Interdisciplinary Foundations for Ubiquitous Computing

Lead Research Organisation: University of Nottingham
Department Name: School of Computer Science

Abstract

The impact of IT on society has already been profound, reshaping work, education, government, leisure, entertainment, and home life. The emergence of powerful digital infrastructures, wireless networks and mobile devices has started to embed computers into the architectures, furniture and personal fabric of everyday life. While once we would interact with one computer mobile phones, digital cameras, satellite navigation, handheld computers and a host of similar devices are today commonplace in our everyday activities. This shift to 'Ubiquitous Computing' is a challenge that affects all aspects of computer science and has massive implications for how we might reason about, build and experience computer systems in the future. This is a fundamentally interdisciplinary endeavour and advances in Ubiquitous Computing depend on the successful blending of perspectives drawn from the science of computing, the engineering of complex distributed systems and the understanding of their use in social settings. This means that in addition to undertaking fundamental research into each of the constituent areas we also need to promote interaction and dialogue across these perspectives. A key problem is that the interdisciplinary foundations of ubiquitous computing have yet to emerge and communication between each of the different communities involved is limited. This fellowship proposal is motivated by the concerned that without the formation of strong links between the research endeavours involved in ubiquitous computing and the development of approaches and techniques to allow the constituent parts of ubiquitous computing to talk to each other progress in this area will be significant inhibited. Within this fellowship I seek to build upon my experiences in the formation of interdisciplinary communities and my work within the Equator IRC to work closely with these different communities in order to develop a key set of interdisciplinary principles, technique and approaches to help underpin future advances in ubiquitous computing.

Publications

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Ramchurn S.D. (2013) AgentSwitch: Towards smart energy tariff selection in 12th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems 2013, AAMAS 2013

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Rodden T (2013) At home with agents

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Hupfeld A (2014) Books as a social technology

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Lodge T (2013) Communities in the clouds

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Luger E (2013) Consent for all

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Crabtree A (2013) Doing innovation in the wild

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Costanza E (2014) Doing the laundry with agents

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Crabtree A (2009) Ethnography considered harmful

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Chamberlain A (2012) Fresh and local

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Tom Rodden (Author) (2009) Homebase: Developing a Corpus of Domestic Network Usage in Homebase: Developing a Corpus of Domestic Network Usage

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Hupfeld A (2012) Laying the table for HCI

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Chamberlain A (2011) Locating experience: touring a pervasive performance in Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

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Balaam M (2011) Motivating mobility

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Brown A (2013) MultiNet

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Sellen A (2009) Reflecting human values in the digital age in Communications of the ACM

 
Description This project has explored the ways in which ubiquitous computing has found itself in the real world and the principles of how these systems are constructed. The key findings include



A understanding of users acceptance of agent based systems

The development of guidelines for the design of uncomfortable experiences

Elaboration of new methods and techniques for understanding users

Explorations in energy reduction using ubiquitous systems
Exploitation Route Areas include

Entertainment , Healthcare, Energy, Education
Exploitation has being through open innovation via the Horizon digital economy hub(www.horizon.ac.uk)
Sectors Creative Economy

Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software)

Energy

 
Description The findings from this fellowship have had significant influence across a broad range of the IT. New theories anc concepts have emerged which have influence the academic communities. Finding have led to Initiates with industry to develop future scenarios undeprining the IoT research agendas across the digital economy and multidisciplinary methods to underpin the principles of designing ubiquitous computing systems
First Year Of Impact 2010
Sector Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Societal

Economic