Creating Pervasive Services with Self-organizable Universal Boards

This paper proposes a novel way that allows users to create pervasive computing environments without experts. In this way, non-smart components which form everyday objects such as furniture and appliances commonly found in homes and offices are made smart in advance, not in the way to convert non-smart objects to smart ones by attaching computers, sensors, and devices. As our first prototype to realize this method, we have developed u-Texture, a self-organizable universal board as a building block that can change its own behavior autonomously through recognition of its location, its inclination, and surrounding environment by assembling them physically.