Everyware"the future is already here, it's just not well distributed yet"

wassat?

ubiquitous computing data mobile web QR-tag internet virtual reality API network effects invisible technology usability services location devices identity RFID barcode feed

real-world virtual experiences

๏ virtual content is rich, clever and quick

๏ ..but we don’t live in a virtual space, we live in a real one (mostly)

๏ “everyware” means looking at content merging and flowing between the two

why is this important?

๏ extra layers of information

๏ easily accessible

๏ starting (as we’ll see) to be easy...

๏ ...which means the virtual is an adjunct rather than a replacement to the “real” experience

examples?๏ tikitag / violet / nabaztag

๏ botanicalls

๏ “ambient umbrella”

๏ wikitude (http://www.mobilizy.com)

more..?๏ barcoded objects > barcoded

environments

๏ RFID

๏ Bluetooth (Cityware / Facebook)

๏ ..and, yes, mobile web browsing

I’ve heard it all before๏ well, yes, this kind of notion has been

around a while

“ Our preliminary approach: Activate the world. Provide hundreds of wireless computing devices per person per office, of all scales”Xerox PARC, 1996http://sandbox.xerox.com/ubicomp

..but now is a special time๏ finally beginning to see a convergence of

several factors which make a real, non-clunky, “invisible technology” solution possible

๏ ...or at least some exciting hints which look like they’ll become everyware-like

what is it of which you speak?

everyware

devices location

network

services content

computing power

devices๏ we all have “a device”

๏ 1.15bn new handsets last year

๏ (of which 90% have colour web browser)

๏ cheap, small, replaceable (~every 14 months)

๏ 1.2bn "mobile web" users

๏ devices themselves as sensors (more later)

Source: Tomi Ahonen Almanac 2009 http://tinyurl.com/mobile-ref-1

network๏ GPRS, EDGE, 3G

๏ WIFI and (possibly) WIMAX

๏ cheaper

๏ faster

๏ more available

๏ more marketed

location๏ cell(+) location

๏ gps (if you’re outside)

๏ + some WIFI location

๏ mobile OS starting to be location aware

๏ ..but more to the point, many geocoding services available

๏ ..and millions of geocoded resources

computing power๏ (mobile) computing power is increasing at

a huge rate

๏ mobiles will be (are!) the platform of choice

๏ at the same time, the services themselves are fast enough to cope

content๏ vast swathes of stuff is now available via

API’s, which effectively means “on any device”

๏ example: 100 million CC’d images on Flickr, many of which are geocoded

๏ not to mention Google..

services๏ real-time access to services

๏ realistic access times across our (nearly) ubiquitous networks

๏ availability of these services is high, and they are usually free or cheap

tagging and flagging๏ once you begin to tag stuff, all sorts of

other things can happen

๏ examples include RFID, QR code, barcode

๏ unique id + x,y,z = tracking

"vastpoint sensing"๏ twitter as sensor grid

๏ weather

๏ hayfever

๏ current mood

๏ ...not to mention news

๏ ambient / non-ambient crowd-sourcing

devices as sensors๏ how about:

๏ traffic reports based on real-time movement data (density, speed and direction)

๏ weather data based on real-time brightness, temperature, etc

๏ self-correcting maps based on crowd-sourcing gps data

๏ camera? audio? altitude?

cheap hacks --> invisible๏ arduino

๏ the networked printer :-)

๏ http://www.pachube.com

๏ free and available API's

privacy?๏ well, yes, but often about education rather

than technology

๏ more often than not, the benefits can be gained without specificity

predictions (dangerous..)๏ we'll see further increases of network and

device speeds

๏ ..perhaps rolling out of city-wide networks

๏ ..but also understanding and embedding of the possibilities into the psyche of users

๏ the tendency to move away from geek and closer to invisible

thanks for listening

credits // thanks๏ “Everyware: The dawning age of ubiquitous computing”

Adam Greenfieldhttp://www.studies-observations.com/everyware

๏ “..the future is already here, it’s just not well distributed yet”Bruce Sterlinghttp://boingboing.net/images/blobjects.htm

๏ Tikitag (http://www.touchatag.com/) / Violet (http://www.violet.net/ ) / Nabaztag (http://www.nabaztag.com/ )/ Botanicalls (http://www.botanicalls.com/ ) / Ambient Umbrella (http://www.ambientdevices.com/products/umbrella.html ) / Wikitude (http://www.mobilizy.com/ ) / Cityware (http://www.cityware.org.uk/)

๏ Networked printerhttp://tomtaylor.co.uk/projects/microprinter http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmje/sets/72157615517467741