(607a) Can Ubiquitous Computing Be Cheap?

In recent years, much academic and industrial research as well as a large number of startup companies have been based on the idea that, for digital and RF electronics, ?smaller cheaper better? can be extrapolated into our everyday environment ? even to the point where desktops, walls, door knobs, newspapers, cereal boxes and all other mundane objects can be empowered to collect, hold, process, and transmit data, thus creating a vast, massively distributed computing environment which supports a new information-based lifestyle. Many concepts have been demonstrated for many applications on a small scale. Question is, can we do it on our real-word budgets and, if so, what is the MIGRATION PATH to mass adoption? This presentation uses examples and case studies to demonstrate key principles and variables related to adoption of highly distributed computing.