CONTEXT-SENSITIVE AND USER-AWARE

When you think about PC-based Internet access there are really
only two primary environments where most WWW access
takes place—work or home. Not only does the majority of
access take place in these two locations, the devices we use are
also at least partially configured to provide easy access to the
content we typically want while in these locations.
Bookmarks on my work PC are largely links to work-related
topics—competitors, industry information, conference web
sites, and, of course, my daily dose of Dilbert.com. The links
kept on my home PC are just the opposite—music sites, news
and weather sites, links to friends’ home pages, and, of course,
links to financial sites that do a great job of tracking my stock
market losses.
The point is that PCs are already somewhat context sensitive
based on the way we configure them. Mobile devices
will be used in a much wider range of environments and will
need to change and adapt to a user’s changing needs and
current context, ideally without much input or effort from
the user.

Wireless Internet access devices of the future will be able to
change and react to the user’s environment or possible context.
Data such as time of day, day of the week, location, and even
events listed in network calendars can trigger the device to edit or
change the presentation of information. An example is the navigation
menu on a PDA that changes to reflect the user’s location
as being at or near work and offering icons for applications that
are work related. The PDA menu would again rearrange itself
when the device realized (via GPS or other location technology)
that the user was now at home or in a shopping mall.
The next big leap in user-aware systems will be in the area
of wearable devices and systems. Wearable computing systems
might seem a bit far-fetched but humans have a history of
wearing technology—eyeglasses and watches are examples of
technologies that humans have become very used to wearing.
Back when clocks were primarily devices that consisted of
a large wooden box with springs and pulleys, the idea of wearing
one must have seemed absurd. The same is likely to occur
with computers. Even now we think of computers as being at
least the size of a laptop and therefore not very wearable, and
certainly not very fashionable.
Many companies are advancing the science of wearable
computers using Wireless Internet access built in to various
pieces of clothing. One example of a company that is leading
the way in wearable technology is Sensatex in Dallas, Texas.
The following is an excerpt of a white paper published by
Sensatex on the possibilities of a wearable computing system.
(Used with permission, of course).
Sensatex is focused on the development of the Smart Shirt
System (Figure 6.1), a wearable solution for moving a wide
range of information on and off an active person at anytime
and anyplace. The Smart Shirt System incorporates
advances in textile engineering, wearable computing, and
wireless data transfer to permit the convenient collection,
transmission, and analysis of personal data. By serving as an
enabler of wearable computing, Sensatex expects to play a
key role in the evolution of personalized, mobile information
processing. 205

4G SYSTEMS—STAY TUNED FOR 3D!

Already in the planning stages are 4G systems that allow for
even more amazing voice and data possibilities. Although we
don’t expect to see any real 4G systems for another 5 to 7 years,
working conferences on the topic were held in 2000. 4G systems
based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
(OFEM) technology are rumored to be 50 times faster than
3G, with bandwidth reaching 100 Mbps.
This capacity will enable multimedia applications such as
three-dimensional (3D) renderings and other virtual experiences.
Sophisticated knowledge management systems, speech
recognition, and GPS also will be offered. This all implies that
future wireless devices will have far greater storage and processing
capabilities than current devices without increased
power consumption.