Speaker: Dr. Daniel P. Siewiorek, Carnegie Mellon University
                Member of National Academy of Engineering

Title: Pervasive and Context Aware Computing

Date and Time: March 26(Friday), 2004, 3pm
Place: 152 Coates Hall, LSU
Reception: same location, 4pm - 5pm.

 

Abstract:

The convergence of two basic research themes, Pervasive Computing and Wearable Computers, have enabled the emergence of Context Aware Computing. In this talk we describe the merging of Carnegie Mellon University's Aura Pervasive Computing project with the Wearable Computing project and give examples of several initial Context Aware Computing applications.

The effects of Moore's Law are apparent everywhere: chip density, processor speed, memory cost, disk capacity and network bandwidth are improving relentlessly. As the cost of computing plummets, a resource that we have ignored until now becomes the limiting factor in computer systems - human attention. By "human attention" we mean the ability of a user to focus on his primary task, oblivious to system-generated distractions such as failures and poor performance. Discovering ways to reduce these distractions is a key aspect of the Aura Project. By trading off plentiful computing resources for the scarcest resource, human attention, we hope to create a system whose overall effectiveness is
considerably higher than that of typical systems today.

We have developed over two dozen generations of wearable computers, each addressing a different class of applications. By combining local computation with mobile communication technology, users can access information anywhere. By sensing a user's context, relevant information can be superimposed upon the user's workspace.

Context Aware computing describes the situation where a mobile computer is aware of its user's state and surroundings, and modifies its behavior based on this information. A user's context can be quite rich, consisting of attributes such as physical location, physiological state (such as body temperature and heart rate), personal history, daily behavioral patterns, and so on. If a human assistant were given such context, he or she would make decisions in a proactive fashion, anticipating user needs. In making these decisions, the assistant would typically not disturb the user at inopportune moments except in an emergency. The goal is to enable wearable computers to play an analogous role, exploiting context information to significantly reduce demands on human attention. Several Context Aware applications will illustrate this new form of computing.

About the Speaker:

Daniel Siewiorek is the Buhl University Professor in Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is also Director of the Human Computer Interaction Institute in the School of Computer Science. He helped initiate and guide the Cm* project that culminated in an operational 50-processor systems. He was a key contributor in the design of over two dozen commercial computing systems and designed or was involved in designing nine multiprocessor systems. He guided the design of over two dozen generations of mobile computing systems. Many of the wearable computer systems have been designed by undergraduate students. Two wearable computer system designs have been transitioned to commercial products. In addition, he has authored or co-authored eight books and over 400 papers. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and ACM and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.