mark Weiser envisioned a world
in which computing is so pervasive
that everyday devices can
sense their relationship to us
and to each other. They could,
thereby, respond so appropriately to our actions that
the computing aspects would fade into the background.
Underlying this vision is the assumption
that sensing a broad set of physical
phenomena, rather than just
data input, will become a common
aspect of small, embedded
computers and that these devices
will communicate with each
other (as well as to some more
powerful infrastructure) to organize
and coordinate their actions.
Recall the story of Sal in
Weiser’s article; Sal looked out her window and saw
“tracks” as evidence of her neighbors’ morning
strolls. What sort of system did this seemingly simple
functionality imply? Certainly Weiser did not
envision ubiquitous cameras placed throughout the
neighborhood. Such a solution would be far too
heavy for the application’s relatively casual nature
as well as quite invasive with respect to personal privacy.
Instead, Weiser posited the existence of far less
intrusive instrumentation in neighborhood spaces—
perhaps smart paving stones that could detect local