In todays report, we look at a new technology called pervasive computing.
Pervasive computing means putting tiny computers into everyday electronic appliances, such as toasters and microwaves. With pervasive computing, appliances can communicate with their users and with other appliances! Some companies now sell pervasive computing products like a smart toaster. It remembers your favorite kind of toast: light or dark. Companies are designing a smart coffee maker and a smart clock. The coffee maker can measure the water and coffee. It can even put milk in your breakfast coffee and make black coffee in the afternoon. The clock will check the time on other clocks in your house, and give information about other appliances. For example, it can tell you, Your coffee maker needs more water.
And thats only the beginning. One company is now advertising Save time phone your washing machine! Engineers are making a smart house. In this house, the lights, heater, and air conditioner change automatically when family members come home. This makes the home comfortable, and it saves a lot of energy. Pervasive computing could change many parts of our daily lives. But do people really want pervasive computing? Do they really need technology everywhere? One company asked people about their opinions on smart appliances. There were surprises. A smart refrigerator can buy more food on the Internet, but people didnt want it, because it might make mistakes. Pervasive computing is as important as a telephone, says Rebecca Blair, president of InnoTech Corporation. But some of these products are not useful, or even practical. Companies should learn more about the technology that people really want.