A presentation by Dr Aaron Quigley, Senior Research Fellow, School of Information Technologies, University of Sydney, February 18, 2004 at the Grevillea Room, Wentworthville Community Centre.
Dr Quigley provided the following outline of his presentation.
Smart technologies consist of devices that can sense your actions or learn your patterns and alter their behaviour accordingly.
Often these systems are similar to the science fiction of a few decades ago, "Hello Computer, turn the lights on at home".......
However, what is magic for one generation is the plaything of the next.
Can you first remember when you heard about a mobile phone that would allow you to call anyone around the world? Or what about the global positioning system (GPS) with 40 satellites around the earth?
Today you can buy a small GPS device from Harvey Norman or Dick Smith and know your position almost anywhere on the planet to within a few meters. Half a century ago, the idea that such things would exist throughout our world would have seemed magical.
Many people think the only computer in their environment is the PC in their home or in their local library. However, the definition of a computer is a device with ability to store information, work on that information and take input and give output.
If you then think about everything around you, you will soon realise that there are computers everywhere, including, ATMs, telephones, televisions, and cars. Just because a device doesn't have a screen, keyboard and a mouse, doesn't mean it isn't a computer.
For example, Dyson vacuums may soon put small computers into their vacuum cleaners to monitor the performance of the device. If you have a problem, you call Dyson and they will ask you to hold the phone up to the small speaker on the vacuum which will allow the company to communicate with your vacuum over the phone, to help fix the problem.
Sounds like science fiction? No, it the future of smart technologies in your home.
Invisible interfaces consist of natural environments setup to accept your command in the form of human motion, activity, sound or day-to-day devices that allow for seamless human-computer interaction.
Our Nightingale Project, in the University of Sydney, with the cooperation of the the Smart Internet Technology CRC and the National ICT Australia is aiming to develop non-desktop interfaces for accessing, organizing and interacting with your own set of "personal server" devices. I will describe some of our current projects, our laboratory setup and the devices we are developing.