The 27th IPP Symposium
Ubiquitous Computing and the EasyLiving Intelligent Environment Project
Steve Shafer, Microsoft Research
Ubiquitous computing is not only about wireless access to the network, it is also about bringing computing into everyday life through its embodiment in "intelligent environments." In this talk we look at EasyLiving, a project at Microsoft Research aimed at developing a new prototype architecture and technologies for ubiquitous computing. It includes the extensibility of "home automation" and the novel UI style of "intelligent rooms," but goes beyond these by incorporating explicit models of geometry, UI devices and the location of things and people in the world. In this way, the payoff of EasyLiving can be much greater than previous automated environment architectures. Our current demo shows the ability to track people moving in a room, control a media player and integrate diverse devices into a seamless system. Even at this early stage, some profound questions about the UI and socialization of ubiquitous computing are beginning to surface.
