The future of computing....

Invisible computing

In almost everything we do these days, there is a computer involved. There is a computer that drives cars, one that makes coffee, and if you want one that cooks food, well you may want to wait a little longer though I would not be surprised if there is already one. It is this advancement in computing particularly personal computing that drove us to our futurist prediction: computing in the future or what one author describes as invisible computing. In his post eleven events, trends and developments that will change your life, Glen Hiemstra, (October 16, 2006) introduces the idea of invisible computing.

Invisible computing, or the replacement of computer hardware as we know it. In todays world the computer or at least the personal computer as we know it is either sitting on our desk or our laps and more and more in the palms of our hands…but that is another topic. Technology is advancing very fast and it is not hard to assume that in the future and by the future we are talking about 2020, we will arrive at invisible if not near invisible computing. What is invisible computing? This idea is funded on the premise that computing will shift from the hardware that performs computing tasks to the persons that perform the task. In this light Hiemstra believes that computers will all but disappear into flexible clothing and Nano paper screens.

In today’s computing environment, it is more about the technology that is needed to accomplish given task. It is about creating new and innovative UIs with the assumption that it allows humans to accomplish the tasks that they need. In the future, our focus should not be on the technology, it should be on what the user wants to do. What the users goal is should in my opinion be the driving force behind computers.  It is not hard to perceive that in the future we will have many a computer without having a computer…does that make any sense? Picture a child watching a movie in the year 2030 (they are watching a movie that was made in the 1990s) and the wife in the movie is complaining about the husband spending too much time in front of the computer… it is my belief that they will very likely not understand what this means. This incomprehension will be due to the fact that computers will not exist as hardware that performs a task but rather computers will be integrated into everything we do.

Did someone just whisper “farfetched”? We are almost already there believe it or not. My Whirlpool washer and dryer are programmable, my coffee marker is programmable. So how then is it hard to believe that in the future the computer will be there to assist us in the task that we need to complete but it will not be what we are used to. The Internet will be here and very likely will serve as a super machine that allows for ubiquitous computing. So what would be the driving forces that will make such a computer work?

Technological.

Already, there is rapid development of in areas of light based computing, spintronic, nanotube and quantum computing. These developments are not only increasing the speeds at which computers respond but they are also allowing for rapid reduction in the size of computers and at the same time making these computers cheaper. It is not hard to imagine that in the future computers will all but disappear into the devices that we use everyday. There is even talk of things such as Nano paper screens and wearable computers as already mention by Hiemstra above.  The development of devices such as the sixth sense at MIT only leads us to believe that there are greater things in store for computers in the future. 

Socio-cultural

Another force that is sure to spur the development of invisible computing is our constant need for information. Humans by nature want information but are not particularly interested in how that information is gotten. UI designers are beginning to realize that the way humans interact with computers need to be reevaluated such that we do not approach HCI as what technology can do for us but rather what the user wants to do ….