First on mobile devices in less than 12 months, if product development research continues at its current rate, but certainly within two years and then face recognition more generally in the enterprise in the next three to five years,” he said. “It is already in use in the enterprise, but the explosion will be after mobile devices start using it instead of passwords and pass codes because it will drive the cost of the technology to a more reasonable level for enterprise deployment.”
John expects motion controlled computer actions will be combined as a form of authentication for high security, very limited access areas in not more than two or three years. Motion controlled CAD design manipulation will happen in the next five years. “There are companies with this technology; it is simply a matter of price and scale for mass market delivery.”
Further, John predicts news media and presentation applications for motion computing (in things such as navigation, Power Point style information and touchless image/object manipulation) will be the first successful mass market entry point, along with large multi-touch screens. He expects those to debut within the next three or four years.
While predictions run the gamut, there is consensus that pervasive computing will show first wherever it is needed most. “For users who work with 3D images, for example, it could enable a more comfortable interaction with those images,” said Ben Schorr, CEO of Roland Schorr & Tower, an IT management and support consulting firm. “We’re a long way from a total replacement of the mouse and keyboard, but motion controllers do provide an alternative for some users.”
In the details
Pervasive computing is becoming more prevalent mostly because form factors are shrinking, computing power is increasing, tiny storage systems are improving and the entire kit and caboodle is getting cheaper. The reason it isn’t truly pervasive yet is the lack of connectivity.