ITR: Active Information Spaces based on Ubiquitous Computing

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

The project researches a new form of operating system to manage a model of computing called an Active Space. It integrates physical spaces that contain ubiquitous computers into a computational environment that supports human activity and applications. With anytime/anywhere ubiquitous devices, the users' view of the computational environment is extended beyond the physical limits of a computer and is placed into the surrounding physical space, augmented with computers that sense and affect that space around the user. Applications become mapped not just to views associated with specific windows in a monitor but instead to the physical environment. Therefore, the physical space, augmented with communicating computer devices, becomes a distributed computing system. Active Spaces have the potential for creating multi-billion dollar industries. Automated surgery, collaboration and engaged learning are a few of the compelling examples. Gaia, an operating system for Active Spaces, will accommodate diversity by exploiting standards for interoperation and cooperation. System services track, authenticate and support mobile users with reconfigurable graphics, multimedia and Active Space applications. A unifying object bus, component model, and adaptive stream model extends plug and play to distributed mobile ubiquitous computers cooperating to support a computational environment within physical spaces like cities, buildings and rooms.