Smart device
Encyclopedia
A smart device is an electronic device that is cordless (unless while being charged), mobile (easily transportable), always connected (via WiFi, 3G, 4G etc.) and is capable of voice and video communication, internet browsing, "geo-location" (for search purposes) and that can operate to some extent autonomously. It is widely believed that these types of devices will outnumber any other forms of smart computing and communication in a very short time.
The most famous devices at time of writing are the Apple iPhone and iPad, followed by devices such as the Samsung Galaxy tablet.
The term can also refer to a ubiquitous computing
device: a device that exhibits some properties of ubiquitous computing including artificial intelligence
. Smart devices can be designed to:
proposed three basic forms for ubiquitous system devices: tabs, pads and boards.
These three forms proposed by Weiser are characterised by being macro-sized, having a planar form and by incorporating visual output displays. These were also envisaged more as information appliances. If we relax each of these three characteristics we can expand this range into a much more diverse and potentially more useful range of Ubiquitous Computing devices. Hence, three additional forms for ubiquitous systems have been proposed:.
Common types of smart devices include:
It is proposed that there are two additional core types of properties for UbiCom systems :
However, It is hard to fix a closed set of properties that define all ubiquitous computing
devices because of the sheer range and variety of ubiquitous computing research and applications. Rather than to propose a single definition for ubiquitous computing, a taxonomy of properties for ubiquitous computing has been proposed, from which different kinds or flavours of ubiquitous systems and applications can be composed and described.
Second, the term Smart Device Environments can also refer to the concept of a smart environment which focuses more specifically on the physical environment of the device. The physical environment is smart because it is embedded or scattered with smart devices that can sense and control part of it.
generally implies that devices are task specific and under the control of some embedded system
or application specific operating system
, whereas Smart Devices may support multiple tasks, e.g., a mobile phone can act as a phone but also as a games console, music player, camera, etc.
The most famous devices at time of writing are the Apple iPhone and iPad, followed by devices such as the Samsung Galaxy tablet.
The term can also refer to a ubiquitous computing
Ubiquitous computing
Ubiquitous computing is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. In the course of ordinary activities, someone "using" ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems...
device: a device that exhibits some properties of ubiquitous computing including artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. Smart devices can be designed to:
- support a variety of form factors
- support a range of properties pertaining to ubiquitous computing
- be used in any combination of three main system environments: physical world, human-centred environments and distributed computing environments.
Form factors
Mark WeiserMark Weiser
Mark D. Weiser was a chief scientist at Xerox PARC in the United States. Weiser is widely considered to be the father of ubiquitous computing, a term he coined in 1988.-Biography:...
proposed three basic forms for ubiquitous system devices: tabs, pads and boards.
- Tabs: accompanied or wearable centimetre sized devices, e.g., smartphones, smart cards
- Pads: hand-held decimetre-sized devices, e.g., laptops
- Boards: meter sized interactive display devices, e.g., horizontal surface computerSurface computerA surface computer is a computer that interacts with the user through the surface of an ordinary object, rather than through a monitor and keyboard....
s and vertical smart boards.
These three forms proposed by Weiser are characterised by being macro-sized, having a planar form and by incorporating visual output displays. These were also envisaged more as information appliances. If we relax each of these three characteristics we can expand this range into a much more diverse and potentially more useful range of Ubiquitous Computing devices. Hence, three additional forms for ubiquitous systems have been proposed:.
- Dust: miniaturised devices without direct HCI interfaces, e.g., Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMSMicroelectromechanical systemsMicroelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
), ranging from nanometres through micrometers to millimetres. See also Smart dust. - Skin: fabrics based upon light emitting and conductive polymers and organic computer devices. These can be formed into more flexible non-planar display surfaces and products such as clothes and curtains, see OLED display. MEMS devices can also be painted onto various surfaces so that a variety of physical world structures can act as networked surfaces of MEMS.
- Clay: ensembles of MEMS can be formed into arbitrary three dimensional shapes, as artefacts resembling different kinds of physical object. See also Tangible interface.
Characteristics
Smart Devices can be characterised as follows:- A set of system hardware & software ICT resources. This set is usually static fixed at design time
- Dynamic component-oriented resource extensions & plug-ins (Plug and play) of some hardware resources
- Remote external service access and execution
- Local, internal autonomous service execution
- Access to specific external environments: human interaction, physical world interaction and distributed ICT / virtual computing interaction.
- Ubiquitous computingUbiquitous computingUbiquitous computing is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. In the course of ordinary activities, someone "using" ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems...
properties.
Common types of smart devices include:
- Tab and pad type smart devices that often as act as personalised #smart mobile devices
- Smart environment devices.
