Ubiquitous Computing: By the People, For the People

Computing is moving away from the desktop, permeating into many everyday objects and the environments in which we live. Many researchers in ubiquitous computing are excited about the potential to profoundly change the way we live by revolutionizing how we interact with information. Despite the excit...

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Main Author: Ndiwalana, Ali
Other Authors: Computer Science
Format: Others
Published: Virginia Tech 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33848
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07012003-155928/
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spelling ndltd-VTETD-oai-vtechworks.lib.vt.edu-10919-338482020-09-26T05:37:55Z Ubiquitous Computing: By the People, For the People Ndiwalana, Ali Computer Science McCrickard, D. Scott Bowman, Douglas A. Carroll, John M. Invisible computing user preferences community networks ubiquitous computing pervasive computing scenario-based design Computing is moving away from the desktop, permeating into many everyday objects and the environments in which we live. Many researchers in ubiquitous computing are excited about the potential to profoundly change the way we live by revolutionizing how we interact with information. Despite the excitement, few successful applications are making the transition from the laboratories to the mass market. While this could easily be attributed to the immaturity of the research area, it is also a manifestation of a larger problemâ the lack of coherent methods, processes or tools that assist designers in thinking about issues pertinent to ubiquitous computing, as they explore potential ideas and develop some of these into working prototypes. To this end, this research presents an overview of the important characteristics of ubiquitous computing systems identified by many of the leading researchers in the field. Contrasting with conventional systems, we discuss the resulting issues and challenges, and their implications on the future directions of this emerging research area. In a case study, we use scenario-based design to walkthrough the design of a community computing application. At various stages of the design process, the need to focus on more issues relevant to ubiquitous computing design became apparent, resulting in the augmentation of scenario-based design. The augmented scenario-based design process is proposed as a tool for helping designers conceptualize user activities within given usage circumstances and at various stages of the design process. New questions help to identify the most common pitfalls, enabling designers to produce systems that are more socially acceptable and provide a higher likelihood for adoption by everyday users beyond the laboratory. In initial testing, the augmented process was shown to produce better designs. The ultimate ambition of ubiquitous computing technology is to be able to serve users anywhere, at anytime. However, taking into account the dynamic nature of user needs and usage situations, is a novel and non trivial undertaking. In essence, it is a fundamental change that requires designers to rethink many of the conventional answers and processes that help guide the creation of interactive systemsâ We provide a promising approach. Master of Science 2014-03-14T20:40:56Z 2014-03-14T20:40:56Z 2003-06-19 2003-07-01 2003-08-21 2003-08-21 Thesis etd-07012003-155928 http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33848 http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07012003-155928/ ndiwalana.pdf In Copyright http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ application/pdf Virginia Tech
collection NDLTD
format Others
sources NDLTD
topic Invisible computing
user preferences
community networks
ubiquitous computing
pervasive computing
scenario-based design
spellingShingle Invisible computing
user preferences
community networks
ubiquitous computing
pervasive computing
scenario-based design
Ndiwalana, Ali
Ubiquitous Computing: By the People, For the People
description Computing is moving away from the desktop, permeating into many everyday objects and the environments in which we live. Many researchers in ubiquitous computing are excited about the potential to profoundly change the way we live by revolutionizing how we interact with information. Despite the excitement, few successful applications are making the transition from the laboratories to the mass market. While this could easily be attributed to the immaturity of the research area, it is also a manifestation of a larger problemâ the lack of coherent methods, processes or tools that assist designers in thinking about issues pertinent to ubiquitous computing, as they explore potential ideas and develop some of these into working prototypes. To this end, this research presents an overview of the important characteristics of ubiquitous computing systems identified by many of the leading researchers in the field. Contrasting with conventional systems, we discuss the resulting issues and challenges, and their implications on the future directions of this emerging research area. In a case study, we use scenario-based design to walkthrough the design of a community computing application. At various stages of the design process, the need to focus on more issues relevant to ubiquitous computing design became apparent, resulting in the augmentation of scenario-based design. The augmented scenario-based design process is proposed as a tool for helping designers conceptualize user activities within given usage circumstances and at various stages of the design process. New questions help to identify the most common pitfalls, enabling designers to produce systems that are more socially acceptable and provide a higher likelihood for adoption by everyday users beyond the laboratory. In initial testing, the augmented process was shown to produce better designs. The ultimate ambition of ubiquitous computing technology is to be able to serve users anywhere, at anytime. However, taking into account the dynamic nature of user needs and usage situations, is a novel and non trivial undertaking. In essence, it is a fundamental change that requires designers to rethink many of the conventional answers and processes that help guide the creation of interactive systemsâ We provide a promising approach. === Master of Science
author2 Computer Science
author_facet Computer Science
Ndiwalana, Ali
author Ndiwalana, Ali
author_sort Ndiwalana, Ali
title Ubiquitous Computing: By the People, For the People
title_short Ubiquitous Computing: By the People, For the People
title_full Ubiquitous Computing: By the People, For the People
title_fullStr Ubiquitous Computing: By the People, For the People
title_full_unstemmed Ubiquitous Computing: By the People, For the People
title_sort ubiquitous computing: by the people, for the people
publisher Virginia Tech
publishDate 2014
url http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33848
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07012003-155928/
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