Ubiquitous Computing TDA471 fall 2007

2007-12-14

Olof Torgersson

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Exam questions

Answer 7 of the following 10 questions:

  1. Describe how the interaction between humans and computational technology has evolved from the time of the first computers until now.

  2. Without doubt, Mark Weiser can be said to be the father of Ubiquitous Computing. Define the field according to Weiser, but also give an account of the criticism brought forward by Paul Dourish in the paper Yesterdays Tomorrows.

  3. Explain what is meant by Affordances and how the notion could be useful for the design of IT-artefacts. Further, summarise the paper How Bodies Matter: Five Themes for Interaction Design. Discuss if there are any connections between the mentioned papers.

  4. There is a growing awareness of the importance of developing a sustainable society. Try to define what sustainable interaction design can be and relate it to ubiquitous computing. In particular, discuss the themes Invention & Disposal, Renewal & Reuse.
  5. Explain what is meant by Locative media and Locative arts. Also give some examples of projects in these areas and their distinctive features.
  6. Explain and dicuss the notions of Social Navigation, Seamless and Seamful Design. Also discuss whether your own course project relates to any of these notions, and if so how.
  7. Weiser introduced the notion of Calm Computing. Explain what this means and its implications for design of ubiquitous computing systems. Further, present the idea of Engaging UbiComp Experiences, what it could be and why Yvonne Rogers
    has introduced it.
  8. The literature for seminar 3 contained two papers having the word "Five" in their titles.
    Summarise these papers and discuss how the ideas presented can be useful for design of ubiquitous computing.
  9. Privacy is an important issue in ubiquitous computing. Discuss what kind of problems developers should be aware of and
    how they can be handled.
  10. Describe the essence of Ubiquitous Computing, what is it really about? Why is it important or why not? How will it affect us in the future? What do you believe are interesting or important questions for the future? Is Mark Weiser's vision already here, or will it never come. If so, why not? In short, this is an opportunity to state your own thoughts about ubiquitous computing, past present and future. However, your statements should be supported by the literature where applicable.

Guidelines for answers

Passing

To pass all the 7 answered questions must be judged as passable. This means that it should be obvious that you have read and reflected upon the literature and made a serious effort to produce a comprehensible answer.