Mobile Devices
Smart Mobile Devices can be characterised as follows:- Multi-purpose ICT devices e.g., personal office, mobile phone, camera, games console, etc
- Multi-functional support eases access & interoperability of multi-functions at run-time but this can lead to a decreased openness of the system to maintain (upgrade) hardware components and to support more dynamic flexible run-time interoperability.
- Mobility: devices are either often loosely-bound to users, i.e., accompanied or carried, or can be more tightly-bound to users, i.e., wearable computing
- Personalised, configured to a specified owner. Device access can be secured only for the owner.
- Operates as a single portal, e.g., a Web portal.
- This can combine internal (to the device) application services and multiple external services
- External services are typically accessed via a remote-area or local area wireless network
- Smart mobile device service access is characterised by:
- Open service discovery
- Intermittent resource access.
- A locus of control that resides in the smart device.
Ubiquitous Computing Properties
Weiser’s vision for ubiquitous computing can be summarised in terms of three core properties:- Devices need to be networked, distributed and transparently accessible.
- Human Computer Interaction with devices is hidden to a degree from its users.
- Devices exhibit Context awarenessContext awarenessContext awareness is defined complementary to location awareness. Whereas location may serve as a determinant for resident processes, context may be applied more flexibly with mobile computing with any moving entities, especially with bearers of smart communicators...
of an environment in order to optimise their operation in that environment.
It is proposed that there are two additional core types of properties for UbiCom systems :
- Devices can operate to some extent autonomously, i.e., without human intervention, be self-governed.
- Devices can handle a multiplicity of dynamic actions and interactions, governed by intelligent decision-making and organisational interaction. This may entail some form of [artificial intelligence] in order to:
- handle incomplete and non-deterministic interactions
- cooperation and competition between members of organisations
- richer interaction through sharing of context, semantics and goals etc.
However, It is hard to fix a closed set of properties that define all ubiquitous computing
Ubiquitous computing
Ubiquitous computing is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. In the course of ordinary activities, someone "using" ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems...
devices because of the sheer range and variety of ubiquitous computing research and applications. Rather than to propose a single definition for ubiquitous computing, a taxonomy of properties for ubiquitous computing has been proposed, from which different kinds or flavours of ubiquitous systems and applications can be composed and described.
Environments
The term Smart Device Environments has two meanings. First, it can refer to a greater variety of device environments. Three different kinds of environments for devices can be differentiated :- Virtual computing environments that enable smart devices to access pertinent services anywhere and anytime.
- Physical environments that may be embedded with a variety of smart devices of different types including tags, sensors and controllers. These can have different form factors ranging from nano to micro to macro sized.
- Humans environments: humans, either individually or collectively, inherently form a smart environment for devices. However, humans may themselves be accompanied by smart devices such as mobile phones, use surface-mounted devices (wearable computing) and contain embedded devices (e.g., pacemakers to maintain a healthy heart operation).
Second, the term Smart Device Environments can also refer to the concept of a smart environment which focuses more specifically on the physical environment of the device. The physical environment is smart because it is embedded or scattered with smart devices that can sense and control part of it.
Smart Devices versus Services
Devices may access or offer one or many services from other devices. Services may be split across several devices or be offered by multiple types of services. Service models tend be oriented towards virtual computing environment service use and Internets with seemingly unbounded resources. Devices embody bounded resources that constrain service use. Weiser has referred to this concept of devices being ubiquitous yet bounded as embodied virtuality.Information Appliances versus Smart Devices
Although smart devices partially overlap in definition with specific types of appliance such as Information appliances, Smart Devices are characterised and differ in several key ways. First, Smart Devices in general can take a much wider range of form-factors than appliances. Second, Smart Devices support the ubiquitous computing properties. Third information appliances focus on remote interaction with computing environments that tend to be personalised whereas Smart Devices can also focus heavily on impersonal physical world interaction. Four, the term applianceAppliance
Appliance may refer to:* Home appliance, household machines, using electricity or some other energy input** Small appliances** Major appliances...
generally implies that devices are task specific and under the control of some embedded system
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
or application specific operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, whereas Smart Devices may support multiple tasks, e.g., a mobile phone can act as a phone but also as a games console, music player, camera, etc.
See also
- Computer applianceComputer applianceA computer appliance is generally a separate and discrete hardware device with integrated software , specifically designed to provide a specific computing resource. These devices became known as "appliances" because of their similarity to home appliances, which are generally "closed and sealed" –...
- Information applianceInformation applianceIn general terms, an information appliance or information device is any machine or device that is usable for the purposes of computing, telecommunicating, reproducing, and presenting encoded information in myriad forms and applications....
- smart environment
- Ubiquitous computingUbiquitous computingUbiquitous computing is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. In the course of ordinary activities, someone "using" ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems...
- Mobile device