ubicomp
n. A computing model in which information technology is pervasively and seamlessly integrated into the objects and activities that people use in their daily lives.
Also Seen As
Etymology
Examples
2009
My desk is a mess of both electronics and paper, and I spend days poring over magazines, staring at websites and digging around in info of all sorts. It probably explains why I get unfeasibly interested in projects which bring the virtual to the physical (or vice versa). Sometimes they're called ubicomp and sometimes they're just fun.
—Bobbie Johnson, “Hacking the physical and the digital,” Guardian Unlimited, January 21, 2009
2008
In our ubicomp (ubiquitous computing) future, cities and their inhabitants will be dotted with sensors and radio relays. The data from those devices will bombard each of us with more of the sights, sounds, smells, and vibrations we are trying to get away from. Isn't rush hour on the Green Line quite enough?
—Mark Baard, “Personal tech,” The Boston Globe, January 14, 2008
1993 (earliest)
Rochester, N.Y., becomes a high-tech paradise this week with the opening of Montage '93, the International Festival of the Image. The celebration offers attendees a glimpse of the latest in virtual reality and computer graphics. One hot topic will be ubiquitous computing, or "Ubi-Comp."
—“Welcome to the next level,” InformationWeek, July 26, 1993
Notes
The idea of integrating computers seamlessly into the world at large runs counter to a number of present-day trends. "Ubiquitous computing" in this context does not just mean computers that can be carried to the beach, jungle or airport.
—Mark Weiser, “The Computer for the 21st Century” (PDF), Scientific American, September 01, 1991