Homework-4
- mohamedabdulgafoor
- Oct 30, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 31, 2020
Lecture10: The shape of smartphones
A smartphone is a portable electronic device that can be used for communication purposes. The second generation 2G phones started to emerge in the market in 90s. The size and the shape of these smartphones were fairly big at the beginning. The following figure shows the variable size of the smartphone in the timeline, starting from top-left corner (DF688) to bottom-right corner (iPhone 3G).
During the early days, the shape of the smartphones were bulky, huge in size and had a long antenna but the people at that time were keen to buy and use it. In 1996/7 period the antenna of the phone started to disappear or little shorter and the shape of the phone got a better looking shape than the previous models. The figure below shows a Nokia 9000 with shorter antennas.
During 1999/2000 period, the phones got a very compact shapes and size. It became very handy and easy to carry. The below figure shows Nokia 3210, which had a nice keypad to type, and came with the games like snake, memory and rotation were preinstalled.
World's first slimmest shape phone was first introduced by Motorola. Moto Razr V3 was known as a best-selling phones of all time with small color display screen and a 1.3-megapixel camera. The below figure (Moto Razr V3) shows the slimmest phone at that time, very compact, small in size, could be kept in palm.
The first advanced touch screen and a compact, slim phone was introduced by Apple Inc in 2007. Following that many other companies introduce smartphones with variable shape and size along with advanced touch technology. The shape and the size evaluation of iPhone can be found below with different display size.
The shape of the smartphone more or less remain thin, rectangular shape for a quite long period of time. However, it shows a variable dimensions from year to year. But the smartphone maximum size became more or less fixed due the fact of pants pockets size. Obviously pants pockets should be able to accommodate the size of the smartphones, otherwise it is difficult to carry and likely to lose it. Similarity, there is also a minimum size. If it is too small, we will have difficulties to work on a very small display. Is the thin rectangular shape is the ultimate shape of the smartphones?
What is next in this transformation?
May be a hand-free experience!! In future we will not carry smartphones, rather we will have mixed reality smart glasses, which will be very comfortable to wear, light weight, and it will have a relatively large field of view.
Why I think so?
The advancement of the technology provides a richer user experience and eliminates the necessity of having a traditional touch screen display. Now we can create digital interfaces out of thin air and be able to interact with it. The development of VR, AR and MR enable us to interact with the computing system in a far richer way than the traditional human-computer interaction. Especially the MR will shape the future. Because it helps not only to augment the reality but also provide an immersive video of the real world. So the user would be able to see both virtual object and the real world at the same time.
Video: Meet the ultimate running partner (The Ghost Pacer)
References:
Lecture11: Read Computer of the 21stCentury
Are we already living in a world of ubiquitous computing?
After going through the article written by Mark Weiser, I think we are already in part of a ubiquitous computing.
What already happened that we need for this vision and what needs to happen that we get more towards ubiquitous computing?
We already live in a connected world. "Things" are connected with each other and with us, we call it Internet of Things (IoT). When I say "Things", I mean the network of objects that have sensors, motors, actuators etc.
Today the smartphones and tablets know the location of its own place, its coordinates with high precision. Also it knows its surrounding. The computers of these days know the person, can identify a particular among 1000s of individuals. It knows the the temperature of the environment, brightness of the day. All these are feasible with the advanced sensor technology, and AI. Tabs, Pads,and Boards are very common these days. Schools and universities have smart-boards with electronic "chalk" and "sponge". Kids in schools use Pads and Tabs in their classroom. It became a very common phenomena.
Electronic badges are very common these days. Employers of workstation, universities, banks offer electronic badges to its employees in order to give access to the workstation, to get the attendance etc. Every metro station and hyper-markets we see live boards, it could be for an advertisement or a real-time schedule of metros and buses. Smart lamps are lights are every where in the hotels and houses. It may change its brightness based on the climate, temperature, and the time of the day. We already have the requirements in terms of low powered computers, cheep and software to reach the dream of ubiquitous computing. The prices of tabs, pads, and laptops falls rapidly but the computing power is growing exponentially. External hard-drives are common, with a capacity of Gigabyte/Terra-byte and can be bought for few euros. Because of the large capacity to hold information by the hard-drive, we keep information for ever, don't delete past data even though if we realize it is not necessary. 5G technology is already becoming an integral part of our life, it substantially improves the mobile experience, with the peak data transfer rates of up to 300 megabits per second (Mbit/s). It helps to connect self-driving cars,a buses in the street with a high-end real time image and video processing speed. Ubiquitous networking is already there with continuous connectivity with its environment.
We still do not have hundreds of computers in a living room. Our walls are still made up of cement/wood not using silicon transistors. Mark Weiser says no revolution in AI is needed to reach ubiquitous computing. But in my opinion, AI must be an integral part of uqiguious computing. Their contributions help us to reach the dream of ubiquitous computing faster. We still don't have "scarp"computers", which no body owns it. Just like a paper, no body cares.
In terms of the OS, we need to go further into the future to reach the ubiquitous state. We still have OS that are mainly based on for the personal use. Someone must manually install the updates, upgrade etc. We are yet not in a position in which computers "Come" and "Go" at any time and in any rooms. But this is feasible with the development of AI, sensor technology, and computer vision. Internet of things (Iot) and Internet of Everything (IoE) will pave the way to reach the ubiquitous state one day. We are already on the right track to reach it. Soon in the near future my home refrigerator will know whether to order the milk or not/ and in how many days the order must be placed and what type of milk I like etc. If there is a car accident, the car will know the location of the accident and damage happen to the car and cost of it to repair and will directly contact the insurance company and possibly soon inform to the nearest police station and to the hospital based on the fatality of the accident.
References:
Lecture 12: Most Downloaded Application in the future MR App Store
I think the most downloaded application in the MR will be as follow.
Immersive movies Apps
Interactive gaming Apps
MR educational Apps
Why it is the case?
1. I think the immersive movie apps will change the way how people watch the movies and it will be definitely one of the most downloaded app in the coming MR era. It will take the audience beyond the 3D and 4D experiences. The audience will feel they are actually inside the movie, part of the film and will have greater experience. Moreover, fans of actors and actress will have a chance to meet each other in the MR world.
2. Similarly, the interactive gaming apps will rock in the MR era. The gamers will feel they are an integral part of the game. The players will be able to see the 360 degree views and will be able to see things in a 3D. They can turn their room into a battlefield and the gaming experience will be outstanding.
Video: Turn your room into battlefield
3. MR technology will be used to enhance the students ability to learn complex subjects. The students would be able to personalize the learning experience. They should be able to visualize the 3D projects/simulation of scientific phenomena in the MR environment. Moreover, MR will help students to get a deeper sense of understanding of scientific theories, such complex atomic orbitals, function of hearts and brains. They will touch and feel and would be able to manipulate the objects with a greater experience. This experience will also motivate the students to learn and interact in the class than before.
Video: Transforming Medical Education with Microsoft HoloLens
Therefore, I think the most downloaded apps in the era of MR will be related to the gaming, movies and educational fields.
References:
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