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THE TECHNICAL FOUNDATION OF PERVASIVE COMPUTING=20

PROPERTIES OF PERVASIVE COMPUTING=20

Being invisible is only one of the properties of pervasive = computing. A=20 short list of its major characteristics (Amor, 2001) includes:=20

As the preceding list suggests, there are three major technical = requirements=20 underlying pervasive computing. First, everyday objects will have to = contain=20 embedded microprocessors. Second, there has to be a ubiquitous network=20 connecting these microprocessors. Finally, there has to be a way for the = microprocessors to communicate with the ubiquitous network. The day when = these=20 technical requirements all meet is not that far off.

According to Harbor Research (Edgington, 2001), there were = approximately 5=20 billion microprocessors sold in 2000, and only 120 million of them = (roughly 2.5=20 percent) were intended for PCs. It is estimated that in five years, the = number=20 of processors in the average home could grow from 40 to 280, the number = of=20 processors in the average car (now about 20) will increase substantially = over=20 the same time period, and the number of embedded chips sold to support=20 increasingly intelligent devices could grow to over 9 billion = (Edgington, 2001).=20 Intelligence and connectivity will be designed into almost every = electronic=20 device. The ubiquitous network environment, over which these devices = will=20 communicate will, for the foreseeable future, be the Internet.

The way in which embedded devices will attach to or communicate with = the=20 Internet will vary. Some will be wired into the Internet=97through = broadband or=20 dial-up=97in the same way that the average desktop computer is = connected. Others=20 will connect through mobile or wireless networks in the same way that a = cellular=20 phone does. Finally, others, such as the RFID tags used by Prada (see = book=20 text), will link in through small antennas that can send and receive = messages in=20 a wireless environment (like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth).

Like a number of other new technologies, there has been a great deal = of hype=20 surrounding pervasive computing. In the last few years, people have = talked about=20 refrigerators that can tell you when you need to order milk, TVs that = provide=20 entertainment on demand, gas pumps with Web connections, and a whole = array of=20 amazing gadgets. For instance, 3COM promoted Audrey, a giant Palm device = for the=20 entire family. Despite a $20 million marketing campaign, Audrey was a = resounding=20 flop that was pulled from the market. The same has been true for many of = the=20 other ideas that cropped up during the dot-com heyday. Instead of = looking at=20 solutions to problems, many manufacturers have focused on connectivity = as an end=20 in itself, and so they have not yet produced commercially successful = products.



REFERENCES FOR ONLINE FILE W5.11=20

Amor, D., Internet Future Strategies: How Pervasive Computing = Services=20 Will Change the World. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001.=20
Edgington, C., =93How Internet Gateways and Smart Appliances Will = Transform=20 Our Homes,=94 TNTY Futures, 1(6), 2001, tnty.com/newsletter/=20 futures/technology.html (accessed June 2003).=20