Our research group in the Embedded and Pervasive Computing Laboratory at Shanghai Jiao Tong University began working on various pervasive computing projects in 2006. At that time, smartphones had not been invented, and cloud computing had yet to gain momentum. To realize the focal point of pervasive computing (i.e., computing anywhere and anytime), we mainly used a combination of personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and small sensors. Because we work and study primarily at the university, the pervasive applications developed over the years focus on a campus environment for providing relevant services, such as a campus map, short message service (SMS), photo sharing, and a campus search.
Looking back, many of the services and tools we developed are now becoming key parts of features provided by modern smartphones. However, the underlying technology may still be valuable for future endeavors. Over the last few years, industry and academia have developed the techniques of cloud computing and mobile computing to realize pervasive computing perspectives. Today, a smartphone can help us do almost everything in our daily lives: booking tickets, ordering takeout, making a purchase, watching TV, playing a game, and so on. These implementations are based not only on the rapid increases in performance and speed of hardware and communication infrastructures but also on the key software and middleware techniques for pervasive and mobile computing.
This book is organized into eight chapters. The first two chapters introduce pervasive computing concepts and the structure of pervasive computing systems. In Chapter 1, we first introduce the concepts and perspectives of pervasive computing, then we list some challenges for implementing a pervasive computing system. Several key technologies are then introduced such as middleware, context awareness, resource management, human–computer interaction (HCI), pervasive transaction processing, and user preference and recommendation. In Chapter 2 through Chapter 7, different technological aspects of pervasive computing are discussed. Chapter 3 describes the aspects of context awareness. Chapter 4 gives the methods showing how to allocate resources efficiently and how to migrate tasks intelligently. An HCI migration framework is proposed in Chapter 5. Many pervasive applications could be used in pervasive transaction processing, such as mobile bank transfers. In Chapter 6, we present a context-aware transaction model and propose a context-adaptive dynamical transaction management algorithm. Recommendation is a way to help people find information for their needs and is widely used in many online services for suggesting to customers the products they might like to buy. Chapter 7 focuses on user preferences and recommendation systems. Finally, Chapter 8 outlines two case studies.
This book is written in the hope that, by presenting various aspects of pervasive computing, readers are introduced not only to key concepts but also to various techniques and typical applications. Thus, a new generation of pervasive computing hackers will be freed from the need to slowly reinvent old wheels and will instead be able to focus on new and challenging frontiers during their journey. It is hoped that this book will be useful for the reader and that this exposure to pervasive computing might bring the reader as much fun and excitement—and as many challenges—as it has given the authors over the years.
Finally, we thank many past members of our group who participated in pervasive computing projects. Without them, this book would never have been the same. They are Mianxiong Dong, Shiwei Hu, Hu Guan, Huakang Li, Long Zheng, Yifei Wang, Daqiang Zhang, Hao Zhou, Min Wang, Minjie Wang, Xiaoxin Tang, Cansheng Ji, Yunlong Zhang, Jia Cheng, and Linchun Cao.
Minyi Guo, Jingyu Zhou, Feilong Tang, and Yao Shen
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai, China