The future is palpable
If the present trend within the information technology (IT) industry is ubiquitous computing, one EU funded project believes that the next step is 'palpable computing'. The four-year €9 million project, funded under the information society technologies (IST) section of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) has just published a magazine outlining its vision for the next level in integrated computing and the qualitative improvements that it will offer users. 'With the new magazine we make our vision of palpable computing available to the world. We want to put comprehensibility and control over your own information on the agenda of system developers and into the hands of users,' explains project coordinator Morten Kyng from the University of Aarhus. Whereas ubiquitous computing is concerned with the situational use of technology by embedding computation into the environment and making it 'literally visibly and effectively invisible', the PalCom project has been challenging this traditional notion of ubiquitous computing with a more up-to-date concept for the design of IT. 'Palpable computing is really about doing ubiquitous computing right. In its original sense, ubiquitous computing is centred round making technology invisible whilst using it. But if your tools do not fit the job you are trying to do, or if there is a system breakdown, then you need to be able to see the tools, to experiment with them or even to repair them', explains Professor Kyng. According to the PalCom research team, we need new developmental tools and a new approach to designing information systems in order to meet the demands of a future with ubiquitous IT. 'With palpable computing, you create a spectrum of visibility. You can have a device that is visible in the sense that it is aesthetically pleasing and fun to use. At the other end of the spectrum, you have recurring breakdowns and errors. Then you need to be able to see the system, to find out what has gone wrong and how to correct the error,' says Professor Kyng, who first invented the term 'palpable computing'. The PalCom researchers have been primarily interested in applications in areas such as healthcare, emergency services and landscape architecture, where they can test their ideas by building prototypes of devices all functioning under one communication system. One of the most important achievements of the PalCom project will be a toolbox with examples of palpable applications, software architecture and a set of design guidelines for professional developers. Professor Kyng explains: 'Palpable computing will make technology a much more integrated and dynamic part of our lives. It has the potential to change technology from something rather static to something flexible that we can change and adjust on an everyday basis, just as we do with the contents of our pockets or the shelves in the kitchen.'
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