Masters Programme in Advanced Computer Science
Ubiquitious Computing Module
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Masters programme information
Week Commencing 22nd Janurary 2007
Ubiquitous computing is a new paradigm for distributed interactive systems, that moves computers into the background of people's attention while using them to support their activities and interactions in the workplace and beyond. The ubiquitous computing paradigm is underpinned by the development of devices small enough to be embedded in almost everything, of networks that provide dense inter-connection of very large numbers of components, and of sensing technologies that enable systems to become aware of their physical environment.
Course objectives
At the end of the course students will:- obtain an understanding of key technologies involved in the development of the next generation of computing systems, and gain insights into design challenges both from a systems viewpoint and from a human-computer interaction perspective.
- be exposed to technology trends and system design challenges that are expected to have a major impact across a wide range of application domains.
This course will consider technology trends in devices, networks, physical interfacing and discuss challenges in system, software and interaction design towards ubiquitous computing.
Syllabus
- Device trends: smart embedded devices, information appliances and wearable computers
- Sensing and context acquisition in ubiquitous computing: location and identification technologies, wireless sensor platforms, and distributed machine perception
- New trends in networking and communications, e.g. proximity-based networking and communication protocols for wireless sensor networks
- Human interaction in ubiquitous computing environments: tangible user interfaces, ambient displays and augmented reality interfaces.
- Privacy and security
Assessment
Assessment is by coursework only (100%).
The coursework consists of a presentation of a paper in class, participation in and documentation of a group design exercise, and writing of an essay reflecting on material covered in the module.Recommended Reading
Students will be provided with selected papers on state of the art developments in Ubiquitous Computing for preparation of a presentation in class.
2006/07 course information
Date: Week commencing 22nd Janurary 2007Lecturers: Prof. Hans Gellersen and Dr. Gerd Kortuem
Available as an 1 week intensive short course. Please see the short courses information page.