Activating Everyday Objects

The confluence of technological advances in wireless technology, mobile computing, novel displays, and sensors in addition to the decreasing cost of computing power provides the opportunity for utilizing computational capabilities in an increasing number of specialized, yet networked devices. By integrating and embedding these devices into “smart spaces,” we have the opportunity to move computing power from its specialized location as a desktop PC to distributing computational capabilities into the existing infrastructure and tools of everyday offices. In this paper, we discuss the inherent advantages of enhancing everyday objects with computation, describe three key research problems that must be addressed to achieve these advantages and outline our approach in these areas.