Smart Things: Ubiquitous Computing User Experience Design

"U·biq·ui·tous com·put·ing: Making many computers available throughout the physical environment, while making them effectively invisible to the user. Ubiquitous computing is held by some to be the Third Wave of computing. The First Wave was many people per computer, the Second Wave was one person per computer. The Third Wave will be many computers per person." -- dictionary.die.net, online Dictionary of Computing. The world of smart shoes, appliances, and phones is already here, but the practice of user experience (UX) design for ubiquitous computing is still relatively new. Practicing designers need ways to tackle challenges of this type of design. Mike Kuniavsky is at the forefront of this wave. In Smart Things he presents a problem-solving approach to addressing designers' needs and concentrates on process, rather than technological detail, to keep from being quickly outdated. He considers the capabilities and limitations of the medium and discusses the tradeoffs and challenges of design in a commercial environment, based on his own experience bringing these products to market. The book discusses broad design methods and case studies, and then presents a set of techniques valuable to a practicing designer. Any designer involved in this newest wave of computing will need this book.