Potentials of Pervasive Computing in Highly Interactive Workplaces

The current developments of mobile and pervasive computing significantly change the perception of information and communication technologies. As mobile devices get smaller and wireless broadband networks become available, the vision of having computing facilities anytime and everywhere becomes attainable. This allows the development of completely new areas of applications, especially in industries where there have been great obstacles in using traditional, stationary IT infrastructure. This paper focuses on applications and technologies that can be applied in industrial laboratories, as to be found for example in the chemical or genetic industry. In these laboratories, workers have to perform sophisticated experiments at frequently changing workplaces, requiring a lot of interaction between the workers and between the workers and the laboratory devices. In this paper, we present a systematical approach leading from existing virtual laboratory applications towards pervasive laboratories, thus providing potentials for enhancing interactivity, optimizing work processes and adding value to these kind of workplaces.