Pervasive Computing

Pervasive computing describes an environment where a wide variety of devices carry out information processing tasks on behalf of users by utilizing connectivity to wide variety of networks. In a 1996 speech, Rick Belluzo, executive VP and general manager of Hewlett-Packard, compared pervasive computing to electricity, calling it "the stage when we take computing for granted. We only notice its absence, rather than its presence." Pervasive computing does not just mean "computers everywhere"; it means "computers, networks, applications, and services everywhere." Pervasive computing has roots in many aspects of computing. In its current form, it was first articulated by Mark Weiser in 1988 (even before the introduction of the World Wide Web) at the Computer Science Lab at Xerox PARC. In his opinion, pervasive computing is roughly the opposite of virtual reality, where virtual reality puts people inside a computer-generated world, pervasive computing forces the computer to live out here in the world with people.

Pervasive computing is the result of computer technology advancing at exponential speeds - a trend towards all man-made and some natural products having hardware and software. Pervasive computing goes beyond the realm of personal computers: it is the idea that almost any device, from clothing to tools to appliances to cars